Evangelists claim 'Noah's Ark' discovery on Turkish mountain

A group of Chinese and Turkish evangelical explorers said Monday they believe they may have found Noah's Ark -- four thousand metres up a mountain in Turkey.

The team say they recovered wooden specimens from a structure on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey that carbon dating proved was 4,800 years old, around the same time the ark is said to have been afloat.
"It's not 100 percent that it is Noah's Ark but we think it is 99.9 percent that this is it," Yeung Wing-cheung, a Hong Kong documentary filmmaker and member of the 15-strong team from Noah's Ark Ministries International told AFP.

The structure had several compartments, some with wooden beams, which were believed to house animals, he said.

The group of evangelical archaeologists ruled out an established human settlement on the grounds that one had never been found above 3,500 metres in the vicinity, Yeung said.

Local Turkish officials will ask the central government in Ankara to apply for UNESCO World Heritage status so the site can be protected while a major archaeological dig is conducted, Yeung added.
The biblical story says God decided to flood the earth after seeing how corrupt it had become, and told Noah to build an ark and fill it with two of every animal species.

After the flood waters receded, the Bible says, the ark came to rest on a mountain. Many believe that Mount Ararat, the highest point in the region, is where the ark and her inhabitants came aground.

Source: AFP

Noah's Ark: Christian Explorers Claim Noah's Ark Discovered in Turkey

This story doesn't pass my smell test, but it's certainly making religion headlines: a Chinese-Turkish group of Christian explorers from Noah's Ark Ministries International claims to have found the remains of Noah's Ark on Turkey's Mt. Ararat.

According to Abrahamic tradition, the massive wooden ship ferried Noah's family and pairs of all the animal species to safety during the great flood, which biblical scholars estimate occurred more than 4,000 years ago. (Deluge myths are found in many other religions, which some historians believe references the end of the last ice age.)

Catholic News Agency, Fox News, and The Daily Mail are among the outlets staying on top of this story. Beliefnet blogger Ben Witherington is also on the case, noting that he's heard it all before.

President Barack Obama and Evangelist Billy Graham share a prayer.

By PHILIP ELLIOTT and MIKE BAKER


President Barack Obama made a pilgrimage Sunday to Billy Graham's mountainside home, concluding his North Carolina vacation with his first meeting with the ailing evangelist who has counseled commanders in chief since Dwight Eisenhower.

The 48-year-old president made the short drive to Montreat from Asheville, where he spent the weekend, to see the 91-year-old Graham and son Franklin, also an evangelist.

During the visit, which lasted about 30 minutes and included aides and advisers to both men, Obama had a private prayer and conversation with Billy Graham. The evangelist gave Obama two Bibles, one for him and one for the first lady, Graham spokesman Larry Ross said.

Obama was "extraordinarily gratified that he took the time to meet with him," White House spokesman Bill Burton said.

Franklin Graham said his father and Obama did most of the talking. They reminisced about their roots in Chicago -- Graham went to Wheaton College and began some of his ministry in the region; Obama moved to Chicago after college and began his political career there. And they talked about golf.

"The conversation was very cordial, very nice," the younger Graham said. "When the president got ready to leave, the president prayed for my father, my father prayed for him."

Graham said his father prayed for the nation and that God would give Obama wisdom in his decisions. The president prayed to thank God for Billy Graham's life, Franklin Graham said.

Obama confided, like other presidents before him, how lonely, demanding and humbling the presidency can be, Ross said.

"That is a discussion that Mr. Graham has had with previous presidents who realize not only the demands but the loneliness of the job. And they're humbled by that," Ross said. "The only way one can do (the job) properly is to draw on spiritual resources."

Billy Graham has been ailing for years, yet his son said the frail evangelist appeared as strong as ever during the conversation with Obama.

"It's like my father rises to the occasion," he said.

Afterward, Obama departed for a memorial service in West Virginia for the 29 coal miners killed in an explosion on April 5.

When Obama last spoke with Billy Graham, in a telephone call in November on Graham's birthday, they said they would try to get together as soon as possible, Burton said.

"The president wanted to meet with Rev. Graham for a while," Burton told reporters who were kept outside the Graham compound gate. "They were going to meet during the campaign when he was here for debate prep."

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Benny Hinn files for divorce

The wife of televangelist Benny Hinn has filed for divorce from the high-profile pastor, whose reputation as an advocate of prosperity gospel has attracted millions of followers and criticism from lawmakers and watchdog groups over his lavish lifestyle.

Suzanne Hinn filed the papers in Orange County Superior Court on Feb. 1, citing irreconcilable differences, after more than 30 years of marriage. The papers note the two separated on Jan. 26 and that Hinn has been living in Dana Point, a wealthy coastal community in southern Orange County.

"Pastor Benny Hinn and his immediate family were shocked and saddened to learn of this news without any previous notice," Benny Hinn Ministries said Thursday in a statement. "Although Pastor Hinn has faithfully endeavored to bring healing to their relationship, those efforts failed and were met with the petition for divorce that was filed without notice."

Hinn is one of the best known advocates of the prosperity gospel, which teaches that Christians who are right with God will be rewarded with wealth and health in this lifetime.

His TV broadcasts on the Trinity Broadcast Network, a Pentecostal broadcasting juggernaut, and other TV networks are seen by millions of people around the world nearly every day. He travels the globe in his ministry's plane, named Dove One, holding events he calls "Miracle Crusades" that include spiritual healings.

Hinn has never fully publicly disclosed how he spends the money he raises, but his vast ministry is believed to be a multimillion-dollar operation. There was no mention of finances in the court filing, which listed three recent Southern California addresses for the family.

Over the years, Hinn has been the target of intense criticism from fellow Christians and watchdog groups who call his teachings false and accuse him of raising money only to enrich himself.

He is one of six televangelists under investigation by Sen. Charles Grassley, the Iowa Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, over whether he complied with IRS rules for nonprofits. Hinn has said on his Web site that external auditors ensure his compliance with IRS regulations and that in 2008, 88 percent of the money he collected was spent on ministry.

Benny Hinn Ministries is based in Grapevine, Texas, and operates a church and television studio in Aliso Viejo in California's Orange County, according to its Web site.

Sorrell Trope, the attorney with the law firm representing Suzanne Hinn, did not return a call for comment. A woman at his office said the firm does not comment on divorce filings without the client's approval.

By GILLIAN FLACCUS (AP)

Prayers Of Confession

Gracious God, our sins are too heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive what our lips tremble to name, what our hearts can no longer bear, and what has become for us a consuming fire of judgment. Set us free from a past that we cannot change; open to us future in which we can be changed; and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image, through Jesus Christ, the light of world. Hear us now as we confess our own sin in silence. Amen.

By Jonathan Bruce (01/3/2010)