Who will get into heaven?

"I think it's innate in the human animal to pray. It may not be a scripted prayer from organized religion, but 'Oh, God, help me!' is the inevitable response to an overwhelming situation."

Still, Tickle sees problems in Baylor's survey because its questions rely on Christian terms such as "heaven" and "salvation" in a multi-faith society. "Heaven is not the only point," Tickle says. "We may not share the same idea of where a religious path leads."

Well, I say God is The Boss.
And really, just roam the fields, and that's the best time to really have a good chat with the Boss.

In the fields, near the water, in the hills, or wherever you can get away from the people. Get away from the madness, the talking, the noise, the distractions. And when you're on your own there, then that's when you find God. In the Peace.

God is the Peace.

Churches are too loud for me, and distracting. Too much weird songs that are so old and not very nice for me to hear really.
I like my own music, not those old songs.

I don't know, I say roam the fields and go chat with God, 1 on 1. That's what I say.



Calif. wildfire could threaten park

CASTAIC, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters were battling a fast-moving wildfire that has scorched nearly 26 square miles and threatened to jump Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles and march into the Angeles National Forest.
The fire, which started on Labor Day in a remote area in the Los Padres National Forest, has burned 16,474 acres and was 25% contained late Monday. It was sparked by someone burning debris in forest land, U.S. Forest Service investigators said.

The blaze scorched mostly chaparral and brushy hillsides over the last week, but rapidly spread east Monday afternoon due to hot, dry and windy weather. Authorities temporarily shut down a stretch of the highway, but reopened some lanes by early Tuesday.

Firefighters were setting backfires to keep the fire from jumping the freeway. They were able to contain several small spot fires that occurred east of the freeway.

"The fire is on the west side of I-5, and we are trying to keep it there," said Kathy Good, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman. "If the flames jump, there is a lot of open country" where it could burn.

Experts downplay Fla. earthquake fears

TAMPA, Fla. - Floridians can go back to worrying about hurricanes.

Scientists said Sunday's magnitude 6.0 earthquake that rattled windows from southwest Florida to Louisiana was rare, and a seismic jolt powerful enough to do damage or unleash a tsunami on the U.S. Gulf Coast is unlikely.

Bermuda dodges Florence with no injuries

HAMILTON, Bermuda - Thousands of Bermudians were still without power Tuesday in the wake of Hurricane Florence, which knocked down utility poles and damaged roofs but caused far less damage than feared.

The storm, which caused no major injuries, damaged about 10 homes and garages in the wealthy British island territory before it headed north over the open Atlantic Ocean, said Deputy Governor Nick Carter. A few people were hurt by broken glass but none required hospitalization, he said.

"It's too early to estimate insured losses on the storm but I would guess it's pretty light," Carter said. "The major issue was the downing of the power cables."

At one point during the storm, the power was out to more than half the small island chain, which has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and enforces strict building codes to ensure that homes can withstand intense weather.

Tropical Storm Gordon over open Atlantic

Gordon, which grew to named storm status Monday, had top sustained wind of about 60 mph and could strengthen into a hurricane as early as Wednesday, the hurricane center said.

At 11 a.m., the seventh named storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season was centered about 490 miles north-northeast of the Leeward Islands, or 1,400 miles east of Miami, and was moving northwest at about 9 mph, forecasters said. It was expected to gradually turn toward the north and remain over open water away from Bermuda, forecasters said.

"At this point it looks like it will recurve out into the Atlantic," said Jamie Rhome, a hurricane specialist. "However, people should be reminded that we are at the peak of hurricane season and they should be updated on hurricane supplies and have a hurricane plan."

Millions of Afghans face hunger as crops fail

Millions of Afghans are facing hunger after a complete failure of the harvest in parts of the country, according to an emergency Christian Aid assessment.

The field survey in 66 villages in the west and northwest of the country has revealed that in the worst affected areas, farmers have lost 100 per cent of their crops, after a failure of the main rains last winter and spring.

People are already going hungry, while farmers and agricultural labourers are migrating out of drought-affected areas in search of work. Livestock farmers are either selling their animals or moving them to areas with pasture and water, which is exacerbating existing food shortages. Children, pregnant women, landless families and the elderly are the groups whose health is most at risk, according to the assessment.

'People are not dying of starvation yet, but it is very obvious that a great deal of help is needed or the situation will become very serious within a few months,' said Sultan Maqsood Fazel, Christian Aid's advocacy officer in Afghanistan. 'Meat is scarce in some areas and people are telling us that their food supplies will not last much longer.'

'There is a shortage of water in rivers and wells and the rapidly falling water tables have resulted in an acute shortage of drinking water and water for irrigating farmland,' said Dr Ahmad Zia Shams, programme manager in Herat for Christian Aid partner organisation Agency for Humanitarian and Development Assistance in Afghanistan (AHDAA), which builds irrigation systems and provides drinking water.

Washington wildfire threatens rural community

STEHEKIN, Wash. - Firefighters cut trees and vegetation Tuesday to try slowing the growth of an 11-square-mile wildfire that has chased summer tourists from this rural, mountainous region.

The fire, which has been burning for nearly seven weeks, has threatened a National Park Service visitor center, a post office and several other buildings.

The approximately 60 residents who live in the area, which is accessible only by boat or float plane, have refused to leave. Authorities ordered a mandatory evacuation of the boat landing and about 25 homes, largely summer rentals, sending about 100 tourists away.

The fire, which was burning 7,576 acres or nearly 12 square miles, was holding in an area called Imus Creek, but fire managers were concerned that southeast winds could blow the blaze toward the road Tuesday, said Barbara Budd, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman.

Elsewhere in the West, firefighters continued to combat a wildfire season that has stretched toward autumn.

In California, crews fought a fast-moving wildfire in the Los Padres National Forest that scorched more than 30 square miles and shut down Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles, the main artery to Northern and Central California. The 30-square-mile blaze was 25 percent contained by Tuesday.

The fire, which U.S. Forest Service investigators said was sparked by someone burning debris, scorched mostly chaparral and brushy hillsides over the last week, but rapidly spread east Monday afternoon because of hot, dry and windy weather.

The National Intragency Fire Center reports that 8.65 million acres have burned so far across the country this year. The blackened 13,521 square miles represents an area bigger than Maryland.

U.S. Embassy attacked in Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria - Armed Islamic militants attempted to storm the U.S. Embassy in a brazen attack Tuesday, the government said. Four people were killed, including three of the assailants. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but an al-Qaida offshoot group was suspected, Syria's ambassador to the United States said.

Blast kills 7 in Turkey's Kurdish region

(CNN) -- A bomb blast in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir has killed seven people and injured 17, two of them seriously, officials said.

Five of the seven killed were children, police said.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the blast, according to the press office of the city's governor.

Turkish authorities said blast was caused by a bomb made from powerful explosives and was set off by a cell phone timer, The Associated Press reports.

At least 51 killed in stampede in Yemen

SAN`A, Yemen (AP) -- A stampede broke out Tuesday in a stadium packed with thousands of people for an election campaign rally for Yemen's president, killing at least 51 people and injuring more than 200, including youths bused in for the event.

The tragedy came as President Ali Abdullah Saleh -- in power for nearly 30 years -- is campaigning in the oil-rich nation's first competitive presidential elections, set for September 20, against a single rival who has drawn tens of thousands to his rallies.

The president has been eager to show he has broad popular support -- even announcing last year that he would not run for re-election, then reversing himself, citing appeals from the public for him to stay.

Saleh, who has allied himself with the U.S. in the war on terror, offered condolences to the families of the victims of the stampede, which occurred at a rally where he was speaking in the town of Ibb, 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of the capital, San`a.

"The spontaneous scramble of Yemeni people who rushed out with huge crowds to take part in the electoral rally is a clear evidence that Yemenis are lovers of democracy," he was quoted as saying by the Yemeni official news agency.

I just think that's a seriously inappropriate response to so many people being trampled. Just that they love democracy? That's messed up, if you ask me.