The Church of England Newspaper ran this story about the lack of Scripture reading in evangelical churches; here is an excerpt:

The hidden Bible – Mark Ireland asks why evangelists [sic; Evangelicals] are neglecting the Bible

By Mark Ireland

Have you ever noticed how the churches where you are least likely to hear the Bible being read are evangelical ones? One of the strange rules of thumb I’ve discovered, visiting many churches in my role as a diocesan missioner, is that the more evangelical the church is, the fewer verses of the Bible you are likely to hear read in worship. When I go to a church in the central or liberal tradition, I will always encounter two Bible readings. When I go to one of the catholic parishes in the diocese, I will usually hear four pieces of Scripture read – Old Testament, Psalm, New Testament and Gospel – with the words printed out on the service sheet for the people to follow. However, when I visit an evangelical parish, I will usually hear only one passage of the Bible.
…

This observation is also borne out in my own experience. In many evangelical churches you are bound to hear more popular psychology with a Christian veneer from the pulpit than Scripture. The root of this is more than likely the desire to be relevant. Of course, does this suggest that the Bible is not relevant? Or that the Bible can’t be preached in such a way that would be accessible and relevant? Considering the high view of Scripture held by evangelicals, this is somewhat ironic. (What’s even more ironic is that many so-called “Bible Study” groups don’t actually study the Bible, but some Christian self-help book instead.)

Don’t get me wrong; I am an evangelical and I believe the church has to communicate the gospel in an effective way. I just don’t think neglecting the Bible is the best way to do this, IMHO.

Here are some recent bits of news that I found mildly interesting:

• The media magnate, TravelVideoTV has a popular summary of recent archaeological discoveries in Israel here. Methinks they are trying to drum up some travel business.
• Pierce Brosnan Out As James Bond, 007. That’s too bad; I think he was my favourite Bond since Sean Connery.
• Ancient Treasure Unearthed in Bulgaria. Archaeologists have unearthed about 15,000 tiny golden pieces that date back to the end of the third millennium B.C. — a find they said Wednesday matches the famous treasure of Troy.
• Fisherman dies chasing fish that stole his pole. An amusing headline for a sad story.
• Pope forgets to bless pilgrims. I guess everyone forgets things sometimes.

My agnostic brother (or is it atheist?) sent me this tongue-in-cheek write up from The Onion; here is an excerpt:

Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New “Intelligent Falling” Theory

KANSAS CITY, KS—As the debate over the teaching of evolution in public schools continues, a new controversy over the science curriculum arose Monday in this embattled Midwestern state. Scientists from the Evangelical Center For Faith-Based Reasoning are now asserting that the long-held “theory of gravity” is flawed, and they have responded to it with a new theory of Intelligent Falling.

“Things fall not because they are acted upon by some gravitational force, but because a higher intelligence, ‘God’ if you will, is pushing them down,” said Gabriel Burdett, who holds degrees in education, applied Scripture, and physics from Oral Roberts University.
…

Now, for the record, I am agnostic on the issue of intelligint design. I am no scientist. That being said, I do believe that to read the Scriptures as scientific is to mis-read them. While this would preclude most forms of young earth creationism, it leaves open the possibility for intelligent design, theistic evolution, evolutionary creation, or other non-concordist theories — and I’ll let the scientists debate the plausibility of each of these options.