The Quran acknowledges a six-part Creation period (32:4, 50:38) and the Biblical Sabbath as the seventh-day (yaum as-Sabt: 2:65, 4:47, 154, 7:163, 16:124), but Allah's mounting the throne after Creation is taken in contradistinction to Elohim's concluding and resting from his labors, and so Muslims replace Sabbath rest with jumu'ah (Arabic جمعة ). Also known as "Friday prayer", jumu'ah is a congregational prayer (salat) held every Friday (the Day of Assembly), just after midday, in place of the otherwise daily dhuhr prayer; it commemorates the creation of Adam on the sixth day, as a loving gathering of Adam's sons. The Quran states: "When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday, hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business: That is best for you if ye but knew" (62:9). The next verse ("When the prayer is ended, then disperse in the land ...") leads many Muslims not to consider Friday a rest day, as in Indonesia, which regards the seventh-day Sabbath as unchanged; but many Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh, do consider Friday a nonwork day, a holiday or a weekend; and other Muslim countries, like Pakistan, count it as half a rest day (after the Friday prayer is over). Jumu'ah attendance is strictly incumbent upon all free adult males who are legal residents of the locality.
Houston is served by the Houston Chronicle, its only major daily newspaper with wide distribution. The Hearst Corporation, which owns and operates the Houston Chronicle, bought the assets of the Houston Post—its long-time rival and main competition—when Houston Post ceased operations in 1995. The Houston Post was owned by the family of former Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby of Houston. The only other major publication to serve the city is the Houston Press—which was a free alternative weekly newspaper before the destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey resulted in the publication switching to an online-only format on November 2, 2017.[250]
Critics such as evangelical Anthony Hoekema (who felt that Adventists were more in agreement with Arminianism) argue that some Adventist doctrines are heterodox. Several teachings which have come under scrutiny are the annihilationist view of hell, the investigative judgment (and a related view of the atonement), and the Sabbath; in addition, Hoekema also claims that Adventist doctrine suffers from legalism.[104]
In the last century, these efforts have also made use of emerging media such as radio and television. The first of these was H. M. S. Richards' radio show Voice of Prophecy, which was initially broadcast in Los Angeles in 1929. Since then, Adventists have been on the forefront of media evangelism; It Is Written, founded by George Vandeman, was the first religious program to air on color television and the first major Christian ministry to utilize satellite uplink technology. Today the Hope Channel, the official television network of the church, operates 8 international channels broadcasting 24 hours a day on cable, satellite, and the Web.[95]
Adventists run a large number of hospitals and health-related institutions. Their largest medical school and hospital in North America is Loma Linda University and its attached Medical Center. Throughout the world, the church runs a wide network of hospitals, clinics, lifestyle centers, and sanitariums. These play a role in the church's health message and worldwide missions outreach.[90]
Houston has hosted several major sports events: the 1968, 1986 and 2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Games; the 1989, 2006 and 2013 NBA All-Star Games; Super Bowl VIII, Super Bowl XXXVIII, and Super Bowl LI, as well as hosting the 1981, 1986, 1994 and 1995 NBA Finals, winning the latter two, and co-hosting the 2005 World Series and 2017 World Series, winning the latter. NRG Stadium hosted Super Bowl LI on February 5, 2017.[211]
As another minority view, some modern Christians uphold Sabbath principles but do not limit observance to either Saturday or Sunday, instead advocating rest on any one chosen day of the week as following the spirit of Sabbath, or advocating Sabbath as instead a symbolic metaphor for rest in Christ. These look upon Sabbath as a principle to be observed in spirit rather than in letter, regarding the rest offered in Jesus as the only New Testament admonishment containing the root word of "Sabbath" (Matthew 11:28) and sometimes as a more permanent rest than a day could fulfill (Hebrews 4:9).
The sacredness of the Sabbath has served to unite Jews during the long course of their history and has been for them a joyous reminder of their perpetual Covenant with God. The prophets, nevertheless, often found it necessary to remind the Jews of God’s commandment to keep holy the Sabbath. Since abstention from work was fundamental to Sabbath observance, God miraculously provided a double portion of manna (“bread from heaven”) on Friday so that the Israelites would not be compelled to gather food on the Sabbath during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.
The original city council line-up of 14 members (nine district-based and five at-large positions) was based on a U.S. Justice Department mandate which took effect in 1979.[219] At-large council members represent the entire city.[217] Under the city charter, once the population in the city limits exceeded 2.1 million residents, two additional districts were to be added.[220] The city of Houston's official 2010 census count was 600 shy of the required number; however, as the city was expected to grow beyond 2.1 million shortly thereafter, the two additional districts were added for, and the positions filled during, the August 2011 elections.
Sabbath (as the verb שָׁבַת֙ šāḇaṯ) is first mentioned in the Genesis creation narrative, where the seventh day is set aside as a day of rest (in Hebrew, shabbath), and made holy by God (Genesis 2:2–3). Observation and remembrance of Sabbath (Hebrew: שַׁבָּת šabbaṯ) is one of the Ten Commandments (the fourth in the original Jewish, the Eastern Orthodox, and most Protestant traditions, the third in Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions). Most Jews who observe the Sabbath regard it as having been instituted as a perpetual covenant for the Israelites (Exodus 31:13–17), as a sign respecting two events: the day during which God rested after having completed Creation in six days (Exodus 20:8–11), and the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:12–15). However, most Sabbath-keeping Christians regard the Sabbath as having been instituted by God at the end of Creation week, and that the entire world was then, and continues to be, obliged to observe the seventh day as Sabbath. Originally, Sabbath-breakers were officially to be cut off from the assembly or potentially killed (Exodus 31:15). Observance in the Hebrew Bible was universally from sixth-day sundown to seventh-day sundown (Nehemiah 13:19, cf. Leviticus 23:32),[2] on a seven-day week. Consultations with prophets (II Kings iv. 23) were sought on the Sabbath.[3] Sabbath corporate worship was not prescribed for the community at large and the Sabbath activities at the shrines were originally a convocation of priests for the purpose of offering divine sacrifices with family worship and rest being centered in homes.[4][5]
In August 2005, Houston became a shelter to more than 150,000 people from New Orleans, who evacuated from Hurricane Katrina.[40] One month later, about 2.5 million Houston-area residents evacuated when Hurricane Rita approached the Gulf Coast, leaving little damage to the Houston area. This was the largest urban evacuation in the history of the United States.[41][42] In September 2008, Houston was hit by Hurricane Ike. As many as 40% of residents refused to leave Galveston Island because they feared the type of traffic problems that had happened after Hurricane Rita.
In 1900, after Galveston was struck by a devastating hurricane, efforts to make Houston into a viable deep-water port were accelerated.[23] The following year, the discovery of oil at the Spindletop oil field near Beaumont prompted the development of the Texas petroleum industry.[24] In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt approved a $1 million improvement project for the Houston Ship Channel. By 1910, the city's population had reached 78,800, almost doubling from a decade before. African Americans formed a large part of the city's population, numbering 23,929 people, which was nearly one-third of Houston's residents.[25]
The Theater District is a 17-block area in the center of Downtown Houston that is home to the Bayou Place entertainment complex, restaurants, movies, plazas, and parks. Bayou Place is a large multilevel building containing full-service restaurants, bars, live music, billiards, and Sundance Cinema. The Bayou Music Center stages live concerts, stage plays, and stand-up comedy. Space Center Houston is the official visitors' center of NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. The Space Center has many interactive exhibits including moon rocks, a shuttle simulator, and presentations about the history of NASA's manned space flight program. Other tourist attractions include the Galleria (Texas' largest shopping mall, located in the Uptown District), Old Market Square, the Downtown Aquarium, and Sam Houston Race Park.
Adventists hold that heterosexual marriages are the only biblically ordained grounds for sexual intimacy. Adventists do not perform same-sex marriages, and individuals who are openly homosexual cannot be ordained, but may hold church office and membership if they are not actively pursuing same-sex relationships. Current church policy states that openly homosexual (and "practicing") persons are to be welcomed into the church services and treated with the love and kindness afforded any human being.[58][59]
Per the American Community Survey's 2013-2017 estimates, Houston's age distribution was 569,656 under 18; 1,697,680 aged 18 to 20; 1,611,185 aged 21 to 61; 288,654 aged 62 to 64; and 228,460 aged 65 and older. The median age was 32.9, down from 33.5 in 2014; the city's youthfulness has been attributed to an influx of an African American New Great Migration, Hispanic or Latin American, and Asian immigrants into Texas.[115][116][117] For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males.[118]
The Grand Prix of Houston, an annual auto race on the IndyCar Series circuit was held on a 1.7-mile temporary street circuit in NRG Park. The October 2013 event was held using a tweaked version of the 2006–2007 course.[213] The event had a 5-year race contract through 2017 with IndyCar.[214] In motorcycling, the Astrodome hosted an AMA Supercross Championship round from 1974 to 2003 and the NRG Stadium since 2003.
Seventh Day Adventists believe that there is a sanctuary in heaven set up by God. There, Christ ministers on our behalf. In the first phase of this, called the ascension, Jesus became High Priest of this sanctuary. In 1844 at the end of a prophetic period of 2,300 days, Jesus entered the second phase of his atoning ministry. During this phase, Jesus’ work at the heavenly sanctuary is on eradicating all sin.
One folk tradition in English is the widespread use of "Sabbath" as a synonym of midnight-to-midnight "Saturday" (literally, Saturn's day in at least a dozen languages): this is a simplification of the use of "Sabbath" in other religious contexts, where the two do not coincide. (Using midnight instead of sundown as delimiter dates back to the Roman Empire.) In over thirty other languages, the common name for this day in the seven-day week is a cognate of "Sabbath". "Sabbatini", originally "Sabbadini", often "Sabatini", etc., is a very frequent Italian name form ("Sabbatos" is the Greek form), indicating a family whose ancestor was born on Saturday, Italian sabato; "Domenico" indicated birth on Sunday. In vampire hunter lore, people born on Saturday were specially designated as sabbatianoí in Greek and sâbotnichavi in Bulgarian (rendered in English as "Sabbatarians"). It was also believed in the Balkans that someone born on a Saturday could see a vampire when it was otherwise invisible.
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), located 23 miles (37 km) north of Downtown Houston between Interstates 45 and 69, is the eighth busiest commercial airport in the United States (by total passengers and aircraft movements) and forty-third busiest globally.[286][287] The five-terminal, five-runway, 11,000-acre (4,500-hectare) airport served 40 million passengers in 2016, including 10 million international travelers.[286] In 2006, the United States Department of Transportation named IAH the fastest-growing of the top ten airports in the United States.[288] The Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center is located at Bush Intercontinental.
Houston's Jewish community, estimated at 47,000 in 2001, has been present in the city from the 1800s. Houstonian Jews have origins from throughout the United States, Israel, Mexico, Russia, and other places. As of 2016 there were over 40 synagogues in Greater Houston.[132] The largest synagogues in Houston are Congregation Beth Yeshurun, a Conservative Jewish temple, and the Reform Jewish congregations Beth Israel and Emanu-El.
According to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, 73% of the population of the Houston area identified themselves as Christians, about 50% of whom claimed Protestant affiliations and about 19% claimed Roman Catholic affiliations. Nationwide, about 71% of respondents identified as Christians. About 20% of Houston-area residents claimed no religious affiliation, compared to about 23% nationwide.[133] The same study says that area residents identifying with other religions (including Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism) collectively made up about 7% of the area population.[133]
In his letters Paul shows concern for certain restrictions placed on his converts ( Rom 14:5 ; Gal 4:10 ; Col 2:16 ), among them Sabbath keeping no doubt. In his characteristic refusal to allow such things to become a basis for judging fellow believers, Paul seems, especially if Romans 14:5 refers to Sabbath keeping, a claim not unanimously accepted, to support one's freedom either to observe or not observe the Jewish sabbath, though he evidently continued to observe it for himself ( Acts 17:2 ).
The film Opposites reveals the two extremes of society. The first is the story of Dr. Cietto, who has accumulated doctorates and post-doctorates from around the world in multiple disciplines. He enjoys the best of what society has to offer. The second story paints an entirely different reality. Luiz is a young man who escaped a violent father to live in the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Even though modern cities have been built to keep these two worlds apart, their encounter will inspire you to see the world differently. 3233 Williamsburg Lane Missouri City Texas 77459
