Catholic Leaders to Use Internet Against Pedophiles

"Roman Catholic Church leaders unveiled an Internet teaching project on Thursday to help clergy around the world root out pedophiles in their ranks and protect children from potential abusers."

Steve Jobs: The Secular Prophet

"Steve Jobs was extraordinary in countless ways—as a designer, an innovator, a (demanding and occasionally ruthless) leader. But his most singular quality was his ability to articulate a perfectly secular form of hope."

Volunteers Wanted to Transcribe Texts in Search of 'Lost Gospels'

"Thousands of volunteers are needed to help transcribe two million segments of ancient Greek writings in a bid to find the next 'lost gospel,' researchers at the University of Oxford said. Some 200,000 segments of the ancient papyri, found in Egypt, were uploaded to the website www.ancientlives.org -- and now volunteers are needed to transcribe the Greek letters using character-recognition tools."

Special Software For Analyzing the Biblical Text

"The new software analyzes style and word choices to distinguish parts of a single text written by different authors, and when applied to the Bible its algorithm teased out distinct writerly voices in the holy book."

Despite Horses and Buggies, Amish Aren't Necessarily 'Low-Tech'

"Brende, author of the book Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology, says the Amish do use technology frequently. They just consider gadgets on a case-by-case basis."

Tajik Muslims to Ban Text Message Divorces

"Tajik religious authorities say divorce by text message will soon be banned, as they seek to stamp out the practice in the mainly Muslim Central Asian nation."

Google Earth Reveals Lost Tombs in Saudi Arabian Desert

"Satellite images available via the Web-based 3-D map program show that large portions of the country hold a wealth of archaeological remains that predate Islam and may be several thousand years old."

U.S. Catholic Church Blesses iPhone App for Confession

"The U.S. Catholic Church has apparently given its blessing to an iPhone app aimed at helping Catholics with confession, Reuters reports."

More Church Websites Invite Posting of Prayers

"More than four in 10 Protestant churches with websites now invite people to post pleas to the Lord right on the main church website."

Oklahoma Church's Popular Bible App Takes Faith to Phones

"The world's most popular Bible program for mobile phones was developed by an Oklahoma church."

Bible App Hits 10 Million Downloads

"Tuesday the church announced more than ten million smartphone users worldwide have downloaded its free Bible application. LifeChurch hopes by having a copy handy, people will be more likely to read scripture. The app, which is based on the church-funded website, YouVersion.com, launched in July of 2008."

Protecting Churches from Porn

"Leaders must be aware of how church-owned equipment is used, not only to help protect the moral and spiritual well-being of pastors and staff, but also to minimize the potential for a sexual misconduct claim. Here are five precautions that can help protect church leaders using church-owned equipment."

Lost Bible-Era Languages to Be Resurrected by Computers?

"A new computer program has quickly deciphered a written language last used in Biblical times—possibly opening the door to 'resurrecting' ancient texts that are no longer understood, scientists announced last week."

2.5 Million Muslims Threatening to Leave Facebook

"The group, apparently fueled by Facebook-clone Madina.com, are outraged at the removal of several very popular Islamic pages from Facebook.com, purges the group reportedly claim took place after the outcry over Draw Mohammed Day."

'Virtual Preaching' Transforms Sunday Sermons

". . .a new generation of pastors who can be in two places at one time. They are using technology -- high-def videos, and even holograms -- to beam their Sunday morning sermons to remote 'satellite' churches that belong to their congregation."

Are Social Media Changing Religion?

"The boundary between private and public information is becoming murkier every day, a blurring that is perhaps inevitable in the world of online surfing and social networking. But how about religious communities? The boundaries are shifting there as well, because of a growing emphasis in congregations on honest and open sharing in small groups."

Millennials Increasingly Find Their Religion Online

"Young people are defining their own spiritual paths, says Rebecca Phillips, vice president of social networking for Beliefnet.com. 'Young people are not necessarily doing the same thing religion-wise that their parents did, and they're developing their own unique brands of spirituality,' she says. It seems to affirm a Lifeway Christian Resources study showing that 72 percent of Millennials, the generation between 18 and 30 years old, say they are more spiritual than religious. Fewer of them attend worship services, pray or read sacred scriptures."

Church Recruits Young Priests Via Facebook

"On Facebook, Humblot discovered a forum dedicated to people who, like him, are considering the priesthood. The page was part of a campaign, launched by the Catholic Church this month, to attract young people to the priesthood following decades of dwindling ordainments — and amid waves of sexual abuse allegations that have darkened the reputation of the Catholic priest."

Where Did Anne Frank Live? Take a Virtual Tour

"Now, 50 years after the opening of the Anne Frank House museum, which has more than 1 million visitors every year, the museum is launching an online virtual tour of what life was like at the back of 263 Prinsengracht in Amsterdam."

Location of Denominations/Religions by Searches

"From FloatingSheep.com, this is the Christianity Map that maps the volume of searches related to the different branches of Christianity across the globe. The great cartographers from Floating Sheep published three maps showing the world, the U.S. and Europe."