Taylor Swift towers over the top 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Dec. 9), as she holds a whopping five titles in the region. She is the first living act to have five albums concurrently in the top 10 since the Billboard 200 was combined from its previously separate mono and stereo album charts into one all-encompassing list in August of 1963. Caulfield, Billboard)
Read MoreCalifornia has more megachurches than any other state, so the nature of the congregation wouldn’t provide the tip-off. Rows of pickup trucks in the large parking lot might be a tell, but the percentage of Texans who drive trucks is actually around the national average. Even if the Californian began asking for political opinions, she’d still have trouble proving she was in Texas. (Herrera, Los Angeles Times)
Read MoreDuring the pandemic, churches experienced a sea change as their in-person ministries shifted online—in many cases for the first time. Now those same churches are back to meeting in person, incorporating what they learned during the lockdown, and discussing what a new hybrid physical-digital or “phygital” model of church might look like. (Sprowl, Outreach Magazin
Read MoreHe hails from the Alpine towns of central Europe, and wears a red cloak trimmed with white fur, like Santa Claus. But underneath those robes is the body of a hairy, horned goat-like monster, with spindly, sharp fingernails and a long, creepy, Gene Simmons-esque tongue. (Judkis, The Washington Post)
Read MoreAt least four people were killed and dozens of others injured on Sunday in an explosion at a Roman Catholic Mass inside a university gymnasium in the southern Philippine city of Marawi, officials said. The Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack in its Telegram channel. (GutierrezThe New York Times)
Read MoreThey believe that no blood should be spilled except as God authorized for the atonement of sins, as illustrated in the practice of animal sacrifice in ancient Judaism. They also point to numerous parts of the Bible that talk about not eating blood or about abstaining from blood, which they liken to transfusions. They also believe only the blood of Jesus Christ can redeem them or save their lives. (Villalpando, USA Today)
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