Such a debate raises the question of what would Jesus drive if he embarked on his earthly ministry in 21st Century.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Magazine | What would Jesus drive?

On an earthly plane, football fans in Belgrade have been jeering the president, while reservists in southern Serbia have blocked roads demanding back pay.

ECONOMIST: Can the Serbs get rid of Milosevic?

The urbane activity with which a man receives money is really marvellous, considering that we so earnestly believe money to be the root of all earthly ills, and that on no account can a monied man enter heaven.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Moby-Dick'

Jesus came not as the expected earthly King adorned in fine raiment sitting on a throne but as an innocent baby in a stable amid the dust and grime of first century Palestine.

BBC: Seeing chaos at Christmas

Since he officially retired in 2004, Mr. Mandela has concentrated on his foundation, the charity that is already his earthly embodiment.

WSJ: The Real Legacy of Nelson Mandela

On tables inside a big tent, the staples of earthly salvation: baby food, carrots, peanut butter, orange juice, shoes and diapers, all of it free, all of it donated from religious organizations around the country.

NPR: Postcard from Slidell, La.

As the French looked back on a life spent pricking the conscience of a nation about poverty on its own doorstep, they were also digesting a political row about earthly goods at the other end of the scale.

ECONOMIST: Being rich is nothing to boast about

The candidates spent much of the forum reflecting on moral and spiritual dilemmas, but the evening was still marked by more earthly concerns.

CNN: Clinton, Obama put politics aside to discuss faith