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=== [[Urgent Messages|Urgent Message]] ===

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The word ''[[Bible]]'' comes from the Greek word for book and has come to be used to refer to the complete collection of documents acknowledged by [[Christian|Christians]] to be inspired by [[God]]. Inspired by God means literally, "God breathed" - the actual words of God.

Read more on the Bible in the [[Bible|Bible contents page]]

<h3>[[King James Version of the Bible]]</h3>

The '''King James Version (KJV)''' is an English translation of the [[Bible|Holy Bible]], commissioned for the benefit of the [[Anglican church|Church of England]] at the behest of King James I of England. First published in 1611, it has had a profound impact on not only most English translations that have followed it, but also on English literature as a whole. The works of famous authors such as [[John Bunyan]], John Milton, Herman Melville, John Dryden and William Wordsworth are replete with inspiration apparently derived from the King James Version.

<h3>[[Christian Classics Wiki Library]]</h3>

There are more than 31,000 files in the Believerscafe's collection of [http://www.believerscafe.com/modules.php?name=Christian_Classics Christian Classics.] Some of great Classic works include [[The Confessions of St. Augustine]], [[Pilgrim's Progress]] by John Bunyan, Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards, Autobiography of George Fox, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life by William Law and The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. If you like editing in the [[wiki]], please join us in building the Public Domain Christian Classics in the wiki environment.

==Featured Project==

<h3>[[Easton's Bible Dictionary]]</h3>

Easton's Bible Dictionary contains almost 4,000 Bible words with a complete explanation of its Biblical meaning. We are enhancing the popular Public Domain Easton's Bible Dictionary in the wiki environment. This is an ongoing project with contributions from users like you. You can play an important part by posting the text from [http://www.believerscafe.com/ebd2.html Believerscafe Easton's Bible Dictionary] and improve it by wiki linking, additional comments, information and external links. Please join us in building an open source Christian dictionary based on the public domain [[Easton's Bible Dictionary]] now!

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==Featured Article==

[[A Biography of Saint Peter]]... Peter the Apostle has been looked to throughout church history as a model. The Roman Catholic church has claimed St. Peter as the first Bishop of Rome, thereby lending legitimacy to the modern day papacy. Peter is widely considered to have been among the "inner circle" of Jesus' disciples (ex. Mark 5.12). He is the central figure in much of the first twelve chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. Two epistles bear his name and some scholars argue that he was the source material that allowed Mark to write his Gospel. Many apocryphal books deal with his preaching and deeds, and church tradition has a well developed story of his martyrdom. But, amidst all of this the question must be raised, who was Peter?

Recent featured articles: [[One solitary life]]; [[Becoming a Christian]]

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==Current issues in the church and news==

*'''[[Current issues|Current issues in the church contents page]]'''

We are deeply saddened by the Earth Quake and the Tsunami in Asia! The death toll appears to have exceeded 150,000 people in 12 countries from Malaysia to Somalia. What a horror it left to so many thousands of people who did not have the slightest clue of what is going to happen just a few days ago! As Christians, let us show that we care and that our hearts go out to those that have lost their loved ones!

==Christian history, doctrine and the world's religions==

*'''[[Church history and denominations|Church history and denominations contents page]]'''

==Christianity Today==

As of 2004, [[Christianity]] is the world's most widely practiced religion, with 2 billion adherents (followed by [[Islam]] with 1.3 billion, Hinduism with 841 million, and the nonreligious with 774 million). Christianity has many branches, including 1.1 billion [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholics]], 367 million [[Protestant churches|Protestants]] in a number of traditions, 216 million [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Orthodox]], 84 million [[Anglican church|Anglicans]], 414 million Independents (unaffiliated with the major streams of Christianity), and 31.7 million "marginal" groups ([[Jehovah's Witnesses]], Latter Day Saints ([[Mormonism|Mormon]]s), etc.), these last being denominations which describe themselves as Christian but are not standardly recognized as such by other denominations.

Although Christianity is the largest religion in the world and there are massive missionary efforts under way, as a whole it is declining in terms of the overall population. While the population of the world grows at roughly 1.25% per year, [[The essence of Christianity|Christianity]] is growing at about 1.12% per year. By contrast, [[Islam]] is growing at 1.76% per year. The slow growth can be attributed to most of the Christian population residing in affluent nations where the birth rate is quite low. By contrast, Islamic nations have a higher birth rate and by effect have a larger growth percentage.