WASHINGTON (AP) - In a sign of growing acceptance of U. S.
Muslims, one of the most prominent religious leaders in the
country, evangelical pastor Rick Warren, will speak at the Islamic
Society of North America's annual convention in Washington this
weekend.
In recent years, the society has denounced terrorism and has
endorsed a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. The
organization also elected its first female president, Ingrid
Mattson, who took part in the National Cathedral service for
President Barack Obama the day after his inaugural.
The Islamic Society of North America isn't the first American
Muslim group that Warren has addressed. Last December, he spoke at
a meeting of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Several prominent Jewish leaders also will take part in this
weekend's convention, and singer Yusuf Islam -- who was known as
Cat Stevens before his conversion -- is scheduled to appear.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The sister of Christian singer Andrae Crouch
says they prayed with Michael Jackson three weeks before he died
last Thursday, but it wasn't a prayer to receive Jesus Christ as
savior.
In a posting on her Facebook page, Sandra Crouch and her brother
say they met with Jackson to discuss him possibly recording two
songs with their church choir.
Sandra and Andrae Crouch are co-pastors of a Pentecostal church
in Los Angeles.
The posting says they "sang together, prayed together and had a
wonderful time" with Jackson. But they say reports that they led
him in the sinner's prayer are "incorrect and absolutely not
true. "
Michael Jackson was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, dabbled in
other religions and reportedly converted to Islam in 2008.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is still looking for a
church home more than a year after resigning from the Chicago
church led by his controversial former pastor Jeremiah Wright.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the first family
has yet to join a church because Obama doesn't want his attendance
to disrupt other people's worship.
Gibbs says Obama enjoys services led by Camp David's chaplain on
weekends the family spends at the presidential retreat, but they're
not members there.
In 2009, the Obamas have only attended Sunday church services
twice in Washington. Two days before the inauguration, they visited
the 19th Street Baptist Church. On Easter Sunday, the first family
worshipped at St. John's Episcopal Church across Lafayette Park
from the White House.
But Gibbs says the Obamas' search for a formal church home in
the Washington area continues.
WEBSTER, Texas (AP) - Police in the Houston suburb of Webster
say they used a Taser on a pastor and pepper spray to disperse
members of his congregation.
Pastor Jose Elias Moran was charged with interfering in the
duties of a police officer during a church member's traffic stop on
the Hispanic church's parking lot.
Webster Police say the officer tried to calm the pastor and
arrest him, but he pushed the officer, went inside the church and
returned with 40 other congregants.
The family disputed the police account, saying Moran did not lay
a hand on the police officer.
The family said police told them Moran was taken to a hospital
after being shocked with the Taser.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - Authorities say a white powder
substance that was mailed to the Christian Broadcasting Network
headquarters in Virginia, causing several employees to be isolated
for six hours, was whey protein powder.
Virginia Beach fire spokesman Tim Riley says lab work determined
the powder was the kind used by body builders, not a biohazard such
as anthrax or ricin.
CBN spokesman Chris Roslan says two employees opened the
envelope containing white powder Wednesday morning. Those
employees, a CBN security guard and a U. S. postal service inspector
were placed on precautionary medical watch until officials received
the test results.
CHARLOTTE, N. C. (AP) - A religious broadcaster is reportedly
building a $4 million home at the same time his ministry has cut
jobs and reset thermostats to save money in its new headquarters.
The Charlotte Observer reports that Inspiration Networks' CEO
David Cerullo is building the 9,000-square-foot
lakefront home in a gated community in South Carolina.
Meanwhile, the newspaper reports that the ministry is laying off
workers and has frozen wages and stopped making contributions to
employee retirement accounts.
Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley is investigating the finances of
other religious broadcasters and told the newspaper that
televangelists should not spend viewers' tax-exempt donations on
extravagant lifestyles.
Cerullo, who receives $1. 5 million in compensation, has said
that 80 cents of each donated dollar is used to spread the Gospel.
CAIRO (AP) - The chief Palestinian Muslim cleric is urging
Muslims to visit Jerusalem, breaking a decades-long taboo against
visiting the holy city because it would be considered support for
Israel.
Sheikh Tayseer al-Timimi, reversing an earlier edict, said
Wednesday that Muslims should travel to Jerusalem and perform
pilgrimage to Muslim holy places in the disputed city.
Al-Timimi had previously banned Muslims from visiting the city,
arguing that would be considered normalizing relations with Israel.
Other Muslim clerics also ban such visits, saying Muslims should
wait until a Palestinian state is established with east Jerusalem
as its capital.
Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque is one of Islam's most sacred shrines
and Arabs and Muslims used to visit regularly to worship there
until Israel seized east Jerusalem in the 1967 Arab Israeli war.
CAIRO (AP) - Police in Egypt say a teenager was killed after a
quarrel broke out between Muslims and Coptic Christians in the Nile
Delta town of Mansoura.
Police say the trouble began with a verbal exchange between the
Muslim teen and a Coptic street vendor. Officials say Coptic youths
joined in the quarrel, the teenager was killed in the ensuing
fight, and Muslim rioters then attacked Christian homes, setting
two houses ablaze.
Police said some 25 rioters were arrested, and Egypt's ministry
of the interior, which oversees security, dispatched hundreds of
armed soldiers from nearby towns to police Mansoura.
Egyptian Christianity dates to the apostolic era, but today's
Coptic Christians complain of persecution by the nation's Muslim
majority.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court has refused to hear an
appeal from Christian students whose proposed Bible club was denied
official recognition and funding at their high school.
Officials at Kentridge High School in Washington state refused
to charter the Truth Bible Club in 2001. They cited the group's
name, the fact that students would have to pledge to Jesus Christ
to vote in the club and that chartering the club would bring
religion into the school.
The club's would-be founders sued the Kent School District,
claiming discrimination. But the Supreme Court let stand a ruling
that the students' constitutional rights were not violated.
The school district says chartered student groups must be open
to all, without requiring a faith pledge or adherence to a
Christian code of conduct.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Sen. Susan Collins of Maine says 60
people from her state are on a church mission trip in Honduras,
where the country's president was ousted in a military coup over
the weekend.
Honduran soldiers on Sunday seized President Manuel Zelaya and
deported him to Costa Rica. The overthrow came just hours before a
rogue referendum that Zelaya had called in defiance of the courts
and Congress, and which his opponents said was an attempt to remain
in power after his term ends Jan. 27.
Collins says 60 adults and youths from the All Souls
Congregational Church in Bangor are in Honduras on a volunteer
mission. Collins says her office has spoken with church officials,
who say everyone in the group is safe.
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (AP) - The parents of an American aid worker
slain in Africa have issued a statement on the eve of his funeral
-- forgiving his killers "by the grace of God," but asking for
justice.
Christopher Leggett's funeral is set for this afternoon in
Cleveland, Tennessee.
The 39-year-old Leggett was shot to death last week near the
school he helped run in Mauritania.
An Arab TV station aired a statement issued by an al-Qaida
spokesman who said the group killed Leggett because he was
allegedly trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.
The statement from Leggett's parents says, "By the grace of
God, we have forgiven the individuals who committed this terrible
act. " But they also hoped that justice would be done.
The parents say the Leggett family, including their son's wife
and their four children, "love the people and country of
Mauritania. "
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says that while he's
dedicated to expanding gay rights, many Americans still cling to
what he calls "worn arguments and old attitudes. "
At a White House celebration of Gay Pride Month, Obama said,
"There are good and decent people in this country who don't yet
fully embrace their gay brothers and sisters -- not yet. " To
change that, the president said he has promoted gay rights in front
of skeptical groups like members of black churches.
Obama said Congress should repeal what he referred to as "the
so-called Defense of Marriage Act. " He also said his
administration is working to pass a hate crimes bill and to repeal
the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military.
The audience at the White House ceremony included Episcopal
Bishop Gene Robinson and other gay clergy.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A new study by the Pew Research Center finds a
wide generation gap between younger and older Americans when it
comes to religion and morality.
Asked to identify where older and younger people differ most, 47
percent cited social values and morality. People age 18 to 29 were
more likely to report disagreements over lifestyle, views on
family, relationships and dating. Young people expressed greater
tolerance toward same-sex marriage.
Religion was found to be a far bigger part of the lives of older
adults. About two-thirds of people 65 and older said religion is
very important to them, compared with just over half of those 30 to
49, and 44 percent of people 18 to 29. In addition, among adults 65
and older, one-third said religion has grown more important to them
over the course of their lives, while 4 percent said it has become
less important and 60 percent said it has stayed the same.
ROME (AP) - Pope Benedict says scientific testing on what are
believed to be the remains of the Apostle Paul "seem to confirm"
that are indeed those of the Roman Catholic saint.
Archaeologists recently unearthed and opened the white marble
sarcophagus located under the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the
Walls, in Rome. For some 2,000 years, the site has been believed by
the faithful to be the tomb of St. Paul.
Benedict says scientists conducted carbon dating tests on bone
fragments found inside the sarcophagus and confirmed that they date
from the first or second century. His announcement of the findings
came at a service in the basilica to mark the end of the Vatican's
Paoline year.
The pope says when archaeologists opened the sarcophagus, they
discovered alongside the bone fragments some grains of incense, a
"precious" piece of purple linen with gold sequins and a blue
fabric with linen filaments.
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AP) - A pastor in Louisville, Kentucky,
credits guns for helping the country be where it is today.
Saturday was "Open Carry Celebration" at New Bethel Church.
The purpose of the service was a celebration of the Second
Amendment of the U. S. Constitution that guarantees the right to
bear arms.
More than 200 people attended, several dozen of them wearing
weapons. There was just one rule: No bullets.
The 90-minute service included patriotic music, the screening of
gun safety videos and a handgun raffle. Some gun owners carried
old-fashioned six-shooters in leather holsters, while others packed
modern police-style firearms. Kentucky allows residents to openly
carry guns in public with some restrictions.
Across town, a coalition of peace and church groups staged their
own gun-free event.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Some Christian groups are urging Congress to
vote against a new hate crimes bill that would allow the government
to prosecute cases of violence based on sexual orientation, gender
or disability.
Attorney General Eric Holder reminded lawmakers of the recent
killing of a security guard at the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
in Washington. The alleged assailant is a white supremacist.
Lawmakers debated the possible effect of the Matthew Shepard
Hate Crimes Prevention Act. It's named after a gay man killed in
Wyoming in 1998.
But the Traditional Values Coalition, an umbrella group for
Christian churches, opposes the bill. Executive director Andrea
Lafferty says the legislation would have a chilling effect on the
teaching of "Biblical principles" regarding homosexuality.
Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, who opposes the bill, and Democratic
Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, who supports it, asked whether the
law could be used to prosecute a church leader who speaks out
against homosexuality, if a member of that congregation then
assaults a gay person.
Holder said the legislation would hold people accountable for
conduct, but not for speech.
CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - More than 31,000 people in 40
states have penned scriptures in a handwritten copy of the
Christian Bible.
The nine-month project is part of a promotion by Christian
publishing firm Zondervan to mark the 30th anniversary of its New
International Version Bible translation.
The Bible Across America tour stretched 22,000 miles and ended
this week at the firm's headquarters in Michigan.
Company President Moe Girkins joined about a dozen people in
writing out the Bible's last verses.
He penned the final verse from the book of Revelation: "The
grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people Amen. " Others who
helped write the final verses were nine members of the Committee on
Bible Translation that helped create the edition.
The New International Version Bible is a contemporary-English
translation and was published in 1978. Zondervan says there are
more than 300 million copies of it in print worldwide. The
handwritten copy goes on sale in October.
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AP) - The Southern Baptist Convention's
president says the denomination's vision for the future should
include more giving to worldwide missions and an increased effort
to attract minorities.
The Rev. Johnny Hunt, a pastor from Georgia, addressed thousands
of attendees yesterday shortly after the opening of the
denomination's convention in Louisville.
Hunt acknowledged during his speech that membership in the
nation's largest Protestant denomination is shrinking. He says
Southern Baptists are aging and the denomination could lose half of
its 16 million members by 2050.
Hunt, himself a Lumbee Native American, urged members to engage
what he called "our brothers in ethnicity. " The convention, which
formed in 1845 after a dispute with northern Baptists over slavery,
is expected to vote this week on a resolution acknowledging the
historic importance of President Barack Obama's electoral victory.
Dr. David Key of Emory University's Candler School of Theology
in Atlanta says key Southern Baptist churches are predominantly
located in the rural South, where the greatest population growth
has been among blacks and Latinos. He said Southern Baptist
churches have not kept up with this growth.
With the aging population he predicted a "tremendous number of
church closings" in the future.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A federal lawsuit claims that Muslim inmates
in a special unit at the U. S. prison in Terre Haute are being
illegally restricted from praying in groups as often as their
religion commands.
The suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana
says Muslims are required by their faith to pray five times a day
but that prison officials only allow them to pray together once a
week. The suit says Islam deems group prayer to be more beneficial
than individual prayer.
The ACLU claims the restriction unnecessarily burdens the
inmates' freedom of religion.
The suit is the second filed by the ACLU in the past week over
conditions in the Communications Management Unit. The ACLU claims
the unit keeps its mostly Muslim inmates in virtual isolation.
NEW YORK (AP) - A special ceremony has been arranged for a New
York City teenager who can't attend her graduation because it's
being held on the Jewish sabbath.
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has offered to personally present
a diploma to Li Morse on Thursday at Manhattan's historic Tweed
Courthouse.
The 18-year-old is the only Jewish student in her grade at Mott
Hall High School in Harlem. Her classmates will graduate on
Saturday.
Officials previously offered to present Morse's diploma at the
school library. Her family is pleased with the new arrangements.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg says schools have a right to set
graduation dates based on the needs of their communities.
DUBLIN (AP) - The Northern Ireland government says more than 100
Romanian Gypsies who suffered racist attacks and intimidation in
Belfast are being flown back home at taxpayer expense.
The news came as police arrested three young men suspected of
smashing the windows of a Protestant church that provided emergency
shelter to the immigrants last week. That vandalism overnight
mirrored a wave of earlier attacks on the residences of Romanians
in working-class Protestant parts of south Belfast.
Northern Ireland housing minister Margaret Ritchie said the
anti-Romanian violence demonstrated that parts of Northern Ireland
still view other ethnic groups with hatred, despite more than a
decade of peacemaking between the territory's British Protestant
majority and its Irish Catholic minority.
She said that she was "saddened but not shocked" that
stone-throwers had damaged the evangelical Protestant church hall
that offered emergency shelter last week to the Romanians.
Pastor Malcolm Morgan, the City Church minister who arrived
Tuesday to find the church's windows shattered and the front door
damaged, said he was pleased to have offered Christian aid - and
would do again.
PHOENIX (AP) - The Arizona Senate has approved a bill that
imposes new restrictions on abortion, including a mandatory waiting
period and a requirement for state-scripted disclosures by doctors.
The Senate's 16-12 vote Tuesday completes legislative action on
the measure, which the House approved in March.
The bill next returns to the House for transmission to Gov. Jan
Brewer, an abortion critic who has voiced support for key elements.
The 16 "yes" votes were the minimum needed for passage by the
30-member Senate.
Under the bill, women would have to wait for 24 hours after
their initial visit to the abortion provider before undergoing the
procedure.
So-called "informed consent" provisions would require doctors
to give women specific information about risks and alternatives.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Two leaders of the United Methodist Church
in Ohio say they're disappointed that Gov. Ted Strickland supports
a plan to put video slot machines at Ohio's seven racetracks.
Bishop Bruce Ough of the church's West Ohio Conference and
Bishop John Hopkins of the East Ohio Conference said yesterday that
expanded gambling exploits individuals and is based on a false hope
that a quick fix to the state's budget gap is possible.
Ough says he and Hopkins have met frequently with Strickland,
who is an ordained Methodist minister but not active in ministry.
Announcing his racetrack slots proposal on Friday, Strickland
said he had made a difficult but necessary choice to help balance
the state budget.
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Officials have unveiled a replica of a 1530
parchment sent by members of England's House of Lords to Pope
Clement VII to support the divorce of King Henry VIII.
The 3-foot-by-6. 5 foot parchment with more than 80 original red
wax seals of the signatories is considered a crucial document in
the king's battle to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
At the time, Henry VIII was obsessed with producing a male heir to
the throne.
The Vatican's refusal to annul the marriage led the king to
reject the authority of the pope and install himself as head of the
Church of England. He then married Anne Boleyn.
Officials said that while the original document will remain in
the Vatican Secret Archives, they plan to put the copy on display.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Southern Baptists are heading for
Louisville, Ky. , for an annual meeting next week that will seek to
reverse the denomination's decline.
Southern Baptist churches baptized fewer people in 2008 for the
fourth year in a row, and membership in America's largest
Protestant denomination fell slightly as well.
The Rev. Ed Stetzer, who heads the Southern Baptists' LifeWay
Research division, says in a culture that's become more hostile to
the Gospel, some churches have come to view their neighbors as
adversaries rather than people who need to be loved.
Stetzer, who'll speak to pastors Monday, says, "I don't think
you can simultaneously bury your head in the sand and have your
heart in the mission. "
DETROIT (AP) - A federal judge has denied an evangelical group's
request for permission to hand out Christian literature on
sidewalks at an Arab festival in Dearborn, Mich.
Arabic Christian Perspective describes itself as "a national
ministry established for the purpose of proclaiming the Holy Gospel
of Jesus Christ to Muslims. "
The group sued the city of Dearborn after police told them that
literature could only be distributed in a table-and-booth section
of the three-day Arab International Festival, which opens today.
The city cited public safety concerns and said other Christian
and Muslim groups already have tables or booths at the festival.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A federal lawsuit accuses a Minneapolis
collection agency of religious harassment and intimidation because
its collection letters feature the company motto, WWJD, which is
commonly understood to mean, "What would Jesus do?"
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Bullseye Collection Agency
include Sam Neill, president of a larger competitor, the Bureau of
Collection Recovery.
Liberty Counsel attorney Harry Mihet , who's
representing Bullseye, says it's wrong to suggest that WWJD makes
debtors out to be sinners who'll be condemned if they don't pay.
Mihet says the motto merely signifies what governs Bullseye's
behavior, and he insists that the collection letters are respectful
rather than threatening.
He says Bullseye has filed a countersuit accusing Neill of
abusing the legal process.
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A minister will remain under house arrest
while he appeals a prison sentence for writing that God could
punish a judge who presided over his election-fraud conviction.
The Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear Edward Pinkney's
appeal of his house arrest in a unanimous order dated Wednesday.
Pinkney was sentenced to five years of probation in 2007 after
being convicted of paying people to vote in a Benton Harbor city
election. He later wrote an article saying the judge who handled
his case could be punished by God with curses unless he changed his
ways.
Another judge ruled that Pinkney's column violated his probation
and sentenced him to prison. The state appeals court has released
Pinkney on bond while considering an appeal of his sentence.
SPARTANBURG, S. C. (AP) - A South Carolina school district is
being sued for offering academic credit to students who take on
off-campus religious education course.
The lawsuit was filed by two parents and the Freedom From
Religion Foundation.
The elective course is offered to Spartanburg High School
students at a church next door.
The U. S. Supreme Court in 1954 approved allowing students to
leave school for religious instruction. The lawsuit challenges a
2006 South Carolina law that allows students to receive academic
credit for courses evaluated on secular criteria.
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - Christ United Methodist Church in Mobile,
Ala. , has closed its vacation Bible school after the mother of a
student reported that her five-year-old daughter had been diagnosed
with influenza.
The pastor, the Rev. Jeff Spiller, says the girl had been
determined to have influenza A.
Mobile County Health Officer Dr. Bert Eichold says the H1N1 flu,
commonly known as swine flu, is a subtype of influenza A.
Eichold says as of Wednesday afternoon, there was no indication
that the five-year-old had swine flu. He says no one in the health
community directed the church to close its Bible School. Eichold
says it appears they're being overly cautious.
DENVER (AP) - The pastor of the Iranian Christian Church of
Colorado says Iran's hardline Islamic regime has caused many
Iranians to turn their backs on Islam and become Christians.
The Rev. Ashton Stewart, who grew up in Iran, says God also has
been converting Iranians through miraculous healings and visions of
Jesus Christ.
While many Iranians hoped for the defeat of President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, Stewart says his main prayer
is that the post-election crisis will help grow the church in Iran.
He's also asking American Christians to "pray for the
persecuted" in Iran, where he says "there are many Christians in
jail today, and some of them are being treated very, very
brutally. "
GENEVA (AP) - The World Council of Churches is expressing hope
that all of Christianity is moving closer to observing Easter on a
common date every year.
Protestants and Roman Catholics will celebrate Jesus'
resurrection on the same day as Orthodox churches in 2010 and 2011
because of a coincidence in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. But
the ecumenical group says consensus is emerging that these should
not just be occasional occurrences.
At a recent meeting in Ukraine, theologians representing nearly
the breadth of Christianity agreed in principle on a strategy for
all the faithful to continue observing Easter together.
The church council says they endorsed a plan for Easter to be
held for all Christians on the first Sunday after the full moon
following the spring equinox, using an equinox based on
astronomical data.
PENTAGON (AP) - The Pentagon says it no longer includes a Bible
quotation on the cover page of daily intelligence briefings it
sends to the White House as was the practice during the Bush
administration.
A Pentagon spokesman says he doesn't know how long the Worldwide
Intelligence Update cover sheets had been quoting from the Bible.
But for a period in 2003, at least, the daily reports prepared for
President George W. Bush carried quotes from the books of Psalms
and Ephesians and the epistles of Peter.
The Bible quotes apparently aimed to support Bush at a time when
soldiers' deaths in Iraq were on the rise, according to the June
issue of GQ magazine. But they offended at least one Muslim analyst
at the Pentagon, and other employees felt that the passages were
inappropriate.
The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for
Separation of Church and State, says U. S. soldiers "are not
Christian crusaders, and they ought not be depicted as such. "
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Police in Portland, Maine, say an officer
patrolling a high school spotted a man loading a rifle outside a
nearby church and disarmed him, probably averting a tragedy.
Police Capt. Vern Malloch says 46-year-old Herbert Jones made
references to pedophiles being inside First Parish Church after
being taken into custody.
An Alcoholics Anonymous meeting was under way inside the church
at the time. Malloch told reporters that Jones previously
participated in the AA group and was stalking a woman who remained
a participant.
Jones was jailed for alleged stalking, terrorizing and illegal
possession of firearms.
A passenger in Jones' car was charged with having a concealed
weapon.
VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican says President Barack Obama was
clearly looking for some common ground on abortion with his
commencement address Sunday at the University of Notre Dame.
The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano said Obama's speech
confirmed what he said at a recent news conference, that signing
the Freedom of Choice Act isn't his highest legislative priority.
Monday's article didn't mention the protest by dozens of U. S.
bishops who denounced Notre Dame for honoring Obama because his
abortion rights record clashes with fundamental church teaching.
Instead, it simply quoted Obama as inviting all Americans to
work together to reduce the number of abortions and unwanted
pregnancies.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - The gunman who shot Pope John Paul II says
he would like to convert to Christianity at a baptism ceremony at
the Vatican after his release from prison in January.
In comments relayed by his lawyer, Mehmet Ali Agca also says he wants to visit the grave of Pope John Paul, meet with
Pope Benedict and produce a television documentary on the Vatican.
Over the years, Agca has claimed to be the Messiah or Jesus
Christ, raising questions about his mental health and leading to
speculation that he had already become a Christian.
Agca shot and seriously wounded John Paul on May 13, 1981. The
late pope met with Agca in an Italian prison in 1983 and forgave
him for the shooting.
Agca served 19 years in an Italian prison for the attack and is
currently completing a prison term in Turkey for killing a
journalist.
DULUTH, Ga. (AP) - A former president of the Southern Baptist
Convention is hosting a "creation care" environmental conference
at his church in suburban Atlanta.
The Rev. James Merritt says the Flourish 2009 Conference started
yesterday and continues today and tomorrow at Cross Pointe Baptist
Church, where he's the senior pastor.
Flourish co-founder Jim Jewell says 131 church leaders
registered for the interdenominational conference, which is
stressing the need for Christians to be good stewards of God's
creation.
Merritt says it's the first job description the Bible records
God giving Adam, and he's convinced that it still applies today to
"anyone who claims to be a follower of Christ. "
PIERRE, S. D. (AP) - A Minnesota man is appealing a court ruling
that his constitutional rights were not violated when he was
required to get a permit before handing out gospel tracts at Mount
Rushmore.
National Park Service regulations require permits for public
assemblies, meetings, gatherings, demonstrations, parades and other
public expressions of views.
Judge James Robertson ruled that the phrase "other public
expressions of views" was too vague and must be removed. But he
said Michael Boardley's free speech and religious rights were not
violated.
Boardley said he applied for a permit, but did not get one until
after he filed a lawsuit.
Boardley's attorney says the appeals court will be asked to find
that individuals and small groups should not be required to get
permits.
WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) - Prosecutors in the trial of a Wisconsin
woman accused of praying while her daughter died of undiagnosed
diabetes want to prevent her from calling an expert witness in
faith healing.
Jury selection starts today in Wausau in the trial of Leilani
Neumann, who is charged with reckless homicide in her daughter
Madeline's Easter 2008 death.
Prosecutors claim Neumann had a responsibility to take her sick
daughter to a doctor.
Neumann's defense attorney told a judge yesterday that Thurman
Scrivner, a Texas pastor, would testify that faith healing is a
legitimate way for people of faith to cure illness.
But prosecutors argue that such testimony is irrelevant and
would only confuse the jury.
Judge Vincent Howard said he'll rule later on Scrivner's
testimony.
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) - As the Taliban gains a stronger
foothold in Pakistan, violent assaults against religious minorities
are further evidence of its growing power and influence.
In dozens of interviews, Pakistani Christians, Sikhs and Hindus
tell of attacks and threats and express an overwhelming sense of
fear.
When graffiti was painted on the walls of a church in Karachi
praising the Taliban and Islamic law and condemning Christians as
infidels, young Christians protested.
Within days, about 25 bearded men rampaged through the
neighborhood, beating Christians, pelting women with stones and
setting fire to the doors of houses. An 11-year-old boy was killed,
and several people were wounded. One victim says, "The police
never helped," but "just stood there. "
UNDATED (AP) - A new survey shows the United States is a nation
of religious drifters, with up to 59 percent of adults switching
faiths at least once in their lives.
The reasons vary depending on a person's religious upbringing,
according to a report issued Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion
and Public Life.
While Catholics are more likely to leave the church because they
stopped believing its teachings, many Protestants change from one
Protestant denomination to another because of changed life
circumstances.
The survey found that most people who left their childhood faith
did so before the age of 24, and a majority joined their current
religion before turning 36.
The ranks of those unaffiliated with any religion, meanwhile,
are growing because of disenchantment with religious institutions.
WHITE HOUSE (AP) - Will next week be the first time in nine
years that the White House doesn't have a ceremony on the National
Day of Prayer?
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters, "I
can't imagine that that would be the case," but added that he
would have to check.
Former President George W. Bush hosted a White House ceremony
every year in honor of the National Day of Prayer, which is
observed on the first Thursday in May.
That's coming up next week, but Gibbs joked that it's hard for
him to think that far ahead.
He added that President Barack Obama prays "every day, whether
it's national prayer day or not. "
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - A former U. S. ambassador to the Vatican
says she won't accept the University of Notre Dame's top honor at
commencement next month because of the Roman Catholic school's
decision to have President Barack Obama speak to graduates and
receive an honorary degree.
Harvard University law professor Mary Ann Glendon says in a
letter to Notre Dame's president, the Rev. John Jenkins, that the
school is violating the U. S. bishops' 2004 statement that Catholic
institutions shouldn't honor people whose actions conflict with the
church's fundamental moral principles.
Obama supports abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research.
Jenkins says Notre Dame is disappointed and will award the medal
Glendon declined to someone else.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says Obama still looks
forward to giving the May 17 address.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The public relations agent for the Miss
California pageant is disputing Carrie Prejean's account of what contest officials said to her following her
statement on same-sex marriage at the Miss USA pageant.
Prejean claimed during Sunday services at her San Diego church
that state pageant officials told her to apologize to the gay
community and to avoid mentioning religion when she appeared on the
"Today" show.
But public relations representative Roger Neal calls that a lie.
Neal says Prejean was urged to reiterate that she didn't mean to
offend anyone, and to use the national spotlight "to heal some
wounds. "
Prejean told her congregation that she believed she was
representing California and the views of most Americans when she
said she believed marriage should be between a man and a woman.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The head of the White House Office of
Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships says it's unclear whether
federally funded religious charities can continue hiring only
fellow believers.
Joshua Dubois told religious activists at an
anti-poverty summit in Washington that President Barack Obama "has
decided to take a case-by-case approach" for now.
Dubois said Obama has asked him for recommendations, but hasn't
yet decided whether to prohibit what critics call "hiring
discrimination" by religious charities that accept federal funds.
In the meantime, Dubois said his office wants to form
partnerships with faith-based groups to ensure that the poor
benefit from the nation's economic recovery.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida Governor Charlie Crist says he
would approve license plates with the image of a cross and an image
of Jesus if the proposal makes it to his desk.
The two plates are scheduled to be voted on by the Florida
Senate but have aroused opposition. The plate that depicts a cross
and the words "I Believe" is the subject of a lawsuit in South
Carolina, and Florida's American Civil Liberties Union says both
plates violate separation of church and state.
Supporters of the plates insist it's a free speech issue and
note that people who want the religious plates would pay for them.
Governor Crist agrees that "if people don't want one they don't
have to buy one," and suggests that the license plates would be
similar to the national motto "In God we Trust" on U. S currency.
JERUSALEM (AP) - An Israeli health official says swine flu
should be called "Mexican flu" instead.
Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman says the reference to swine
is offensive to Jews and Muslims.
Both Judaism and Islam consider pigs unclean and forbid the
eating of pork products.
Scientists, however, say there is nothing about the virus that
makes it "Mexican" and worry that such a label would be
stigmatizing. They're unsure where the new swine flu virus
originally emerged, though it was identified first in the United
States.
Two Israelis who recently visited Mexico have been hospitalized
with symptoms of the flu, but health officials were unsure if they
actually had the virus.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Miss California Carrie Prejean, whose support for traditional marriage may have cost
her the Miss USA crown, will appear at tonight's Gospel Music
Association Dove Awards in Nashville, Tenn.
That's according to the Gospel Music Channel, which will
broadcast the awards ceremony. The channel's vice chairman says
Prejean will introduce one of her favorite Christian bands,
MercyMe.
Last weekend, when an openly gay Miss USA pageant judge asked
Prejean if more states should legalize gay marriage, she responded
that she believes "marriage should be between a man and a woman. "
On NBC's "Today" show Tuesday, Prejean explained that she
would rather be "biblically correct" than politically correct,
and that she spoke up for God and her beliefs.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Thousands of people have packed a
legislative hearing in Maine where ministers testified both for and
against legalizing gay marriage.
A Baptist pastor, the Rev. David Adams, received thundering
applause when he said, "Our forefathers would be ashamed that we
are gathered here today to discuss this horrendous issue. "
Roman Catholic Bishop Richard Malone called gay marriage a
threat to traditional marriage.
But leaders of other churches favored legalizing gay marriage.
The Rev. Deborah Davis Johnson said, "Jesus led a life of doing
justice. We are called to do the same. "
Maine Attorney General Janet Mills told lawmakers that if
same-sex marriage is legalized, it "will not affect my
relationship with my God. "
CAPITOL HILL (AP) - A former judge who's now a member of the
House Judiciary Committee warns that a federal hate crimes bill
could criminalize preaching against homosexuality.
At a committee hearing, Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert said a
person charged with an anti-gay hate crime could claim to have been
influenced by a preacher's sermon. And while the bill might contain
speech and religious exemptions, Gohmert said inducing someone else
to commit a crime is a crime in itself.
But Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen insisted that ministers
could still preach against homosexuality with impunity, just as
some ministers in the South once preached against civil rights for
blacks.
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - Christian singer and songwriter Brandon
Heath will be one of the most-nominated artists at Thursday's
Gospel Music Association Dove Awards in Nashville, Tenn.
He's up for Songwriter of the Year and Male Vocalist of the
Year, and his song "Give Me Your Eyes" is nominated for Song of
the Year and Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year.
Brandon Heath says it's a song about seeing people as a loving
God sees them.
Heath says, "My calling in life is to tell other people about
the love that I've found in Jesus. "
LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) - The former Columbine High School student
whose statement of faith during the 1999 shootings may have been
mistakenly credited to a girl who died says she's "been blessed
with a second chance at life. "
At Monday evening's memorial service on the tenth anniversary of
the massacre, Val Schnurr declared that she and others who were
wounded that day are not victims, but survivors.
Those killed included Cassie Bernall, who according to initial
reports answered "yes" when one of the gunmen asked if she
believed in God. Subsequent investigations credited Schnurr with
that testimony.
At Monday's ceremony, Columbine community spokeswoman Ruth
Feldman said "the many prayers that were offered up on our behalf
uplifted and strengthened us. They restored our hope. "
A local pastor added that Columbine is now a place where people
of many faiths live together in peace.
SUPREME COURT (AP) - The U. S. Supreme Court has turned away a
challenge from a Texas death row inmate who claimed his
constitutional rights were violated by jurors who consulted a
Bible.
In his appeal, Khristian Oliver said jurors reviewed a biblical
passage stating that a murderer who used an iron object to kill
"shall surely be put to death. " Jurors were deciding whether to
sentence Oliver to death for shooting and bludgeoning his victim
with the barrel of a gun.
A federal appeals court last year said that while jurors wrongly
used the Bible, there wasn't enough evidence to show they were
prejudiced when they sent Oliver to death row.
Oliver's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to review the case, but
the high court Monday refused.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Missouri House has endorsed a
proposed amendment to the state Constitution guaranteeing the right
to pray in public settings, including schools.
The House gave the measure first-round approval Monday on a vote
of 127-25. If approved on a second House vote and later by the
Senate, it would appear on a statewide ballot next year.
The Missouri Constitution already guarantees citizens the right
to worship as they choose.
The proposed amendment states that public school students have
the right to religious expression, including prayer, without
interference.
Any such expression would have to be private, voluntary and
non-disruptive.
The proposed amendment's sponsor says it would make clear
students can pray privately in school but wouldn't change what is
already permissible.
MINGORA, Pakistan (AP) - Taliban militants say Osama bin Laden
is welcome to settle in the Swat Valley, where Pakistan last week
allowed Islamic law to be imposed.
In an Associated Press interview, a spokesman for the Taliban,
which controls the area bordering Afghanistan, referred to bin
Laden and other militants as brothers and offered them help and
protection.
Pakistan has reacted with alarm, saying it would never allow
sheltering the likes of bin Laden. But it's far from clear that
Pakistan's government can do much of anything in the Swat Valley.
It agreed to Islamic law in the region after trying and failing to
defeat the Taliban.
On Friday, Taliban fighters in pickup trucks rumbled through the
streets of the valley's main city, demanding over loudspeakers that
shops shutter their windows and prepare for prayers.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) - A California church is helping
members who are struggling economically by offering them a plot of
land for a garden. They can then sell produce at a church farmers
market.
Pastor Ron Vietti of Valley Bible Fellowship in Bakersfield says
90 people have signed up for the program designed to empower the
unemployed.
A member of the 10,000-strong congregation donated an acre of
land and irrigation equipment. Participants sowed the first seeds
over the weekend.
The National Gardening Association says there will be a nearly
20 percent increase in gardening this year as people look for ways
to cut food budgets.
CINCINNATI (AP) - The oldest institution for training rabbis,
cantors and educators of Reform Judaism is facing economic woes
that could lead the college to close two of its three U. S.
campuses. Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion has
campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.
President Rabbi David Ellenson said Monday in New York that
officials are considering various ways to deal with the financial
crisis, including leaving only one stateside campus open. He said
the Jerusalem campus would not be affected if any campuses are
eliminated.
Ellenson said the school's board of governors will meet next
month to discuss possible solutions, with a final decision expected
at the board's June meeting.
SANTA ANA, California (AP) - A federal judge says he'll review
records of FBI inquiries into several Muslim groups and activists
who claim they've been unfairly spied on and questioned.
Judge Cormac Carney ordered the FBI to turn over more than 100
pages of documents the agency holds on 11 Muslim activists and
organizations to determine whether the information should be
released to the public or protected under federal law.
The decision comes amid a nearly three-year battle by the
American Civil Liberties Union and Muslim groups to obtain records
they say will prove the FBI is unlawfully targeting Muslims in
California.
In California, Muslims' concerns were heightened this year when
an FBI agent testified in court that an informant had been planted
at a local Islamic Center.
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) - Christian musicians in two
American bands, Casting Crowns and the Annie Moses Band, are
performing in North Korea this week amid heightened international
tensions.
The annual festival in Pyongyang showcases musicians, dancers
and acrobats to celebrate the birthday of the country's late
"Great Leader," Kim Il Sung, whose son is the current leader, Kim
Jong Il.
Tuesday, North Korea said it would restart its nuclear program,
quit disarmament talks, and boot out international inspectors
because the U. N. Security Council condemned its April 5 rocket
launch.
Before departing for Pyongyang Sunday, Casting Crowns lead
singer Mark Hall said the contemporary Christian band was going to
North Korea "to demonstrate respect for the people and continue to
establish relationships. " Casting Crowns performed at the same
festival two years ago.
NORMAL, Ill. (AP) - A Roman Catholic priest has given of himself
for an ailing parishioner by donating his left kidney to her.
Monsignor Eric Powell, pastor of Epiphany Roman Catholic Church
in Normal, Ill. , underwent surgery at a hospital in Peoria. The
transplant surgeon says Powell and the kidney recipient are both
doing well.
The priest said he wanted "to alleviate potential suffering and
stand in solidarity with a sister in Christ. " The 45-year-old
Powell would not name the recipient of the kidney.
The transplant occurred after Powell underwent months of testing
to determine whether he was physically and mentally fit to be an
organ donor.
FOREST HILLS, Pa. (AP) - A Pittsburgh-area priest has helped
lead the funeral of an 89-year-old woman who was killed when the
priest's car hit her and others after Good Friday services.
Madeline Romell was killed and four others were injured when the
Rev. Elmer Kacinko's car hit them outside St. Maurice Catholic
Church in Forest Hills, Pa. The priest told police that the
accelerator on his vehicle was stuck.
Romell's family welcomed Kacinko's participation in her funeral
Mass Wednesday.
The Rev. John Skirtich, who led the funeral with Kacinko and
three other priests, says the family considers her death a tragic
accident. They embraced the priest during funeral home visitations.
Three of those injured attended the funeral and Skirtich praised
them for their "great faith. "
NEW YORK (AP) - A baseball fan who was ejected from Yankee
Stadium after he left his seat to use the bathroom during the
playing of "God Bless America" is suing the New York Yankees and
the city.
Bradford Campeau-Laurion says in his federal lawsuit that at the
August 26 game, police marched him to the exit and pushed him out.
He says one officer told him if he didn't like it, he could leave
the country.
Campeau-Laurion's lawsuit says he does not participate in
religious services or acts of patriotism and objects to being
required to do so.
Police spokesman Paul Browne says the officers ejected
Campeau-Laurion after they "observed a male cursing, using
inappropriate language and acting in a disorderly manner while
reeking of alcohol. "
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) - A vandal has beheaded the Virgin
Mary statue outside a Santa Monica church where California Gov.
Arnold Schwarzegger goes to Mass.
The headless statue was discovered Easter morning. A priest
found the head a few feet away.
The 55-year-old lifesize marble statue was covered with plastic
before Sunday services began. The head will be remounted.
Police Lt. Darrell Lowe says it's being investigated as a hate
crime because the statue is "of a very important figure within the
Catholic religion. "
The feet and hands were cut off the statue in 2002. There were
no arrests in that incident.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma teachers would have broad
flexibility to discuss religious documents, speeches and other
materials under a bill working its way through the state lawmakers.
The Oklahoma Senate voted 40-7 Wednesday to approve the
legislation.
State Senator Clark Jolley says the bill would allow teachers to
discuss the religious context of historical documents like the
Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence.
Jolley says many teachers and districts shy away from such
discussions for fear of being sued.
But Senator Johnnie Crutchfield, a longtime teacher, says the
bill is motivated by politics. He says it's an "answer in search
of a problem. "
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Government lawyers are seeking dismissal of
a federal lawsuit alleging widespread religious discrimination in
the military.
The Justice Department says many of the lawsuit's claims are
only "general grievances" and not wrongs against specific
soldiers. They also contend that a soldier who joined the Military
Religious Freedom Foundation in filing the lawsuit did not pursue
his complaints enough with superiors first.
The lawsuit alleges a pervasive bias within the military in
favor of evangelical Christianity, including allowing troops to try
to convert Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Justice Department attorneys suggest that the lawsuit attacks a
tradition of religious observances within the military dating back
to George Washington's army during the Revolutionary War.
MANTECA, Calif. (AP) - A northern California woman who has the
same name as the Sunday school teacher charged with murdering an
eight-year-old girl says she's getting death threats from people
who mistake her for the suspect.
Like the woman who's accused of killing Sandra Cantu and putting
her body in a suitcase, the Melissa Huckaby who lives 14 miles away
is 28 years old, has a five-year-old daughter and volunteers at
church.
The improbable similarities have created inevitable confusion.
News crews keep calling or showing up, and so many people posted
threatening messages on her MySpace page that the misidentified
Huckaby says she fears for her safety.
She and her parents are speaking out in hopes of clearing her
name.
WASHINGTON (AP) - On the same day the White House announced it
would end restrictions on family visits and money transfers to
Cuba, the communist nation has denied visas to members of the U. S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Commission Chair Felice Gaer says it's a shame
that Cuba is "not responding" to the U. S. overture.
She says the commission had received reports of some
improvements in religious freedom in Cuba, but must now wonder
whether the Cuban government has "something to hide. "
The U. S. delegation was to have included Gaer and fellow
commissioners, including the Rev. Richard Land of the Southern
Baptist Convention.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Texas Christian University won't
provide on-campus housing for gay students this fall as previously
planned.
But in a statement, TCU's chancellor says the Fort Worth school
"will maintain its long-standing commitment to the inclusiveness
of all people. "
The DiversCity Q community was to open this fall in some campus
apartments for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, as
well as for heterosexual classmates who support them.
Plans also were canceled for housing students based on other
themes, including "patriotism" and "Christian perspectives and
service. "
TCU, a private university with about 7,500 undergraduate
students, is associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ).
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - The University of Notre Dame's president
says selecting President Barack Obama as its commencement speaker
and to receive an honorary degree didn't violate a statement by
U. S. bishops.
The bishops' 2004 statement declared that "Catholic
institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our
fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards,
honors or platforms which would suggest support for their
actions. " Obama supports abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell
research.
In a letter to trustees, Notre Dame's president, the Rev. John
Jenkins, said the bishops' statement couldn't refer to Protestants
like Obama because "only Catholics who implicitly recognize the
authority of Church teaching can act in 'defiance' of it. "
But New York Archbishop-designate Timothy Dolan and more than 30
other bishops say Jenkins made a mistake. Dolan says honoring Obama
suggests that Notre Dame is holding "him up as a model" to
students.
NEW YORK (AP) - The incoming archbishop of New York says he will
challenge suggestions that Roman Catholics are unenlightened
because they oppose gay marriage and abortion.
Archbishop Timothy Dolan also says he wants to restore pride in
being a Catholic.
Dolan is scheduled to be installed as the leader of the
Archdiocese of New York in ceremonies today and tomorrow at St.
Patrick's Cathedral. He succeeds Cardinal Edward Egan, who is
retiring.
The 59-year-old Dolan was most recently the archbishop of
Milwaukee.
In his sermons this week, he says he'll ask Catholics not to be
so consumed by their own problems in difficult times that they
neglect to help others.
STALLINGS, N. C. (AP) - Most churches want them turned off, but a
North Carolina church encouraged its members to use their cell
phones, BlackBerrys and other devices to spread the word during
Easter services.
The Charlotte Observer reports that Next Level church in Union
County was alive with Twitter during the Sunday service. Twitter
sends short messages, called tweets, to other phones and online
accounts.
Before his sermon, Pastor Todd Hahn said, "I hope many of you
are tweeting this morning about your experience with God. " He said
it's a way to remind people that they aren't worshipping alone.
ALTON BAY, N. H. (AP) - Owners of summer cottages in a tight-knit
Christian community have gathered to console each other after a
massive fire roared through the New Hampshire property.
The Easter Sunday blaze destroyed or heavily damaged 40 cottages
at the 146-year-old Alton Bay Christian Conference Center on Lake
Winnipesaukee.
The center's Web site says, "We trust that God will create good
from this. "
The cottages were not occupied because the summer camping season
has not yet begun.
One firefighter was hospitalized with injuries he suffered when
a propane tank exploded. Others were treated for smoke inhalation
or exhaustion.
Fire officials do not think Sunday's fire was arson.
WHITE HOUSE (AP) - President Barack Obama, who largely quit
going to church after the uproar over remarks by his former pastor,
plans to attend an Easter Sunday worship service.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters, "He
will go, but I'm not going to tell you where. " Gibbs confirmed,
however, that the president will be in Washington all weekend.
Obama resigned his longtime membership in Chicago's Trinity
United Church of Christ when inflammatory remarks and sermons by
the Rev. Jeremiah Wright threatened to derail his presidential
campaign.
Gibbs told reporters that while Obama is still "looking for a
new church," people shouldn't assume the one he attends on Easter
Sunday is the one he'll continue to attend.
Last night, the president hosted a seder, a Jewish
Passover meal, at the White House.
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict has remembered Italian
earthquake victims and Catholics in Gaza at a Holy Thursday service
in Rome. The pope dedicated donations collected at a foot-washing
service to Gaza's tiny Roman Catholic community, and he blessed
ceremonial oils for survivors of this week's quake.
Benedict plans to visit the quake zone shortly after Easter and
tour the Holy Land next month.
At the Holy Thursday service, Benedict washed the feet of 12
priests to commemorate Jesus washing his apostles' feet at the Last
Supper before his Good Friday crucifixion.
This evening, Benedict will lead a candlelit Way of the Cross
procession at the Colosseum in Rome. The pope will celebrate Easter
vigil Mass in St. Peter's Basilica Saturday night, and an outdoor
Mass in St. Peter's Square Sunday.
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) - Arsonists have planted incendiary
devices at Greece's main Orthodox cathedral and three other
churches in a new round of anarchist violence following riots in
December.
Police say one device exploded, causing minor damage outside the
Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity in the port of Piraeus, near
the Greek capital. No one was hurt when the crude gasoline device
went off Thursday afternoon.
Police defused four similar devices found at the Orthodox
Cathedral in Athens, and in the northern city of Thessaloniki's
central churches of Agia Sofia and Agios Dimitrios.
An anarchist group calling itself the "Nihilist Faction"
claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement posted on the
Internet.
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - Third Day's bass player says when you belong
to a Christian band whose name basically means "Easter," there's
a lot to live up to.
Tai Anderson says, "Even though sometimes it's too high,
we try to live up to our fans' expectations of who we are. "
On tour, Anderson says he and his Third Day bandmates pray and
read the Bible together, hold each other accountable and have a
pastor who travels with them full-time.
He says personal holiness is important since the group combines
entertainment with ministry.
Anderson says fans tell them that Third Day's music helped them
get through the death of a child, a divorce or unemployment, and
those fans are loyal enough to buy the band's CDs and concert
tickets in the middle of an economic crisis.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Christians in two American bands are
scheduled to perform in North Korea next week, despite the
communist nation's defiant missile launch and warlike rhetoric.
Annie Wolaver, lead singer and violinist for the Annie Moses
Band, says her classical-fusion ensemble and the contemporary
Christian band Casting Crowns are the only Americans invited to the
2009 Spring Friendship Art Festival. Casting Crowns also performed
at the festival in Pyongyang two years ago.
Wolaver says she would appreciate people's prayers as they
perform several concerts next week and seek to ease international
tensions.
Wolaver says she believes "that music is a gift from our
Creator, and that it's something that should be shared and enjoyed
by all of His creation. "
ATLANTA (AP) - Easter in this economy will be less extravagant
for New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. Its annual service is
leaving the Georgia Dome for the first time in more than 15 years.
The megachurch has a 25,000-member congregation that is largely
black and mostly middle-class. Since 1993, it's held its annual
Easter service at the Dome, attracting crowds of up to 40,000 that
have included athletes, entertainers, politicians and
entrepreneurs.
But this Sunday's service won't be the $200,000 Easter
production worshippers have come to expect, since many members'
pockets are hurting and revenues are down. Instead, Bishop Eddie
Long will hold three services in his 10,000-seat sanctuary in
suburban Atlanta. His message will be "Vision in Hard Times. "
ATLANTA (AP) - An Atlanta synagogue is transforming a Passover
feast into a charity event.
Congregation Bet Haverim is hosting what it calls "Pass it
Forward for Passover" this evening.
The second-night seder is for anyone who can't afford
to host the elaborate meal at home or pay heavy cover charges to
attend other community meals.
Instead, Rabbi Joshua Lesser encourages those who can afford it
to donate grocery store gift cards valued at $10 to $50. The
synagogue will "pass it forward" and give the cards to two
Atlanta food banks.
Lesser says more than 120 people have signed up to attend. He
says a dozen of his congregation members have lost jobs and he
wants to help out by giving them a budget-conscious way to
celebrate Passover.
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) - Maryland prison officials say inmates
will continue to be offered the choice of kosher meals beyond
Passover.
The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services
announced in March that it would offer kosher meals during Passover
to any inmates who are observant Jews.
The agency says after the seven-day Passover period ends, it
will continue offering kosher meals three times daily to any of the
approximately 130 inmates registered as Jewish, House of Yahweh or
Assembly of Yahweh. Prison officials say the religious diet program
won't add to food service costs.
Two Jewish inmates have sued the state prison agency, contending
they were denied their religious freedom because the prisons didn't
offer kosher meals.
ALBUQUERQUE, N. M. (AP) - A group that accuses the U. S. military
of religious discrimination and a bias toward evangelical
Christianity is calling on the Army to court martial its chief of
chaplains.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation wants Major General
Douglas Carver ousted for designating Wednesday as a day of prayer
and fasting for chaplains.
Wednesday was the start of Passover, which Jews observe with a
ritual meal.
Foundation President Mikey Weinstein says his group received
numerous complaints about Carver's proclamation, which called on
chaplains to fast and pray in keeping with their religious
traditions.
Carver later issued an addendum saying participation was
voluntary.
An Army spokesman says it respects soldiers' rights to worship
freely at all times.
TEMECULA, Calif. (AP) - Authorities in Southern California have
identified a man they say opened fire at a Korean Catholic retreat,
killing one person and injuring several others.
A Riverside County sheriff's captain says 69-year-old John Chong
shot a woman resident to death and wounded her husband before he
was beaten and disarmed by a couple he also tried to shoot.
Chong is a volunteer who has lived for about a year at the
Kkottongnae Retreat Camp about 85 miles southeast
of Los Angeles.
Detectives, who've been having to use translators, were unable
to immediately determine a motive for the violence that broke out
Tuesday night.
Bishop Gerald Barnes of the Diocese of San Bernardino asked for
prayers for the victims.
Chong remained hospitalized Wednesday, as were the couple he
struggled with and the man who was shot.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Ten priests from the order that founded
the University of Notre Dame say the school risks its "true soul"
and could alienate itself from the Roman Catholic church by
inviting President Barack Obama to campus next month.
The members of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, which helps
run the university, have asked the Rev. John Jenkins, the Holy
Cross priest who is Notre Dame's president, and the university's
board of fellows to reconsider the invitation to Obama because he
supports abortion rights.
Notre Dame announced last month that Obama would deliver the
school's May 17 commencement address and receive an honorary
degree, sparking Catholic protests and denunciations from more than
a dozen bishops.
Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown has said the university does
not plan to rescind the invitation.
DETROIT (AP) - Declaring "I divorce thee" three times is not a
legal way to end a marriage in Michigan.
The state appeals court yesterday overturned a ruling in Oakland
County that recognized a divorce ritual that is common among
Muslims in India.
The court said Saida Tarikonda was deprived of her rights
because she wasn't in India in April 2008 when her husband traveled
there to declare what's known as the "triple talaq. "
Tarikonda had filed for divorce in Oakland County and, under
Michigan law, would be eligible for a share of marital assets. Her
rights would be limited under Muslim law in India.
The appeals court says recognizing "a system that denies equal
protection would ignore the rights of citizens and persons under
the protection of Michigan's laws. "
RENO, Nev. (AP) - A young Muslim woman who said her complaints
of bullying and death threats went unheeded by administrators at
her Nevada high school will receive $350,000 in a settlement
announced Wednesday with the Washoe County School District.
Jana Elhifny, an Egyptian-American student who was open about
her Islamic faith and wore a religious headscarf, dropped out of
North Valleys High School in 2004. In a federal lawsuit, she said
she was too frightened to attend school and that teachers and
administrators did not try to stop the harassment.
The lawsuit said students spit and threw food at Elhifny, shoved
her against walls and threatened to kill her on Sept. 11, 2003, the
second anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Elhifny said when she took her complaints to school officials,
they told her she should expect the treatment and suggested she
refrain from wearing her religious headscarf.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Officials say former Vice President Al
Gore has met with Mormon church President Thomas Monson to discuss
concerns over carbon dioxide emissions.
In a statement, the church says Gore met with Monson and other
senior leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He gave a 30-minute presentation about CO2 emissions, followed by
several minutes of questions and answers.
Gore shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to combat
global warming.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Jews in Israel and around the world begin
celebrating the weeklong Passover holiday this evening at sundown.
Observant Jews prepare to commemorate the hasty Biblical exodus
from slavery in Egypt by cleansing any trace of yeast from their
homes.
This year, Passover begins during the Holy Week before Easter,
so Jerusalem also is hosting Christian pilgrims from around the
world.
The New Testament describes Jesus' Last Supper with his apostles
as a Passover seder, with his crucifixion the next day
making him the sacrificial "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of
the world. "
MILFORD, Conn. (AP) - Jesus told his followers to take up their
crosses and follow him.
This Holy Week, two students at Connecticut's Sacred Heart
University have taken that literally.
On Monday, Sam Dowd and Paul Carrier set out from the campus in
Fairfield with 50-pound, 6-by-4-foot crosses slung over their
shoulders for a 22-mile trek.
Dowd called it a physical struggle, but nothing compared with
the pain Jesus suffered.
Their destination was St. Mary's Church in New Haven, where the
Rev. Michael McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882. Dowd
and Carrier both belong to the Catholic fraternal group.
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - Christian singer and songwriter Brandon
Heath says he's become a fan of Fox television's "American Idol"
this season, and he's rooting for Danny Gokey.
Heath notes that Gokey -- one of the eight remaining finalists
-- is a Christian, and notes that many of the show's singers have
"come out of the church. "
Brandon Heath adds that he'd love to write a song for Gokey
someday. That's saying something, since Heath is currently
nominated for five Dove Awards, including songwriter of the year.
When asked what he'd like to be doing 10 years from now, Heath
says he hopes to be married by then.
He adds that he's taking a date with him to the Dove Awards
ceremony on April 23.
FARGO, N. D. (AP) - The Roman Catholic bishop of Fargo, N. D. , is
joining other bishops and abortion opponents in denouncing the
University of Notre Dame's decision to invite President Barack
Obama to deliver its May 17 commencement speech and receive an
honorary degree.
Bishop Samuel Aquila, in a letter to the Rev. John Jenkins,
Notre Dame's president, said the decision "diminishes the
reputation of Notre Dame and makes one wonder what its mission
truly is. "
Abortion opponents say Obama's support of abortion rights and
embryonic stem cell research is an affront to church teachings.
More than a dozen bishops have protested Notre Dame's invitation.
Jenkins has said the university does not support all of Obama's
policies but believes it's important to remain in conversation.
PROVO, Utah (AP) - More than 18,000 issues of the student
newspaper at Brigham Young University have been pulled from
newsstands and replaced because a photo caption on the front page
misidentified leaders of the Mormon church as apostates instead of
apostles.
Apostates are former believers who have left the faith.
The photo was of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a
governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
at the Mormon church's weekend general conference.
The caption called them the "Quorum of the Twelve Apostates. "
It happened when a copy editor ran a computer spell check and
apostate was suggested as the replacement for a misspelling of
apostle.
University officials say no disrespect to church leaders was
intended and no one will be punished.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Staff is being cut at several agencies of
the Presbyterian Church (USA) in response to budget cuts prompted
by the sagging economy.
The Presbyterian Foundation laid off five employees last month
and seven more took early retirement.
The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky. , reports that the
denomination's Office of the General Assembly has cut $400,000 from
its $14 million budget for 2009 and $800,000 from the 2010 budget.
Other budget changes at the PCUSA's General Assembly office
include a freeze on salaries for 2010 and 2 percent departmental
budget cuts. The agency is offering a voluntary separation package
to 13 of its longtime employees.
YANKTON, S. D. (AP) - Officials say the weekend fire that heavily
damaged a South Dakota church was intentionally set.
The blaze was reported before dawn Saturday at St. John's
Lutheran Church in Yankton. Some 65 firefighters from four
communities responded.
Yankton's assistant police chief says arson investigators
determined that something was used to start the fire, which caused
an estimated $2 million in damage.
BINGHAMTON, N. Y. (AP) - Church bells tolled yesterday in honor
of those killed Friday by a gunman at an immigrant center in
Binghamton, N. Y.
Just outside the front door of the First Congregational Church,
next door to the shooting scene, Tom Bucker pulled on a thick rope
to sound the church's bell 14 times, once for each victim and once
for Jiverly Wong, the killer, who committed suicide.
The Rev. Arthur Suggs, the church's pastor, abandoned his Palm
Sunday sermon to address the carnage nearby.
Suggs urged people to follow the example of the Amish, who
quickly embraced the family of a gunman who killed five girls at a
Pennsylvania schoolhouse in 2006. And he decried a culture that he
said has become desensitized to violence.
A service was also being held at an Islamic center for two of
the victims including one who'd survived three car bombings in
Iraq.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Hundreds of Christians holding green fronds
have marked Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, celebrating Jesus Christ's
triumphant entry into the holy city two millennia ago.
Catholic pilgrims, clergymen and local Christians attended Mass
at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally held to be the
site of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.
Later Sunday, pilgrims retraced Jesus' route with a traditional
procession into Jerusalem's Old City from the Mount of Olives.
Several hundred made the walk down into the valley and up to the
entrance to the ancient walled city, many carrying palm fronds to
symbolize the observance.
Palm Sunday is the start of Christian Holy Week. It continues
with Good Friday, marking Jesus' crucifixion and death, and Easter
Sunday, celebrating his resurrection.
This year, Palm Sunday falls just over a month before Pope
Benedict arrives in Jerusalem as part of his first visit to the
Holy Land.
CHICAGO (AP) - The head of the Roman Catholic church in Chicago
says the University of Notre Dame's commencement speech invitation
to President Barack Obama is an "extreme embarrassment. "
Cardinal Francis George urged Catholics at a weekend conference
to call, e-mail and write letters expressing their outrage. Video
of the message was posted on lifesitenews. com.
However, George says the South Bend, Ind. , school shouldn't
rescind Obama's May 17 invitation. He says the office of the
president deserves "some respect. "
Notre Dame has a tradition of inviting new presidents to speak
at graduation. But many Catholics are angry because of Obama's
support for abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research.
A dozen other bishops have publicly opposed the invitation.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Prayers are being offered during mass for
an American Catholic priest reported missing in the Mexican border
city of Nuevo Laredo.
The Rev. Jesse Euresti is pastor of Cristo Rey
Catholic Church in Austin, Texas. Police in the Gulf coast state of
Tamaulipas say the 69-year-old failed to return to Texas from
Mexico over the weekend. Blood stains and a bloody knife have been
found in his Mexican residence.
Diocese of Austin officials say Euresti had purchased the house
in Nuevo Laredo and planned to retire there. He'd been making
regular trips to fix up the home and disappeared during his latest
visit.
Bishop Gregory Aymond says they've been told the investigation
into Euresti's disappearance is ongoing.
COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP) - A minister in Columbus, Ind. , has refused
to leave his church in a city-owned building so it can be
demolished for a street to be widened.
The Rev. Charles T. Goodin says God wants him to stay. He says
the church will likely be without a home if it's forced out because
it can't afford to pay a higher rent elsewhere.
Goodin has paid the southern Indiana town $150 a month for 31
years to use the government building for The Upper Room Full Gospel
Tabernacle, which has had about 15 people in its congregation.
Mayor Fred Armstrong says he feels badly for the minister and
the members. But the mayor says he believes in the Bible, too, and
a man of God is supposed to obey the laws.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska churches could let security guards
carry concealed handguns, under a bill that has advanced in the
state Legislature.
A 2006 law allows Nebraskans who get permits to carry concealed
handguns.
The bill prohibits cities from having their own
concealed-weapons bans. State lawmakers voted 40-4 to advance it to
the second round of debate yesterday. An amendment adding the
church provision was also adopted.
ELKHART, Ind. (AP) - Police in Elkhart, Ind. , say they found the
recipe for making methamphetamine in an odd place: in a Bible on
the last page of the Book of Revelation.
Officers made the discovery as they searched an apartment after
arresting two people on methamphetamine possession and
manufacturing charges Tuesday night. Police say the recipe was
handwritten on the bottom of the page.
It's the second time in the past six months a meth lab has been
discovered in the building. A lab exploded there in October,
sending two to the hospital.
ZIRNDORF, Germany (AP) - Pastor Markus Bomhard has learned that
you can't crucify a doll and get away with it.
For more than two years, the German clergyman has been setting
up Playmobil toys in biblical scenes and photographing them to
illustrate his online version of the Good Book.
But he has recently received signs of displeasure from the toys'
maker.
The manufactur of the three-inch tall line of Playmobil figures,
accused Bomhard of copyright infringement and asked him to stop
customizing them and using the trademarked name on his Web site.
Thursday, however, Playmobil said it's willing to work with him
to find a way he can keep the site without violating the company's
rights.
The evangelical pastor first built the scenes for his three
daughters and gained an online following after uploading pictures
to a Web site. He later posted a note from Pope Benedict
congratulating him on "facilitating access to scripture in a
playful manner. "
The company does not object in principle to biblical scenes. In
fact, it offers figures of the three Magi, Noah's ark and even
Jesus in the manger. The problem is doll mutilation.
The company objected to the arms being deformed and nailed to a
cross.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf is calling on
the U. S. State Department to develop a comprehensive policy to
address what he calls "the unique plight" of ancient Christian
communities in Iraq.
Wolf says the American embassy should advocate for Iraqi
Christians and use it resources to help. Wolf says the Christian
minority "is being wiped out. "
He says Christian churches and convents are being bombed and
that many Iraqi Christians, including Assyrians, have fled Iraq for
security reasons.
Wolf says Christians living near the northern city of Mosul are
especially vulnerable. He favors the appointment of an envoy or
other high official to monitor human rights abuses.
COPENHAGEN (AP) - The Danish intelligence service is warning
that Danes living abroad face "a considerable risk" of being
abducted, especially in predominantly Muslim countries.
The Danish Security and Intelligence Service says militant
extremists in Muslim countries still have a heightened focus on
Denmark because of the 2005 publication of 12 Danish drawings of
the Prophet Muhammad.
In 2006, Muslims around the world staged riots to protest the
publication of the cartoons in a Danish newspaper. One of the
cartoons was reprinted in 2008 in other Danish newspapers in
support of free speech after police revealed a plot to kill the
creator of the caricature. Islamic law generally opposes any
depiction of the prophet, even favorable, for fear it could lead to
idolatry.
On June 2, 2008, a car bomb killed six people outside the Danish
Embassy in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. Since 2005, Danish
police have foiled four alleged terror plots, mostly involving
homegrown extremists accused of preparing terror acts in Denmark or
other countries.
HAUGHTON, La. (AP) - A church in northern Louisiana has been
cleared to erect a 199-foot cross.
Central Assembly of God, located east of Shreveport-Bossier City
in Haughton, has been green lighted by local officials to put up a
cross that will be one of the largest in the state, if not the
nation.
Pastor Andy Harris says the steel cross also had to be approved
by the Federal Aviation Administration. Harris says he has always
been inspired by crosses he has seen at churches while traveling
the nation.
Harris says the cross will cost about $700,000 and will take a
few months to be fabricated by a plant in Mississippi. It will be
trucked in sections and erected on church property.
Harris says it will be visible to motorists on nearby major
highways including Interstate 20. He says his church is glad to
"join the fellowship of crosses. "
CAIRO (AP) - A Saudi man has filed a formal complaint against
the Islamic kingdom's religious police.
Mohammed al-Kahtani says he was dropping his wife off at a
shopping mall Tuesday in Riyadh when the religious police accosted
him and accused him of being with a woman who was not his wife. He
says they dragged him into the street, beat him and showered his
wife with insults.
Saudi Arabia's religious police are charged with enforcing the
country's strict interpretation of Islam, which prohibits men and
women who are not immediate relatives from mingling.
Al-Kahtani said he showed the police his marriage certificate,
but they didn't believe him and took him to the police station in
the trunk of their car. There he was eventually given an apology
and let go.
Al-Kahtani's complaint accuses the religious police of abuse and
humiliation.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Country music star Ronnie Milsap says
that when he was born blind, his mother thought he was a curse from
God. And as a boy, when prayer wouldn't heal him, church members
blamed him for not having enough faith.
Milsap says he didn't believe them and knew he had enough faith
-- a faith he now sings about on his new double CD "Then Sings My
Soul. "
When he was a young man, Milsap says people tried to discourage
him from seeking a music career.
But one night he went to hear another blind entertainer perform,
and was able to meet Ray Charles backstage. He says it was Ray
Charles who encouraged him to pursue his dream.
Another dream Milsap expects to come true is when he dies, he
believes he'll see in heaven.
ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) - A woman accused of taking more than
$73,000 from the church where she was an administrative assistant
blames the devil.
Papers filed with a theft charge say the 62-year-old Arlington,
Washington, woman told detectives, "Satan had a big part in the
theft. "
The Everett Herald reports the woman is accused of forging the
pastor's signature on 80 checks from the Arlington Free Methodist
church. She was fired in February 2008.
She told detectives she used the money to cover household
expenses because she couldn't stand the thought of losing her home.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Former evangelical pastor Ted
Haggard and his wife are heading to "Divorce Court" to tell
people divorce is not the answer.
The Haggards are in Los Angeles taping an appearance on the show
that's to be broadcast on April 1.
The executive producer of "Divorce Court" says the couple is
being asked to explain how their marriage survived a sex scandal. A
male prostitute said he was hired by Ted Haggard in 2006.
The scandal prompted Haggard to resign as president of the
National Association of Evangelicals and New Life Church in
Colorado Springs.
The Haggards say their values are stronger than ever. Gayle
Haggard says she sees what happened as a divine rescue and that
it's made her husband a better man.
CINCINNATI (AP) - A priest has returned to the Roman Catholic
ministry more than three years after his arrest in a southwest Ohio
park.
The Rev. Clarence Heis was put on administrative leave after his
arrest on suspicion of public indecency and resisting arrest in
2005. He subsequently pleaded no contest to charges of disorderly
conduct and resisting arrest.
Before his arrest, he was pastor for St. Michael Church in
Mechanicsburg and Immaculate Conception in North Lewisburg. While
on leave, he was not allowed to present himself as a priest.
The Cincinnati archdiocese says the 55-year-old priest has
received counseling and has completed his probation, and that Heis
will now live in Cincinnati and celebrate the sacraments as needed.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - The pastor of a Texas church where
seven people died in a 1999 shooting will preach at an Illinois
church Sunday, one week after its pastor was killed.
The Rev. Al Meredith of Fort Worth's Wedgwood Baptist Church
says he'll preach a message of recovery to members of First Baptist
Church in Maryville, Ill.
Meredith says he'll let worshippers know they'll never get over
it, "but the rest of God's kingdom around the world is praying for
you. "
A man entered the Illinois church last Sunday and walked toward
the pulpit, where the Rev. Fred Winters spoke to him before the
gunman opened fire. Winters' funeral is scheduled today.
Terry Sedlacek has pleaded not guilty to charges of
first-degree murder and aggravated battery. Authorities said they
still haven't determined a motive for the shooting.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - An unemployed truck driver seething over
liberalism told police he attacked a church in 2008 because it
harbored gays, multiracial families, and what he called "weirdoes
and sickos," and he wanted to provoke others to follow his
example.
Prosecutors opened their case file Thursday on 58-year-old Jim
David Adkisson, who pleaded guilty one month ago to killing two
people and wounding six others at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian
Universalist Church in Knoxville.
Now serving a life sentence, Adkisson told police hours after
the shooting that he was unemployed, depressed and ready to take
his anger out on what he called "an ultra liberal" church that
"never met a pervert they just didn't embrace. "
Adkisson also said he hoped for, quote: "other like-minded
people to do what I've done. "
WINCHESTER, Va. (AP) - Two evangelical Christian institutions
under scrutiny for past financial practices have won accreditation
from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
That means Oral Roberts University and Joyce Meyer Ministries
now comply with what the council calls "established standards for
financial accountability, fundraising and board governance. "
In 2007, Oral Roberts University fell more than $50 million in
the red as then-president Richard Roberts and his wife came under
fire for allegedly spending school money on a lavish lifestyle.
They denied any wrongdoing, but Roberts resigned and the school cut
its debt under new management.
Joyce Meyer Ministries is one of six ministries that faced an
investigation from Sen. Charles Grassley. He calls Joyce Meyer
Ministries' accreditation "a positive development. "
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The Oklahoma House has passed legislation
that authorizes a monument to display the Ten Commandments at the
state Capitol.
House members approved the bill 88-6 late Wednesday and sent it
to the Senate for a vote.
The bill by Rep. Mike Ritze of Broken Arrow would authorize
installation of a 3-by-6-foot monument on the Capitol grounds. It
would be similar to a granite monument of the Ten Commandments on
the grounds of the Texas State Capitol in Austin.
That monument was challenged in a lawsuit that alleged it
violated the First Amendment's prohibition against establishing a
state religion. But courts have ruled it is constitutional.
Ritze says his family will pay the estimated $10,000 cost of the
project.
LOWELL, Mass. (AP) - For years, Ly Van Aggadipo
was a spiritual mentor to Cambodian refugees in
Lowell, Mass. , guiding followers at the Glory Buddhist Temple
through family issues, work problems and recurring nightmares from
the horrors of the Khmer Rouge.
But those who knew him say he rarely spoke of his own escape
from war-torn Cambodia.
Then, soon after his death last year, friends found a collection
of the monk's poetry tucked under stacks of old Buddhist texts. On
worn pages were handwritten poems describing his memories of
witnessing infant executions, starvation at labor camps and dreams
of escaping to America.
Now followers are seeking to publish the poetry. So far, two
publishers in Cambodia have expressed interest and the group is
still searching for a U. S. publisher.
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (AP) - An Islamic school in northern
Virginia with close ties to Saudi Arabia has revised its religious
textbooks to try to end criticism that the school fosters hatred
and intolerance.
The Islamic Saudi Academy, which teaches nearly 900 students
from kindergarten through high school, developed new Islamic
studies textbooks for all grades after a 2008 congressional report
called portions of the previous editions troubling.
The school deleted passages saying that it's permissible for
Muslims to kill adulterers and converts from Islam and that "Jews
conspired against Islam and its people. "
But the revised text still says Jewish and Christian scholars
know "Islam is the true path" but refuse to convert "out of
ignorance and stubbornness. " It adds, "God knows their deeds and
will judge them. "
CINCINNATI (AP) - A church security expert says there have been
more than 130 crimes committed against Christian churches since the
beginning of this year, including Sunday's murder of Illinois
Pastor Fred Winters as he preached his Sunday sermon.
Jeffrey Hawkins, who heads the Christian Security Network, says
churches these days are seen by criminals as "soft targets. "
But he says any church can post a member in its parking lot to
greet people and keep an eye out for suspicious activity. Ushers
also can watch for an unfriendly visitor who seems to be hiding
something.
Hawkins doesn't recommend arming worshippers with concealed
weapons. He notes that it could be hard to differentiate an
attacker from others who draw their weapons and start shooting.
HILTON HEAD, S. C. (AP) - A Southern Baptist leader who serves on
President Barack Obama's Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood
Partnerships opposes Obama's move to fund embryonic stem cell
research.
The Reverend Frank Page, a former president of the Southern
Baptist Convention, says he told the White House that he's alarmed
at Obama's "consistent pattern of removing any pro-life
protections. "
Page says he wonders sometimes if the president is really
listening to his advice.
But when Page objected last week to the removal of conscience
protections for medical providers, he says the White House promised
him "that President Obama would never be a part of forcing anyone
to perform an abortion against his or her conscience. "
Page says Christians can pray that he'll be a Biblical voice on
the president's advisory council.
HIBBING, Minn. (AP) - A church in Hibbing, Minnesota, wants to
show God's grace by paying the mortgage or rent of two people who
attend its Easter Sunday services.
Hibbing's First Assembly of God will pick two attendees at
random to receive up to $800 a month in mortgage or rent payments
for the rest of 2009.
At the beginning of each Easter Sunday service ushers will pass
around a form for people to sign their names. The names will be
drawn at the end of each of the two services.
One-time food and gasoline vouchers worth $500 also will be
given away.
The Rev. David Oler says church members are spreading word about
the giveaway to their co-workers, neighbors and others in the
community, which is being hit by layoffs from the mining industry.
Oler hopes it will give his congregation a picture of God's
grace, which is the church's Easter theme.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The state of Louisiana has begun transferring
properties it bought in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, with
the first of thousands awaiting redevelopment going to the Reverend
Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse ministry.
Project manager Richard Brown says Samaritan's Purse plans to
rebuild five homes initially, and up to 50 eventually, using
donations and volunteer labor. The organization has been involved
in aid work on the Gulf Coast since the 2005 storm.
Samaritan's Purse plans to provide the new or rebuilt houses
mortgage-free, though families would still have to pay real estate
taxes and meet income and other eligibility requirements.
Brown says about 80 applications have already been turned in.
JERUSALEM (AP) - The Vatican's top envoy in the Holy Land says
Pope Benedict XVI will visit sites holy to Muslims and Jews during
his first papal trip to the region.
Papal Nuncio Antonio Franco says Benedict's eight-day visit in
May will include stops at the Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall
in Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock is one of Islam's most sacred
shrines, while the neighboring Western Wall is the holiest site in
Judaism.
Franco says Benedict's tour will be a religious pilgrimage, not
a political mission. Still, the visit may mend strained relations
between Israel and the Roman Catholic Church.
Benedict will end his visit by celebrating Mass in Galilee --
the area in northern Israel where Jesus lived and preached.
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - The Somali Cabinet has voted to make
Islam the basis of the country's legal system in a bid to undercut
an Islamic insurgency.
The move was an attempt to isolate more extreme elements of the
insurgency by agreeing to a demand supported by more moderate
elements and much of the Somali population.
The bill introducing Islamic law, or Shariah, must still be
approved by parliament, which is expected to hear it within days.
The Somali information minister says if it passes, a committee
of government and religious leaders would be set up to examine how
to bring the country's constitution into line with Muslim
principles.
LINCOLN, Nebraska (AP) - Police say a man posing as an armored
car guard made off with more than $145,000 from a megachurch in
Lincoln, Nebraska.
Police Officer Katie Flood says a man dressed as a guard walked
into the financial office of the Berean Church on Tuesday and told
an employee he was there to pick up the weekly deposit.
The employee said the man appeared to know what he was doing, so
she gave him the deposit of more than $145,000 in cash and checks.
Church employees realized they had been robbed when the real
armored car and driver arrived about 15 minutes later. Officer
Flood says they didn't see what vehicle the fake guard used.
The Berean Church has more than 7,000 members and 20 pastors.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) - Elizabeth Taylor has expanded her
philanthropy with a $100,000 donation to the Alliance for Christian
Education, an evangelical group based in Santa Barbara, California.
The 77-year-old actress, who's Jewish, says in a statement that
she was inspired by President Barack Obama's call for Americans to
"break down barriers that divide us. "
The donation will fund scholarships at the alliance's Providence
Hall Christian High School.
The school's headmaster, David Winter, calls Taylor's gift "an
answer to prayer. "
Providence Hall's Web site says the school is "unapologetically
committed to an evangelical Christian faith" and to helping
students "grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. "
UNDATED (AP) - A lawyer for the Home School Legal Defense
Association says the recession may prompt more Christian parents to
educate their children at home.
The HSLDA's Chris Klicka says hard times boost homeschooling's
appeal as private Christian school tuition becomes unaffordable for
parents who've lost jobs.
Klicka, who with his wife homeschools their seven children, says
it also can strengthen family bonds.
While some families are giving up homeschooling because a
stay-at-home parent needs to get a job, others are finding ways to
sacrifice and do both.
Shelly Mabe, a coordinator for a group of 250 Christian
homeschooling families in Michigan's Macomb County, says she hasn't
heard of any of them giving up homeschooling. But some have moved
to other states where laid-off fathers had better job prospects.
UNDATED (AP) - The California Supreme Court hears arguments
today on whether voters had the right to amend the state's
Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.
Defending Proposition 8 is Ken Starr, whose Whitewater
investigation led to President Clinton's impeachment trial. He
notes that states already regulate marriage in other ways, by
limiting it to two people and imposing age requirements.
Mormons, Catholics and evangelical Christians helped pass
Proposition 8, but other religious groups opposed the amendment and
are asking the court to invalidate it.
At last month's National Religious Broadcasters convention,
Starr said some Christians believe that states will eventually
perform only civil unions, with marriage becoming a strictly
religious ceremony.
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