Back to MAIN Page    ARCHIVES FOR APRIL 2008    //   Weekend, April 26th-27th Biblical Scholars Challenge Pelosi's 'Scripture' Quote House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is fond of quoting a particular passage of Scripture. The quote, however, does not appear in the Bible and is "fictional," according to biblical scholars.   More... First Batch of Rebate Checks Sent by Direct Deposit Monday  On Monday the Treasury Department will begin delivering the first of the tax rebates President Bush approved as an economic stimulus by direct deposit, followed on May 9th with the first mailed checks from the Internal Revenue Service.  More... Black Pro-Lifers Protest Planned Parenthood, Criticize Obama A group of black pro-lifers joined a protest outside a Planned Parenthood clinic here on Thursday, calling for an end to federal funding of the abortion provider and expressing opposition to Sen. Barack Obama's pro-abortion stance.   More... Left Wing Experts Give 'Insight' on Changes in U.S. Politics, Religion A high-power panel of left-wing experts on religion and politics assembled Thursday afternoon to discuss the impact of the religious voice, including that of the religious right, on the presidential campaign.   More...   S.C. Church Sign Ties Obama With Osama South Carolina pastor says he wasn't trying to be political when he posted a sign in front of his church linking Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Pastor Roger Byrd said he just wanted to make people think when he put up a sign reading "Obama, Osama — humm, are they brothers" in front of the Jonesville Church of God on Thursday    More... ... The Real Reason Israel Wiped Syrian Base Off the Map Piece by piece, the intelligence jigsaw puzzle concerning Israel's air strike on a top-secret military site in northern Syria last September is finally taking shape. When a squadron of Israeli F-15 fighter-bombers destroyed a hitherto unknown Syrian military facility at Dayr as-Zawr, close to the country's north-eastern border with Turkey, there was much speculation...  More... City of Chicago Takes Church Property Over Bake Sale Taxes The city of Chicago has been handed another defeat in its effort to take over a church's property in order to use in it a redevelopment project, according to officials with the Alliance Defense Fund.  More... Melanie Morgan Op-Ed: The Truth Obama Doesn't Want You to Know ...Fact: Barack Obama doesn't want you to know the truth about his political ideology and alliances. Fact: Most Americans will not vote for Obama if they know the truth. Here's the real story about the people Barack Obama has chosen to work and socialize with in his adult life...  More... National Day of Prayer 2008 Look for the National Day of Prayer car at NASCAR’s Talladega race this weekend. The Number 78 will sport the NDP logo and colors, and Joe Nemechek will try to drive the car to victory lane.   More... Chinese-Christians Are Paying a High Price for the Olympics The world is finally seeing China for what it is: a totalitarian dictatorship. It's widely known that China has been rounding up and persecuting First Amendment advocates. These Chinese dissidents who use the Internet and demonstrations to protest what China has been doing often disappear or are sent to re-education camps.  More... Business Week: What's Behind the Run on Rice? Despite bumper crops in Vietnam and India, export limits and bans have created a global shortage and driven up prices.   More... Wall St. Journal Op-Ed: The Sad End of Jimmy Carter The problem is not that he is, or is not, talking to the Syrians – everyone does it to some degree. It isn't that he went to Damascus to meet with the exiled head of Hamas...No. The problem is how Jimmy Carter went about it.  More... RealClearPolitics: The Future of American Power ...The basic strategic dilemma of being the only truly global player on the world stage is strikingly similar. But there are also fundamental differences between Britain then and the United States now. For Britain, as it tried to maintain its superpower status, the largest challenge was economic rather than political. For the United States, it is the other way around.  More... Russia's De-Facto State Religion Former communist Russia now upholds freedom of religion on paper, but practices a different policy in real life. Reports indicate that religious freedom is being squashed under President Vladimir V. Putin...  More... ..... Thursday-Friday, April 24th-25th China Escalates Bible Crackdown The Chinese owner of a bookstore near the 2008 Olympics complex in Beijing has been re-arrested and detained, only about a dozen weeks after he was cleared of allegations of illegally publishing Bibles and Christian literature due to "insufficient evidence," according to a new report from Compass Direct.  More... McCain Asks NC GOP Not to Run Wright-Obama Ad Republican John McCain asked the North Carolina GOP not to run a television ad that brings up the controversial former pastor of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Party officials insisted the ad will run as planned. More... Pentecostal Church Report Warns of False Prophets A major Pentecostal denomination released a paper Tuesday stating the church’s position on the apostolic movement including a warning on false prophets. More... What is it about Obama that Attracts Hamas, Communists, and Domestic Terrorists? ...Barack Obama seems to curry favor with some very questionable characters...people have to wonder what it is about Obama that attracts the support of Hamas, Communists, and domestic terrorists to him .... More... Judge Orders La. School District to Stop Bible Giveaways A federal judge ordered a public school system to stop allowing in-school Bible giveaways, saying the practice violates the First Amendment separation of church and state.   More... E-Harmony Abandons 'One-Night Stand' Advice Just two days after WND published an exclusive guest column criticizing noted matchmaking service eHarmony.com for advising about one-night stands, the company has apologized and pulled the advice from its website.  More... Risk of Depression Dims Hopes for Anti-Addiction Pills Two years ago, scientists had high hopes for new pills that would help people quit smoking, lose weight and maybe kick other tough addictions like alcohol and cocaine.    More... House Panel Examining Federal Abstinence Programs The battle for and against federally funded abstinence education programs is heating up on Capitol Hill.   More... Amrcn Thinker: The Pope's Challenge to Conservatives The mainstream media seem to think that the pope's visit to the United States was all about the delicious priestly sex-abuse scandal and liberal agenda issues like abortion and women priests.   More... Marsha West Op-Ed: Emergent Church Spreading Spiritual Cancer ...Now a similar assault on historic orthodox Christianity is underway that's gaining momentum. Some Christians believe a paradigm shift is taking place in the Church and as a consequence "everything must change." This is anything but good news for Christendom... More... Israeli Citizens Receiving Biblical Blessings in Jerusalem Tens of thousands of Israelis visited the Old City of Jerusalem on Tuesday, partly to fulfill the Bible's commandment to "go up" to Jerusalem on the Passover holiday -- and to receive the "priestly blessing" pronounced at the Western Wall. "In the Torah, God gave the priests the power to bless," said Shmuel Rabinovitch, the chief rabbi of the Western Wall.    More... ..... Wednesday, April 23rd Rice Says Carter Was Warned Against Meeting with Hamas Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday the Bush administration explicitly warned former President Jimmy Carter against meeting with members of Hamas, the Palestinian faction that controls the Gaza Strip and which is regarded by the U.S. as a terror group.  More... House Speaker Invokes God and Bible in Earth Day Declaration Some critics say global warming is a form of religion for liberal environmental activists. Indeed, in her official statement on Earth Day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi quoted from the Bible.    More... Evangelicals Give Mixed Reactions to Pope's Visit Evangelical leaders expressed mixed reactions to Pope Benedict XVI’s first U.S. visit, which ranged from underscoring similar values to highlighting the divide between Catholics and Protestants.  More... ACLU Claims Victory But Jesus Picture Still Hangs in Courthouse  Siding with the American Civil Liberties Union, a federal judge has ruled that a painting of Jesus hanging in the Slidell, La., courthouse is unconstitutional. But it's still on display, prompting a conservative group to say the ACLU's lawsuit really didn't accomplish anything.   More... Thousands of Christians Baptized Near Jordan River Site Israel blocked thousands of Christians from making a Tuesday pilgrimage to the Jordan River site where Jesus was baptized, citing safety concerns.  More... Situation deteriorating for Iraqi Christians Keith Roderick, an official with Christian Solidarity International, is hopeful that a recent caucus on religious persecution in Iraq will help ease the suffering of Christians in that country.  More... Mother outraged at teacher's promotion of homosexual agenda Teresa Kelly, the mother of a high school student in Wisconsin, says a teacher is using classroom time to promote the homosexual agenda and doesn't allow any student to question or oppose her.  More... Obama's Advisor Gets Laughs From 'Gay Jesus' Skit Another Barack Obama adviser is under scrutiny for showing disdain for America's mainstream, this time after the unearthing of video footage in which the candidate's key technology guru gleefully introduced a YouTube piece that mocks Jesus. More... Christians Find Alternatives to Pro-Gay 'Day of Silence' Thousands of students across the nation will participate on Friday in what has become known as "The Day of Silence" – a vow among students to remain silent throughout the day in recognition and protest of the perceived “silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies in schools.”   More... Hamas Still Rejects Israel; Carter Says All Is Well Contrary to claims by former President Jimmy Carter, Hamas refuses to recognize Israel but will offer the Jewish state a 10-year truce if it evacuates the entire West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem, including the...   More... Why China is the World's Emerging Superpower ... it is a reality that is beginning to have a huge impact on our daily lives. The desperately weakened American dollar appears to be on the verge of losing its global dominance, in the same way as sterling lost it a lifetime ago....    More... Thomas Jefferson Turns 265 Years Old ..On Sunday Thomas Jefferson turned 265; April 13 was the 265th anniversary of Jefferson's birth. The anniversary was marked by President and Mrs. Bush with a reception  More... Russian court jails U.S. pastor for smuggling A Russian court on Monday sentenced a U.S. pastor to three years in prison for illegally bringing hunting ammunition into the country.  More... Joseph Farah Op-Ed: The Texas Polygamy Raid ...Now, I don't like polygamy. I don't like child abuse. But, after carefully reading all the news reports covering activities of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I'm left wondering if the action by the state was excessive. More... Jerry Falwell's Widow Publishes Book About Her Husband Previously untold stories about the life and times of the Rev. Jerry Falwell will be the focus of a new book by his wife, Macel. “Jerry Falwell: His Life and Legacy” is set for release May 15, the first anniversary of his death.  More... ..... Tuesday, April 22nd Intelligent Design Movie Explodes Into Top 10 Box Office “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” the pro-intelligent design documentary featuring actor Ben Stein, made history this weekend as it propelled full speed into the top 10 box office. It opened as the widest and one of the most commercially successful releases for any documentary film.   More... Benedict Praises US Church As Visit Ends Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass and American Catholicism in storied Yankee Stadium on Sunday, telling his massive U.S. flock to use its freedoms wisely as he closed out his first papal trip to the United States.   More... Radical Muslims Infiltrating U.S. Financial Markets Radical Islamists not only want to destroy America with bombs and weapons of mass destruction, they also are infiltrating U.S. financial markets and influencing the flow of credit and capital, according to the Center for Security Policy (CSP), a conservative think-tank.   More... Powerline: The Jewish Exodus -Fact or Fiction? ...Doubts have often been cast on the historical reliability of the exodus account. It is true that no remains of the Israelites have been found in the area of Goshen in the eastern Nile delta or in the wilderness of Sinai. But in neither area would such remains be expected to survive.  More... Pope Used the UN to Advance a Catholic Culture ...Pope Benedict's trip to America and his effort to create a Catholic culture in today's society is a precursor to an End Time scenario that can be found in Bible prophecy.  The holding of a Catholic Mass in a Major League Baseball stadium...  More... Brian Fitzpatrick Op-Ed: Does Barack Obama Disdain Religion? ...Many people have taken offense at Obama's suggestion that religious folk "cling" to their faith when going through hard times.  Does Obama look down on religion, considering it to be a crutch that weak-minded people cling to in desperation?  As Marx put it, the "opiate of the masses?" More... More Convicted Felons Allowed to Enlist in Army, Marines Under pressure to increase their numbers, the Army and Marine Corps have sharply raised the number of recruits with felony convictions they are admitting to the services. Data released by a congressional committee shows that the number of soldiers admitted to the Army with felony...  More... Pat Boone Op-Ed: ACLU Silent on Pope Visit So, the Pope came to town..So, where was the guardian of our civil liberties, the vaunted champion of our Constitution, the self-appointed watchdog of our freedoms — the ACLU?.   More... Controversy Resolved Over Religious Song in School Talent Show Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund have protected the right of an Alabama public school student to perform a Christian song at a talent show.  More... Pro-Family Groups Lobby Marriott for Porn-Free Rooms Officials with Marriott International have agreed to meet with pro-family leaders to discuss the hotel giant's policy of selling in-room pornographic movies to consumers at some of its properties.      More... ..... Monday, April 21st Moms and Young Children from Texas Ranch to be Parted Adult mothers who have been allowed to stay with their young children since they were taken from a polygamous sect will be separated from them after DNA sampling is completed next week, a child welfare official said Saturday. More... Silent, Secretive Sect Unleashes Public Relations Campaign Before authorities raided their west Texas retreat, members of a secretive polygamous church spent decades holding as tightly to their intense privacy as the Scriptures guiding their way of life....But after Texas officials removed 416 children belonging to members, the sect fired up the public relations machine.  More... Benedict Praises American Church in Final US Mass Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his final Mass in the United States before a full house in storied Yankee Stadium on Sunday, blessing his enormous U.S. flock and telling Americans to use their freedoms wisely.    More... Bauer: Jimmy Carter's Visit With Terrorists Damages U.S. Image Leading pro-Israel activist Gary Bauer is urging the U.S. State Department to take action to prevent former President Jimmy Carter from ever traveling abroad to meet with a terrorist group again.    More... Euro Demands More Say in World Economy The European Union's top economy official has said that Europe deserved a greater say in the global economy as the strong euro gains ground as the world's second major currency.    More... Jerusalem Post: US Condemns Jimmy Carter Meeting with Hamas ..."We find it very odd that one would encourage having a conversation between the Israeli government and Hamas, which doesn't even recognize the right of the Israeli government to exist, Is that really the basis of a conversation?" More... Arkansas Street Preacher Claims Police Harassment A man who wants to spread the word about Jesus in his town of Alma, Ark., says he was intimidated by officials from the local school district as well as police officers when they approached him on a public sidewalk and told him to find another place to preach.   More... China Escalates Bible Crackdown The Chinese owner of a bookstore near the 2008 Olympics complex in Beijing has been re-arrested and detained, only about a dozen weeks after he was cleared of allegations of illegally publishing Bibles and Christian literature due to "insufficient evidence," according to a new report...  More... Calif. Bill Would Ban Spanking With 'Implements' The issue of spanking has again surfaced in California, where members of the California Assembly's Public Safety Committee voted 5-2 on Tuesday to advance a bill that would define the use of switches or paddles to be child abuse and subject anyone convicted under the statute to face a possible year in jail. More... Ohio Teacher Refuses to Remove Bible From Classroom An Ohio school teacher of over 20 years has come under attack recently by school administrators because of a Bible that he has kept on his desk for his entire career.      More... ..... Weekend, April 19th-20th Benedict Becomes First Pope to Visit American Synagogue Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope to visit an American synagogue Friday, bringing greetings for the Passover holiday and accepting gifts of matzo and a seder plate. Benedict, 81, stopped briefly at Park East Synagogue on Manhattan's Upper East Side, near the Vatican...     More... Polygamous-Sect Children Ordered to Stay in Texas Custody  The more than 400 children taken from a ranch run by a polygamous sect will stay in state custody and be subject to genetic testing to sort out family relationships that have confounded welfare authorities, a judge ruled Friday. State District Judge Barbara Walther heard...    More... What Divides Catholics and Protestants? As Pope Benedict XVI continues with his highly publicized visit to the United States, some may wonder what the major differences are between Catholicism and Protestantism – the two main Christian bodies in the world.    More... Pope Admonishes US Bishops to Oppose Homosexual Marriage While largely ignored by much of the major media, Pope Benedict XVI admonished the nation's Catholic bishops to promote traditional marriage in a speech delivered Wednesday after a vespers service at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.       More... Students Proclaim 'Take-Your-Bible' Day Students at the Mount Vernon, Ohio, school district have called a 'take-your-Bible-to-school day" tomorrow in support of a popular teacher who has been ordered to keep his Bible hidden while students are in his classroom.    More... Lesbian Demands Custody of Christian Mom's 6-Year-Old A ruling from the Virginia Supreme Court, if it goes the wrong way, could yank a 6-year-old girl from the Christian home her mother has created and set her up to be "paraded as a political trophy of the homosexual community in Vermont," according to a lawyer who argued the case before the court today.   More... District Bans 'John 3:16,' Promotes Demonic Art A court in Wisconsin has been asked to suspend immediately a policy in the Tomah Area School District that bans Christian symbols in students' artwork, but allows Hindu, Buddhist and satanic representations.     More... Football Coach's Prayer With Students Ruled Unconstitutional A football coach of over 20 years and one time recipient of the USA Today's “Caring Coach of the Year” award, has come under attack recently for his practice of holding prayer sessions with his students before games.  More... Praying Passenger Removed From Plane A passenger who left his seat to pray in the back of a plane before it took off, ignoring flight attendants' orders to return, was removed by an airport security guard, a witness and the airline said.   More... ..... Friday, April 18th NY Daily News Opinion: Obama's Honeymoon Over, and It Shows It seems like ancient history now, but not long ago Hillary Clinton argued that Barack Obama was getting a free pass from the media. Those days are over, with moderators, a private citizen and Clinton herself peppering Obama on Wednesday night with a barrage of the kind of tough questions he escaped for more than a year. He answered some better than others, and some not at all. More... Pope Prays With Victims of Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal Pope Benedict XVI prayed with tearful victims of clergy sex abuse in a chapel Thursday, an extraordinary gesture from a pontiff who has made atoning for the great shame of the U.S. church the cornerstone of his first papal trip to America. Benedict's third day in the U.S. began...     More... Faith Vote at Play in Pennsylvania Primary Pennsylvania faith voters are being heavily courted by the Democratic presidential candidates ahead of next week’s primary, when this voting bloc is expected to play a significant role in the contest result. About one-fifth of Pennsylvania’s adult population is evangelical, according to the...   More... Nearly 1 in 5 Troops Has Mental Problems After War Service Roughly one in every five U.S. troops who have survived the bombs and other dangers of Iraq and Afghanistan now suffers from major depression or post-traumatic stress, an independent study said Thursday. It estimated the toll at 300,000 or more. As many or more report possible...     More... Obama Compares Pro-Life Republican to Terrorist Sen. Barack Obama has compared a conservative, pro-life senator with a 1960s radical who organized bomb attacks on the Pentagon, the U.S. Capitol and other government buildings.     More... Clinton, Obama Play Both Sides of Gun Issue in Debate Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, still scrapping for the Democratic presidential nomination, tried to reconcile their gun-control records with their professed campaign-trail support for gun ownership on Wednesday night.    More... Advisor: McCain Believes Using Faith for Election is Wrong An insider of John McCain’s campaign said the Republican nominee-in-waiting refuses to use his faith for political gains and is debating whether to speak more openly about his relationship with God.  “John McCain has an innate sense that using your faith for election is wrong and that his faith is extremely private,” said a  McCain religious advisor, who wanted to remain anonymous...  More... Iranian Involvement in Gaza Jeopardizes Peace Process The Palestinian Authority is concerned about the growing involvement of Iran in the Gaza Strip, P.A. Foreign Minister and Minister of Information Riyad al Malki said on Thursday.      More... Christians Reject Taboo on Hot Sex in Marriage “What’s wrong with married couples having hot and holy sex?” is the question more and more pastors and Christian counselors are posing to believers.Once regarded as a hush-hush topic in church, sex is increasingly being openly discussed and even promoted by an unlikely ally – Christian pastors. But this effort comes with strings attached – it’s only meant for married couples. More... Settlement Allows Presbyterian Church to Leave Denomination The Pittsburgh Presbytery and a large breakaway congregation reached a settlement that will allow the church to leave the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) along with its property.   More... Christian Photographer Accused of 'Discriminating' Against Same-Sex Couple The New Mexico Human Rights Commission ruled on Wednesday that an evangelical Christian photographer discriminated against a lesbian couple by refusing a job to photograph the couple's same-sex commitment ceremony. Religious rights attorneys plan to appeal.  More... ..... Thursday, April 17th Pope Hails America's Founding Principles In a speech delivered on the South Lawn of the White House on Wednesday morning, Pope Benedict XVI spoke positively of America's Founding Fathers and lauded the principles they embraced in creating the United States.  More... Study Reveals Decline in Teen Pregancies, Abortions In what is perhaps the most comprehensive study produced in a decade, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed record drops in the rates of teenage pregnancies and abortion. According to the results, both abortion and teenage pregnancies have been steadily dropping since 1990.  More... Massachusetts Suffering Fallout From Universal Healthcare Program A leading healthcare reform expert says she's not surprised that the new universal healthcare program in Massachusetts brokered by former Governor Mitt Romney and Senator Ted Kennedy is running several hundred million dollars over budget.   More... McCain Advised To Be More Candid About His Faith Rob Schenck, the head of the conservative National Clergy Council, says one of presidential candidate John McCain's biggest weaknesses is his discomfort talking about his personal faith.   More... Student to McCain: "Care to join me for a shot?" Rarely does John McCain not have an answer. But two questions, about race and drinking, caught him off guard Tuesday during his stop on MSNBC's "Harball College Tour" at Villanova University.   More... Papal Visit May Have Reversed Censorship of Pro-Life Speaker Just before Pope Benedict XVI arrived in the United States Tuesday, a Catholic university in Minnesota that had previously blocked a pro-life speaker from appearing on campus reversed its position.     More... Am. Thinker: Israel at 60- Give or Take a Few Thousand Years The nation of Israel is about to  commemorate its 60th birthday. That's the official, politically correct, line. But to be truly accurate, a cake celebrating the milestone should have more candles than 60 -- thousands more. More... Jimmy Carter Greets Palestinian Terrorist With Hug Former President Jimmy Carter today warmly embraced a top Hamas  terrorist and laid a wreath on the gravesite of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, whom Carter called a "peace fighter" and a "dear friend," according to Palestinian officials speaking to WND.   More... ..... Wednesday, April 16th Pope Will Find Diverse Church in U.S. In his visit this month to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI will find an American flock wrestling with what it means to be Roman Catholic.     More... U.S., Israel to Carter: Hamas Meeting Bad Idea Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter was told by U.S. officials and Israel that his plan to meet the top leader of Hamas, a group both countries consider a terrorist, is a bad idea.  More... Hamas Terrorists Make Their 2008 U.S. Presidential Pick On the eve of a planned meeting with former President Jimmy Carter, the isolated Hamas terrorist organization has expressed "hope" Sen. Barack Obama will win the presidential elections and "change" America's foreign policy. "We like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the elections," Ahmed Yousuf, Hamas' top political adviser in the Gaza Strip, said in an exclusive interview with WND and with the John Batchelor Show on WABC Radio in New York. More... David Limbaugh Op-Ed: Obama's Anger at the U.S. One of the silver linings of the mostly dismal presidential campaign has been that Democrats have finally come to see – perhaps admit is a better word – that the Clintons are pathological and ruthless power addicts. But that late-coming epiphany looks increasingly irrelevant, as the ascendancy of Barack Obama delivers a whole new set of deeply troubling concerns.     More... Senate Targets 'Prosperity' Christians, Church Says Kenneth Copeland Ministries, one of six so-called mega-churches at the center of a U.S. Senate Finance Committee investigation, has informed the committee that it will not cooperate with the probe.      More... Pope Benedict Introduces Himself to America This Week A theologian recalls the then-cardinal's deep understanding of Protestantism. A former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican was impressed by his interest in all things American. Those who have met Pope Benedict XVI say the nation should expect a man who knows and admires much about the U.S., but also sees a culture in need of moral guidance.   More... Remembering Va. Tech, Holding onto Faith Students at Virginia Tech will be remembering on Wednesday the 32 lives lost in a tragic shooting one year ago. But the Hokies aren't thrilled over the revived media attention that has come...    More... Alveda King Calls Abortion 'Racist' Dr. Alveda King, niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., spoke out powerfully Monday against abortion and in favor of the forces of life, as she called abortion “selfish,” “racist,” and among the worst inhumanities of our times.   More... Virginia Supreme Court to Weigh in on Lesbian Couple's Custody Battle  The Virginia Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday in a custody case involving a lesbian couple fighting over who gets full custody of a five-year-old girl.  More... Reporter's Question: When Was the Last Time Clinton Went to Church or Fired a Gun? On Sunday, a reporter asked Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) when she had last attended church or fired a gun. "That is not a relevant question for this debate," Clinton said. "We can answer that some other time. I went to church on Easter, so ... but that is not what this is about." The question came on the same day that Clinton accused Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) of being "elitist ... and, frankly, patronizing" in the comments he made at a private fundraiser on April 6 in San Francisco. Obama told the money crowd how he viewed small town Pennsylvanians: "You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them ... And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are going to regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," Obama said. He spent the weekend explaining that he meant no offense - that he should have worded his remarks differently.   (CNS News) Pope, Bush Have Foreign Policy Differences Pope Benedict and President George W. Bush disagree on the Iraq war and other foreign policy issues, but their White House meeting this week may focus more on areas of agreement like abortion. The Vatican strongly opposed the Iraq war which it believed did not follow the Catholic "just war" doctrine which justifies defensive conflicts but not preemptive attacks, analysts say.     More... Study: Few Born-Again Christians Tithe to Churches Only 9 percent of all born again adults gave 10 percent of their income to churches and charitable groups, a new survey revealed. While the practice of tithing and whether it is a biblical responsibility is still debated today,  More... ..... Tuesday, April 15th Jimmy Carter Offers to Be Hamas Go-Between Former President Jimmy Carter defended his plan to meet with the top leader of the violently anti-Israel Hamas movement, saying Monday he hopes to become a conduit between the Islamic militant group and Washington and Israel. Isolating Hamas is counterproductive, Carter...     More... Adult Women in Sect Back at Texas Ranch A spokesman for a polygamist sect in West Texas says the state has returned 139 women who were staying at a shelter with their children back to the Yearning For Zion ranch. More... Israeli Strike in Gaza Kills Militant An Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle in northern Gaza late Monday, fatally wounding a senior Palestinian militant, witnesses and officials said. A man identified by witnesses as Ibrahim Abu Olba, 42, from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was hit in a missile blast as he was...   More... Obama, Clinton Face Deep Questions On God, Bible Moderators of Sunday’s faith forum spared the Democratic presidential candidates no mercy as they drilled them on difficult theological questions ranging from “Why does God allow people to suffer?” to “Do you believe that God created the world in six days?”   More... Vox Day Op-Ed: The Israel That Must Defend Itself The neoconservative commentator, Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post, recently proposed what he described as a "Holocaust Doctrine," in which an Iranian nuclear attack on Israel would be regarded as an attack on the United States...While it is to be regretted that anyone should wish to attack Israel, with nuclear weapons or anything else, this doesn't change the fact that Israel is not America and never will be.     More...   Bible Teaching Straight To Your I-Pod The Rev. Bruce Walker preaches to a congregation of fewer than 100 people in Greenville, S.C., but people all over the world listen to his sermons via podcast.  Evangelists have long used the airwaves to get their messages out to a mass audience. But now, podcast technology is opening the doors to a wider variety of religious teaching than ever before, available on demand and delivered automatically to the computers of a growing number of Americans... More... D.A. Carson Says "Fundamentalism Is Changing" Let me just say something about fundamentalists. Fundamentalism is changing.... But fundamentalists in the U.S. are changing in many respects. Most of them are baptistic, but not all of them. Most of them have some theory of second- or third-degree separation. And most of them are hermeneutically dispensational, and pretty strongly so....But nevertheless, we often have a perspective on funda- mentalism that is sociologically no longer quite valid--[that] fundamentalists are ignorant, bad-tempered, hate-filled; [that] they know more what they're against than what they're for; and so on and so on and so on and so on.   More... Ancient Biological Material Found in New Mexico Cellulose dating back 253 million years - along with some possible ancient DNA - has been found in salt crystals from an underground nuclear waste dump in southern New Mexico. "We did see some ancient DNA in the salt, but not a lot, and we have to continue experiments to...     More... Albert Mohler: Biblical Authority and the Preacher The inaugural issue of Christianity Today, dated October 15, 1956, featured an article by Billy Graham entitled, "Biblical Authority in Evangelism." The thrust of the article was clear -- without an unhesitant "thus saith the Lord" authority in preaching and evangelism, the message lacks all authority. The only authority that matters, Dr. Graham insisted, was the authority of the Bible as the Word of God More... Obama, Clinton to Tackle Faith, Moral Issues Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will engage Sunday in discussions about faith, morality, and social justice at an unprecedented bipartisan presidential candidate forum that will reach both conservative and liberal Christians.   More... Most U.S. Christians Back Israel Out of 'Biblical Obligation'  Most American Christians – regardless of their denomination and background – say they feel a "moral and biblical obligation" to new survey conducted by a D.C.-based evangelical organization. More... Polygamist Sect Mothers Accuse Gov't of Traumatizing Kids The mothers of children removed from a polygamous sect's ranch in West Texas after an abuse allegation are appealing to Gov. Rick Perry for help, saying some of their children have become sick and even required hospitalization.   More... ..... Monday, April 14th Bush Readies Big Welcome for Pope The leader of the world's Roman Catholics has been to the White House only once in history. That changes this week, and President Bush is pulling out all the stops: driving out to a suburban military base to meet Pope Benedict XVI's plane, bringing a giant audience to the South...  More... Dalai Lama Fears More Chinese Force The Dalai Lama said Sunday that Tibet cannot make any more concessions to China and renewed his calls for the government to cease suppression in his former homeland and withdraw troops. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader denied Chinese claims that he has called for Tibet to be...    More... U.S. Evangelicals, Israeli Leaders Gather in Pro-Israel Rally Nearly 2,000 Evangelical Christians and high profile Israeli leaders met together in Jerusalem Thursday as part of the historic “Epicenter 08” conference.    More... Clinton, Obama to Vie for the "Faith Vote" Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will court the "faith vote" at a forum this weekend, seeking support from a sizable constituency with influence on U.S. politics.     More... Christian Photographers Fined for Refusing Same-Sex Ceremony The state of New Mexico has ordered a family owned photography company to pay more than $6,600 for declining a demand to take pictures at a same-sex ceremony, and a lawyer who is working on an appeal says it is an example of how "non-discrimination" or "hate" laws can be weapons in the hands of homosexual activists.   More... Minnesota Public School Accused of Teaching & Practicing Islam TIZA Academy is sponsored by Islamic Relief USA, based in California. The questions came after substitute teacher Amanda Getz taught at TIZA last month and told the Star Tribune about things she observed that day that shocked her. "I've been in a lot of schools and I've never been in a school where they had washing rituals, or had prayer, or they had a room where you had to take your shoes off... More... Huckabee May Run Again in 2012 Former presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee told supporters that he may run again for president in 2012 during a teleconference with supporters on Thursday.     More... Baby With 2 Faces Born in India, Worshipped By Hindus as a God A baby with two faces was born in a northern Indian village, where she is doing well and is being worshipped as the rein- carnation of a Hindu goddess, her father said Tuesday. The baby, Lali, apparently has an extremely rare condition known as craniofacial duplication, where a single head has two faces. Except for her ears, all of Lali's facial features are duplicated — she has two noses, two pairs of lips and two pairs of eyes. "My daughter is fine — like any other child," said Vinod Singh, 23, a poor farm worker...."She drinks milk from her two mouths and opens and shuts all the four eyes at one time," Ali said. More... Polygamist Sect Encouraged Fear All their lives, the girls in the polygamist sect in the West Texas desert were told that the outside world was hostile and immoral, and that venturing beyond the brilliant white limestone walls of their compound would consign them to eternal damnation. More... Hackers Attack Christians, Promise Punishment Staff members for a prominent pro-family organization that has been key to the battle against California's mandated homosexual indoctrination programs for public schools are working off-site while an investigation is conducted into threats that someone would arrive at the office and "punish" them, officials confirmed today.  More... Netanyahu: "Zionist Christians Our Best Friends" Israel has no better friends in the world than Christian Zionists, Likud opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. "This is a friendship of the heart, a friendship of common roots, and a friendship of common civilization," Netanyahu told a... More... Mormon Church Will Meet with Gay Support Group A woman who is a former Mormon finds it rather surprising that officials with that church have agreed to meet with a homosexual Mormon support group this summer.    More... ...... Weekend, April 12th-13th 'American Idol' Brings Jesus Back to Worship Song Following a wave of comments by Christian viewers criticizing Wednesday night's "American Idol" performance that replaced "Jesus" with "shepherd" in their finale song, Idol contestants stepped back on stage Thursday, this time singing "Jesus."  More... Calif. Ready to Pass Law Banning Spanking of Children by Their Parents "Good parents in California could be jailed," unless they rise up and oppose a bill intended to ban the spanking of children, a conservative group is warning     More... New Mexico Commission Orders $6,000 Fine for Christian Beliefs A Christian law firm will appeal a ruling by the New Mexico Human Rights Commission fining a photographer who refused to take photos of a homosexual commitment ceremony.  More... Bill Clinton Caught In More Lies About Hillary's Bosnia Experiences Former President Clinton has added to the falsehoods surrounding his wife's tale of her trip to Bosnia 12 years ago. In Indiana on Thursday, Bill Clinton defended his wife's mistake in claiming that she landed under sniper fire in Bosnia, accusing the media of treating her like...     More... Google in Legal Row Over Abortion Ad A pro-life Christian organization in Britain plans to sue Google in a dispute over an abortion ad. The Christian Institute says Google is violating a 2006 law that prohibits religious discrimination in providing any goods or services.    More... Obama's Ex-Pastor to Speakto NAACP in Detroit The Detroit branch of the NAACP said Thursday it has selected the embattled former minister of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama as the keynote speaker at its 53rd Annual Fight for Freedom Fund dinner.     More... Jimmy Carter to Meet With Palestinian Terrorist, Israelis Angry Israel is very angry about the idea of former President Jimmy Carter meeting with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Syria next week, according to an Israeli official who spoke Friday on condition of anonymity.     More... NIV Bible Tops List by Evangelical Leaders The New International Version of the Bible is by far the most preferred translation of the Scripture, according to a new survey of U.S. evangelical leaders.    More... Coalition of Liberal Catholics Calling for Social Change A coalition of Roman Catholics is mobilizing behind the liberal social justice issues central to Barack Obama's presidential campaign.     More... UCLA Prolifers Accuse Planned Parenthood of Racism, Minority Targeting A pro-life student group at UCLA has released a series of shocking videos over the past few weeks that it claims proves that Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest provider of surgical abortions, is racist and deliberately targets minority groups for abortions.     More... CBS Special Looks at Teen Missionaries in 'Lord's Boot Camp' The makers of the disputed "Jesus Camp" are back – this time with a special documentary on teen missions that will air this weekend on CBS.     More... Judge Roy Moore Blasts 'Thought Police' The former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court is calling for more Christians in America to be educated and informed about activist judges and the liberal agenda to remove the mention of God from the public square.     More... ..... Friday, April 11th America Drafts Plan to Cut Jerusalem In Two  The United States, which has been mediating negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority here, has proposed a plan to divide Jerusalem, WND has learned.  The plan, divided into separate phases, among other things calls for Israel eventually to forfeit parts of the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site. More... 'American Idol' Features Worship, Censors Jesus The prospect that America's most-watch television program would feature a popular Christian worship song to close its fundraising special last night generated a buzz on the Internet, but some now are crying foul after the lyrics were altered to eliminate the word "Jesus."   More... Prominent Abortionist Attempts to Block Legal Proceedings Attorneys representing controversial late-term abortionist George R. Tiller presented their arguments to the Kansas Supreme Court on Tuesday in an attempt to block efforts by the Grand Jury of Kansas to subpoena hundreds of his abortion records.  More... Texas Official Raid Religious Compound After complaints of child abuse, authorities relocated several hundred women and girls who were part of a polygamous sect.    More... Court Tosses Suit Over School's Anti-Gay Speech Policy A high school student won't be allowed to proceed with a lawsuit against his school district for instituting a policy that barred him from expressing his opposition to homosexuality, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.     More... Christian professor's lawsuit against employer going forward A federal court has refused to dismiss a discrimination lawsuit filed by a professor at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, who claims he was harassed and denied a promotion after he became a Christian.     More... High Court Justice Says Right to Abortion Nowhere in Constitution During a visit to law students at Roger Williams University this week, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said that the right to an abortion exists no where in the constitution.  "The reality is the constitution doesn't address the subject at all,” he said Monday, according to LifeNews.com.    More... Wall of Silence Broken at Minnesota's Muslim Public School ...TIZA has many characteristics that suggest a religious school. It shares the headquarters building of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, whose mission is "establishing Islam in Minnesota." The building also houses a mosque. TIZA's executive director, Asad Zaman, is a Muslim imam, or religious leader, and its sponsor is an organization called Islamic Relief. Students pray daily, the cafeteria serves halal food - permissible under Islamic law -- and "Islamic Studies" is offered at the end of the school day.  More... American Thinker:  Is Obama Committed to Israel's Survival? Is Obama committed to Israel's survival as a Jewish state? The question is serious and the answer may be chilling.  The senator himself has not spoken ill of Israel nor has he made anti-Semitic statements, but it is quite unlikely that a candidate as clever as he would tip his hand on something that vital.  Consider, though, all the influences on the life of Barack Obama. He has felt comfortable in the company of angry blacks who form the core of anti-Semitism in modern America. More... Bible Tops America's 10 Favorite Books of All Time Regardless of which demographic group they belong to – male-female, Republican-Democrat or old-young – Americans named the Bible as their favorite book of all time, according to a recent nationwide poll.  In addition to being the number one book overall... More... Insider Leaks Plans for Palestinian State U.S.-backed negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians are expected to generate an agreement by the end of the year that would set up a Palestinian state in the West Bank and sections of Jerusalem...  More... McDonald's Draws Criticisms Over Alleged Pro-Gay Stance McDonald’s has come under attack recently over what critics claim to be a high-profile endorsement of homosexuality. Last month, the vice president of communications for the nation’s largest fast-food chain joined the board of directors of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce...   More... ..... Thursday, April 10th McCain Won't Rule Out Pre-Emptive War Republican Sen. John McCain refused Wednesday to rule out a pre-emptive war against another country, although he said one would be very unlikely. The likely Republican presidential nominee was asked Wednesday at a town-hall style meeting if he would reject "the Bush doctrine...     More... Lawyers Argue Against Texas Church Raid Lawyers for a polygamist sect that is the subject of a massive child-abuse investigation argued in court Wednesday that although its members' multiple marriages and cloistered ways may be unusual, they have a right to their faith and privacy.   More... Chuck Colson Diagnoses 'Heart' of Church Problem Healthy churches breed a healthy culture, but church problems can lead to social woes, contended political strategist turned ministry leader Chuck Colson on Tuesday.  More... 200 Seniors Rescued From Michigan Blaze Firefighters carried senior citizens out of a fire at a three-story independent-living complex Wednesday, and officials said all 200 residents made it to safety.    More... Prominent Pro-Life Group Backs McCain The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the nation’s largest and most influential pro-life organization, has announced the “unanimous” decision by its board of directors to back Republican presidential hopeful John McCain.     More... Two Israelis Killed in Terror Attack at Border Two Israeli civilians were killed and two wounded when Palestinian terrorists shot them in a brief dash across the border, the army said.     More... Hagee-Led U.S. Evangelicals March through Streets of Jerusalem American televangelist John Hagee led several hundred flag-waving followers across Jerusalem on Monday, a colorful display of the growing alliance between Christian evangelicals and Israel.  More... Ezekiel 38 Draws Closer as Iran Forms Military Pact with Sudan Iran jumped in with gusto to meet Sudan president Omar al-Bashir’s application for a military package including arms and training of his army. The application was received after the horrendous Darfur tragedy and Khartoum’s backing for Chad rebels finally convinced Sudan’s traditional arms suppliers,  More... .....g Wednesday, April 9th Federal Officials Worried About Recession Worries about a deep recession - not a shallow one - drove Federal Reserve policymakers to slash a key interest rate last month, meeting minutes show. Even as the Fed battled in almost unprecedented fashion to stem a widening credit and housing slump, some members fretted over...     More... Government Says Gas Prices Could Hit $4 Retail gas prices could climb as high as $4 a gallon this summer, but prices at such lofty levels will make many Americans think twice about hitting the road this summer, the Energy Department said Tuesday. High prices and a weak economy are expected to cut demand for gasoline by...     More... Mychal Massie Op-Ed: Michelle Obama's Inner Demons Hillary Clinton is a lot of things to the public. She is a polarizing figure, who at her very best, plays "foot loose and fancy free" with the truth...All of those things said, is Michelle Obama any better?...She views life and America through a prism of segregative bias based on her own inner demons. She castigates universities as being designed to cater socially and academically to white students. More... MLK's Niece Calls U.S. Back to the Cross of Christ Dr. Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., says her late uncle would have never supported legalized abortion and would have encouraged the nation to turn back to the Lord.     More... Poll Finds McCain Best Commander-in-Chief  Americans say Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the presumed Republican presidential nominee, would be a better commander-in-chief than the Democratic candidates: Sens. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) or Barack Obama (Ill.), according to a new poll.   More... Israel: We'll 'Destroy' Iran Israel will "destroy" Iran if Tehran decided to launch a war against the Jewish state, Israeli Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said today. The unusually harsh warning from Ben-Eliezer, a former defense minister, was delivered as the official visited his ministry's war room, which took part today in a massive, nationwide, weeklong drill that is set to include simulated chemical missile attacks on central Israel.     More... Senate 'Megachurch' Probe Wastes Tax Dollars, Experts Say The Senate Finance Committee continues to gather the financial records of several so-called "megachurches," despite the fact that other government agencies have enforcement power in cases where non-profits are found to have violated tax laws.   More... The Great Depression 2008? We knew things were bad on Wall Street, but on Main Street it may be worse. Startling official statistics show that as a new economic recession stalks the United States, a record number of Americans will shortly be depending on food stamps just to feed themselves and their families.     More... Pastors: Where Do Preaching and Culture Meet? Hundreds of pastors and ministry leaders grappled Monday with the basic but difficult to answer question of how to stay plugged in to the culture to gain access and share the Gospel with a younger generation that is “fundamentally atheistic.”  More... Popular Bible Stories Re-Written, Include Alcoholic Goliath Some of the most popular stories in the Bible were recently re-written by a British Anglican vicar, including the story of Goliath, who in the retelling is a celebrity binge drinker. The Rev. Robert Harrison of St. John’s Church in northwest London is behind the reworking of the top 10 Bible stories that were chosen by a poll conducted by the Christian charity Scripture Union.     More... N. Ireland: Graham Fest Biggest Evangelistic Event in 50 Years American evangelist Franklin Graham held his first festival in Northern Ireland this past weekend, marking the largest evangelistic event in the area in nearly 50 years.  More... Thousands Rally to Support Lawmaker Targeted by Gay Activists Public officials have the right to bring their religious convictions into the public square, but that right is under assault when Christians mention their deeply held beliefs about homosexuality, according to former homosexual Stephen Black.  More... American Thinker: Palestinian Hate-Education Continues In a few weeks, it will be five years since the Palestinian Authority was to prepare its citizens for a two-state solution and end incitement in its educational system. Yet from pre-school through highschool, Palestinian children are indoctrinated to deny Israel's legitimacy, demonize Israelis and Jews, and glorify violent struggle as a religious goal.    More... Obama Still Can't Shake Muslim Ties in His Past Was Sen. Barack Obama a Muslim? Did he ever practice Islam?  The presidential candidate officially rejects the claims, but the issue of Obama's personal faith has re-emerged amid conflicting accounts of his enrollment as a Muslim during elementary school in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.  Widely distributed reports have noted in January 1968, Obama was registered as a Muslim at Jakarta's Roman Catholic Franciscus Assisi Primary School under the name Barry Soetoro.   More... ..... Tuesday, April 8th 400+ Kids Taken From Polygamist Compound More than 400 children, mostly girls in pioneer dresses, were swept into state custody from a polygamist sect in what authorities described Monday as the largest child-welfare operation in Texas history. The dayslong raid on the sprawling compound built by now-jailed...     More... Babies' Sleep Tied to Childhood Obesity When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. And when babies sleep less, they may gain too much weight. A new Harvard study finds that babies and toddlers who sleep fewer than 12 hours daily are at greater risk for being overweight in preschool, startling evidence that the link...     More... .Protests, Calls for Boycott As Muslims React to Critical Film An online documentary film critical of Islam continued to shake the Muslim world over the weekend, sparking street protests, attempted censorship, and calls for retaliatory boycotts. More... Westboro Church Ordered to Post Bond as It Appeals $5M Ruling A federal judge in Baltimore has ordered a fundamentalist Kansas church to post a bond while it appeals a $5 million judgment resulting from its protest at the funeral of a Marine who was killed in Iraq, the Baltimore Examiner reported.   More... Unchurched Prefer Cathedrals Over Contemporary Church Buildings Unchurched Americans prefer churches that look more like a medieval cathedral over contemporary church buildings, a new study showed.     More... Hagee: Israel Must Control All Jerusalem American evangelist John Hagee announced donations of $6 million to Israeli causes on Sunday and said that Israel must remain in control of all of Jerusalem.     More... Belarus: Religious Freedom Rejected, Pressure on Protestants Mounts ...Seven members of the youth group were "just chatting and drinking tea" at the home of Pastor Sergei Suzko's son on 29 February when there was a knock on the door at approximately 8pm...Copying down the identification details of all present, the officials maintained they were violating the 2002 Law by engaging in "political agitation" at a place used for worship services...   More... .Kids' Dress-Up Day Draws Christian Ire An elementary-school event in which kids were encouraged to dress as members of the opposite gender drew the ire of a Christian radio group, whose angry broadcast prompted outraged calls to the district office.  Students at Pineview Elementary in Reedsburg had been dressing in costume all last week as part of an annual school tradition called Wacky Week. On Friday, students were encouraged to dress either as senior citizens or as members of the opposite sex. More... Charlton Heston Left Cinematic, Political Mark Nancy Reagan was heartbroken over Charlton Heston's death. President Bush hailed him as a "strong advocate for liberty," while John McCain called Heston a devotee for civil and constitutional rights. Heston, who died Saturday night at 84, was a towering figure both in his politics and on screen, where his characters had the ear of God...  More... Marriage and the Glory of God  by Albert Mohler ...the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, recited thousands of times each week in various forms, presents a vision of marriage as a deeply Christian institution--even a necessary portrait of the love that unites Christ and His church. As marriage signifies this "mystical union," it points to an understanding that takes us far beyond the relationship of the husband and wife. Do most Christians have even the slightest understanding of this?   More... The Disgrace of Liberalism from American Thinker 2008 marks the end of liberalism as a governing force in the same way that 1968 marked the end of liberalism as a political doctrine. American liberals spent the '60s seeing their programs and policies collapse one after the other.    More.. VP For Romney? Social Conservatives Say No More than 20 leading social conservatives signed an open letter to presumptive Republican nominee John McCain expressing their opposition to the idea of having Mitt Romney as vice president on the Republican ballot.  The so-called “M&M” ticket is being pushed by top Republican strategist Karl Rove, conservative news host Sean Hannity and others in the economic wing of the GOP.     More... ..... Monday, April 7th .McCain Shies Away From Religion Talk Traversing the country this week on a tour of places that have shaped his life and informed his values, John McCain spoke in strikingly personal language to introduce himself to the American public.  But missing so far is any significant mention of religious faith.     More... Study: Christian Divorce Rate Identical to National Average After months of revived debate over divorce and its increasing acceptance among Americans, a new study affirmed born again Christians are just as likely as the average American couple to divorce. The Barna Group found in its latest study that born again Christians who are not evangelical were indistinguishable from the national average... More... Search Continues at Polygamist Compound Authorities who removed 219 women and children from a polygamist compound were struggling Sunday to determine whether they had the 16-year-old girl whose report of an underage marriage led them to raid the sprawling rural property.    More... .Religion at the Register: Companies Promote Spiritual Principles When customers walk into Chick-fil-A, they get a side with their chicken sandwich that's rare in the world of monstrous fast-food chains: Christianity.  No bones about it, this company's business philosophy is based largely on biblical principles -- including the decision to remain closed on Sundays, when the company could be making big bucks at its 1,356 stores.    More... Hillary Clinton Promises to Expand Homosexual Rights  Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said she would defend and expand homosexual rights as president.  Clinton said states such as New Jersey and Massachusetts are extending rights to homosexual couples "and the federal government should recognize that and should extend the same access to federal benefits across the board. More... Christian Priest Killed in Baghdad An Assyrian Orthodox priest was shot to death Saturday by gunmen using silencers as the Christian cleric and his wife returned home after a trip to the market in Baghdad.  More... Reaction to Obama -- Babies Are God's Gift, Not a 'Punishment' Pro-life advocate Wendy Wright says presidential candidate Barak Obama's recent comment that he wouldn't want his daughters to be "punished with a baby" reveals much about where the Democrat stands on the issue of the sanctity of all human life -- and shows his true persona.     More... Indonesia: Over 100 Churches Closed in 3 Years Islamic extremism and local governments closed more than 100 churches in Indonesia within three years, according to a persecution watchdog agency.     More... The Mystery of the Copper Scroll  from CBN News In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd wandered the hills of Qumran in search of a missing sheep. He threw a stone into a cave, hoping to drive the lost animal outside. Instead, the sound of shattered pottery drew the shepherd inside the cave. There he stumbled on the greatest archaeological find of the 20th century: the Dead Sea Scrolls. In the years that followed, archaeologists found eleven caves and more than 900 documents here at Qumran. But one scroll was different from all the rest. Instead of leather or parchment, it was made entirely of copper, and it could be the greatest treasure map in history.   More... ..... Weekend, April 5th-6th Tony Blair: Religion Must be Saved from Extremism A\In his first major speech on religion, Tony Blair said Thursday night that religion must be rescued from extremism and irrelevance and used as a force for good at a time of global turmoil. More... Social Conservatives Warn Against Romney as McCain's VP  In a full-page letter-ad that will run Saturday in an Arizona newspaper where Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will be on the presidential campaign trail, leading social conservatives warn the GOP hopeful against picking Mitt Romney as his vice presidential running mate.     More... Henry Lamb Op-Ed: When Will Islamic Extremism Be Stopped? ...If the extremists are such a minority of the Muslim population, why does the majority not put a stop to the extremists? There can be only two possible answers: either the majority is in agreement with the goals, if not the tactics, of the extremists, or the majority is incapable of controlling the minority. Both answers are probably correct.