/// Back to MAIN Page    Archives for MAY 2010  Update for Monday, May 31st, 2010 Chuck Colson On Memorial Day 2010 Memorial Day is when we honor the men and women of our Armed Services who have made “the supreme sacrifice;” who gave their lives for their country.  Especially these days, when Memorial Day seems nothing more than a time for cookouts and swim parties, we cannot be reminded often enough about how great a debt we owe our war dead. They gave up their hopes and dreams, families and friends.     MORE Netanyahu 'Furious' with Obama over Iran Policy Washington's unprecedented backing for a UN resolution for a nuclear-free Middle East that singles out Israel has both angered and deeply worried the Jewish state although officials are cagey about openly criticising...  MORE Louisiana Churchgoers Somber After BP Fails to Plug Leak The reality that the Gulf oil leak could keep flowing for months was setting in for some somber churchgoers in Louisiana. In Plaquemines Parish near the mouth of the Mississippi River, the Rev. Theodore Turner said Sunday some of his congregants are getting desperate because BP has been unable to stop the leak.  MORE Dallas Baptist Church Ousted over Gay Deacons The Baptist General Convention of Texas voted this week to distance itself from a North Dallas congregation over its acceptance of gay deacons. The vote on Tuesday against Royal Lane Baptist Church was in keeping with the convention's stance that homosexual behavior is sinful.     MORE USA Today: What Happens When the Dalai Lama Dies? The question looms over this raggedy hillside town, a place where ancient mysticism constantly brushes against the realities of modern geopolitics. The monks ask it quietly, as do the exile politicians. Even the angry young activists...But as the man at the center of the Tibetan exile movement approaches his 75th birthday, the question has be- come impossible to escape: What happens after the Dalai Lama dies?  The issue echoes far from Dharmsala, the Dalai Lama's home since he fled Tibet after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.  MORE Prayers for North Korean Christians Urged as Tensions Rise The oppressed and voiceless Christians in North Korea particularly need prayers amid escalating tension on the Korean peninsula, reported a persecution watchdog group this week. Tensions between the two Koreas have been rising since the sinking of a South Korean warship in March that resulted in the deaths of 46 people.   MORE Jack Kelley: Psalm 83 … Preview of a Coming Attraction Hezbollah says that Israel’s disappearance after the next war is an established fact. Iran’s President has called Israel a dirty microbe and a savage animal that will soon disappear in a flash....Psalm 83 is out of today’s headlines and the countries lined up against Israel in this Psalm inhabited the lands of Israel’s current neighbors.   MORE American Thinker: Israel and America's Jews ....There are many explanations for why younger Jews do not feel the same way about Israel as earlier generations. For one thing, young liberal Jews today are increasingly the product of secular parents,  mixed marriages, and homes devoid of serious attachment to not only Israel, but God and Judaism. Secular Jews have become increasingly affluent and there is little sense of struggle or threat in the lives of the younger generation     MORE Mullen Wishes Congress Had Waited on Gay Ban Vote  The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday he would have preferred that Congress had waited before voting to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" law that bans gays from serving openly in the military. Adm. Mike Mullen did not directly criticize a House vote on Friday...  MORE Albert Mohler: Relics, Gopher Wood & the Sufficiency of Scripture For centuries, an inordinate and unhealthy attention has been directed to certain items claimed to be relics of Christ, Christian leaders, or illustrious Christians. The veneration of relics has been a major feature of Roman Catholic popular piety since the earliest centuries of its history...Now, much attention is being paid to the Shroud...   MORE Christian Conservatives Target Seated Judges A group of conservative attorneys say they are on a mission from God to unseat four California judges in a rare challenge that is turning a traditionally snooze-button election into what both sides call a battle for the integrity of U.S. courts. Vowing to be God's ambassadors on the bench, the four San Diego Superior Court candidates are backed by pastors, gun enthusiasts, and opponents of abortion and same-sex marriages.   MORE Update for Weekend, May 29th-30th, 2010 Obama: Memorial Day Time to Honor Fallen Troops President Barack Obama is asking citizens to remember and honor the U.S. troops who have lost their lives in service to the country.  In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama says Memorial Day should be more than just a holiday of barbecues and family time.  MORE Fight Over Gay Military Ban Not a Done Deal Gay advocates are celebrating what appears to be the first steps in allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military -- but it's not a done deal yet.  Opponents say they're willing to vote against military funding in order to keep the policy from changing.   MORE A Nation Mesmerized: Can BP Plug the Gulf Gusher? As the nation remained transfixed by a busted oil well spewing millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico, BP offered few details Saturday on its latest bid to plug the worst oil spill in U.S. history and scientists suggested any progress was incremental at best.    MORE Washington Post: What Scientists Really Think About Religion  Americans are almost evenly divided between those who feel science conflicts with religion and those who don't. Both sides have scientific backers...Rice University sociologist Elaine Ecklund offers a fresh perspective on this debate in "Science vs. Religion."       MORE R.C. Sproul: Should Christians Be on Facebook? I sometimes wonder if the devil doesn’t take great pleasure in irony, in watching us turn ourselves inside out while missing the point. While I am on Facebook, and therefore at least hold to a tentative conviction that such is allowable for Christians, there are any number of reasons to raise concerns over it.    MORE Sharper Iron Commentary: Many Denominations...The Positive Side  “If the Bible is true, why are there so many denominations?” What Christian has not fielded this question? Yet there is an unspoken assumption behind this objection, namely, that having one denomination is somehow a good thing. I suggest that the opposite is true. Bigger is not always better. MORE New Hampshire: Pastor Says No Cover-Up of Rape 13 Years Ago The former pastor of Concord's Trinity Baptist Church says that there was no attempt to cover up the alleged rape of a 15-year-old parishioner in 1997 and that he immediately reported the crime to the police after learning of it. "I was the first one to report this to the police, as was my duty. . . . The people who didn't do their job was the Concord Police Department," said Chuck Phelps...   MORE Gas Prices Down, But What Does Future Hold? Gas prices are going down and they may hit the lowest levels in a year. More than 32 million Americans are expected to pack their bags and travel this Memorial Day weekend and for those traveling by vehicle, paying for gas will not be much of a burden.   MORE Law Professor Faces Attacks for Prayer During Texas SBOE Meeting As you may know in our culture these days saying a prayer and referencing Jesus can be really controversial or intolerant by some.  But what about praying this, “Christian land governed by Christian principles” ?  MORE Update for Friday, May 28th, 2010 Congress Bows to Gay Agenda...Repeals 'Don't Ask-Don't Tell' Congress has given in to pressure from gay activists and the White House and voted to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military.  In quick succession Thursday, the Senate Armed Services Committee and the full House approved measures to repeal the 1993 law that allows gay people to serve in the armed services only if they hide their sexual orientation.   MORE Religious Leaders Slam Repeal of Gay Military Ban More than 30 conservative pastors and other religious leaders joined several Republican congressmen Thursday in criticizing the proposed repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the military.   MORE Albert Mohler: Has Man Created Life? The cover story of the June 2010 edition of Scientific American presents “12 Events That Will Change Everything.” Those events include human cloning, an asteroid colliding with the earth, a worldwide pandemic, and the creation of synthetic life. Each of the twelve proposed events is evaluated in terms of likelihood. The article on the creation of synthetic life ranks the probability of that event as “almost certain.” Consider that a case of an argument made too late.   MORE Southern Baptist Convention Sees Big Declines, Changes Called For A Christian researcher says Southern Baptist churches must change many of their methods to reverse declines in membership.  LifeWay Research of the Southern Baptist Convention recently released a study showing that while baptisms in the denomination were on the rise, membership continued to decline. The 2.2-percent increase in baptisms stemmed a four-year decline, but membership fell 0.42 percent to about 16.2 million.   MORE La. Residents Pray in Wake of Worst Oil Spill in History Residents around the oil-contaminated Gulf of Mexico gathered Wednesday evening for a community crisis prayer service in the wake of what some say may be the worst leak in U.S. history.     MORE Oklahoma Governor Vetoes Fourth Abortion Bill Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry vetoed a bill Wednesday evening that would place greater restriction on private insurance companies’ coverage of abortions. Henry’s veto of House Bill 3290 is the fourth abortion-related legislation he has rejected this year. All three prior bills were successfully overridden by members of the...  MORE Abortion Push Weakened as Study Finds Newborn Mortality at All-Time Low A new report released yesterday demonstrates that worldwide mortality for children under age 5 has dropped at a rate faster than expected and shows that child mortality is falling in every region of the world - a 35% reduction since 1990. The same prestigious institute that reported a significant drop in maternal mortality last month...  MORE Illinois Cross Draws Tourists, Ire From Atheist Farmers sold pigs to help raise money to build the towering cross on southern Illinois' highest point as a year-round testament to faith. The 11-story monument draws thousands of visitors each year, and supporters say it has promoted self-growth and reflection for nearly half a century.   MORE Chuck Missler: Obama's International Order President Obama's Commencement speech to the West Point graduates this weekend has gotten flak for its emphasis on developing a new "international order" and putting too much faith in global institutions. His speech comes on the heels of Joe Biden's comments to the European Parliament that Brussels should have the title "capital of the free world" - in opposition to Washington DC.      MORE Eternal Viewpoint: The Many Benefits of a Garden Last spring, my wife and I erected a pair of raised garden beds in the backyard of our small city lot. Neither of us have green-thumbs by nature, nor do we have very much experience in growing things. But there were a number of compelling reasons that motivated us to take on gardening.  MORE Amendment Would Let Military Chaplains Pray as They Wish U.S, Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization bill that would allow all U.S. military chaplains, "if called upon to lead a prayer outside of a religious service, would be free to close that prayer according to the dictates of the chaplain's conscience."      MORE Sheriff Under Fire for Rejecting Abortion Request A Texas sheriff is standing firm against the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which says he violated an inmate's constitutional "right" to an abortion.  Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler had a pregnant inmate jailed on a burglary charge. Her family was willing to pay for an abortion, but she needed to be transported to an abortion clinic for the operation. So Sheriff Fowler found an ACLU attorney knocking on his door.  MORE Religious Broadcasting a “Tiresome Obligation” for BBC Execs? Religion is regarded as a “tiresome” subject to BBC executives, says a veteran BBC television broadcaster who has called for the publicly funded corporation to overhaul its presentation of religious issues.    MORE Doctors See Adult Stem Cell Milestone  British and Indian doctors have achieved a milestone in stem cell research, transplanting a new windpipe, or trachea, into a 10-year-old boy using his own non-embryonic, or adult, stem cells.    MORE Teachers Accused of Offending Atheist Colleague With 'Holy Water' Some local ministers in Florida are coming to the defense of two teachers who have been removed from their classrooms and are under investigation for allegations they offended an atheist colleague.   MORE Controversy Over 'Witch Children' In Nigeria In rural Nigeria, children are told they're possessed by Satan and blamed for local disasters by church leaders. "Saving Africa's Witch Children," a British documentary, portrays the accused children and the charities trying to rescue them from their treatments, which range from discrimination to torture and death.       MORE East Texas Church Arson Suspects Indicted Two men have been in indicted by a Texas grand jury in connection with a string of church fires in east Texas earlier this year. Jason Bourque faces five counts of arson and three counts of attempted arson. Twenty-two- year-old Daniel McAllister faces two counts of arson and two counts of attempted arson.   MORE NC: Prayers Before Meetings Can Continue Commissioners in one North Carolina county have decided to continue opening their monthly meetings with prayers despite a judge ordering another county to end the practice.     MORE Update for Thursday, May 27th, 2010 Democratic House Leader Says America is Already Rationing Health Care House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said President Obama's nominee to run Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Donald Berwick, is qualified to oversee the two massive government health care programs despite Berwick's claim that the government must ration health care.   MORE Don't Ask, Don't Tell Deal Deemed 'Political Charade' Congress' attempt this week to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy is nothing more than a political charade, said the head of a conservative Christian group. "I think the American people when they see the whole story here [will see that] the military is in fact being used to advance a radical agenda, being used...     MORE Is US a Melting Pot? Interracial Marriage Slows Melting pot or racial divide? The growth of interracial marriages is slowing among U.S.-born Hispanics and Asians. Still, blacks are substantially more likely than before to marry whites.      MORE Stocks Fade Late as Euro Sinks; Dow Ends Under 10,000 A drop in the euro set off a late-day slide in stocks Wednesday and sent the Dow Jones industrial average to its first close below 10,000 in nearly four months.    MORE Christian Faith - America's Historic Backbone The president of Westminster Theological Seminary believes the proclaimed "father" of the United States would be appalled at the direction the nation is headed. Dr. Peter Lillback authored George Washington's Sacred Fire, a 1,208-page book that examines President Washington's writings and speeches in an attempt to find out if he was a deist or a born-again believer.   MORE Runaway Teen Convert Rifqa Bary Battles Cancer The teen girl who ran away from her Muslim family for fear of being harmed for converting to Christianity is battling uterine cancer. Rifqa Bary, 17, is scheduled to undergo her third surgery Thursday, said her  lawyer...    MORE Evangelicals Hold First National Prayer Day for Creation Evangelical leaders from several prominent organizations gathered on Capitol Hill Tuesday to pray, repent and sing about creation care. The afternoon rally at the Upper Senate Park was among several events that took place for the first-ever National Day of Prayer for Creation Care.   MORE USA Today Op-Ed: Atheists Need to Learn to Play Well With Others America has a complex and enduring commitment to pluralism. We want people to be free to act — and believe — as they please. But we must all play in the same sandbox, so we are attentive to the idiosyncrasies of our playmates, especially when they don't make sense to us.    MORE Ground Zero Mosque Approval Angers New Yorkers A New York City community board has voted overwhelmingly to support a plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero. The city board voted 29-1 in favor of the Cordoba Mosque, despite a very contentious debate over the building.  New Yorkers are furious over the idea of building a mosque near the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.  MORE Challenge May Await Oklahoma Abortion Measure The National Right to Life Committee expects Planned Parenthood to block implementation of an Oklahoma bill that would impose reporting requirements on abortion providers.      MORE Newsbusters: Penn Jillette Shocked That Religious Are ‘Most Tolerant’ ....He also admitted that it was a "shock" to discover the relative tolerance of American Christians after the airing of the show from last August attacking the Catholic Church, as he compared reaction from Christians to that from other groups the show has attacked, such as 9/11 conspiracy theorists.    MORE Quietly, the Christian-Muslim Killing Continues in Nigeria Access to power and lucrative oil contacts are driving a rise in Christian-Muslim clashes and killings. Nigeria's heavy military presence is not enough to quell violence that plagues the No. 3 supplier of oil to the US.  MORE Update for Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 Obama to Send 1,200 Troops to Border President Barack Obama will send 1,200 National Guard troops to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border, an administration official and an Arizona congresswoman said Tuesday, pre-empting Republican plans to try to force votes on such a deployment.  MORE 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Compromise Reached; Vote Expected Soon The White House hammered out a compromise Monday that supports Congress repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that bars gays from serving openly in the military, while allowing the Pentagon to continue its review of how to best implement the changes.    MORE Supreme Court to Hear Ariz. Christian School Case The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a case concerning Arizona’s tax credits for donations towards private school scholarships. A lower court last year ruled parts of the program were unconstitutional because parents who want to use the scholarships could mostly only send their children to religious schools. The Americans Civil Liberties Union, which filed the original lawsuit, and other opponents of the program argue it is unconstitutional because it amounts to state endorsement of religion.   MORE USA Today: Private Income Shrinks to Historic Lows as Gov't Payouts Rise Paychecks from private business shrank to their smallest share of personal income in U.S. history during the first quarter of this year, a USA TODAY analysis of government data finds. At the same time, government-provided benefits — from Social Security, unemployment insurance, food stamps and other programs — rose to a record high during the first three months of 2010.   MORE Horror in China: Aborted but Still Living Baby Sent for Cremation An aborted baby boy, who had been declared dead by doctors in Foshan City, China, suddenly cried out as he was about to be cremated, but died later after doctors refused to treat him. A mortuary worker at the Nanhai Funeral Home reportedly was startled by a cry from a box, labeled "medical waste," that he was about to put into the incinerator. He opened the carton and found the baby moving, but choking on some cotton wool in his mouth, the locally based Information Times reported.   MORE Arrest Ordered in Christian Book Copyright Infringement  A bench warrant has been issued for the arrest of Andrew Amue by the High Court in London after Amue failed to appear at a hearing to enforce a March 2008 order that he cease copyright infringement on hundreds of Christian books. Acting on behalf of several of its members, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association...    MORE ACLU Attacks Texas Sheriff for Refusing to Drive Inmate for Abortion The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has threatened legal action against a Texas sheriff, claiming he violated an inmate's constitutional "right" to an abortion by refusing to transport her to an abortion clinic.  Sheriff Larry Fowler, however, said he would not use taxpayer funds to facilitate the deed.      MORE Minnesota Church Takes First Step to Exit Lutheran Denomination A Crosby, Minn., congregation voted Sunday to cut ties with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Immanuel Lutheran Church voted 213 to 69 to end its affiliation with the ELCA. It was church's first of two votes needed to leave the denomination. "[W]e feel so happy that the word of God was upheld," Bob Sandin told the Brainerd Daily Dispatch.   MORE Update for Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 Israel's Emergency Preparedness Drill in Full Swing Israel's fourth nationwide emergency preparedness drill began Sunday, with a simulated full-scale regional war scenario.  The exercise begins more than two weeks into the war, after 200 missile and rockets - some fitted with chemical and biological warheads - have been fired on Israel by Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria, Iran.   MORE Bible Prophecy Today: Will the European Union Survive? There has been a flurry of negative news about the health of the European Union. It seems like everything that could possibly go wrong has done so. The outlook is so bad, some economists are talking about the eventual demise of the European Union.    MORE Hindu Nationalists in India Plan ‘Religious Cleansing’  Hindu nationalist organizations in Madhya Pradesh state have declared their intentions to rid Mandla district of all Christian influence by starting preparations for a large “reconversion” event next year.   MORE Obama Tells West Point Graduates He Wants to Shape a New World Order Addressing the graduates of the West Point military academy, President Obama pledged to shape a new international order as part of a national security strategy which expresses his faith in cooperation and partnership to confront the economic and military challenges of the future.    MORE Bible Prophecy Today: Why There Should Be No Mosques at Ground Zero Now that it has been revealed that not one, but two mosques are planned for the area around Ground Zero, the supremacist and triumphalist character of this effort is clearer than ever. Is the Muslim population of lower Manhattan so huge that one projected mosque would immediately be bursting at the seams, and thus yet another is required even before the first is built?    MORE Catholic Bishops Push Plan Against Abortion Under Healthcare The nation’s Catholic bishops endorse a new bipartisan measure aimed at blocking any possibility of federal abortion funding under President Obama’s healthcare reform law.   MORE Graduation-Time Controversies Heat Up An Indiana high school that a federal judge barred from having a student-supported graduation prayer now says it won't screen speeches by speakers at its May 28 commencement.  In the past, Greenwood High School's principal has required student speakers to submit their speeches in advance to review content, grammar and length. But Greenwood is lifting the practice this year.     MORE Israel Begins Biggest War Drill in Its History Israel held a dress rehearsal for disaster Sunday, beginning a defense drill to test the response of soldiers, emergency crews and civilians to simulated missile barrages, terrorist attacks and chemical strikes.   MORE Study: Parenthood Does Not Make for Active Churchgoers A new study debunks the common assumption that once a couple hits parenthood, they'll put Sunday church services back on their calendar. While children do act as a catalyst for millions of parents to return to the pews or become more active in the church, it is not the normative experience.  MORE White House Eyes a Compromise On Gays In Military  A proposal to step up the repeal of the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military but still allow the Pentagon time - perhaps even years - to implement new policies was being discussed Monday by administration officials and gay rights activists.      MORE Stocks Slide Again as Worries About Europe Linger Stocks fell Monday on further concerns about the strength of Europe's financial industry and economy.The drop comes after a tumultuous week that saw major U.S. indexes post their biggest one-day losses of the year on Thursday and then stage a partial rebound Friday. Major indexes have been hit hard in recent weeks on worries about European sovereign debt problems. MORE Gay Marriage Support Gains Slightly in U.S. Forty-four percent of Americans say marriage between same-sex couples should be recognized by the law as valid, up four percent compared to 2009 and 2008.   MORE Dangerous Planned Parenthood Abortion Scheme Spreading Planned Parenthood has announced a five-year plan to expand "telemed" abortions nationwide. Operation Rescue has discovered that telemed abortions (see related article) are being used in Iowa, so the state board of medicine is planning an investigation to determine if the method is legal. MORE Seventh Grader Suspended Over Religious Necklace A New York school district could find itself in court after repeatedly suspending a 13-year-old student for wearing a religious necklace to class.   MORE Second Wave of Deportations Hits Foreign Christians in Morocco  In a second wave of deportations from Morocco, officials of the majority-Muslim country have expelled 26 foreign Christians in the last 10 days without due process. Following the expulsion of more than 40 foreign Christians in March, the deportations were apparently the result of Muslim hardliners pressuring the nation’s royalty to show Islamic solidarity.  MORE Update for Monday, May 24th, 2010 Anger Mounts As Oil Blackens Louisiana Coast Anger is mounting as heavy oil blackened Louisiana's marshes and beaches and efforts to cap the oil which has been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for more than a month met with more delays.      MORE LA Times: 'American Idol's' Christian Connection Mega-churches across the country's heartland have served as the training grounds for many of the Fox show's contestants, with parishioners doing their part with prayers and text votes.   MORE Christian Biochemist: First 'Synthetic Cell' Strengthens Case for Design A biochemistry expert at the science-faith think tank Reasons to Believe is among those hailing the recent creation of the first-ever “synthetic cell,” though not for the same reasons as most. “From an apologetics standpoint, this is exciting work that I’m happy to see pursued and would like to see even more effort devoted toward this because it’s giving us a very powerful case for [Intelligent] Design,” said Dr. Fazle Rana on Friday... MORE Sorry, Mr. President: Socialism's Not in the Bible Having placed 50 percent of America's economy under government control, the Obama administration is now angling for a tighter grip on the financial sector.  The operative word is "fairness," which is shorthand for Obama's famous campaign promise to "spread the wealth around."  When critics said that this remark to "Joe the Plumber" displayed Obama's socialist leanings, Obama justified it by citing Scripture....    MORE Rev. Wright: Obama Threw Me Under the Bus The former pastor of Barack Obama revealed in an originally private letter that his relationship with the president is pretty much non-existent since the first family withdrew their membership from the church he once led. MORE Will House Pro-Life Caucus Still Be Effective? In the aftermath of passage of the healthcare reform bill, a question arises as to whether the House Pro-Life Caucus has meaning anymore.  The effectiveness of the Caucus, which welcomes Republicans and Democrats, seemed shaky when the supposedly pro-life Bart Stupak (D-Michigan) deserted his stance, taking others with him by voting in favor of the healthcare reform bill. That measure calls for citizens to finance abortions. MORE Conservative Watchdog Leader Issues Warning to Evangelical Groups The head of a conservative watchdog group that monitors mainline denominations warned evangelical groups this past week to stay away from “divisive, liberal political activism” in light of the declining support witnessed within the National Council of Churches in the USA.     MORE Fred Phelp's Son Leaves Behind His Church, His Family & God ....In a family whose business is demonstrating about God's wrath against homosexuality (and other perceived sins), Nate Phelps could not be more of a black sheep. His estranged father, Fred, leads a church known for picketing U.S. military funerals with graphic signs that read, "Thank God For Dead Soldiers." Phelps' relatives -- described in a 2007 BBC documentary as "The Most Hated Family in America" -- are members of the Westboro Church, in Topeka, Kan. But Phelps abandoned his upbringing decades ago and, in recent years, has embraced atheism.   MORE Glenn Beck Show Transcript: The Roots of Social Justice ....The man who started the school where I'm the president, J. Gresham Machen, wrote a book that revolutionized the 20th century. It was called "Christianity and Liberalism." And basically what he said is, is that liberals claim to be Christians, they use all kind of Christian vocabulary, but they give them different meanings. And that Christianity and liberalism are two different religions.   MORE Yemeni Cleric Calls for Killing US Civilians  A U.S.-born cleric who has encouraged Muslims to kill American soldiers called for the killing of U.S. civilians in his first video released by a Yemeni offshoot of al-Qaida, providing the most overt link yet between the radical preacher and the terror group.     MORE American Thinker: The Sons and Daughters of Liberty From "astro-turfers" to "tea-baggers"... from "racists" to "domestic terrorists"... the men and women of the American Tea Party movement have been consistently vilified by the powers-that-be in this country. The political elite in Washington, D.C. are determined to malign and destroy the Tea Party movement, and the media elite are fully complicit in that assault.   MORE Colorado Church Wins Zoning Dispute A Colorado church has won a land-use lawsuit against Boulder County. As Rocky Mountain Christian Church is growing, the congregation was running out of room for its church and school. So the church made plans to make more room and went through the legal process to build a future 240,000-square-foot facility.   MORE Texas Board of Education OKs New Social Studies Curriculum The Texas State Board of Education approved new public school curriculum standards Friday for social studies courses that put more emphasis on the role of Christianity in society, in government, and in history.  MORE Update for Weekend, May 22nd-23rd, 2010 Dow On Track for Worst Month Since February 2009 Two weeks after a mini-meltdown that still hasn't been fully explained, the stock market had another tumultuous ride this week as disarray in Europe heightened fears of a global slowdown.  Even with a moderate comeback on Friday, this week is shaping up to be one of the worst since the bull market began more than a year ago.    MORE 'Artificial Life' Breakthrough Announced By Scientists Scientists have succeeded in developing the first living cell to be controlled entirely by synthetic DNA. The researchers constructed a bacterium's "genetic software" and transplanted it into a host cell.  The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species "dictated" by the synthetic DNA. The advance, published in Science, has been hailed as a scientific landmark, but critics say there are dangers posed by synthetic organisms.  MORE CBN: Are Scientists Who Create Artificial Life 'Playing God'? ...Venter says the project is the first step towards the ultimate goal of designing organisms that work differently from the way nature intended.  The cells could be used to turn algae into fuel, manufacture vaccines, and to even clean up oil spills.  However, in the hands of bioterrorists, the discovery could have devastating effects, perhaps allowing them to create a deadly new virus.     MORE 'Idaho 10' Member Blames UNICEF for Arrests With the last of 10 Southern Baptist mission volunteers released from a Haitian jail May 17, one of her "Idaho 10" co-laborers is breaking his silence and blaming the whole ordeal on meddling by the United Nations Children Fund, more commonly known as UNICEF.   MORE Facebook Accused of Hurting Muslims With ‘Anti-Islamic Sentiments’ The Facebook page at the center of angry protests in Pakistan because of depictions of Mohammed also has been blocked in Saudi Arabia, the latest development in a controversy first sparked almost five years ago by a Danish newspaper’s publication of cartoons satirizing Mohammed.   MORE Jimmy DeYoung: Europe's Economic Crisis Could Affect U.S. & the World As the financial ministers in the 27 member states of the European Union meet to deal with the growing economic crisis in Europe financial experts in the United States and around the world say what is happening in Europe could effect the global economic crisis already in place.   MORE CBN: More Americans Traveling for Memorial Day Memorial Day weekend is just one week away and AAA has released its annual holiday travel forecast. The travel group is predicting more Americans will hit the roads and skies over the holiday weekend, but will likely spend less than last year.   MORE Replacement Mojave Memorial Cross Torn Down A cross similar to the one that was stolen nearly two weeks ago was mysteriously erected in the Mojave National Preserve but quickly removed after authorities said it was illegal. The replica cross, which was six inches taller than the original one, appeared in the federal park in California on Thursday. Park officials said it was a violation to put up the cross without government authorization.     MORE Jews for Jesus Founder Dies at Age 78 The founder of Jews for Jesus died Wednesday, leaving behind a pre-written message to members of the ministry. In the letter posted on the website after his death, Moishe Rosen encouraged members of Jews for Jesus to stay with the ministry, especially as they “stand on the edge of a breakthrough in Jewish evangelism.”     MORE Over 30% of Euthanasia Cases in Belgian Region Did Not Give Consent In one region of Belgium, over 30 percent of reported euthanasia cases were carried out without the consent of the patient, a study has found. At the same time, the overall number of official reported deaths by euthanasia are dramatically increasing in the country since the practice was legalized in 2002, with 40 per cent more cases reported for 2009 than the previous year.     MORE Matt Barber: Kagan a Lesbian? Why It Matters I don't see how liberal media-types can write, what with those uncallous, milky-soft little digits all bundled in bulky kid gloves and all. Oh, when the target of their "reporting" is a conservative politico, or even Tea Party Joe, off come the gloves. But when it's one of their own – when circumstances require that a fellow liberal undergo a modicum of journalistic scrutiny – its simpatico most sublime. Out with the inquiry; in with the Huggies and tushie powder.   MORE Global Day of Prayer to Celebrate 10-Year History The Global Day of Prayer, observed by millions of Christians each year, will celebrate the tenth anniversary of its founding by a South African businessman this Sunday. South African believers will gather at Newlands Rugby Stadium in Cape Town – site of the first GDOP event – to pray and to celebrate how one of their own started one of the world’s largest prayer events.    MORE More Abortion Workers Quit with Pro-Lifers' Help A few nights ago, I shared the stage at a pregnancy center banquet in San Antonio with Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood director who experienced a profound conversion and left the abortion industry during last fall's 40 Days for Life campaign.       MORE Kansas Prison Welcomes New Worship Center Inmates usually don't have much to be excited about, but at one Kansas prison, worship and education programs are reaching new heights to help change lives for the better.  A new Spiritual Life Center is officially open at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in Kansas. It is now the largest such chapel in a federal prison.      MORE Homosexual Activists Bullying Califorina Therapists Political correctness could force some California psychologists and counselors out of business. According to a state therapist identified only as "Betty," in wanting to be sensitive to the cause of homosexuals the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) -- the only professional organization for marriage in the state -- has started to infringe on the religious freedom of therapists and their clients.  MORE Conservative Anglicans in U.S., England Propose Clergy Swap Conservative Anglicans in North America are inviting priests in the Church of England to take part in a clergy swap as a show of solidarity.  Formed last year by conservative Anglicans who broke away from The Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church in North America is proposing the swap in the wake of the consecration of TEC’s first partnered lesbian bishop last Saturday.   MORE Update for Friday, May 21st, 2010 AP: Stocks Tumble as Euro Drops, Jobless Claims Rise Stocks plunged again Thursday as more investors woke up to the possibility that economic problems such as Europe's debt crisis might spread around the world and stop the growing recovery in the U.S.    MORE Does Healthcare Reform Cross Constitutional Lines? Another lawsuit has been filed in an effort to halt implementation of President Obama's healthcare reform law. Attorney Pete Lepiscopo has filed the suit on behalf of former California Assemblyman Steve Baldwin and the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), who argue that the measure is in violation of the Constitution.    MORE Christians Upset Over UK's First TV Abortion Services Ad The head of the Christian Legal Center has condemned plans to air the first ever TV advertisement for abortion services.  Marie Stopes is set to make TV history when it advertises its abortion services on Channel 4 at 2210 GMT on May 24. The ad asks "Are you late?" referring to women who may have missed a period. It will then run throughout June.   MORE Muslim Anger Prompts Pakistan to Block Facebook Pakistan's government ordered Internet service providers to block Facebook on Wednesday amid anger over a page that encourages users to post images of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.      MORE American Thinker: The Black Church's Commitment to Obama Dear Black Church,  What I am about to say will probably anger you. As a black Christian, I have struggled with whether or not to address this sensitive topic. I only ask that you give my statements prayerful consideration. N 96% of black voters, many of whom are Christians, cast their votes for Barack Obama. I question: Did your desire to see a black man in the White House trump your commitment to Christ and Christian values and principles? MORE American Thinker: Tea Parties and Racism et used to it, Tea Partiers: You are going to be called racists. A Google search on "racism tea parties" gets 190,000 hits. Fortunately, I am a self-appointed one-man rescue squad to help beleaguered Tea Partiers fight back. MORE Muslim Teachers in Pakistan Allegedly Abuse Christian Students Muslim teachers at a girls school here have derided Christian students for their faith, beat them, pressured them to convert to Islam and forced them to clean school bathrooms and classrooms after class hours, according to area Christians.      MORE Texas Board Expected to Vote on Social Studies Curriculum The Texas State Board of Education is expected to take the final vote on its contentious social studies curriculum on Friday. After 18 months of work, the board is nearing the vote that could revise the state’s social studies curriculum to put more emphasis on religion and the role of Christianity in the founding of America.   MORE Update for Thursday, May 20th, 2010 Wall St. Journal: Joblessness Hits the Pulpit ...While the economy appears to be recovering from the worst downturn in generations, more clergy are facing unemployment as churches continue to struggle with drops in donations. In 2009, the government counted about 5,000 clergy looking for jobs, up from 3,000 in 2007 and 2,000 in 2005.  MORE Sharper Iron: What's Really Brewing at the Tea Parties?  ...Should a Christian be part of a political rally or protest?...Some folks aren’t comfortable being involved in politics, but as with anything else, we have to monitor our priorities. I believe it is possible for politics to have a place in our lives along with any other hobbies, interests, or activities.  Personally, I still believe in what the Tea Party is doing to bring attention to economic conservatism.   MORE 'Radically Different' Story Is Emerging About Baptists Detained In Haiti Paul Thompson reads the media accounts describing the journey of him and nine other jailed Baptist volunteers in Haiti who are all now free, and scratches his head. He was there. What he reads is not what he experienced. Thompson, pastor of Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho, was one... MORE Company Searches for Oil in Israel Israel is a part of the oil-rich Middle East, but it needs to import most of its oil and gasoline. Yet one company believes there is plenty of oil in the Holy Land and they intend to find it. A potential discovery could change the dynamics of the Middle East and Israel's future.   MORE Falwell: Measurements of Success in Ministry Are Messed Up Half of pastors would leave the ministry tomorrow if they could. Seventy percent are fighting depression and 90 percent can't cope with the challenge of ministry. Those are the statistics Pastor Jonathan Falwell laid out to thousands of ministers who were in Lynchburg, Va., Tuesday for the "Refuel" conference.     MORE More Christians Leaving the Holy Land Thousands of Christians from Iraq and other countries are leaving the Middle East because of persecution, violence and economic hardship. Perhaps the most alarming exodus is occurring in the Holy Land -- the birthplace of Christianity. MORE Billy Graham Wants To Give One More Sermon The Rev. Billy Graham hopes to deliver at least one more sermon as the 91-year-old evangelist enters his sunset years, a spokesman said Tuesday. No final decision has been made about a time, location or format, said A. Larry Ross, a longtime spokesman for Graham.   MORE Muslim Anger Prompts Pakistan to Block Facebook Pakistan's government ordered Internet service providers to block Facebook on Wednesday amid anger over a page that encourages users to post images of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.     MORE Church of England Tells BBC Not to Sideline Religion The Church of England has urged the BBC not to reduce its religious content as it considers what its broadcasting priorities should be. In a submission to the BBC’s consultation on the future of its programming, Bishop of Manchester the Rt. Rev. Nigel McCulloch said religion was too present in the “public ether” for it to be sidelined by the BBC.   MORE FEMA Apologizes to Volunteers Over Salvation Army T-Shirt Unfortunately, this is becoming more and more common in our society. Christians are being asked to even remove t-shirts because those shirts are "offensive" to some. In this case, a FEMA worker who was doing a video... MORE Three Samaritan's Purse Staff Abducted by Gunmen Three workers for a Christian relief organization were abducted in Sudan Tuesday evening, the group reported.  The Samaritan’s Purse team of two Sudanese men and a 36-year-old American woman from California was stopped by a group of armed men 25 miles southwest of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state.   MORE Charter School Considers Appealing Decision on Religious Texts A charter school in Idaho is considering an appeal against the dismissal of its lawsuit, which challenged the ban on religious texts in its curriculum.  MORE Mission Leader: Why So Few Christians in Japan? The quality of missionaries or the methodologies used is not the problem when it comes evangelizing. But it is the Japanese mentality itself that is hindering more people from coming to Christ, said a mission leader last week at a global conference in Tokyo.   MORE Christian Girls Kidnapped in Yemen Are Rescued Saudi Arabian and Yemeni security forces rescued two German girls yesterday, 11 months after the two young sisters, their parents, brother and four other Christians were taken hostage in Yemen.     MORE   Update for Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 Kagan Papers Emerge Amid Questions On Abortion A senior House Democrat said Tuesday that senators should fully question Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan to make sure she supports abortion rights, in light of her previous backing for limiting late-term abortions. MORE Stocks Slide After Euro Falls to New 4-Year Low Investors uneasy about the news coming out of Europe Tuesday went back to selling stocks sharply lower. The falling euro and news that German regulators plan to limit some kinds of short selling fed the drop.   MORE Should a Believer Take Another Believer To Court? Should a believer take another believer to court? Should a believer initiate a lawsuit against another believer to regain that which his brother owes him? These are relevant questions in today’s world. In 1 Corinthians 6:1-11, Paul answers that a believer should not take another believer to court; instead, they should appear before the church. We will look at Paul’s response to a specific problem in Corinth (1 Cor. 6:1-6), Paul’s rebuke concerning this problem  MORE ACLU Sues to Stop Graduation at Conn. Church A Connecticut school district is being sued for allowing two high school graduation ceremonies to be held at a church.  Enfield Public Schools voted to hold June commencement at a local megachurch because of its size and low cost. Two students said the decision "coerces students and parents to receive the overwhelming religious message" of the church.    MORE Liberty U Bestows Honorary Degree on Glenn Beck Conservative radio and TV host Glenn Beck received an honorary Doctorate of Humanities degree from Liberty University on Saturday just moments before he was to deliver a keynote address to the graduating class.   MORE Colorado County Loses Church Zoning Battle  A Colorado church can move forward with its plans to expand now that it has won its case in court.  On Monday, a federal court ordered Boulder County to approve Rocky Mountain Christian Church's building permit. The church wanted to more than double its campus to 240,000 square feet from about 106,000 square feet near Niwot.   MORE Case Against 'Homosexuality Is Sin' Preacher Dropped Charges were dropped against a U.K. street preacher who was arrested for saying homosexuality is a sin. After reviewing the evidence, crown prosecutors decided last week to discontinue the prosecution of Dale Mcalpine, as reported by the Christian Institute.      MORE Southern Baptists Mark 3rd Year of Membership Decline Though more churches were added, the country's largest Protestant denomination is still counting fewer members. According to a newly released annual report, membership in the Southern Baptist Convention fell in 2009 by 0.42 percent to 16.16 million. That marks the third consecutive year of decline for a body that had previously bucked the shrinking trend of other denominations.     MORE Federal Judge Says No to Bible at Charter School A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the state of Idaho by a charter school that planned to use the Bible as an instructional text. The Idaho Press Tribune reports that U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge dismissed the case Monday filed by the Nampa Classical Academy.   MORE ACLU Sues To Protect the Right to Swear An American rights group is suing the police in Pennsylvania for issuing tickets, which carry a jail sentence, to people for swearing. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed the lawsuits earlier, argues that the right to use profanity is protected by the U.S. Constitution.  MORE Swingers' Case Tests Sexual Limits In China They were members of a modern-day swingers' club in China, where people met online and then gathered in homes or hotels for group sex parties involving dozens of men and women. Last month, Ma Yaohai, a 53-year-old college professor and 21 others went on trial in the city of Nanjing, accused of "group licentiousness..." MORE Miss USA Controversies Storm the Blogosphere And you thought beauty queens' infighting was fierce. No pageant managed by The Donald would be complete without its own outbreak of culture war.   MORE Indian Missionaries Call It a 'Privilege' to Suffer Missionaries in training with Gospel for Asia have spoken of the “privilege” they felt in suffering for Christ after being attacked on their Bible college campus in Mumbai, India, earlier in the month.  Seven students were seriously injured in the attack by suspected anti-Christian extremists on May 9.    MORE Christian Girls Kidnapped in Yemen Are Rescued Saudi Arabian and Yemeni security forces rescued two German girls yesterday, 11 months after the two young sisters, their parents, brother and four other Christians were taken hostage in Yemen.    MORE Update for Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 Obama Signs Press Freedom Act, Then Refuses to Take Questions There was some rich irony at the White House Monday -- President Obama signed the Press Freedom Act, and then promptly refused to take any questions. The new law expands the State Department's annual human rights reports to include a description of press freedoms in each country. It seemed a good opportunity to showcase press freedom in this country.  MORE Poll: More Americans Oppose Abortions  More Americans have called themselves "pro-life" than "pro-choice" on the issue of abortion, according to the latest Gallup poll. The survey shows 47 percent said they are pro-life and 45 percent are pro-choice.   MORE Ripple Effect: Meltdown Ahead for Europe, U.S.? major crisis could be brewing in the world economy. This time, the trouble is starting in Europe. Analysts are worried that the problems with Greece and other countries could drag down the European economy - and that could hurt America as well. MORE Baptist Volunteer Silsby Released In Haiti After Conviction Baptist volunteer Laura Silsby has been released by Haitian authorities after a court conviction May 17. According to the Associated Press, Silsby was convicted May 17 of arranging to transport 33 children out of Haiti in late January, following the Jan. 12 earthquake that ravaged the Caribbean country. Silsby was leading a group...  MORE Supreme Court: Sexually Dangerous Can Be Kept in Prison The Supreme Court says federal officials can indefinitely hold inmates considered "sexually dangerous" after their prison terms are complete. The high court on Monday reversed a lower court decision that said Congress overstepped its authority in allowing indefinite detentions of considered "sexually dangerous."    MORE Poll: More Americans Say U.S. Morality Getting Worse More Americans believe moral values in the United States are getting worse, according to a new Gallup Poll. The Gallup’s annual poll on moral values found 76 percent of Americans said moral values in the country are getting worse, up five percent from last year. This year’s rise marked the second highest one-year increase...  MORE Researchers Find Success With Adult Stem Cells Proof of success in using adult stem cells continues to flow in.  About three years ago, Eddie Floyd, owner of Bark and Purr Pet Center in Austin, Texas, felt a severe pain in his chest and rushed to a hospital to find that he had had a heart attack. Afterwards, doctors asked him to participate in a trial that involved adult stem cells being...  MORE America's Approaching Debt Disaster  ....if you don't think the economic chaos in Greece can come to America, economists say think again. America is on a fiscal course economists warn is unsustainable - racking up debts we will not be able to repay. This nation, they warn, is already on the path to economic ruin.  MORE Haggards Incorporate New Church in Colorado The home of former megachurch pastor Ted Haggard has been listed as the site of the recently incorporated “St. James Church,” according to Colorado state documents.But the “church,” for now, is only be used for accounting purposes and not as a place for regular public worship, says the ousted founder of...   MORE Vatican Denies Help to Failing Churches in Boston The Vatican is refusing to step in to keep Catholic churches from closing in Boston. A fight to keep the 10 parishes running has been going on for more than five years. Round-the-clock sit-ins have been held every day at three of the churches, but without a mass, a priest, or any church officials there. MORE Poll: Americans Under 30 Most Likely to Take Uncompromising Stand for Right to Life The pro-abortion left appears to be losing the battle for the heart and soul of the rising generation of Americans, according to new data released by the Gallup poll.  Americans in the 18 to 29 age bracket are now more likely than their elders to believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances,... MORE Kansas City Star: Christian Comedians Stand Up For God Jeff Allen is doing what he’s always dreamed of doing: making people laugh. But his life has been anything but comedy. It was a long, painful journey to where he is now, a comic with the four-man Apostles of Comedy...The group is part of an increasingly popular genre of Christian comedians. MORE Christian Post Op-Ed: Why Do Church Visitors Return? There are a variety of reasons why a person visits a specific church. For many people, it is because someone personally invited them. Others may end up at a particular church because of the location. Still others may choose a place of worship based on the size of the congregation or certain ministries that are offered. Once inside the doors however, what is it that keeps them coming back for more?      MORE Conservative Anglicans Lament Ordination of 2nd Gay Bishop The ordination of two women bishops, one of whom is a partnered lesbian, was a moment of celebration for some 3,000 Episcopalians gathered in Long Beach, Calif., on Saturday. But for others, it was a moment of sorrow.  MORE Dallas First Baptist Church Commits $115M for Massive Campus First Baptist Church of Dallas has raised more than $115 million for a new campus, surpassing what any Protestant megachurch has ever collected toward a project. MORE Appeals Court Refuses to Rehear Ky. Commandments Case A court of appeals on Friday denied the request of the American Civil Liberties Union to rehear a case on the constitutionality of a Ten Commandments display in Kentucky.      MORE Update for Monday, May 17th, 2010 Obama Administration Gave Oil Rig Safety Award Last Year The federal agency responsible for ensuring that the Deepwater Horizon was operating safely before it exploded last month fell well short of its own policy that the rig be inspected at least once per month, an Associated Press investigation shows. In fact, the agency's inspection frequency on the Deepwater Horizon fell dramatically... MORE Pro-Life Groups Find Useful Tool In Obamacare Pro-life proponents are using a provision in the new health reform law to limit abortion coverage by private insurers. An obscure part of the law allows states to restrict abortion coverage by private plans operating in new insurance markets. Capitalizing on that language, abortion foes have succeeded in passing bans that, in some cases, go beyond federal statutes. MORE AP: Vatican Details US Sex Abuse Defense The Vatican on Monday will make its most detailed argument yet for why it is not liable for bishops who allowed priests to molest children in the U.S., in a motion that could affect other efforts to sue the Holy See in American courts, The Associated Press has learned.     MORE Plot to Kill Pope Thwarted Two Moroccan students deported from Italy last month were suspected of plotting to assassinate Pope Benedict, an Interior Ministry source says. Mohamed Hlal, 26, and Ahmed Errahmouni, 22, students at the University for Foreigners in the central Italian city of Perugia, had been under surveillance by anti-terrorist police for months before they were expelled on April 29. MORE Mom to be Charged with Killing Unborn Infant while DUI A Georgia woman is soon to be charged with killing her 24-week-old unborn baby in a car accident after fleeing police while driving under the influence of alcohol. According to police, Jessica Bruce refused to stop her car Wednesday when police tried to pull her over for going 85 mph in a 65 mph zone outside of Atlanta.    MORE Newsweek: The Supreme Court and the American Mind  ...Why are we asking if the religious composition of the United States Supreme Court should be more representative of America’s religious traditions, now that it is likely that for the first time in its history, the Court is likely not to have one single Protestant on board?   MORE American Thinker: Why Conservatives Love the Founders A Salon writer wonders, "What's the conservative fetish with the Founding Fathers?" It's because we read history, my sadly ignorant friend. So did the Founders. History is full of Obamas, and the people who idolized such power-hungry self-glorifying narcissists. The Founders understood human history in their very bones, because they read history from the Bible to the Roman Empire,    MORE Birth Rate Drops, Problems Rise According to newly released government statistics, the U.S. birth rate has dropped below replacement level. The fact that the birth rate is falling comes as no surprise to Colin Mason, director of media production at the Population Research Institute (PRI), who explains that "our birth rate's actually been dropping for a while."    MORE Business Mission Network: What Does It Mean to "Enter the Ministry"?  ...The phrase clearly does not come from Scripture. Even so, does it communicate a biblical truth? Or does it send us down the slippery path of human tradition?  MORE American Thinker: The Problems with Al Gore There are two problems with Al Gore. First, he's a demagogue who lacks an appreciation for the ethics and methods of science. Second, he's a not a scientist, but a celebrity and politician who does not understand the technical aspects of science.      MORE Livescience: Peanut Allergies Triple in 10 Years The number of Americans with nut allergies has soared to 3 million with peanut allergies in children tripling in the last 10 years. In fact, all food allergies are on the rise, and although their prevalence is hard to pinpoint, LiveScience says estimates run as high as 10 percent of the population. MORE New Book: A Look at Fossils 'With Biblical Glasses On' A new study of the fossil record has been conducted from a biblical worldview, and the results have been released. Dr. John Morris, president of the Institute for Creation Research, performed the study and has just released a new book titled The Fossil Record: Unearthing Nature's History of Life.    MORE Update for Weekend, May 15th-16th, 2010 Attorney General Holder: I Haven't Read Arizona Immigration Law The federal government is considering a lawsuit against a law that the U.S. attorney general hasn't even read. Recent polls show solid public support for Arizona's new law aimed at cracking down on out-of-control illegal immigration in that state. Polls show more than 70 percent of Arizona residents support the new statute, and more than 60-percent support nationally. MORE Atheist Groups Condemn Stealing of Mojave Cross An alliance of atheist groups this week denounced the stealing of the Mojave Desert cross that is at the center of a nearly decade-long court battle. “Damaging and the taking of another’s property is, of course, reprehensible behavior and not to be condoned,” said Stuart Bechman, president of the Atheist Alliance International, in a statement. “AAI certainly condemns that action.”     MORE Alabama Election Takes Nasty Turn With Bible Ads A mysterious ad that accuses a candidate for governor in Alabama of supporting the theory of evolution and questioning the Bible has triggered a nasty shouting match in the state's Republican primary race.  MORE Why Some Are Offended by a Little Girl's Flag I'm haunted by the story of Taryn Hathaway, the 13-year-old Salinas, Calif., girl who reportedly was told by her art teacher at Gavilan View Middle School that her drawing of the American flag with the words "God Bless America" inscribed on it was "offensive."...This story perfectly distills everything that is wrong with America today. Look at the picture Taryn drew. Is this remotely offensive in any  way? Of course not. And yet, some people are indeed offended...  MORE Stocks Tumble On Worries About European Growth The Dow Jones industrial average fell 235 points in late afternoon trading following a slide of more than 3% in European markets. Investors seeking safety piled into Treasurys, the dollar and gold.    MORE U.S. Christian Testifies in Haitian Court A U.S. Christian who was arrested for trying to take dozens of children out of Haiti stood trial Thursday.  Laura Silsby testified that she only wanted to help the Haitian children.  MORE Pastor Appealing $5,000 Fine for Burying Son Behind Church A Baptist pastor is appealing a $5,000 fine for not getting a zoning variance before having his son buried behind his church in southwestern Pennsylvania. A Fayette County zoning officer in November cited the Rev. Ewing Marietta's Liberty Baptist Church and a district judge issued the fine in April. MORE Washington State Rules - Public Library No Place for Porn The Washington Supreme Court has agreed that filters should be installed on public library computers. The court ruled 6-3 in favor of the North Central Regional Library, which had been sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for installing the filters.   MORE Illlinois Church Dismissed from Presbyterian Church(USA) An Aurora, Ill., congregation was dismissed this week from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Blackhawk Presbytery voted on Tuesday to accept the dismissal request of First Presbyterian Church, which will be realigning with a smaller and more conservative denomination, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.L MORE Palin Says Obama Would Ban Guns If He Could Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin warned NRA members Friday that President Barack Obama wants to gut the Second Amendment and told a separate gathering that "mama grizzlies" will help Republicans win this November, sweeping away the Democratic agenda.    MORE Israelis Mark the 43rd Anniversary of the Reunification of the City of Jerusalem On June 7, 1967 the Israeli Defense Force captured the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six Day War and reunited this sacred city after almost 2000 years, giving the Jews access to the Temple Mount, the most sacred piece of real estate in Judaism.    MORE Episcopal Church Set to Ordain Lesbian Bishop Episcopalians are prepared to greet a historic yet controversial occasion – the ordination of the first openly lesbian bishop on Saturday.    MORE Update for Friday, May 14th, 2010 Poll: Americans Who Don’t Attend Church Form Obama’s Base President Barack Obama’s overall approval rating stood at 49 percent for the most recent three-day period, and at 50 percent for the week ending May 8, but it would be lower than that if America consisted exclusively of people who attend church with some regularity.  Non-church goers form the base of Obama’s support, according to Gallup polling data. Gallup reports the breakouts from its presidential approval survey for...  MORE Palestinian Official Criticizes Israeli Prime Minister for Invoking Bible Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Wednesday he found “distasteful” Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s invoking of the Bible to highlight the longstanding Jewish claim to Jerusalem.    MORE Total U.S. Churches No Longer in Decline, Researchers Say We often hear about churches closing their doors in the U.S. But some may be surprised to hear that the total number of churches is not in decline anymore. An important shift happened in recent years, according to researchers Ed Stetzer and Warren Bird. After decades of net decline, more U.S. churches are being started each year than are being closed. The credit largely goes to the recent increase in enthusiasm for church planting.  MORE Laura Bush: Gay Marriage, Abortion Should be Legal Former first lady Laura Bush revealed in an interview this week that she supports the legalization of same-sex marriage and abortion. In an interview with CNN’s Larry King on Tuesday, Bush said she differed with her husband, former President Bush, who is well-known for his opposition to gay marriage and abortion.     MORE Poll: It Takes Graduate Schooling to Appreciate Obama An instructive trend has emerged in Gallup's tracking of President Barack Obama's job approval rating: Only among people with experience in graduate school does his rating top 50 percent.      MORE U.S. Posts 19th Straight Monthly Budget Deficit The United States posted an $82.69 billion deficit in April, nearly four times the $20.91 billion shortfall registered in April 2009 and the largest on record for that month, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday. It was more than twice the $40-billion deficit that Wall Street economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast and was striking since April marks the filing deadline for individual income taxes that are the main source of government revenue.   MORE Pastor Says American Dream Clashes with Jesus' Teachings The American Dream in many ways conflicts with the teachings of Jesus, warns an up-and-coming megachurch pastor. In his new book. Radical, Pastor David Platt of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Ala., points out how the gospel and the American Dream have fundamentally different starting points leading to different paths in life.   MORE Sex-Selective Abortion On the Rise Worldwide Forty percent of births worldwide are taking place in countries where sex-selection abortion is a problem, and though that is troublesome on it own, another issue is on the rise.    MORE Charges Against Chinese Pastor 'Trumped Up' Persecution against Christians in China seems to be on the rise. According to China Aid Association, the Liangren Church in Guangdong has been the target of persecution by communist authorities for the past two years. This past weekend, the church's pastor -- Wang Dao -- was arrested and charged with mobilizing a mob to disrupt the public order.   MORE Pakistani Christians' Employer Has Them Illegally Arrested Police illegally detained three Christians on false charges of alcohol possession in Sialkot last week at the request of their Muslim employer. The men – garment factory workers Atif Masih, Kamran Masih and Naveed Gill – said they had objected to their boss demanding they work on Sundays.   MORE Evangelical Leaders 'Out on a Limb' Regarding Immigration A Protestant renewal organization is questioning the decision of several prominent Christian leaders to sign on to a full-page ad advocating amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.    MORE Update for Thursday, May 13th, 2010 Federal Budget Deficit Hits April Record The federal budget deficit hit an all-time high for the month of April as government revenue fell sharply. The Treasury Department said Wednesday the April deficit soared to $82.7 billion, the largest imbalance for that month on record. That was significantly higher than last year's April deficit of $20 billion and above the $30 billion deficit private economists had anticipated. MORE Toronto Looks at Eliminating Christmas, New Years for Retailers “Bah humbug!” These two words have come to embody the lack of Christmas spirit, but even Scrooge, the money-grubbing, Christmas-loathing protagonist of Charles Dickens’ classic tale who infamously uttered the phrase, begrudgingly gave his clerk Christmas Day off.     MORE Supreme Court Nominee Kagan Argued for Government 'Redistribution of Speech' Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan said the high court should be focused on ferreting out improper governmental motives when deciding First Amendment cases, arguing that the government’s reasons for restricting free speech were what mattered most and not necessarily the effect of those restrictions on speech....In her article, Kagan said that examination of the motives of government is the proper approach for the Supreme Court when looking at...  MORE Russia Says It May Build Nuclear Power Plant in Syria Russia may help build a nuclear power plant in Syria, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko told Reuters on Tuesday as the Kremlin moved to strengthen ties with a Soviet-era ally in the Middle East. On the first state visit to Syria by a Kremlin chief since the Bolshevik Revolution, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev played up prospects for nuclear power cooperation and said Washington should work harder for peace in the Middle East.  MORE Anti-Christian Motives Suspected in Evangelist's Slaying in India The gruesome nature of the May 2 murder of an evangelist in Bihar state who had no enmity with anyone has led area Christians to suspect anti-Christian motives. The mutilated body of Ravi Murmu, 32, was found in Jamalpur, Munger district, with the right hand nearly severed by means of a sharp weapon, and the jaw and neck were similarly slashed.     MORE Netanyahu Turns to Bible in Tussle Over Jerusalem Beset by questions about the future of Jerusalem in talks with the Palestinians, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached for the Bible on Wednesday to stake out the Jewish state’s disputed claim on the city. Netanyahu told a parliamentary session commemorating Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 war that “Jerusalem” and its alternative Hebrew name “Zion” appear 850 times in the Old Testament,...   MORE Raquel Welch: The Pill Ruined The Institution Of Marriage The Hollywood actress said the widespread use of oral contraceptives had led to a breakdown in sexual morality and fuelled the growth of rampant promiscuity among the young.      MORE Update for Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 Mojave Desert Cross Stolen; Supporters Outraged A seven-foot war memorial cross at the center of a nearly 10-year court battle was reported stolen. The metal cross anchored by rocks and concrete at the Mojave National Preserve in California was removed Sunday night, said Liberty Institute, the group representing those who want the cross to remain in place. “This is outrage, akin to desecrating people’s graves,” said Kelly Shackelford, president and CEO of Liberty Institute, in a statement Tuesday. “It’s a disgraceful attack on...our veterans. We will not rest until this memorial is re-installed.”   MORE Veterans Group Vows to Rebuild Mojave Desert Cross The Veterans of Foreign Wars has vowed to rebuild a 7-foot high cross-shaped memorial to the nation’s veterans which was stolen by vandals over the weekend. The cross was at the center of a legal fight that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the cross should remain on federal land. “The memorial will be rebuilt and the vandals will be caught and prosecuted in federal court, since the crime occurred on government property,” said VFW National Commander Thomas J. Tradewell, Sr.  MORE Grand Ole Opry Temporarily Moving to Baptist Church  A Southern Baptist congregation will take its place as the "mother church of country music" -- at least for a while -- as temporary host of the historic Grand Ole Opry on the evenings of May 14-15.  Ed Stetzer, interim pastor of Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn., announced what he called "an incredible opportunity to help our community and our city get back up on its feet" in a letter to church members also posted on his blog.      MORE Christianity Today: Many Who Want Marriage 'Equality' Don't Want Fidelity ...But The New York Times, of all papers, argues that gay unions could significantly alter marriage norms. A new study of gay couples in San Francisco shows that half are "open," meaning that partners consent to each other having sex with other people.     MORE Babies Know the Difference Between Good and Evil at Six Months, Study Reveals At the age of six months babies can barely sit up - let along take their first tottering steps, crawl or talk. But, according to psychologists, they have already developed a sense of moral code - and can tell the difference between good and evil. An astonishing series of experiments is challenging the views of many psychologists and social scientists that human beings are born as 'blank slates' - and that our morality is shaped by our parents and experiences.. MORE Kagan: Some Speech Can Be 'Disappeared' President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan, argued certain forms of speech that promote "racial or gender inequality" could be "disappeared."  In her few academic papers, Kagan evidences strong beliefs for court intervention in speech, going so far as to posit First Amendment speech should be weighed against "societal costs.”    MORE Liberty University to Investigate Seminary President Caner's Statements Liberty University Provost Dr. Ron Godwin is forming a committee to investigate a series of accusations against Ergun Caner, president of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. The Internet allegations have questioned public statements Caner has made regarding the details of his personal life story. MORE China Appeals to Religious Groups for Post-Quake Help The officially atheist Chinese government on Monday requested religious groups and people of faith to help with the rebuilding efforts in a northwest province devastated by a massive earthquake.    MORE Your Online Activity Could Hinder Your Testimony Few stop to consider the ramifications of their online activity, especially how it may affect Christian missions. Entering personal identification facts in a pop-up window, developing a close relationship with someone you’ve never met, posting on a public calendar the dates for your family vacation, and aimlessly meandering from one link to another are just a sampling the many mindless things you may do. Ultimately, they compromise your privacy and expose you to many dangers and risks. What you do online can cost you a job or an education, and it could even rob you of a missionary opportunity. Allow me to share a couple observations...  MORE Bible Prophecy Today: Iran Preparing For War Iran's military preparations and defiant rhetoric are again raising tensions in the Middle East, making military action all the more likely. Whether Iran acts first, or provokes Israel to take pre-emptive measures, the region is moving closer to conflict. Iran last week started Velayat-89, an eight-day war game, to display its...     MORE Graham Defends Calling Islam Inferior Evangelist Franklin Graham was the undisputed center of attention Thursday during National Day of Prayer observances in the nation's capital, putting in an early morning appearance outside the Pentagon, speaking to 350 people on Capitol Hill and then meeting the media at a press conference afterward.  Despite the controversy that attended his participation, Mr. Graham's message was unchanging and unapologetic - that Islam is inferior to Christianity. MORE Pope Blames Church's Sins for Sex Scandal Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday blamed the church's own sins for the clerical abuse scandal -- not a campaign mounted by outsiders -- and called for profound purification to end what he called the "greatest persecution" the church has endured.   MORE 14th-Century Aqueduct Found In Jerusalem  Archeologists said Tuesday they have uncovered a 14th-century aqueduct that supplied water to Jerusalem for almost 600 years along a route dating back to the time of Jesus - but unlike most such finds, this time the experts knew exactly where to look.      MORE Bart Stupak: Hatred Not Worst Part of Health Care Drama Michigan congressman Bart Stupak, who played a pivotal role in the passage of the health care bill, said there is something worse than the hatred – including death threats and angry calls to his house – he experienced because of his support for the legislation.    MORE Update for Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 Conservatives Note Kagan’s Anti-Military Views, Lack of Judicial Experience U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan will face two major stumbling blocks as a Supreme Court nominee – her anti-military views and her ties to Goldman Sachs, a conservative group says. “Conservatives know Kagan as the Harvard Law School Dean who tried to bar the military from college campuses, an issue she fought all the way to the Supreme Court,” the Family Research Council said on Friday in an email to supporters.   MORE Supreme Court Nominee Kagan Has Never Been a Judge President Barack Obama has nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, saying she will demonstrate independence, integrity and passion for the law. But Liberty Counsel's Mat Staver points out she has no judicial experience.    MORE Obama Urged to Lift U.S. Restrictions on Religious Travel to Cuba Leaders of the National Council of Churches and Church World Service are urging the president to lift the restrictions on religious travel to Cuba, calling the current U.S. policy toward Cuba “ineffective and counter-productive.”  MORE Justice Nominee Kagan Stirs Some Concerns Some conservative groups expressed concern Monday over the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan for the U.S. Supreme Court. Earlier in the morning, President Obama named Kagan as his nominee to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. One of the repeated complaints among social conservatives is Kagan’s strong pro-choice view. Opponents of her nomination fear she will be an activist judge who will...   MORE Comedy Central Developing Animated Jesus Show Comedy Central is in the process of developing an animated TV show that features Jesus Christ as “the ultimate fish out of water” despite efforts the all-comedy network had made recently to censor a more-controversial-than-usual episode of “South Park.”      MORE Santa Rosa, Florida Decree Criminalizes Religious Rights In Florida, the Santa Rosa County School District faces a comprehensive lawsuit, alleging that the district and the superintendent are violating the religious rights of students and employees.     MORE Georgia Seniors Told They Can't Pray Before Meals Preston Blackwelder proudly showed off a painting of his grandmother that had hung next to the front door of his Port Wentworth home. She was the woman who led him to God, Blackwelder said Friday. And with that firm religious footing, Blackwelder said it would be preposterous to stop praying before meals at Port Wentworth's Ed Young Senior Citizens Center near Savannah because of a federal guideline.  "She would say pray anyway," Blackwelder said of his grandmother. "She'd say don't listen." But Senior Citizens Inc. officials said Friday the meals they are contracted by the city to provide to Ed Young visitors are mostly covered with federal money, which ushers in the burden of separating church and state.  On Thursday, the usual open prayer before meals at the center was traded in for a moment of silence.   MORE Lutheran Denomination Censures South Dakota Pastor, Congregations A Lutheran pastor and four congregations in South Dakota were recently censured by their bishop for affiliating with another Lutheran body. The Rev. Frezil Westerlund of Philip, S.D., received a letter last week from the South Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America informing her that she was in violation of law. MORE Anglicans Prep for Heated Women Bishops Debate New draft legislation on women bishops is expected to cause some in the Church of England to leave the body as most provisions accommodating opponents to female bishops were thrown out.      MORE Update for Monday, May 10th, 2010 Obama Lashes Out at Electronic Media, I-Pads, Xbox's US President Barack Obama lamented Sunday that in the iPad and Xbox era, information had become a diversion that was imposing new strains on democracy, in his latest critique of modern media...."With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations, -- none of which I know how to work -- information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation..."   MORE Moody's: U.S. Debt Shock May Hit In 2018, Maybe As Soon As 2013 Spiraling debt is Uncle Sam's shock collar, and its jolt may await like an invisible pet fence. "Nobody knows when you bump up against the limit, but you know when it happens it will really hurt," said fiscal watchdog Maya MacGuineas of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.    MORE Obama Administration Plans to Seize 401(k) Retirement Accounts One aspect of a new and improved federal regulatory scheme is the seizure of 401(k) retirement plans and the subsequent government- administered disbursement of the funds. In Chapter 3 of the Annual Report on the Middle Class released in February, the Obama administration calls for enhancing the “retirement options” for the middle class by imposing “new regulations to improve the transparency and adequacy of 401(k) retirement savings.” MORE Atheists Lose Suit Against 'God' in Presidential Oath A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that challenged prayers and religious elements in presidential inaugurations, including President Obama's in 2009. The claims made by atheists regarding the 2009 inaugural ceremony are moot, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia concluded, and the plaintiffs lack standing to challenge the 2013 and 2017 inaugurations.   MORE Christianity Today: Should Churches Celebrate Mother's Day? ..."I certainly think we should want to support motherhood; parenthood is the cornerstone of the family. We should be celebrating cultural rhythms liturgically. I think we can choose secular holidays to blur the line between secular and sacred, recognizing there's no place God isn't. But we really need to be holistic in the way that we celebrate, and realize that we can hold in tension the wonder of what motherhood is as well as the challenges and some of the grief. That's the best of worship—when we have that kind of paradox."     MORE Lord Jesus Christ Hit by Massachusetts Car....Really! The victim might have forgiven the woman who ran him down in a Massachusetts crosswalk, but police haven't. Police say a Pittsfield woman has been cited for running down a man named Lord Jesus Christ as he crossed a street in Northampton on Tuesday.  MORE AP: Babylon Ruins Torn Between Preservation and Profit A U.S.-funded program to restore the ruins of Iraq’s ancient city of Babylon is threatened by a dispute among Iraqi officials over whether the priority should be preserving the site or making money off it. Local officials want swift work done to restore the crumbling ruins and start building restaurants and gift shops to draw in tourists, while antiquities officials in Baghdad favor a more painstaking approach to avoid the mistakes of the past. MORE Massachusetts Church to Offer Worship Services for Dogs  Massachusetts church is scheduled to launch a new monthly worship service - for dogs. Calvary Episcopal Church will offer later this month its first "Perfect Paws Pet Ministry" aimed at giving area pooches and their owners improved odds at getting canines into heaven.    MORE Michigan's Hope College Stands Firm Against Homosexual Agenda A Reformed Christian college in Holland, Mich., on Friday rejected petitions by gay rights advocates and alumni to drop its policy on homosexuality. MORE Albert Mohler: Who Will Be Tested Next? - The Dilemma of Franklin Graham Marking the National Day of Prayer, evangelist Franklin Graham led in prayer Thursday morning at the Pentagon. Not inside the Pentagon, mind you, but outside, where he led a handful of other Christians in silent prayer. The recent controversy about Franklin Graham is a sign of things to come. The prominent evangelist, son of Billy Graham, is known for his plain-spoken Christian testimony.     MORE Pam Tebow: Life 'Keeps Us Keeping On' Abortion clinic demonstrators are on the front line every day in the battle for the lives of the unborn. The recent 40 Days for Life campaign is a good example of success stories in the war. During the Jacksonville, Florida, campaign, Pam Tebow, mother of Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, spoke words of encouragement to pro-lifers. MORE Nigeria Swears in New Christian President Nigeria swore in its new president, a Christian, this week after months of leadership confusion while its elected president was receiving medical treatment. MORE Nat'l Salvation Army Week to Raise Awareness of Works, Needs Starting Monday, people across America will observe National Salvation Army Week through thousands of events and activities designed to raise awareness of The Salvation Army’s work while also giving thanks to the millions who have supported the evangelical group’s service to the American public. MORE Update for Weekend, May 8th-9th, 2010 Solemn Mood at National Day of Prayer Event Despite a few jokes by speakers to lighten the mood, the National Day of Prayer event at Capitol Hill on Thursday was solemn.  Both speakers and the audience seemed acutely aware of the pushback to the prayer day that was officially established in 1952. Though NDOP was created nearly 60 years ago, speakers repeatedly pointed out the long tradition of prayer in the country’s history dating back to the founding fathers.  MORE Opponents of Religion In Inaugurations Lose Fight Atheists who oppose prayer and other religious elements in presidential inaugurations have lost a case in a federal appeals court. A three-judge panel on Friday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit that sought to stop Barack Obama from using the words "so help me God" when he took the oath of office last year. MORE California Schools 'Indoctrinate' Alternate Lifestyles California schools are making sure that the age of the innocent school dance is over. This year, public school officials from across the state are not only supporting homosexual couples at prom, they seek to welcome them by creating guidelines that encourage the participants to come alone or with a group of friends. By offering single or group tickets to the event, California schools are hoping homosexual couples will be more inclined to go.   MORE Dick Morris Op-Ed: USA is the Next Greece The U.S. economy will ultimately suffer the same fate as Greece, which is struggling to avoid default on its government debt while rioters run wild in the streets, says Newsmax contributor Dick Morris. It’s the socialist policies of President Obama that will get us there, the political consultant told Newsmax.TV.“When you look at Greece you’re looking at the U.S. in two or three years under Obama’s policies,” Morris said.   MORE Comedy Central Considers Series Mocking Christ Having already caused controversy this spring with the depiction of the prophet Muhammad on South Park, Comedy Central said Thursday that it has a cartoon series about Jesus Christ in the works.   MORE Guns in Church Bill Dies in Louisiana House A measure that would allow concealed handguns to be carried in churches failed to make it past the Louisiana House on Thursday.    MORE California Town Sued Over City Council Prayers Lancaster, California, is being sued for opening its City Council meetings with prayers that critics say are usually made by Christian clergy.   MORE Connecticut School District Sued Over Megachurch Selection Three groups have filed a lawsuit in federal court over a public school district’s decision to hold this year’s graduation ceremonies in a Christian megachurch.   MORE Arizona Church: Time to Move Out of PC(USA) House Desert Hills Presbyterian Church recently announced its intent to sever ties with the 2.1 million-member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) while remaining in the Reformed family as an independent church. It says it's time to end family arguments and move out of the denomination.    MORE Update for Friday, May 7th, 2010 National Day of Prayer Observed Despite Court Ruling Millions of Americans will be uniting in prayer today in observance of the 59th Annual National Day of Prayer. Since 1952, when both houses of Congress passed legislation establishing an official Day of Prayer, Americans from various religious groups have used the observance to pray for their nation despite claims by a minority that such a day is an unconstitutional “establishment of religion.”  MORE 92% of Americans Believe in God; Only 5% Oppose National Day of Prayer Just two weeks after a federal judge in Madison, Wis., ruled that the annual National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional, 92 percent of Americans told surveyors for the USA Today/Gallup poll that they believe in God and only 5 percent said they oppose the National Day of Prayer.   MORE Graham: Christians Will Lose the Right to Pray In USA ‘Maybe in My Lifetime’ Two top evangelical leaders -- Franklin Graham and James Dobson -- warn that the American right to freedom of religion may be lost in an onslaught of secularism unless Americans "have the guts to stand up."   MORE Iowan Meets Obama, Prays For Him Aloud    "He was drawn to us."  ...According to Stodgell, President Obama visited with everyone in the restaurant, then sat down for a piece of pie with several customers as Stodgell and her friends stood three feet away from him. "We prayed for him, the four of us, and he kept looking up at us, watching us...we prayed for his salvation, we prayed the scripture that the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord and he will turn it whichever way he desires. "We also prayed for divine wisdom. But [the president] kept getting drawn to us," she continues. "He got back up and is walking around talking to people in the room and he kept coming back around to us, and we just kept saying, 'God bless you.'" MORE Franklin Graham: Islam Is Not Faith of America Ahead of the National Day of Prayer, Franklin Graham expressed dismay at how Islam is receiving preferential treatment by the Obama administration. The evangelist, who was recently disinvited from a Pentagon prayer event over past comments he made about Islam, pointed to the violence against Muslim women. “It’s just horrific,” Graham said to Newsmax.TV this week. “If you just take women alone … I just don’t understand why the president would be giving Islam a pass.” Graham wants the president to speak up for women and minorities living in Muslim countries instead of one-sidedly praising Islam.  MORE Stock Market Plunges Stocks plunged Thursday and took the Dow Jones industrials down almost 1,000 points as investors succumbed to fears that Greece's debt problems would halt the global economic recovery.      MORE American Thinker: Obama Stands with Muslims as He Promised Now that Barack Obama is well into his presidency, it's clear that he is keeping at least one promise he made. He is standing with the Muslims....Once Obama was elected, and as Obama had professed his intention to "stand with the Muslims," Shahzad may have expected an immediate end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.       MORE Is It Illegal In Britian To Call Homosexuality a 'Sin'? A Christian in Britain has been arrested for sharing his religious beliefs on homosexual conduct. Street preacher Dale McAlpine was jailed after a discussion with two police officers in Workington, Cumbria who told him it was illegal to speak negatively about homosexuality, based on that country's hate crimes laws.   MORE American Thinker: Obama's High Court Choice...No Evangelicals Need Apply ...Schumer also bored in on the "deeply held beliefs" of Bush nominees. That's what happened to Charles Pickering. Named to the federal district court by the senior President Bush, Judge Pickering was also President of the Mississippi Baptist Convention, an Evangelical church body that called for a correction of Roe v. Wade's rule of abortion-on-demand.     MORE Philly Teen Pressured Into Abortion, AFA Calls for Action The American Family Association (AFA) of Pennsylvania is calling for an investigation of a case in which a Department of Human Services caseworker allegedly pressured a teen into having an abortion.     MORE Nashville Pastors Mobilize Volunteers, Aid through Twitter When Pastor Pete Wilson tweeted a need for volunteers, hammers, trash bags and brooms, hundreds showed up to start relief work in and around a badly-flooded Nashville.     MORE Nurse Forced to Assist In Abortion, Sues Hospital The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has filed suit against New York's Mount Sinai Hospital for not recognizing the conscience rights of a nurse who is a pro-life Catholic. An ADF legal counsel explains the dispute.  MORE Update for Thursday, May 6th, 2010 Three Die in Athens Riot Over Debt Crisis Rioting over harsh austerity measures left three people dead in a torched Athens bank and clouds of tear gas drifting past parliament, in an outburst of anger that underlined the long and difficult struggle Greece faces to stick with painful cutbacks that come with an international bailout. The deaths were the first during a protest in Greece in nearly 20 years.  MORE Chuck Missler: The National Day of Prayer Is Still On A US District judge ruled the National Day of Prayer to be unconstitutional in mid-April, much to the consternation of large numbers of Americans. Since enforcement is suspended until the case goes through the appeals process, however, the National Day of Prayer is still officially on for Thursday, May 6th. President Obama signed a statement on Monday proclaiming May 6th the National Day of Prayer, following the tradition...  MORE Stocks Fall On Fears Euro Debt Woes to Spread Stocks sagged on Wednesday as more signs emerged that the fallout from the Greek debt crisis could spread to bigger European economies.The euro hit a 14-month low as investors shunned the debt of weaker euro zone countries and jumped into safe-havens. Treasury prices and the dollar surged on fears Greece's debt problems could hinder global growth.  MORE Christians In UK Denounce Street Preacher's Arrest The arrest of a street preacher has renewed concern over religious freedom for Christians in the United Kingdom. Dale McAlpine, 42, was arrested in his home town of Workington, in Cumbria, last month after he mentioned homosexuality as one of a number of sins listed in the Bible, alongside idolatry, blasphemy, fornication...  MORE Polish Pop Star Claims Bible Written by Drunks One of Poland's most famous and controversial pop stars faces two years in gaol after suggesting that the Bible was written by drunks and people with a fondness for "herbal cigarettes".      MORE Bible Prophecy Today:  Obama's Real Strategy In Afghanstan The Pentagon last week gave the Obama Administration a failing grade in Afghanistan but its assessments about the war give President Obama an excuse for a quick withdrawal – his real strategy. The report to Congress blows holes in Obama's optimistic timeline of beginning a withdrawal of troops next year as it lays out the challenges blocking our exit: the enemy’s surprising resilience, the population’s deep-seated lack of support for the Afghan government and the unreadiness of the Afghan Security Forces (ASF) to secure that country.   MORE Muslims Burn Christian Center Under Construction in Indonesia Hundreds of people calling themselves the Muslim Community of the Puncak Route last week burned buildings under construction belonging to a Christian organization in West Java Province. Believing that a church or school building was being built, the mob set fire to the Penabur Christian Education Foundation’s unfinished guest house buildings in Cibeureum village of Cisarua sub-district, Bogor Regency, on April 27.    MORE Fla. School District Sued over Prayer Constraint A Florida school district is being sued for “persistent and widespread” restrictions on religious expression. Liberty Counsel, a legal group often representing Christians in religious freedom and family cases, filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of two dozen individuals against the Santa Rosa County School District and its Superintendent, Timothy Wyrosdick, for violations of First Amendment rights.    MORE Bomb Attack on Iraqi Christian Students Spurs Thousands to Protest Thousands of Christians marched through the streets of Hamdaniyah in northern Iraq on Monday to protest against Sunday's bomb attack that killed one and injured around 100.   MORE Methodists Reject Structure Changes, Inclusive Membership The United Methodist Church rejected a number of amendments to the church's constitution, including one on the inclusiveness of church membership. The amendment stating, "All persons shall be eligible to attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments, and upon baptism be admitted as baptized members," did not receive a majority of votes to be ratified, the Council of Bishops announced Tuesday. MORE Update for Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 Obama Unprepared for Emerging Homegrown Jihadist Threat While the Obama administration ties up resources investigating CIA interrogators and pushing civilian trials for terrorists, a new threat has emerged in the form of homegrown jihadists who are very hard to spot and stop. Yet President Obama still doesn’t understand that individuals like the suspected Times Square car bomber are the frontline troops in a global terrorist war threatening America, writes Newsmax Chief Washington...  MORE Franklin Graham: Obama 'Giving Islam a Pass,' Warns of Persecution Evangelical leader Rev. Franklin Graham issued his toughest remarks yet Monday on the administration's role in revoking his invitation to speak at the Pentagon's National Day of Prayer event, charging that President Obama is "giving Islam a pass" rather than speaking openly about the "horrific" treatment women and minorities receive in many Muslim countries. In an exclusive telephone interview with Newsmax.TV, Graham called revoking his invitation to the prayer service "a slap at all evangelical Christians."  MORE Suspect in Times Square Plot Faces Terror Charges A Pakistani-born U.S. citizen was hauled off a plane about to fly to the Middle East and will face terrorism charges in the failed attempt to explode a bomb-laden SUV in the heart of Times Square, authorities said Tuesday. One official said he claimed to be acting alone. Faisal Shahzad has admitted his role in the botched bombing attempt and is talking to investigators, providing them with valuable information, Attorney General Eric Holder said. The investigation stretched to Pakistan, where intelligence officials said several people had been detained in connection with the Times Square case.  MORE Southern Baptists Consider Critical Changes for Its Future A Southern Baptist panel released on Monday the final draft of a report that is expected to set the nation's largest Protestant denomination on a new course. With the denomination in decline, the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force is challenging the Southern Baptist Convention to adopt a new compelling vision for the sake of its future and the billions of lost people in the world.   MORE Largest Lutheran Group Reinstating 2 Gay Ministers A gay Atlanta pastor and his partner who have been at the center of a battle over the treatment of gay clergy by the nation's largest Lutheran denomination are being reinstated to the denomination's clergy roster, church officials announced Tuesday.     MORE James Dobson Reverses Endorsement In Kentucky Senate Race An evangelical conservative activist has switched his endorsement in the Republican Kentucky Senate primary after discovering he was misled in making his initial decision.    MORE American Thinker: America's Growing Vulnerability to Catastrophe The major responsibility of those in government is to be certain that a country is capable of surviving a worst-case scenario such as war, massive economic downturn, or a catastrophic natural disaster....Yet the current regime in Washington, D.C. does not seem to understand or care that the policies they are pursuing will leave no margin for error in the event of an apocalyptic natural or man-made calamity.   MORE Thousands of Women Forcibly Sterilized in Uzbekistan When doctors told a 28 year-old Uzbek woman that she had been sterilized after her first pregnancy without her knowledge or consent by government order, her husband left her. “Not a day passes without me crying,” said Gulbahor Zavidova. “I was outraged when I found out what they had done. How could they do such a horrible thing without asking me?”    MORE Court Won't hear Appeal on Boy Scouts Land Rental The Supreme Court has let stand a ruling saying the Boy Scouts cannot lease city park land in San Diego because the group is a religious organization. The high court refused to hear an appeal from San Diego Boy Scouts. MORE Huckabee Revisits Gay Adoption Debate with Rosie O'Donnell One week after debating the issue of gay adoption with talk show host Rosie O’Donnell, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee sat down with fellow conservative Sean Hannity to comment on the contentious yet “respectful” debate, boiling down his point into a single statement.      MORE DC's Battle over Marriage Continues Attorneys have asked the District of Columbia Court of Appeals to let the people vote on whether to legalize same-gender "marriage." The DC City Council turned down public pleas to let voters decide the matter at the polls, so a lawsuit was filed. Council members argued that allowing the issue before voters would violate the district's anti-discrimination laws that provide special rights to homosexuals.   MORE Update for Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 President Obama Proclaims Thursday as National Day of Prayer President Obama has issued a proclamation declaring this Thursday as National Day of Prayer. In his proclamation, he states that prayer has long been an important part of U.S. history. The nation upholds as fundamental principles the exercise of religion and freedom of conscience, he said. Thus Americans have long considered it “fitting and proper” to publicly observe the importance of prayer on May 6.   MORE Christian Archaeologist Casts Further Doubt on Ark 'Discovery' An archaeologist who visited Mount Ararat with the Chinese and Turkish expedition team that now claims to have found the remains of Noah’s Ark says he has more reasons to believe that the “discovery” is fake than the team has proof that it’s real.     MORE Albert Mohler Commentary: Cecil Sherman Was No Moderate! Some men leave an indelible mark on their times. Cecil Sherman was one of those men. Sherman died April 17 at age 82, just two days after suffering a massive heart attack in Richmond, Virginia. He lived long enough to be almost unknown among a generation of younger Southern Baptists. But, for those of us who knew him, Cecil Sherman is impossible to forget. My first glimpse of Cecil Sherman came during the years he served as pastor of the First Baptist Church in Asheville, North Carolina. He came to preach in chapel at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary when I was a new student. He stood tall in the pulpit and announced that he was “born, bred, and buttered a Baptist.” He spoke with a steady authority that dared...  MORE N.Y. Times Obit Illustrates How Media See Religion Through Political Lens The media don't get religion, often portraying intra-denominational struggles within American Protestant churches through a purely political lens, rather than as substantial debates touching on the core tenets of Christian doctrine or ecclesial discipline. What's more, in this political narrative, conservative defenders of Christian orthodoxy are invariably the bullies. A recent example of this comes in the form of an April 30 New York Times obituary for "Cecil Sherman, Who Led a Faction of Moderate Baptists" within the Southern Baptist Convention.     MORE Cops In England Arrest Street Preacher Over Christian Beliefs A Christian street preacher has been arrested and charged with a public-order offence after saying that homosexuality was sinful. Dale Mcalpine was handing out leaflets to shoppers when he told a passer-by and a gay police community support officer that, as a Christian, he believed homosexuality was one of a number of sins that go against the word of God. Mr Mcalpine said that he did not repeat his remarks on homosexuality when he preached from the top of a stepladder after his leafleting.  MORE 11:11 and Other Weird Times Texas Churches are Choosing for Worship The latest trend among some contemporary Texas churches is a seemingly simple one: the start time. Instead of traditional on-the-hour worship, they're picking times a minute or two off.    MORE Christians: 'Illiberal Secularism' Prevailing in UK Christians in the United Kingdom are facing increasing marginalization and oppression under new laws originally intended to safeguard equality, Christian leaders have warned.      MORE Is Beck the Best Choice for Liberty Univ. Commencement? Controversy has erupted over the planned commencement speaker at Liberty University. On May 15, Fox News personality Glenn Beck, an outspoken conservative and devoted Mormon, is scheduled to address Liberty's class of 2010 during commencement exercises.    MORE Obama Tells Palestinians That Israel Is To Blame Obama made clear in a recent letter to the Palestinians that he views Israel as the obstacle to peace and will approach further peace efforts from that point of view.     MORE Secular Media Soft on Muslims But Merciless on Christians- Why? The answer is much simpler than you think. It is cowardice. Fear of Islamic swift retribution and retaliation has kept the secular media in the West hiding in their proverbial foxholes. Ever since the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard ignited a worldwide firestorm with his depiction of the Islamic prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, members of the western media have been falling over themselves to praise Islamic ideologies.  MORE Piper Leaves Megachurch with Hope for Revival Pastor John Piper began his eight-month leave this past weekend. Now filling the empty pulpit at Bethlehem Baptist Church is Kenny Stokes, who had been on a sabbatical these past several months.     MORE Federal Government Outpaces Private Sector in Job Creation Gallup's Job Creation Index for April reveals significantly more hiring within the federal government than in the private sector...    MORE Michigan Bill Would Protect Religious Freedoms The Michigan legislature is working on a measure in the state higher education budget that would require state-funded universities to report steps they're making to protect religious freedom on campus.    MORE Update for Monday, May 3rd, 2010 Car Bomb Scares Times Square But Fails to Explode Police found an "amateurish" but potentially powerful bomb that apparently began to detonate but did not explode in a smoking SUV in Times Square, authorities said Sunday. Thousands of tourists were cleared from the streets for 10 hours after two vendors alerted police to the suspicious vehicle. MORE British Bishops in Talks With Vatican To Defect to Catholicism Three Church of England bishops traveled to Rome last week for talks with Vatican officials about joining the Catholic Church, according to two of the bishops involved. The bishops told The Associated Press they went to the Vatican to find out more about Pope Benedict XVI's decision to invite disaffected Anglicans to join the Catholic Church — a sensitive issue which has roiled relations between the two denominations and threatens to overshadow the pontiff's visit to London later this year.     MORE Iraq: Terrorists Target Buses Carrying Christian Students, One Killed Two bombs exploded minutes apart Sunday near buses carrying Christian students in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing at least one bystander and injuring around 100 others, a security official said. Sunni Muslim insurgents have frequently targeted members of Iraq's Christian minority, especially in Mosul, which is home to a large Christian community. Some extremist Sunnis consider Christians to be nonbelievers and supporters of the Shiite-led government they oppose.    MORE Pope All But Endorses Authenticity of Turin Shroud  Pope Benedict XVI all but gave an outright endorsement of the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin on Sunday, calling the cloth that some believe is Christ's burial shroud an icon "written with the blood" of a crucified man. During a visit to the Shroud in the northern Italian....    MORE Ex-Muslim: Obama's Soft Strategy Hurting Oppressed Christians President Obama is hurting persecuted Christians worldwide by failing to speak up for them, says a well-known convert who lives under police protection in Europe. While the U.S. president has consistently sought dialogue with the Muslim world, he has not put in the same effort to protect oppressed Christians, says Sabatina James, who has lived for the past nine years in fear of being murdered for leaving Islam. “You (President Obama) are saying these things about the prophet [Muhammad] but why don’t you protect [Christians]? You’re a Christian and have such influence,” James asked... MORE American Thinker: Evil at Westboro Baptist Church In the odd chance that there might a dozen or so people still unfamiliar with the Westboro Baptist church, it might be useful to know the church is probably the only one of its size that has its own Wikipedia page. Recently the church has received a good bit of notoriety on shows like "The O'Reilly Factor" because of a court case involving their claim of freedom of speech to defend a suit charging invasion of privacy that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.      MORE GAO: Census Has Computer Problem A computer system that the Census Bureau needs to manage its door-to-door count of the U.S. population remained buggy and prone to crash a day before enumerators were set to begin their work, government officials said Friday. MORE Lou Martuneac: Why John Piper Is Wrong About Rick Warren Invitation ...Every person who attends T4G, who loves John Piper in the Lord, can help John Piper toward repentance. You can do that by admonishing him as openly as he has embraced and defended Rick Warren. If you are convinced that Piper is wrong, and that the Bible mandates our response, then follow that conviction and admonish him. If he refuses to respond and repent, then you have one option if you are to live in fidelity to the bible..."   MORE Pastor Don Johnson: Toward an Understanding of Worldliness What is worldliness? On that question hangs a good deal of the debate in Christian circles about which practices are acceptable and appropriate for Christians and which are not. We are surrounded by a mass of Christian relativism that creates great confusion.  MORE American Thinker: Israel's Right to Exist as a Jewish Homeland ...But there have been momentous events in recent history that remain unnoticed, if not entirely forgotten. One such event redrew the map of one of the most politically contentious regions of the planet, it shook the preexisting world order, it proclaimed the rebirth of a nation, and it marked the end of the longest foreign occupation in history. Yet few people have ever heard of it.      MORE Alcohol Linked to Aging and Cancer Researchers in Italy say alcohol has been linked at the cellular level to aging and cancer. Lead author Dr. Andrea Baccarelli of the University of Milan in Italy and colleagues suggest alcohol may accelerate the shortening of regions of DNA found at the end of chromosomes -- known as telomeres.  MORE American Thinker: Planned Parenthood, a Social Disease Planned Parenthood. The sensible-sounding name distracts from what the organization helps achieve: the cheapening of society. The mission of Planned Parenthood has changed since the days of founder Margaret Sanger.   MORE Update for Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 Silence From US & Allies Allowed Iran to Get Seat on UN Women’s Rights Body The United States and 12 other Western democracies kept silent this week as Iran was nominated for membership of the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women, thus enabling Iran to get the seat. Iran will now help set U.N. policy on gender equality and the advancement of women. MORE James Dobson Returns to Radio with Same Bold Approach Dr. James Dobson is returning to talk radio on Monday with a new show and with no intention of softening his bold and unabashed tone. "Please don’t expect me to take a 'softer, gentler' approach to the issues that burn within my soul," he tells readers on his new "Family Talk" website. "I have never spoken or written without passion for values in which I believe, and I don't intend to start now."  MORE Obama Blasted For Lack of Leadership On World Religious Freedom A bipartisan U.S. commission on religious freedom says President Obama is softening his stand on protecting the right to one's faith at a time when religious persecution is on the rise, according to an annual report released Friday.  The 11th annual report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom says Obama's recent call for nations to respect "freedom of worship" rather than "religious freedom" allows regimes to claim they are not oppressing certain religions if those faiths exist in a form acceptable to the regime.   MORE Baptist Scholars View Noah's Ark Discovery Claims With Skepticism  As the newest reported discovery of Noah's Ark raised doubts even among fellow Ark-hunters, two Baptist seminary professors said Christians should not rest their faith on whether remains of an ancient vessel are ever found high in the mountains of Turkey.  AFP first reported that a team of Chinese and Turkish evangelical explorers said April 26 that they recovered wooden specimens from a structure on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey carbon dated as 4,800 years old, around the time biblical literalists believe the Genesis story about a worldwide flood would have occurred.  MORE Undercover Probe Reveals Kentucky Clinic's Violations Live Action, a student-led pro-life organization, has released the full video of a Kentucky abortion clinic whose staff is alleged to have violated state law. During the undercover investigation, Lila Rose posed as a 14-year-old girl impregnated by a 31-year-old man. Live Action spokesman David Schmidt tells OneNewsNow the staff members did not even document the information that is required to report the crime to authorities.   MORE Three Pastors Expected to Compete for SBC Presidency  Three clergyman will be in the running to become the next president of the Southern Baptist Convention at the denomination's annual meeting. The expected nominees so far are Ted Traylor, pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida; Bryant Wright, senior pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia; and Jimmy Jackson, president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, according to Baptist outlets.   MORE Caroline Glick: Republicans, Democrats and Israel Bipartisan support for Israel has been one of the greatest casualties of US President Barack Obama's assault on the Jewish state. Today, as Republican support for Israel reaches new heights, support for Israel has become a minority position among Democrats.     MORE Latest Claim of Noah's Ark Discovery Like Others for Now, Experts Say Despite the notable lack of significant evidence, the media and the blogosphere are abuzz over the cries of a team of Chinese and Turkish explorers who claim that the wooden structure they found on Mount Ararat in Eastern Turkey is none other than Noah’s Ark.     MORE Doug Wead Op-Ed: It Doesn't Take Noah's Ark to Float Faith This week’s story of an evangelical Christian group’s claim that it found Noah’s Ark triggered memories of a bizarre, never-before-published moment in the White House of George Herbert Walker Bush.    MORE Ronald Kessler Op-Ed: Jews Turn Against Obama  In a stunning turnaround, President Obama has lost roughly half of his support among Jewish voters. A poll by McLaughlin and Associates found that, while 78 percent of Jewish voters cast their ballots for Obama, only 42 percent of Jewish voters would vote to re-elect him.    MORE Hillary Mum on Islam's Treatment of Women The nation's largest public policy women's organization is appalled that leading feminists, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, continue to give Muslims a pass when it comes to their treatment of women. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a U.S.-based pro-Muslim group, says evangelist Franklin Graham should not be allowed to speak at next Thursday's National Day of Prayer event on Capitol Hill. CAIR's national legislative director, Corey Saylor, says Capitol Hill is no place for bigotry. But Congressman Robert Aderholt says Graham is no bigot, as shown by his ministry's relief work in Islamic nations.  MORE U.S. Fails to Stick Up for Victims of Religious Violence in Nigeria and Elsewhere The Obama administration doesn't talk much about -- and has failed to stick up for -- religious freedom around the world, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.      MORE Unification Church Plans to Sell Washington Times Executives at The Washington Times are negotiating to sell the newspaper, which was founded in 1982 and funded by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. Nicholas Chiaia, a member of the newspaper's two-person board of directors, confirms the Times is on the market.      MORE Florida Religious Rights Bill Goes to Governor A weakened school prayer bill has been sent to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. The legislation inspired by a Florida Panhandle lawsuit received final passage 27-9 in the state Senate on Thursday. It earlier passed in the House.MORE Reversal of anti-Christian Policy Applauded A pro-family group in Virginia is grateful to their new governor for taking a stand in defense of religious liberty rights -- and that as a result, police chaplains can resume praying in the name of Jesus.   MORE Group Condemns Growing Anti-Christian Violence in India The World Alliance of Reformed Churches has expressed grave concern over the growing violence against Christians in the country. "We are very concerned at the escalating incidents of violence against Christians. I have personally called our member churches all over the world to pray for churches in India," WARC General Secretary the Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi said on Friday.  MORE /

//