Ancient Coptic City Discovered in Egypt

A Supreme Council of Antiquities mission has discovered a Coptic city dating back to the fourth century. The city is located in the Ain al-Sabil area of the New Valley Governorate.

In the middle of the city, a basilica church was found, surrounded by buildings that Council Secretary General Mostafa Amin said were service units for the priests.

“We never had an excavation in Ain al-Sabil before,” said Amin. “Maybe we’ll find other antiquities that would add to Egypt’s archaeological treasures.”

Mohsen Ali, the council’s director of Islamic and Coptic antiquities, said the mission also uncovered a house that consists of a big hall, living rooms, a main entrance, a kitchen with a built-in oven and an intact staircase, in addition to ancient bronze coins and clay jugs.

Source

 

Statue of Amenhotep III, King Tut’s Grandfather, Found

A large statue of King Amenhotep III, the grandfather of the boy-pharaoh Tutankhamun, who ruled nearly 3,400 years ago, has been unearthed in Egypt.

The Telegraph is reporting:

The Supreme Council of Antiquities says the latest find was made at the king’s  funerary temple in the southern city of Luxor.

The 44 feet tall statue is made of colored quartzite. It is composed of  several large pieces that once put together will depict the king as standing.

The latest find comes after several other relics of the king were unearthed last year in his mortuary temple on the west bank of the Nile River in  Luxor.

Amenhotep III, who ruled Egypt between 1390 and 1352BC, is the father of Akhenaten, the “heretic pharaoh” considered a precursor of monotheism   because he tried to impose the exclusive worship of Aten.

I’m glad to see that archaeology is still happening in Egypt, despite the political upheaval.

 

Flesh Farming & Human Trafficking

This Weekly Standard story is grim, grizzly, and a byproduct of treating flesh as a commodity–something akin to using fetal “tissue” to “harvest” [as if it's just a natural activity, there for the plucking] stem cells, and the “trafficking” of minor in the United States for the purposes of so-called sex. These were the sorts of things the Canaanites might have enjoyed. Grow a baby to “harvest” by”products.” Such issues separates Man from Monster. A kinder, gentler Hitler. We have harvested the reaping that has been sown.

Source

 

‘Exploding’ iPhones? I’ll Stick With BlackBerry…

Red hot smoking iPhone self-combusts on airliner:

An Apple iPhone 4 was glowing red hot and emitted a “significant amount” of  dense smoke as it spontaneously combusted on board a flight in Australia in the  second reported incident of its kind in the past month…

The incident involving a passenger’s iPhone 4 glowing red hot occurred on board  Regional Express flight ZL319 operating from Lismore to Sydney last Friday after  landing, the airline reported…

In a statement regarding the first incident, Regional Express said a flight attendant carried out  “recovery actions” immediately and that the red glow was extinguished  successfully, adding that the matter has been reported to the Australian  Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) as well as the Civil Aviation Safety Authority  (CASA) for investigation and directions. All passengers and crew on board were  unharmed, the airline said….

Read more here.

Gosh, just look at the thing! Imagine it in your pocket at the time?! Nah, Apple is way overrated. BlackBerry (outages and all) would seem to be a safer option thank you.

 

If Christianity Goes, So Does Europe

Writes Rev Dr Peter Mullen in The Telegraph:

… Europe is now officially secular. Pope Benedict XVI identified our real crisis with terrifying clarity:

“The EU is godless. But then it is unthinkable that the EU could build a common European house while ignoring Europe’s identity. Europe is a historical, cultural and moral identity before it is a geographic, economic or political reality. It is an identity built on a set of values which Christianity played a part in moulding.”

A church in every village. A cathedral in every city. The glorious traditions of European music and literature. The political freedoms of which we are rightly proud. All these were products of Christian civilisation.

The mistake of the secularists and the bien pensants who now control every aspect of our lives is to imagine that we can throw off our Christian identity and yet all the political liberties and other good social consequences we derive from that identity will remain in place.

They won’t and already they haven’t. If Christianity goes, the lot goes. As T S Eliot said back in 1934, “Such attainments as you can boast in the way of polite society will hardly survive the faith to which they owe their significance.”

He’s right you know.

Read the whole piece here.

 

On Applying for a PhD in Biblical and Theological Studies

Prof John Byron shares some thoughts on applying for a PhD in Biblical and Theological Studies on his blog, The Biblical World.

Give them a read.

The Future of Biblical Archaeology with Prof James Hoffmeier

On the Book and the Spade is an interview with one of my favourite Biblical Archaeologists. He is very solid in his approach:

Ten years ago a bunch of archaeologists gathered in suburban Chicago for a conference on The Future of Biblical Archaeology. At that time, the Minimalists were in ascendance and the future didn’t look real bright.

Today the situation has improved. Just how much? I talked with professor James Hoffmeier of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, the organizer of the conference, for some historical perspective.

Prof. Hoffmeier is the excavator of Tel el-Borg, in the Northwestern Sinai region. We got an update on archaeology in that region also.

Give the interview a listen here.

Download it in MP3 here.

 

World Aids Day

Today is World Aids Day:

 A prayer:

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, O Good and gracious God, you are the God of health and wholeness. In the plan of your creation, you call us to struggle in our sickness and to cling always to the cross of your Son.

Father, we are your servants. Many of us are now suffering with HIV or AIDS. We come before you, and ask you, if it is your holy will, to take away this suffering from us, restore us to health and lead us to know you and your powerful healing, love of body and spirit.

We ask you also to be with those of us who nurse your sick ones. We are the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, and friends of your suffering people. It is so hard for us to see those whom we love suffer. You know what it is to suffer. Help us to minister in loving care, support, and patience to your people who suffer with HIV and AIDS.

Lead us to do whatever it will take to eradicate this illness from the lives of those who are touched by it, both directly and indirectly. Trusting in you and the strength of your Spirit, we pray these things in the name of Jesus.

Amen.