Have You Seen CNN's Belief Blog?

If you're a fan of CNN you'll love this: They've recently released a "Belief Blog." Here's a video they produced that explains this brand new feature from CNN:

Can't Get An Audience With The Pope? There's Always YouTube

It's official. A higher power must be smiling down upon YouTube. If you haven't heard by now-it's been practically all over the news, recently-the Pope has his own channel on YouTube. This means that the Vatican will now be using the popular video sharing site to keep the public informed about the Pontiff's activities, deliver Vatican-related news, etc. See: Pope launches YouTube channel (via CNN) if you're interested in learning more.

So, what do you think about the Vatican's decision to launch a channel on YouTube? Personally, I like the idea of a venerable institution like the Catholic Church embracing cutting edge technology to get their message across. What about you? Sound off in the comments section!

The Pope Arrives On Your Desktop Too

Now that the Pope has arrived in the United States, you no doubt have seen plenty of news coverage about the event on television and in newspapers-but don't discount the Web as a valuable resource on this historic event.

Among the sites covering the Holy Father's visit, the one you especially don't want to miss is uspapalvisit.org. This Web site was created by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, specifically to commemorate Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the U.S.

Some highlights include:

• News features regarding the Papal visit

• The USCCB's Papal Visit Blog

• The Pope's Itinerary

• Live streaming video

Check the site often during the Pope's stay-it should be updated frequently!

Can't Make It To Church? Attend Online

If you attend church on a regular basis, you probably feel terrible when you have to skip it due to illness or inclement weather. But, if you think your only option is to watch religious services on TV to make up for it, think again-many churches are now broadcasting video of their religious services right over the Web!

To watch religious services online, check out these sites:

• Online Churches - Live Web Casts - a directory of links to Christian Web sites that offer online church services.

• TheMass.com - Watch the Catholic Mass daily courtesy of St. Ann's Basilica in Scranton, PA.

If you can't attend religious services in person this week, it's comforting to know you can attend virtually, thanks to the Web!

Make A Virtual Pilgrimage To The Holy See

Have you ever dreamed about taking a trip to The Holy See and exploring the world renowned museums of the Vatican? Well, till you can get there in person, visiting the official Web site of The Holy See and exploring the Vatican Museums Online is the next best thing!

Be sure to take the virtual tours which include tools that allow 360 degree views of some the rooms in the museums and even let you zoom in for a closer look at the sculptures, frescoes and other works of art housed there-you'll feel like you're practically at these famous museums.

Notable virtual tours include:

• Gregorian Etruscan Museum
• Sistine Chapel
• Raphael's Rooms

Whether you're looking to feed a spiritual hunger, satisfy your passion for fine art or please the history buff in you, a visit to The Vatican Museums Online on the Web site of The Holy See, will be worth your time!

Listen To The Bible Online

Sit back, relax and imagine that you could have a Shakespearean-trained actor read the Bible aloud to you anytime you want. Now go to Audio Bible Online and make it a reality! That's right, at Audio Bible Online you can actually listen online to the entire King James Version of the Bible as narrated by famed star of stage and screen, the late Alexander Scourby.

Just follow these easy steps to start listening to the Bible right now:

• Go to Audio Bible Online and in the left-hand column, find the book and chapter of the Bible that you want to listen to and and click on it.
• Start listening! (Note: You'll need RealAudio software in order to listen, but don't worry if you don't have it-it's free and they provide a link where you can download it)

By the way, if you decide you want to own this recording on CD, you may purchase it on their site-happily, listening to it online is free!

The Power Of Prayer Meets The Power Of The Internet

If you're a believer in the power of prayer, you might be interested in learning that there are numerous websites that will help you to broadcast your prayer requests to other members of the faithful around the globe via the World Wide Web.

Typically they work like this: You submit a prayer request, and they share it with others by either displaying it directly on their site for visitors to see or distributing it through a subscription based e-mail list.

Here are a couple of places on the Web where you can share your prayer requests:

• MyGuidingLight.org
• Greater Grace World Outreach
• Prayer Request Site

There are others of course, but these examples will give you a good idea of this type of service and how it works.

Tap Into Your Higher Power With Beliefnet

Do you have questions regarding matters of faith or are you interested in learning more about a particular religion? You should head on over to Beliefnet.com, one of the best sites on the web for exploring topics of a spiritual nature.

From the site:

Whether you're exploring your own faith or other spiritual traditions, we provide you inspiring devotional tools, access to the best spiritual teachers and clergy in the world, thought-provoking commentary, and a supportive community.

Beliefnet helps you get in touch with your spiritual side through relevant articles, blogs, message boards, audio and video, and more! There are a lot of religious or spiritual themed sites on the Web but few are as comprehensive or as award winning as this one. Think of it as a leading web site for the soul!

Discover A Searchable Bible Online

When you think of advances in technology like computers or the World Wide Web you probably don't think of their impact on Religion. But, the fact is, technology can have a positive impact in many aspects of our lives-even those that involve faith. Case in point, for those of you who are interested in Bible study there's a great Web tool you should be aware of called BibleGateway.com. From the site:

The Bible Gateway is a tool for reading and researching
scripture online -- all in the language or translation of your choice! It
provides advanced searching capabilities, which allow readers to find and
compare particular passages in scripture based on keywords, phrases, or
scripture reference.

Next time you have a question about the Bible give BibleGateway.com a try!

A Huge Archive Of Religious Texts Online

If you're looking for religious texts on the web you need go no further than The Internet Sacred Text Archive. Run by John B. Hare, it consists of a massive collection of online religious books (most in the public domain) that you can read right on your computer screen. Quite simply, this is one of the most comprehensive sites of its kind available on the web.

Here are just a few of the important religious works you'll find there:

• The King James Bible
• Texts of Martin Luther
• The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible)
• The Apocrypha
• The Talmud: Selections

Whatever your religion, you're likely to find something of interest to you. This is a must-see site!