Bob Thiel's Blog, page 1122

Pope Francis visits Jewish synagogue as part of his interfaith agenda

Tempio Maggiore di Roma (photo by Livioandronico2013) COGwriter Pope Francis became the third pontiff to visit a Jewish synagogue today: January 17, 2016 Pope Francis made his first visit to a synagogue as pope on Sunday, greeting Rome’s Jewish community in their house of worship in a show of inter-faith friendship. Francis joined a standing [...]

Iran pleased that sanctions have ended–so what is next for Iran?

Hassan Rouhani COGwriter Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says Iran has entered a “new chapter” as certain sanctions have been lifted: January 17, 2016 STATE DEPARTMENT—Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic republic has entered a “new chapter” in its history in a speech Sunday praising the end of international sanctions imposed over Iran’s nuclear activities. [...]

BibleNewsProphecy: Crowdsourcing and Artificial Intelligence to solve “wicked problems”?

COGwriter The Continuing Church of God is pleased to announce the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel: 17:29 Crowdsourcing and Artificial Intelligence to solve “wicked problems”? In 2016, the journal Science published a paper that claims that crowdsourcing and artificial intelligence was the best way to deal with complex “wicked problems” like [...]

Mein Kampf sells out

Dust jacket of Adolf Hitler’s famous book COGwriter Now that the sale of Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf has resumed, it has already sold out: January 16, 2016 For the first time since World War II, a new edition of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf has been published in Germany, and it’s proving even more popular [...]

Opposition party claims victory in Taiwan election–has Armageddon been forestalled?

Tapei, Taiwan COGwriter The Taiwanese have sent a two-part message to the People’s Republic of China: January 16, 2016 TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Pro-independence party candidate Tsai Ing-wen claimed victory in Taiwan’s presidential election late Saturday, defeating the China-friendly party that has led the self-governing island for eight years and soon to become its first [...]

Sermon: Will Jesus Christ be called the Antichrist?

COGwriter The Continuing Church of God is pleased to announce this sermon from its ContinuingCOG channel: 1:17:41 Will Jesus Christ be called the Antichrist? Will you really be able to recognize Jesus when He returns. The Bible says that the nations of the world will be angry when He comes back. Have there been writings [...]

30th anniversary of the death of Herbert W. Armstrong: Who holds to the Philadelphian teachings?

COGwriter Hebert W. Armstrong died on January 16, 1986, at age 93 1/2. Many never heard of him, but multiple millions did. His death seemed to mark the end of the predominance of the Philadelphia era of the Church of God and the predominance of the Laodicean era instead and many Laodicean groups formed since [...]

Lutherans and Roman Catholics compose prayer for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation

Wittenberg Church Door Where Martin Luther Attached His 95 Theses COGwriter Many Lutherans are working with the Vatican to celebrate the event that led to their separation as an opportunity for reconciliation: January 14, 2016 The Lutheran World Federation and the ecumenical arm of the Holy See are inviting Catholics and Lutherans worldwide to make [...]

3-man Republican race? 3 ‘time-bomb issues’ both party’s candidates ignore?

Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz COGwriter There was yet another Republican presidential debate last night: January 15, 2016 Three-man race? “There were three winners of this debate: Rubio, Trump and Cruz,” said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist and former campaign advisor for Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. The debate did not do [...]

Do you take seriously the warnings of the prophet Habakkuk?

Statue Intended to be Habakkuk by Donatello (15th century) COGwriter Habakkuk was a Hebrew prophet. Some observe a memorial to him on January 15th.  He had messages for the 21st century. The Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906 reports this about him: HABAKKUK (; LXX. Ἀμβακούμ; Vulgate, “Habacuc”): Prophet; author of the eighth in the collection of [...]