Saturday 09-25-10

It was pretty busy on Mill Ave tonight, and we distributed a lot of tracts.

A man named Alec and a couple of friends stopped, and Phil and I talked to them for a while. I took Alec through part of the Good Person Test and it seemed to make sense to him. They asked some questions and we had a good discussion.
I found out later that they were LDS, which I didn’t discern from the conversation. I guess that’s because they weren’t saying too much about what they thought or believed, but were asking questions and listening to what we were telling them. Seeds planted, I pray that they will go home and search the Scriptures as the Bereans did to find out the truth and not be caught up in something that is not true.

Three Native Americans stopped while I was doing some OA Trivia. They had been out drinking and wanted to know what the answer to the trivia question was. I gave it to them and we went through a couple of other ones. Two of them were laughing and having a good time, while the third, a big guy who seemed pretty drunk, stood close and stared at me as if he wanted to knock me off of the stool.

When I went into the Good Person Test, Mileno and Sharon admitted to lying, but after that Sharon wouldn’t admit to anything else. Mileno also admitted to stealing and using the Lord’s name in vain, while the third guy seemed to continue waiting for the opportunity to smack me. He made a couple of incoherent statements that sounded like he was trying to start a fight, but I wasn’t really sure what he was talking about, so I continued through the GPT.

Sharon asked what if they didn’t believe in an afterlife, and I explained that our belief isn’t what makes something true, but the object of our faith is what needs to be considered. She didn’t really want to get into a serious conversation, but Mileno said that he agreed with what I was saying.
They decided to head off to get something to eat, but the third guy stayed. I talked to him for a bit and found that his name is Bernard. (I heard Mileno call him “Junior” once as well).

Bernard seemed to be relaxing a bit and I found that he had been in the Marines. He said that he had done some “bad things to people” and I explained to him that there is forgiveness available through Jesus Christ. I never found out exactly what he had done, but a couple of times in our conversations, I noticed a tear in his eye. I took him through the Gospel and told him he needed to pray to God for forgiveness, after repenting and trusting in Christ alone. I told him that I would keep him in prayer and he asked me to pray with him there on the street, so I did.

He still hung around for a while more, and seemed to want to talk, so I went through it again with him, unsure of how much had penetrated the influence of alcohol. His friends finally came back and I gave them some tracts before they headed out. Please keep Bernard and his two friends in prayer.

Christopher Hitchens

I wasn't aware of this, but a friend sent me a news story on Christopher Hitchens having cancer and a prayer day for him. Check out the article here: Christopher Hitchens Skipping Prayer Day In His Honor

A couple of thoughts from the article.

"For some of his critics, it might be satisfying to see a man who has made a career of skewering organized religion switch sides near the end of his life and pray silently for help fighting a ravaging disease."

Satisfying? Well, maybe, but not for the reasons that the world might think. As Christians, we know there is no hope apart from Jesus Christ, and that there is still hope through Him, even for an outspoken atheist. Hitchens will probably never come to faith - it becomes a pride issue now, how would that look to all of his loyal atheist fans? But then again, nothing is impossible with God. A Christian should not see a change of heart as a "win" for our side, but rather, the salvation of a man who deserves eternal punishment just like the rest of us, to the glory of the Lord who saves.

Hitchens may not know it or want to believe it, but he will glorify God at the end of his life in one way or another. Either as a demonstration of God's holy righteousness as justice is done through eternal punishment, or as a demonstration of God's holy grace and mercy in salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Those are the only two options, and God is glorified either way.

"The way the English-born Hitchens sees it, the people praying for him break down into three basic groups: those who seem genuinely glad he's suffering and dying from cancer; those who want him to become a believer in their religious faith; and those who are asking God to heal him."

His first group couldn't be Christians. Any group that is held together by their hatred of another group simply cannot have the love of Christ in them. If these are professed believers, they are hypocrites, false teachers and deceivers.

The last group, asking God to heal him, would buy him more time but that in itself would not change his eternal fate. Paul asked to be healed from the thorn in his flesh and the Lord told him no. All the disciples, and many others faced martyrdom for their beliefs. This is part of living under the curse of sin. I wouldn't be a part of this group.

The middle group, those who "want him to become a believer in their religious faith" could probably be better defined. Why do they want him to become a believer? Is it because they want a big hit against the other side, that when it really comes down to it, even atheists will turn? The "no atheists in foxholes" sort of argument? That would only strengthen the stubbornness of the rest of them.

Or is it because they know his fate without Jesus Christ in his life, and know that we all deserve eternal punishment in hell because we've all sinned against an eternal God? Is it because God has provided a way out of this fate that we deserve and it is available to any who would call on His name? Is it for this man's salvation and the glory of God alone that we'd like to see him come to faith? That's the group I would fit into.

Saturday 09-18-10

Another Saturday night of sharing the Gospel on Mill Ave in Tempe. We handed out a lot of tracts and had a few interesting conversations. Chris and Fernando stopped by. They had talked to us on a previous occasion, but I didn't remember them. They are both Christians and stopped to offer encouragement, so Tom gave them some tracts to distribute.

Later on Jordan (one of our atheists who used to come out to oppose the preaching) stopped by. We hadn't seen him in a couple of years, since he'd moved around a bit. I had some good conversations with him in the past and he's a very likeable kid, but still holds to his unbelief. We talked for a while and then Fernando got into a conversation with him, bringing up some good points to make him think.

Marcus and I talked to a guy with a Jamacian accent who seemed to think that all religions were basically the same. He asked if we were "religious racists." I asked him what that meant, and he explained that it was thinking that only your particular religion is correct. I wouldn't call Christianity a religion, but yes, Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father except through Me."
It is exclusive in that only the true Christians will have salvation, but it's also inclusive in that anyone can come to Christ. Repent of your sins, forsake them, and trust in Jesus Christ alone, submitting to Him as Lord and Savior.

After a while our atheists from the Skeptic Tank showed up and set up their free clothes and speakers right next to us as they like to do. There were some others sitting near the corner, giving away free roses made from palm fronds. I was taking a few random pictures out there, and one guy that was hanging out with them came over to inform me that he didn't like his picture taken. So I put my camera away and went over to talk to this guy. I explained that I wasn't taking pictures of him specifically, but just wondered if we could discuss the issue. He got up and walked quickly away, so I guess not.

I'll be helping Tom out with a WOTM class for the next two Thursdays at a church in Tempe, so pray that we will gain more workers for the harvest field in that (Luke 10:2).

Science in the Bible 10

Alright, one more, then you'll have to go and get your own copy. The Evidence Bible is full of great info like this and also includes a lot of great witnessing tools. You can view a lot of it in the online version at the link above, but it's nice to have a hard copy as well. So, here ya go, the last one I'll post here.

Evolutionary Fraud.

“Charles Dawson, a British lawyer and amateur geologist, announced in 1912 his discovery of pieces of a human skull and apelike jaw in a gravel pit near the town of Piltdown, England… Dawson’s announcement stopped the scorn cold. Experts instantly declared Piltdown Man (estimated to be 300,000 to one million years old ) the evolutionary find of the century. Darwin’s missing link had been identified.
“Or so it seemed for the next 40 or so years. Then , in the early fifties … scientists began to suspect misattribution. In 1953, that suspicion gave way to a full-blown scandal; Piltdown Man was a hoax. Radiocarbon tests proved that its skull belonged to a 600-year old woman, and its jaw to a 500-year old orangutan from the East Indies.” -Our Times: The Illustrated History of the 20th Century

The Piltdown Man fraud wasn’t an isolated incident. The famed Nebraska Man was derived from a single tooth, which was later found to be from an extinct pig. Java Man, found in the early 20th century, was nothing more than a piece of skull, a fragment of a thigh bone, and three molar teeth.

The rest came from the deeply fertile imaginations of plaster of Paris workers. Java Man is now regarded as fully human. Heidelberg Man came from a jawbone, a large chin section, and a few teeth. Most scientists reject the jawbone because it’s similar to that of modern man. Still many evolutionists believe that he’s 250,000 years old. No doubt they pinpointed his birthday with carbon dating.

However, Time magazine (June 11, 1990 ) published a science article subtitled, “Geologitst show that carbon dating can be way off.” And don’t look to Neanderthal Man for any evidence of evolution. He died of exposure. His skull was exposed as being fully human, not ape. Not only was his stooped posture found to be caused by disease, but he spoke and was artistic and religious.

Science in the Bible 9

Still more from the Evidence Bible. Who says Christianity is based on "blind faith?" There's tons of evidence!

Archaeology confirms the Bible.

The Scriptures make more than 40 references to the great Hittite Empire. However, until one hundred years ago there was no archaeological evidence to substantiate the Biblical claim that the Hittites existed. Skeptics claimed that the Bible was in error, until their mouths were suddenly stopped. In 1906, Hugo Winckler uncovered a huge library of 10,000 clay tablets, which completely documented the lost Hittite Empire. We now know that at its height, the Hittite civilization rivaled Egypt and Assyria in its glory and power.

“It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And, by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to amazing discoveries.” -Dr Nelson Glueck

“Archaeology has confirmed countless passages which have been rejected by critics as unhistorical or contradictory to known facts… Yet archaeological discoveries have shown that these critical charges .. are wrong and that the Bible is trustworthy in the very statements which have been set aside as untrustworthy… We do not know of any cases where the Bible has been proved wrong.” -Dr Joseph P Free

Science in the Bible 8

More from the Evidence Bible. Haven't you gone out and bought one of these yet?

The Peppered Moth

"Almost all textbooks on evolution include the peppered moth as the classic example of evolution by natural selection. There are two types of peppered moths, a light-colored speckled variety and a dark variety. Most peppered moths in England were the light variety, which were camouflaged as they rested on tree trunks. The black variety stood out against the light bark and were easily seen and eaten by birds. But as the industrial revolution created pollution that covered tree trunks with soot, the dark variety was camouflaged better, so birds ate more of the light moths. "The peppered moth story has been trumpeted since the 1950s as proof positive that evolution by natural selection is true. In 1978, one famous geneticist called the peppered moth 'the clearest case in which a conspicuous evolutionary process has actually been observed.' "However, this 'clearest case' of purported Darwinian evolution by natural selection is not true! The nocturnal peppered moth does not rest on the trunks of trees during the day. In fact, despite over 40 years of intense field study, only two peppered moths have ever been seen naturally resting on tree trunks! "So where did all the evolution textbook pictures of peppered moths on different colored tree trunks come from" They were all staged. The moths were glued, pinned, or placed onto tree trunks and their pictures taken. The scientists who used these pictures in their books to prove evolution all conveniently forgot to tell their readers this fact. If the best example of evolution is not true, how about all their other supposed examples? It make you wonder, doesn't it? - Mark Varney


It's humorous that evolutionists cite the peppered moth as their best example, enabling them to "watch evolution in action." Watch closely: Before the moths' environment changed, some of the moths were mostly white, some were mostly black. After their environment changed, some were mostly white, some were mostly black.
No new color or variety came into being, yet we have supposedly just witnessed evolution. Evolutionist John Reader (Missing Links) explains this biased interpretation: "Ever since Darwin's work..., preconceptions have led evidence by the nose." Harvard professor and evolutionist Steven Jay Gould admits this scientific bias, "Facts do not 'speak for themselves'; they are read in light of theory." Even Charles Darwin Concedes, "Alas, how frequent, how almost universal it is in an author to persuade himself of the truth of his own dogmas." Keep this in mind when scientists proclaim the theory of evolution as "fact."

Science in the Bible 7

Here are a few more interesting facts from the Evidence Bible.

Evolutions Circular Reasoning

“At least six different radiometric dating methods are available. The assumed age of the sample will dictate which dating method is used because each will give a different result.

“For example, when dinosaur bones containing carbon are found, they are not carbon dated because the result would be only a few thousand years. Because this would not match the assumed age based on the geologic column, scientists use another method of dating to give an age closer to the desired result. All radiometric results that do not match the preassigned ages of the geologic column are discarded.” -Dr Kent Hovind

“Contrary to what most scientists write, the fossil record does not support the Darwinian theory of evolution because it is this theory (there are several ) which we use to interpret the fossil record. By doing so we are guilty of circular reasoning if we then say the fossil record supports this theory.” -Ronald R West, PhD


“Shells from living snails were carbon dated as being 27,000 years old.” Science magazine, vol. 224, 1984

Science in the Bible 6

Here's another one straight out of the Evidence Bible. This is an amazing Bible - everyone needs one of these.

Earth’s population refutes evolution.

The evolutionary scientists who believe that man existed for over a million years have an almost insurmountable problem. Using the assumption of forty-three years for an average human generation, the population growth over a million years would produce 23,256 consecutive generations. We calculate the expected population by starting with one couple on million years ago and use the same assumptions of a forty-three year generation and 2.5 children per family. The evolutionary theory of a million years of growth would produce trillions x trillion x trillion x trillions of people that should be alive today on our planet. To put this in perspective, this number is vastly greater than the total number of atoms in our vast universe. If mankind had lived on earth for a million years, we would all be standing on enormously high mountains of bones from the trillions of skeletons of those who had died in past generations.

However, despite the tremendous archeological and scientific investigation In the last two centuries, the scientists have not found a fraction of the trillions of skeletons predicted by the theory of evolutionary scientists. -Grant R Jeffrey, The Signature of God

Science in the Bible 5

As with the rest of these posts, you can go directly to the Evidence Bible by clicking the title. There's a ton of great info there, just click "Search It". Here's some more science in the Bible:

The Water Cycle

The Scriptures inform us, “All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, there they return again.” (Ecclesiastes 1:7 ) This statement alone may not seem profound. But, when considered with other biblical passages, it becomes all the more remarkable. For example, the Mississippi river dumps approximately 6 million gallons of water per second into the Gulf of Mexico. Where does all that water go? And that’s just one of thousands of rivers.
The answer lies in the hydrologic cycle, so well brought out in the Bible. Ecclesiastes 11:3 states that “if the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth.” Amos 9:6 tells us, “He …calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth.” The idea of a complete water cycle was not fully understood until the seventeenth century. However, more than 2,000 years prior to the discoveries of Pierre Perrault, Edme Mariotte, Edmund Halley, and others, the Scriptures clearly spoke of a water cycle.

Science in the Bible 4

Check out the online version of the Evidence Bible.
Click on "Search It" to find some interesting commentaries and answers to questions.

In the mean time, here's another snippet:

God created the “lights” in the heavens “for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years” (Gen 1:14 ). Through the marvels of astronomy we now understand that a year is the time required for the earth to travel once around the sun. The seasons are caused by the changing position of the earth in relation to the sun – “astronomers can tell exactly from the earth’s motion around the sun when one season ends and the next one begins.” (Worldbook Multimedia Encyclopedia.) We also now understand that a “month [is] the time of one revolution of the moon around the earth with respect to the sun” (Encyclopedia Britannica). How could Moses (the accepted author of Genesis) have known 3,500 years ago that the “lights” of the sun and moon were the actual determining factors of the year’s length, unless his words were inspired by God?

Science in the Bible 3

Here's more scientific fact, straight out of the Bible.This can all be found at the Evidence Bible

If, down through the ages, Scriptural principles had been applied during epidemics such as the Black Plague, millions of lives would have been saved. Long before man understood the principles of quarantine, the Bible spoke of the importance of isolating those who had a contagious disease and of disinfecting their houses. See Leviticus 13 and 14.


"Science can only be created by those who are thoroughly imbued with the aspiration toward truth and understanding. This source of feeling, however, springs from the sphere of religion. To this there also belongs the faith in the possibility that the regulations valid for the world of existence are rational, that is, comprehensible to reason. I cannot conceive of a genuine scientist without that profound faith." -Albert Einstein

Science in the Bible 2

Here's some more science in the Bible - the first and second laws of thermodynamics - who says science and the Bible don't agree? This is also quoted from the Evidence Bible.

Creation is Finished

The Scriptures say, "thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." (Genesis 2:1) The original Hebrew uses the past definate tense for the verb "finished," indicating an action completed in the past, never again to occur. The creation was "finished" - once and for all.

That is exactly what the First Law of Thermodynamics says. This law (often refered to as the Law of the Conservation of Energy and/or Mass) states that neither matter nor energy can be either created or destroyed. It was because of this Law that Sir Fred Hoyle's "Steady-State" (or "Continuous Creation") Theory was discarded. Hoyle stated that at points in the universe called "irtrons," matter (or energy) was constantly being created. But the First Law states just the opposite. Indeed, there is no "creation" ongoing today. It is "finished" exactly as the Bible states.

Universe is Wearing Out

Three different places in the Bible (Isaiah 51:6, Psalm 102:25-26, Hebrews 1:11) indicate that the earth is wearing out This is what the Second Law of Thermodynamics (the Law of Increasing Entropy) states; that in all physical processes, every ordered system over time tends to become more disordered. Everything is running down and wearing out as energy is becoming less and less available for use. That means the universe will eventually “wear out” to the extent that (theoretically speaking) there will be a “heat death” and therefore no more energy available for use. This wasn’t discovered by man until fairly recently, but the Bible states it in clear, succinct terms.

Science and the Bible

Many people believe that the Bible and science cannot agree. However, this is not true at all. The Bible actually served as a basis for modern scientific pursuits. Modern science was born in the seventeenth century because of a belief in an unchanging God of order, purpose, and consistency—the God portrayed in the Bible.

If you think about it, that's the only way it can even make sense. What would be the point of studying science if everything was left to random chance? There would be nothing to discover without the existence of an intelligent Creator that put it all into motion and organized it.
If there is no God, then there is no science either, only chaos and random chance, with no way to observe the laws and rules of an ordered universe.

Although the Bible is not primarily a science text book, there is some science in there. Wouldn't the Creator who made everything and put the scientific laws in place know something about how it all works? Of course He would!

Time and time again, science eventually catches up and we realize that man has made mistakes and been wrong, while the Bible had the correct information all along. So, whenever they do seem to contradict, I'll go with the Bible every time!

Check out these scientific facts that have been found in the Bible. You can find more at the online version of the Evidence Bible by clicking the title of this post.

Interesting Stuff

1. Only in recent years has science discovered that everything we see is composed of invisible atoms. Scripture tells us that the "things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."

2. Medical science has only recently discovered that blood-clotting in a newborn reaches its peak on the eighth day, then drops. The Bible consistently says that a baby must be circumcised on the eighth day.

3. At a time when it was believed that the earth sat on a large animal or a giant (1500 B.C.), the Bible spoke of the earth’s free float in space: "He...hangs the earth upon nothing" (Job 26:7).

4. The prophet Isaiah also tells us that the earth is round: "It is he that sits upon the circle of the earth" (Isaiah 40:22). This is not a reference to a flat disk, as some skeptics maintain, but to a sphere. Secular man discovered this 2,400 years later. At a time when science believed that the earth was flat, is was the Scriptures that inspired Christopher Columbus to sail around the world.

5. God told Job in 1500 B.C.: "Can you send lightnings, that they may go, and say to you, Here we are?" (Job 38:35). The Bible here is making what appears to be a scientifically ludicrous statement—that light can be sent, and then manifest itself in speech. But did you know that radio waves travel at the speed of light? This is why you can have instantaneous wireless communication with someone on the other side of the earth. Science didn’t discover this until 1864 when "British scientist James Clerk Maxwell suggested that electricity and light waves were two forms of the same thing" (Modern Century Illustrated Encyclopedia).

6. Job 38:19 asks, "Where is the way where light dwells?" Modern man has only recently discovered that light (electromagnetic radiation) has a "way," traveling at 186,000 miles per second.

7. Science has discovered that stars emit radio waves, which are received on earth as a high pitch. God mentioned this in Job 38:7: "When the morning stars sang together..."

8. "Most cosmologists (scientists who study the structures and evolution of the universe) agree that the Genesis account of creation, in imagining an initial void, may be uncannily close to the truth" (Time, Dec. 1976).

9. Solomon described a "cycle" of air currents two thousand years before scientists "discovered" them. "The wind goes toward the south, and turns about unto the north; it whirls about continually, and the wind returns again according to his circuits" (Ecclesiastes 1:6).

10. Science expresses the universe in five terms: time, space, matter, power, and motion. Genesis 1:1,2 revealed such truths to the Hebrews in 1450 B.C.: "In the beginning [time] God created [power] the heaven [space] and the earth [matter] . . . And the Spirit of God moved [motion] upon the face of the waters." The first thing God tells man is that He controls of all aspects of the universe.

11. The great biological truth concerning the importance of blood in our body’s mechanism has been fully comprehended only in recent years. Up until 120 years ago, sick people were "bled," and many died because of the practice. If you lose your blood, you lose your life. Yet Leviticus 17:11, written 3,000 years ago, declared that blood is the source of life: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood."

12. All things were made by Him (see John 1:3), including dinosaurs. Why then did the dinosaur disappear? The answer may be in Job 40:15–24. In this passage, God speaks about a great creature called "behemoth." Some commentators think this was a hippopotamus. However, the hippo’s tail isn’t like a large tree, but a small twig. Following are the characteristics of this huge animal: It was the largest of all the creatures God made; was plant-eating (herbivorous); had its strength in its hips and a tail like a large tree. It had very strong bones, lived among the trees, drank massive amounts of water, and was not disturbed by a raging river. He appears impervious to attack because his nose could pierce through snares, but Scripture says, "He that made him can make his sword to approach unto him." In other words, God caused this, the largest of all the creatures He had made, to become extinct.

13. Encyclopedia Britannica documents that in 1845, a young doctor in Vienna named Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was horrified at the terrible death rate of women who gave birth in hospitals. As many as 30 percent died after giving birth. Semmelweis noted that doctors would examine the bodies of patients who died, then, without washing their hands, go straight to the next ward and examine expectant mothers. This was their normal practice, because the presence of microscopic diseases was unknown. Semmelweis insisted that doctors wash their hands before examinations, and the death rate immediately dropped to 2 percent. Look at the specific instructions God gave His people for when they encounter disease: "And when he that has an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself even days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean" (Leviticus 15:13). Until recent years, doctors washed their hands in a bowl of water, leaving invisible germs on their hands. However, the Bible says specifically to wash hands under "running water."

14. Luke 17:34–36 says the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will occur while some are asleep at night and others are working at daytime activities in the field. This is a clear indication of a revolving earth, with day and night at the same time.

15. "During the devastating Black Death of the fourteenth century, patients who were sick or dead were kept in the same rooms as the rest of the family. People often wondered why the disease was affecting so many people at one time. They attributed these epidemics to ‘bad air’ or ‘evil spirits.’ However, careful attention to the medical commands of God as revealed in Leviticus would have saved untold millions of lives. Arturo Castiglione wrote about the overwhelming importance of this biblical medical law: ‘The laws against leprosy in Leviticus 13 may be regarded as the first model of sanitary legislation’ (A History of Medicine)."

Grant R. Jeffery, The Signature of God - With all these truths revealed in Scripture,how could a thinking person deny that the Bible is supernatural in origin? There is no other book in any of the world’s religions (Vedas, Bhagavad-Gita, Koran, Book of Mormon, etc.) that contains scientific truth. In fact, they contain statements that are clearly unscientific.
Hank Hanegraaff said, "Faith in Christ is not some blind leap into a dark chasm, but a faith based on established evidence."

Saturday 09-05-10

We were witnessing out on Mill Ave for another Saturday night. There was a home game, so there were a lot of people out there. I think one guy actually growled at me when I handed him a tract.

Jim came out – it’s nice to see him out there. He’s been coming out for years, he’s 84 years old and it hasn’t slowed him down at all. He does some awesome Open Air and apologetics.

I did some Open Air preaching and talked to an atheist kid named Alex for a while. He was a nice enough kid, but young and pretty set in his atheism, not believing there was any proof of God. Richard and I talked with him for a while and planted some seeds, giving him a few things to think about and look into on his own.

Jeffrey and Nick stopped and talked to us for a while, after seeing the light illusion. They had been drinking a bit and claimed that they were Catholic. Tom talked to them for a while, having a Catholic background himself.
We gave them some tracts and they left, but came back to talk some more before we went home for the night. We ended up staying out there until about 1:30 or so.

There was a crowd across the street, waiting in line to get into a club, and we thought they could probably hear us over there, so Marcus and I each did some open air preaching for them to hear.



Soli Deo Gloria