Mayor Scott Walker of Reeves, Louisiana calls CenturyTel’s decision to remove the 666 telephone prefix a “divine intervention.” Christians in Reeves were unhappy when the telephone company instituted the 666 prefix to their telephone numbers in the early 1960s. They had always considered this prefix to be a stigma on their small town.

Residents were happy to learn that they can change their number to the 749 prefix for the next three months. The mayor expects that 80% of the 450 homeowners will make the switch.

Source: BBC News

The New York Times has posted an 11-page article called Darwin’s God, which is based on the research of anthropologist Scott Atran. This is not an anti-religion article, but a study on its evolution. Religion comes in many forms, with many supernatural elements, and has existed long before Christianity. Atran delves into the question of why religion formed.

Which is the better biological explanation for a belief in God — evolutionary adaptation or neurological accident?

This weighty article covers a broad variety of subtopics, including his theory on how humans are “hardwired” to believe in the supernatural as a survival mechanism, especially where the afterlife is concerned. The first and foremost fear that most of us have is death. Neither science nor religion has a definitive answer on what happens to our soul once we die.

Last year, reports of strange light orbs appeared inside the Riverwalk Fellowship Church in Texas as people worshiped. They began to take pictures, and then video of these orbs, convinced that they were witnessing a miracle of God. One year later, a Dallas television photographer took shots inside the church and found a large blue orb of light. Several smaller orbs surrounded it.

The photograph was examined by Dr. Randall Scalise of Southern Methodist University, who teaches a class on recognizing pseudoscience. He determined the orbs appeared because of a reflection inside the camera, caused by background lighting and dust particles.

The orb in the video wasn’t as easy to explain. Taken by a teenage boy, this video shows an orb of light traveling from a woman’s feet, through her body and out of her head. The video was sent to paranormal psychologist, Dr. Lloyd Auerbach, who suggested that the orb represented psychokinetic energy, or healing energy. Dr. Scalise remains skeptical.

Source: Topix.net

Bob Larson, an evangelical minister and founder, of the Spiritual Freedom Church in Denver, claims that he has performed 10,000 exorcisms around the world over the past 30 years, including some famous people that he refuses to identify.

“I see it in (someone’s) eyes,” Larson said. “The demon looks at me. I’ve learned to recognize what it looks like. (At a ministry) when I see it, I go to a person. It’s a look that once you see it, you never forget it. It comes from another realm; an incredibly evil look, The eyes narrow and there’s darkness.”

Larson has written 30 books on exorcism, cults and spirituality, as well as hosted a syndicated radio show for over 20 years. During this time, he has managed to create quite a following, enough for him to establish an exorcism center in a $1.2 million facility in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The funding for his Scottsdale church comes from his worldwide ministry and people he calls Do What Jesus Did Spiritual Team members, who pay $199 annual to support his ministry. Nonmembers are required to pay $20 for exorcisms.