The Big Bang was an act of God, with divine will bringing the universe into being, Pope Benedict XVI told a gathering of Catholics at the Vatican. The pope has worked to integrate modern scientific theories into religious teaching, saying that God is responsible for evolution and that the Bible story of the world's creation in six days is an allegory.

Reaction to Benedict's comments have been mixed. An MSNBC poll showed 40.7 percent of respondents agreeing that "there is no God and the Big Bang was probably responsible for all creation." Nearly 30 percent responded, "I agree with the pope. If there was a Big Bang, it was God's work." Read entire article.

Dear Mike,

I appreciate the fact that you do not bend the truth but present it in a straight-forward and clear manner. But even when you or other biblically minded believers write or talk in plain, simple language, there will always be a "that's your interpretation", or "you're not a theologian", or "you know nothing about the Catholic religion" and other such comments. I direct people to "read" the scriptures themselves and point out that the Latin Vulgate is considered to be a good translation. The trouble is people are afraid of what they might find out if they read it. In addition, too many are "lazy" when it comes to reading or studying God's Word. Oh, they will read books on Shakespeare, Physics, Mathematics or the sciences in preparation for their career, but to read the Bible to prepare for Eternity, they have no time. Then one day, like the rich man in Luke 16, they will realize it's too late, but beg someone to go tell their family. That is precisely what we are trying to do for them now. It is very sad that people who have excellent hearing, eyesight and minds are spiritually deaf and blind.  D.K., Pittsburg, CA

The Lord Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; Depart from Me, You who practice lawlessness'" (Mat. 7:21-23). These are the most terrifying words a professing Christian could ever hear as they stand before the Lord Jesus on judgment day.

The reason these words are so terrifying is because there will be no second chance, no excuses and no rebuttal. "It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). This message is an exhortation for every professing Christian to examine themselves to make sure their faith is genuine (2 Corinthians 13:5). The only way we can be sure that we are not victims of distorted gospels or unbiblical methods of evangelism is to test our faith with the infallible Word of God. Click

It is always encouraging when we receive phone calls from around the nation from lost souls who have been given our Gospel tracts. It shows that our subscribers are sowing the seeds of God's imperishable Word and being obedient to the Great Commission. Many of the calls we receive are full of venom such as this one we received this week from an anonymous caller in Pensacola, Florida.  "Why don't you proclaim the Gospel to someone that doesn't believe in God and quit attacking Catholics. Evidently you don't even know about the Catholic religion from your little pamphlet that was left on my car in Florida. As far as I'm concerned you're hypocrites! Go find people that don't believe in God and are out killing people and stealing and everything else; not the Catholic religion. You don't have any idea what you are talking about. You don't even know about the Catholic religion. So don't be passing out books at Catholic Churches and stuff like that. You need to be saved!" Seeing her phone number on caller ID, I called her back to ask her how I could be saved according to her Catholic religion. She responded with, "I am not going to get into that with you, leave us alone!" It is truly heartbreaking to see how Satan uses religious pride to blind people from the light of the Gospel. Click

More than eight years after U.S. Roman Catholic bishops vowed swift action to keep potential abusers from young people, the Philadelphia archdiocese has suspended 21 priests named as suspected child molesters in a scathing grand jury report.

The suspensions came on the eve of Lent, the Catholic period for penance. The priests, whose names haven't been released, have been removed from ministry while their cases are reviewed, Cardinal Justin Rigali said. "These have been difficult weeks since the release of the grand jury report, difficult most of all for victims of sexual abuse but also for all Catholics and for everyone in our community."

The grand jury last month named 37 priests who remained in active ministry despite credible allegations of sexual abuse. After the release of the report, the second such investigation in the city in six years, Rigali vowed to take its calls for further reforms seriously. "I know that for many people their trust in the church has been shaken," Rigali stated. "I pray that the efforts of the archdiocese to address these cases of concern and to re-evaluate our way of handling allegations will help rebuild that trust."

In 2005, a grand jury said that there was evidence of abuse by at least 63 priests and that church officials had transferred offenders to other parishes and dioceses. While the archdiocese then formed a panel to handle abuse complaints, the 2011 grand jury found it mostly worked to protect the church, not the victims. Rigali and his aides want to protect "themselves, their secrets and their staff instead of their flock." Click