These are a few of the things I've recently found interesting, but don't have the time to properly blog on. I don't necessarily like or agree with the links here, I just think they're interesting. And just in case you do, too, enjoy.
(You can view past Del.icio.us links here or subscribe to my Del.icio.us feed here. 
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Titled "To hell and back", from Dateline NBC. Carlton now peaches that everybody gets a free pass to Heaven--everybody. Says Pearson: "I was resentful of God. See, if you fear God the way we’re taught to fear Him, you’ll serve
At the house of Felix Manz in Zurich on 21 January 1525, Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz met with fellows of like faith despite opposition from the town council. They had been commanded to stop holding Bible classes and had been warned by the council that all babies were to be baptized within eight days of birth or face banishment from the territory.
When George Blaurock, a former priest, stepped over to Conrad Grebel and asked him for baptism in the apostolic fashion — upon confession of personal faith in Jesus Christ, Grebel baptized him on the spot and Blaurock proceeded to baptize the others. Thus, Anabaptism was born. Today the direct descendants of the Anabaptists are the Mennonites and the Hutterites.
Persecution forced the Anabaptists north. Many of them found refuge on the lands of some exceptionally tolerant princes in Moravia. There they founded a long-lasting form of
Nero — In A.D. 64, fire ravaged Rome under the leadership of Emperor Nero. To direct the hatred of the people away from him, Nero blamed the fire on the Christians, thus sparking an intense, bloody persecution, probably resulting in the martyrdom of Peter and Paul.
Decius — In A.D. 250, the most violent persecution the church had yet faced was instigated by the emperor Decius (249-251). A general from the Danubian frontier, Decius was determined to have no nonsense from Christians. In his eyes, they were enemies of the empire. Their atheism was responsible for the many troubles in the realm. Thus, Decius commanded all citizens of the empire to sacrifice to the traditional Roman gods. Those who did so were given certificates (libelli) as evidence that they had obeyed the order. Those who refused to obey and were unable (or unwilling) to obtain false libelli faced death. An unknown
