15+ hour, 20+ min ago (343+ words) With the coming of Advent, the Western Christian church begins the first season of its liturgical year. Advent starts on the Sunday closest to November 30 " today " and concludes on Christmas Eve. It's a time of preparation for the birth of Christ. This ancient season's name derives from the Latin word adventus, meaning arrival, approach or coming. While the community becomes increasingly louder and happily engaged with festivities, the church quietens and readies itself to welcome the long-awaited Christ. As one seasonal bidding prayer puts it: "to prepare ourselves to hear again the message of the angels, and in heart and mind to go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, and the Babe lying in the manger. Advent, the time of year preparing for Christmas, is yet another period commandeered and commercialised by capitalism. Like…...

2+ day, 49+ min ago (23+ words) A Queensland church community is picking up the pieces after its warehouse full of donations went up in flames. The Sydney Morning Herald...

2+ day, 14+ hour ago (20+ words) Pope Leo's has arrived in Turkey on his first trip overseas amid heightened Middle East tensions. The Sydney Morning Herald...

5+ day, 2+ hour ago (331+ words) Bangkok: A woman in Thailand shocked temple staff when she started moving in her coffin after being taken there for cremation. Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in the province of Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok, posted a video on its Facebook page, showing a woman lying in a white coffin in the back of a pick-up truck, slightly moving her arms and head, which left temple staff bewildered. Pairat Soodthoop, the temple's general and financial affairs manager, told ehe Associated Press that the 65-year-old woman's brother drove her from the province of Phitsanulok to be cremated. An emergency services worker with the woman who was found to be alive after being considered dead.Credit: AP He said they heard a faint knock coming from the coffin. "I was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open…...

1+ week, 15+ hour ago (338+ words) A couple of decades ago, young American Bobby Gruenewald standing in an airport security queue wondered whether technology could help him read the Bible more consistently. He launched a website, then in 2008 an app for mobile phones. This week, that free Bible app, YouVersion " now offering more than 3500 translations in 2300 languages, including 89 in English " was downloaded for the billionth time, an extraordinary figure, even if many people have downloaded it more than once. In Australia, it has been downloaded 7.4million times, half a million so far this year. The Bible " there's an app for that.Credit: AP According to YouVersion, the app is opened a billion times around the world every 39 days and daily engagement is up 14 per cent this year. What does this thirst for the Bible signify? Above all, it seems to me, it is a search for meaning,…...

1+ week, 15+ hour ago (47+ words) Free weekly forecast in life, love and career from renowned astrologer, Hedy Damari. The Sydney Morning Herald Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Free weekly forecast in life, love and career from renowned astrologer, Hedy Damari....

1+ week, 1+ day ago (1753+ words) Leaked recordings reveal the church's leadership swinging back at the Prime Minister labelling it a cult and how it plans to deal with a tax office probe. Exclusive Brethren gather at a Universal Fellowship meeting in Ermington, NSW, in April, 2024. Credit: Rhett Wyman The leaders of extremist religious sect the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church this week tightened their grip over every aspect of their members' lives and finances, while rejecting the prime minister's accusation that they're a cult. Leaked audio from the church's annual conference, Strive 26, held on Monday and obtained by this masthead, features Dean and Charles Hales " two of the ultra-wealthy sons of the "Man of God, Bruce Hales " pressuring the Brethren "saints to give more money and to hand over more financial information to centrally controlled companies. The church is facing an ongoing Australian Taxation Office investigation,…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago (22+ words) The King and Prince William have laid wreaths in a touching Remembrance service at the Cenotaph in London. The Sydney Morning Herald...

3+ week, 15+ hour ago (47+ words) Free weekly forecast in life, love and career from renowned astrologer, Hedy Damari. The Sydney Morning Herald Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Free weekly forecast in life, love and career from renowned astrologer, Hedy Damari....

3+ week, 15+ hour ago (1016+ words) Susan Gerbic is a leading American sceptic who, with her partner, coined the famous phrase "grief vampires" to describe those like John Edward of Crossing Over fame " currently on a 13-show tour through Australia " who charge money to "talk to dead people". No, really, he does. Fitz: Thank you for your time, Ms Gerbic. Tell me, please, about you and your partner inventing the phrase "grief vampires"? SG: It started out for legal reasons, because calling them "grief vampires" rather than "frauds" or "con artists", meant we were less likely to get sued. Fitz: For the record, I have called John Edward a fraud and publicly challenged him to sue me, but so far, no writ. But, go on. How would you characterise a grief vampire? Susan Gerbic: "I would characterise him as a classic grief vampire, because he knows…...