TBC NewsWatch

RICK WARREN'S PRAISE OF CATHOLIC TV

EWTN.com, 4/14/14, “Interview with Rick Warren on EWTN” [Transcript Excerpts]: Rick Warren interviewed by EWTN host Raymond Arroyo.

Arroyo: Tell me about your—the little breather you take in the day when you watch television—[Warren laughs] which surprised me. When we first met...I couldn’t believe you watched this show...

Warren: You know what, I’m an avid fan of EWTN [Catholic TV]. I- I make no bones about it, I probably watch it more than any Christian channel...because I happen to like...

Arroyo: Why?

Warren: Well, you know what, because you have more—more, uh, uh, uh, shows that relate to history. And, and, if you don’t understand the roots of our faith, that God has been working for 2,000 years—regardless of what brand of believer you are, God has been working for 2,000 years in his church. And if you don’t have those roots, you’re like the cut flower syndrome—or you’re a tumbleweed. Um, ah, one of my favorite shows which you replete (sic) [unintelligible] is “The Chaplain of Divine Mercy” -

Arroyo: Really?

Warren: Which, um, I love, and when I’ve had a very stressful day, I’ll come home, I’ve got it taped, and Kay and I will both listen, we’ll put it on and just sit back, relax, worship, and, and in that, in that time of reflection, meditation and quietness, I find myself renewed and restored, [Warren leans forward] so thank you for continuing to replay “The Chaplain of Divine Mercy.”

Arroyo: Thank Mother Angelica.

Warren: [Laughing], Thank you, Mother Angelica.

(http://goo.gl/UhdZPp)

30,000 JEWS PREPARE TO FLEE ODESSA

DailyMail.com, 5/5/14, “30,000 Jews prepare to flee Odessa over fears of massacres as Ukrainian troops move in on pro-Russian militants” [Excerpts]: The leader of the Jewish community in the Ukranian city of Odessa has spoke[n] on plans for a mass evacuation amid mounting fears of violence and anti-Semitism.

Rabbi Refael Kruskal told the Jerusalem Post he was concerned about “provocations” against the Jewish community and was ready to move children first, and possibly more people, if the 30,000-strong community was targeted.

He and other Jewish community leaders said there had not been any evidence of anti-Semitism so far but said next weekend could be a flashpoint, as it marks 8 May, the day of victory over Nazi Germany.

“When there is shooting in the streets, the first plan is to take [the children] out of the centre of the city,” Rabbi Kruskal told the newspaper.

“If it gets worse, then we’ll take them out of the city. We have plans to take them both out of the city and even to a different country if necessary, plans which we prefer not to talk about which we have in place.

“The next weekend is going to be very violent.”

Rabbi Kruskal heads the organisation which runs orphanages, schools and social services for the elderly for the city’s Jewish community.

Other Jewish organisations have also drawn up evacuation plans, including the ultra-Orthodox Hasidic community, which has more than 1,000 families affiliated to its main synagogue.

(http://goo.gl/NUFjj7)

STUDENTS SURPRISED TO FIND NOAH'S ARK FEASIBLE

ICR.org, 4/11/14, “Students Surprised to Find Noah’s Ark Feasible” [Excerpts]: Advanced physics students at Leicester University were tasked with determining if the Biblical dimensions of Noah’s ark—assuming it was properly constructed—could have supported the mass of 70,000 animals. Student Kayie Raymer told UK’s The Telegraph that after other “more serious” assignments, this one was “something different.” What did they find?

The students used 48.2cm (almost 19 inches) as the length of a cubit to estimate the total dimensions of the ark. Using the density of water and Archimedes’ principle of buoyancy, they calculated the total mass the ark could contain without sinking.

“Previous research has suggested that there were approximately 35,000 species of animals which would have needed to be saved by Noah,” according to The Telegraph, though they cited no source for this estimate. Doubling this number to account for a male and female of each species, the student group estimated that the ark needed to have held approximately 70,000 creatures. To the students’ surprise, they found that this amount did not exceed the total mass the ark could contain. Physics student Thomas Morris told The Telegraph, “You don’t think of the Bible necessarily as a scientifically accurate source of information, so I guess we were quite surprised when we discovered it would work.” The students published their results in Leicester University’s Journal of Physics Special Topics.

The students’ results at the ark having 70,000 creatures actually exceed biblical expectations, giving further assurance that the ark could hold all that it needed—including food and even water.

Creatures change within the boundaries of their own “kinds” or fundamental forms, so Noah certainly did not need to take on board all “species,”a modern term that seems to bear as many definitions as there are researchers who use it.

(http://goo.gl/42Yv07)

"I WILL SELL THEM," BOKO HARAM LEADER SAYS

CNN.com, 5/5/14, “‘I will sell them,’ Boko Haram leader says of kidnapped Nigerian girls” [Excerpts]: Fears for the fate of more than 200 Nigerian girls turned even more nightmarish...when the leader of the Islamist militant group that kidnapped them announced plans to sell them.

“I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah,” a man claiming to be Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said in a video first obtained by Agence France-Presse.

“There is a market for selling humans. Allah says I should sell. He commands me to sell. I will sell women. I sell women,” he continued, according to a CNN translation from the local Hausa language.

Boko Haram is a terrorist group receiving training from al Qaeda affiliates, according to U.S. officials. Its name means “Western education is sin.” In his nearly hour-long, rambling video, Shekau repeatedly called for Western education to end.

The outrageous threat means the girls’ parents’ worst fears could be realized. Parents have avoided speaking to the media for fear their daughters may be singled out for reprisals.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the video “does appear legitimate.”

(http://goo.gl/vLaoFD)