Some fundamentalist loon is trying to initiate a boycott of our new book. Pro-Jesus, the "home of the pro-active, pro-freedom, pro-family, pro-Christian boycott" claims our book is "WAY out of bounds" and "strikes beneath the belt." Guess they've never heard of free speech. We don't know if we should be honored or deeply distraught. Enter pro-jesus at your own risk.

Posted at 01:52 PM | Permalink

Read the story here. [Thanks Heather]

Posted at 01:27 PM | Permalink

From World Net Daily [thanks Gerald]

An evangelist who tried replicating Jesus' miracle of walking on water has reportedly drowned off the western coast of Africa. Pastor Franck Kabele, 35, told his congregation he could repeat the biblical miracle, and he attempted it from a beach in Gabon's capital of Libreville.

"He told churchgoers he'd had a revelation that if he had enough faith, he could walk on water like Jesus," an eyewitness told the Glasgow Daily Record.

"He took his congregation to the beach saying he would walk across the Komo estuary, which takes 20 minutes by boat. He walked into the water, which soon passed over his head and he never came back."

Posted at 10:11 AM | Permalink

Your kids won't get raptured if Jesus returns and they're wearing Harry Potter or SpongeBob PJs. Make the righteous choice and put them to bed in Army of God PJs. They're just what every kid wants. And just in time for Christmas. From the website:

The whole Armor of God Pajama set will help your children to depend on God to protect them from their fears, doubts, and uncertainties at night so their sleep can be restful and peaceful.

Related:
Prayer Warrior Toys!
The Wacky Packages of Christian T-Shirts

Posted at 09:42 AM | Permalink

From CNN

Former Whitewater special counsel Kenneth Starr petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up Alaska's "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case, a dispute involving a high school student, a banner and a tough school policy.

Starr, who gained national prominence while investigating former President Clinton's Whitewater land deal and relationship with Monica Lewinsky, filed the petition Monday on behalf of the Juneau School District in response to a March ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The appeals court sided with a high school student who displayed a banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" during an Olympic torch relay in 2002. It ruled former Juneau-Douglas High School principal Deborah Morse violated former student Joseph Frederick's free speech rights.

The U.S. Supreme Court petition must receive a minimum of four of the nine justices' votes to be heard.

Frederick, then a senior, was off school property when he hoisted the banner but was suspended for violating the school's policy of promoting illegal substances at a school-sanctioned event.

"The principal's actions were so outrageous, basically leaving school grounds and punishing a student for a message that is not damaging to the school," said his attorney, Doug Mertz.

Superintendent Peggy Cowan said clarification is needed on the rights of administrators when it comes to disciplinary action of students who break the district's drug message policy.

"The district's decision to move forward is not disrespectful to the First Amendment or the rights of students," she said. "This is an important question about how the First Amendment applies to pro-drug messages in an educational setting."

Starr, of the Los Angeles-based firm Kirkland & Ellis, took the case pro bono.

The outcome could have implications on how student-conduct policies are enforced around the nation, said Eric Hagen, one of two other attorneys from Starr's office named on the petition.

"It makes it a little harder when teachers and principals in their daily duties might be subject to a damages lawsuit and be held personally liable," Hagen said.

Posted at 05:40 PM | Permalink

From the Boston Globe [Hat tip Right Rev Rabbi Judah]

Christian Science Provision Sought in Healthcare Law

Officials of the Christian Science Church are worried that the state's healthcare law will exclude faith healing as a recognized health benefit for its employees who do not receive traditional medical care because of their religious beliefs. The church, based in Boston, holds that illnesses should be treated with prayer, but a draft version of the healthcare reform regulations specifies that employers must contribute to workers' medical insurance coverage to comply with the landmark law that takes effect next year. Those that do not will be assessed $295 per employee annually. [...]

Church officials this month told the Division of Health Care Financing and Policy that the non medical insurance coverage it offers employees should qualify as healthcare. It wants the rules to require "health care" without referring to "medical services." [...]

Along with written comments, the church provided fact sheets describing the two health plans it offers employees.

For those who are not Christian Scientists, it pays about 70 percent of the premium for a standard managed-care medical plan provided by Tufts Health Plan.

The second plan -- for employees who are church members -- is offered directly through the church and covers faith healing. It pays 90 percent of the cost of treatment by faith healers, who pray for patients in an effort to heal them of physical and spiritual ailments. [...]

Mark Unger, who describes himself as a metaphysician, qualifies under the church's faith-healing insurance plan to treat patients through prayer. He said his job is "to lift up the patient above the physical level to the spiritual, to get them to look beyond the symptoms to the spiritual truth about what's going on."

Unger charges $32 for a treatment, during which he prays for a patient to promote healing. [...]

While he doesn't make medical diagnoses, Unger says he has cured a patient's skin cancer with prayer. "It dried up and dropped off," he said. READ IT ALL

Posted at 09:50 AM | Permalink

From CanWest News Service, Hat Tip Bartholomew

Canada's only major Arctic petroglyph site—a 1,500-year-old gallery of mysterious faces carved into a soapstone ridge on a tiny island off of Quebec's northern coast—has been ransacked by vandals in what the region's top archeologist suspects was a religiously motivated attack by devout Christians from a nearby Inuit community.

For years, heritage advocates have sought special protection for the ancient etchings at Qajartalik Island, located about one hour by boat from the 500-resident village of Kangiqsujuaq. Experts believe they were created by the extinct Dorset culture, an artistically advanced civilization that occupied much of the eastern Arctic before they were killed or driven away by the Thule ancestors of modern Inuit.

More than 170 mask-like images, animal shapes and other symbols have been recorded on the island since the 1960s. Studies suggest Qajartalik was a sacred place, used for Dorset spiritual ceremonies and coming-of-age rituals.

But the site has been dubbed "the Island of the Stone Devils" because some of the faces—possibly depicting a Dorset shaman in religious costume—appear to be adorned with horns. In the past, crosses have been scratched on the "pagan" petroglyphs and some area residents have told researchers they believe the site is infested with evil spirits.

Long-running negotiations between Nunavut, Quebec and the federal government over the ownership of the Hudson Strait islands has delayed for a decade plans to protect the cultural treasure, which Arctic scholars have touted as a natural candidate to become a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Two ancient African rock art sites achieved that status earlier this summer, and Canada recently short-listed Alberta's Writing-on-Stone petroglyphs for a UNESCO designation.

Now, dreams of global renown for Qajartalik may be dashed after a visit to the island last month by Quebec cultural officials revealed extensive damage to the prehistoric drawings, including deep gouges across many of the faces.

"This is a world-class site," a despondent Robert Frechette, director of the nearby Pingualuit provincial park in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec, told CanWest News Service on Friday.

"I first visited the island 12 years ago and I can see that every time it's deteriorated," he said, describing how tourist looting and natural erosion of the site's soft soapstone first prompted preservation proposals in the 1990s.

"But this time I was quite amazed. Someone has taken some parts of the rock away. There's graffiti. And someone has been carving with an axe or something sharp in the grooves of the faces. It's pretty bad."

Daniel Gendron, chief archeologist with the Inukjuak-based Avataq Cultural Institute, the key promoter of indigenous history and identity in Nunavik, said the latest vandalism at Qajartalik follows the pattern of previous attacks by members of what he called "a very strong movement" of conservative Christians in Kangiqsujuaq and several other Inuit communities in northern Quebec.

Kangiqsujuaq's mayor, Mary Pilurtuut, said she hadn't been informed of fresh damage at the site and doubted "something religious" would have been involved.

"Recently, it's not the case," she said, suggesting that most of the deterioration at the site has been "caused by nature."

But Gendron recalls travelling to the Qajartalik with a local hunter who "refused to set foot on the island" for fear of disturbing its spirits. Some Inuit remain convinced that "it's the devil" who controls Qajartalik, Gendron said.

Federal, provincial and territorial governments, he added, "have refused to do anything about this site" before the jurisdiction of offshore islands is settled, possibly by 2007.

"Now, it may be too late."

Posted at 10:02 AM | Permalink

This is hilarious. Watch it here via Crooks & Liars.

Posted at 03:47 PM | Permalink

From Daily Mail via HuffPost

Adolf Hitler and Russian leader Stalin were possessed by the Devil, the Vatican's chief exorcist has claimed.

Father Gabriele Amorth who is Pope Benedict XVI's 'caster out of demons' made his comments during an interview with Vatican Radio.

Father Amorth said: "Of course the Devil exists and he can not only possess a single person but also groups and entire populations.

"I am convinced that the Nazis were all possessed. All you have to do is think about what Hitler - and Stalin did. Almost certainly they were possessed by the Devil.

"You can tell by their behaviour and their actions, from the horrors they committed and the atrocities that were committed on their orders. That's why we need to defend society from demons."

According to secret Vatican documents recently released wartime pontiff Pope Pius XII attempted a "long distance" exorcism of Hitler which failed to have any effect.

Father Amorth said: "It's very rare that praying and attempting to carry out an exorcism from distance works.

"Of course you can pray for someone from a distance but in this case it would not have any effect.

"One of the key requirements for an exorcism is to be present in front of the possessed person and that person also has to be consenting and willing.

"Therefore trying to carry out an exorcism on someone who is not present, or consenting and willing would prove very difficult.

"However I have no doubt that Hitler was possessed and so it does not surprise me that Pope Pius XII tried a long distance exorcism."

In the past Father Amorth has also spoken out against the Harry Potter books, claiming that reading the novels of the teen wizard open children's minds to dabbling with the occult and black magic.

Father Amorth, who is president of the International Association of Exorcists, said of the JK Rowling books:"Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil."

He said that Rowling's books contain innumerable positive references to magic, "the satanic art" and added the books attempt to make a false distinction between black and white magic, when in fact, the distinction "does not exist, because magic is always a turn to the devil."

Father Amorth is said to have carried out more than 30,000 exorcisms in his career and his favourite film is, according to Italian newspapers The Exorcist.

Posted at 03:41 PM | Permalink

“Heaven’s Love Thrift Shop,” click for larger

From NY Times

The strip, called “Heaven’s Love Thrift Shop,” made its debut in 15 American newspapers this month, with quotations from Scripture and characters talking about their faith....

Kevin Frank, the strip’s author, said his goal was “very simplistic, to remind people that there is a God and God loves them.” To this end, he said, he planned to avoid “hot-button political issues, because even among people of faith those are divisive...”

Popular cartoons like “Peanuts” or “The Family Circus” have long run occasional religious references, especially around Christmas and Easter. In the 1990’s, Johnny Hart, creator of the popular “B.C.” strip, began introducing overt Christian themes in occasional strips, with controversial results. Some newspapers opted not to run the religious strips, and Jewish and Muslim groups called for apologies from Mr. Hart for strips they considered insensitive, including one in which a menorah is transformed into a cross, which some took to signal that Christianity had extinguished Judaism.

See more Christian cartoons from “Heaven’s Love Thrift Shop” here. [Hat tip Right Rev Rabbi Judah]

Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink

From Raw Story:

In a lengthy interview with Florida Baptist Witness, struggling U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris asserts, among other things, that the separation of church and state is a fallacy.

"We have to have the faithful in government and over time," the Witness quotes Harris as saying, "that lie we have been told, the separation of church and state, people have internalized, thinking that they needed to avoid politics and that is so wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers."

Excerpted answers from the interview follow:

On civil rights for gays: "Civil rights have to do with individual rights and I don't think they apply to the gay issues. I have not supported gay marriage and I do not support any civil rights actions with regard to homosexuality."

When asked if abortion is a moral evil: "Yes. Because it's a life, it's a life. Life begins at conception."

Stem cell research: "I'm the only candidate in the primary or general who's voted against embryonic stem cell research and has voted for cord blood research and adult stem cell research. ... There are no successes for embryonic. That is why the private sector is not involved and there is no justification for taking a live embryo and destroying it."

Regarding the Florida primary: "Florida is the forerunner state. ...[W]hat happens in Florida sets the trend for what happens nationally. And with this election, if Bill Nelson wins, it’s going to be a very frightening proposition in 2008 in the presidential elections because whoever wins Florida will win the presidency."

The interview in full is available here. [hat tip Huffpost]

Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink

From NY Times

Evolutionary biology has vanished from the list of acceptable fields of study for recipients of a federal education grant for low-income college students.

The omission is inadvertent, said Katherine McLane, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education, which administers the grants. “There is no explanation for it being left off the list,” Ms. McLane said. “It has always been an eligible major.”

Another spokeswoman, Samara Yudof, said evolutionary biology would be restored to the list, but as of last night it was still missing.

If a major is not on the list, students in that major cannot get grants unless they declare another major, said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. Mr. Nassirian said students seeking the grants went first to their college registrar, who determined whether they were full-time students majoring in an eligible field.

“If a field is missing, that student would not even get into the process,” he said.

That the omission occurred at all is worrying scientists concerned about threats to the teaching of evolution.

One of them, Lawrence M. Krauss, a physicist at Case Western Reserve University, said he learned about it from someone at the Department of Education, who got in touch with him after his essay on the necessity of teaching evolution appeared in The New York Times on Aug. 15. Dr. Krauss would not name his source, who he said was concerned about being publicly identified as having drawn attention to the matter.

An article about the issue was posted Tuesday on the Web site of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Dr. Krauss said the omission would be “of great concern” if evolutionary biology had been singled out for removal, or if the change had been made without consulting with experts on biology. The grants are awarded under the National Smart Grant program, established this year by Congress. (Smart stands for Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent.)

The program provides $4,000 grants to third- or fourth-year, low-income students majoring in physical, life or computer sciences; mathematics; technology; engineering; or foreign languages deemed “critical” to national security.

The list of eligible majors (which is online at ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/attachments/GEN0606A.pdf) is drawn from the Education Department’s “Classification of Instructional Programs,” or CIP (pronounced “sip”), a voluminous and detailed classification of courses of study, arranged in a numbered system of sections and subsections.

Part 26, biological and biomedical sciences, has a number of sections, each of which has one or more subsections. Subsection 13 is ecology, evolution, systematics and population biology. This subsection itself has 10 sub-subsections. One of them is 26.1303 — evolutionary biology, “the scientific study of the genetic, developmental, functional, and morphological patterns and processes, and theoretical principles; and the emergence and mutation of organisms over time.”

Though references to evolution appear in listings of other fields of biological study, the evolutionary biology sub-subsection is missing from a list of “fields of study” on the National Smart Grant list — there is an empty space between line 26.1302 (marine biology and biological oceanography) and line 26.1304 (aquatic biology/limnology).

Students cannot simply list something else on an application form, said Mr. Nassirian of the registrars’ association. “Your declared major maps to a CIP code,” he said.

Mr. Nassirian said people at the Education Department had described the omission as “a clerical mistake.” But it is “odd,” he said, because applying the subject codes “is a fairly mechanical task. It is not supposed to be the subject of any kind of deliberation.”

“I am not at all certain that the omission of this particular major is unintentional,” he added. “But I have to take them at their word.”

Scientists who knew about the omission also said they found the clerical explanation unconvincing, given the furor over challenges by the religious right to the teaching of evolution in public schools. “It’s just awfully coincidental,” said Steven W. Rissing, an evolutionary biologist at Ohio State University.

Jeremy Gunn, who directs the Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that if the change was not immediately reversed “we will certainly pursue this.”

Dr. Rissing said removing evolutionary biology from the list of acceptable majors would discourage students who needed the grants from pursuing the field, at a time when studies of how genes act and evolve are producing valuable insights into human health.

“This is not just some kind of nicety,” he said. “We are doing a terrible disservice to our students if this is yet another example of making sure science doesn’t offend anyone.”

Dr. Krauss of Case Western said he did not know what practical issues would arise from the omission of evolutionary biology from the list, given that students would still be eligible for grants if they declared a major in something else -- biology, say.

“I am sure an enterprising student or program director could find a way to put themselves in another slot,” he said. “But why should they have to do that?”

Mr. Nassirian said he was not so sure. “Candidly, I don’t think most administrators know enough about this program” to help students overcome the apparent objection to evolutionary biology, he said. Undergraduates would be even less knowledgeable about the issue, he added.

Dr. Krauss said: “Removing that one major is not going to make the nation stupid, but if this really was removed, specifically removed, then I see it as part of a pattern to put ideology over knowledge. And, especially in the Department of Education, that should be abhorred.”

Posted at 10:41 AM | Permalink

Our favorite part:

A sort of primer to the army of Falwell and Robertson, The Sinner’s Guide follows Lanham’s successful The Hipster Handbook. But Lanham is more serious this time around, with an agenda that reaches beyond poking fun. He seems to be intent on—as perverse as this may sound—educating readers about who’s who in the Evangelical right. We imagine every good little liberal will have this book on order as a stocking stuffer come Jesus’ birthday. READ IT ALL

You can pre-order The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right here.

Posted at 10:06 AM | Permalink

Randall Terry calls himself "a true Ronald Reagan Republican"

From the AP via HuffPost

Randall Terry doesn't run away from "family values issues" in his state Senate race.

Among the conservative Christian's pledges are preserving traditional marriage and opposing gay adoptions. He has touted efforts to stop abortions. His campaign mailers sum up the value he puts on family: they show a picture with his wife, a daughter and three grinning young sons taken before a fourth was born this summer.

But Terry's adopted son Jamiel says the picture is missing two people: he and his sister Tila, also adopted. Both have been estranged from Terry since Jamiel came out as a gay man and Tila had a child out of wedlock.

Jamiel Terry said the self-image that his father is crafting and the campaign message about strong families ignores part of his own family history. He said voters have a right to know about that.

"He is very big on image," Jamiel Terry said. "In a large way Tila and I mess up that image."

Jamiel Terry, 26, said in interviews last week and Monday that voters in the northeast Florida district where his father is trying to unseat Sen. Jim King in the Republican primary should know more about the candidate's family.

Randall Terry said he's upfront about his whole family and has never tried to hide anything about his children, even those with whom he has deep disagreements. He said voters don't care anyway.

"I don't think it would affect one vote, one way or another. Everybody has problems in their family," said Terry, who founded Operation Rescue, an anti-abortion protest group.

He said voters care more about issues they deal with in their own lives, such as homeowners insurance, medical malpractice problems and property taxes.

The fact that he has two adopted children isn't news. Jamiel and Randall Terry's relationship has been the subject of a long article in The Washington Post and The Associated Press wrote a story when Jamiel went public with his homosexuality in Out Magazine in 2004.

"He was a good dad," Jamiel Terry said, but added that he wouldn't support his candidacy.

Randall Terry said he strongly disapproves of his son's homosexuality.

"But I'm absolutely not ashamed - I love him," he said. He said Jamiel Terry was smart - and said that by talking to a reporter Jamiel was simply trying to get at his father as part of their ongoing disagreement. But he said overall, "I'm very proud of him."

Jamiel Terry also said his father left Tila Terry to fend for herself when she was pregnant - a charge Randall Terry vehemently denies. He said he has tried to get his daughter into a program that helps unwed young mothers. She didn't return phone calls seeking comment.

Jamiel Terry said his father's policy ideas don't always fit his own behavior.

"He has tried to say abortion should not exist because families and churches should step in," Jamiel Terry said. "When his own daughter is pregnant, he refuses to help her."

Randall Terry and his first wife adopted them when Jamiel was 8 and Tila was 3. Terry has said publicly that some problems stem from the way the children were treated before they were adopted.

Terry persuaded a woman not to have an abortion in 1987. When the child - Tila - was born, Terry took care of her and then adopted her older brother Jamiel. They grew up with Randall Terry, who was famous as a leading religious conservative voice.

A spokeswoman for King, Terry's opponent, declined to comment on Terry's family.

Randall Terry said he tells anyone who asks that he has seven children, including Jamiel and Tila.

As for campaign literature that doesn't have them in the picture, Randall Terry said it's not because he is embarrassed.

"The reason we don't have a photo with Jamiel and Tila is that we haven't been in the same room with them in about three years," Randall Terry said.

That's the point, Jamiel Terry said. If a candidate is going to talk about strong families - he ought to talk about why his own family isn't, he said.

"Both Tila and I have tried to revive or rekindle our relationship with my father and we've been shut out," Jamiel Terry said. "So maybe if we had been invited for Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays, etc., we would be in a family photo."

Randall Terry denied that his son has tried to fix the relationship, accusing Jamiel of only wanting to hurt him. Jamiel Terry occasionally e-mails his father. Randall Terry said the e-mails simply are "vicious." Jamiel said he's only trying to reconnect.

Posted at 09:55 AM | Permalink

Pastor Tim LaBouf: Sounds awful French to us. Let him know what you think: tklabouf@msn.com

In case you missed it, here's a little background on this story.

Via Reuters

US preacher defends belief women can't teach men
A U.S. Baptist preacher has publicly defended himself for firing a female Sunday School teacher after more than 50 years on the job because he believes the Bible bans women from teaching men.

Watertown First Baptist Church Pastor Tim LaBouf, also a city council member in Watertown, N.Y., said women could fulfill any role or responsibility they wanted to— outside the church.

"My belief is that the qualifications for both men and women teaching spiritual matters in a church setting end at the church door, period," LaBouf said in a statement on the church Web site (http://www.nnyinfo.com/firstbaptist).

LaBouf and the church board fired Mary Lambert, 81, earlier this month in a letter that cited the scriptural qualifications for Sunday School teachers, Lambert said.

"They quote First Timothy Two, 11-14: A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, she must be silent," Lambert said, reading from the letter.

"I was astonished," she said. "I would not go back and teach as long as this is their thinking." Watertown is 250 miles northwest of New York City.

William Carlsen, executive minister for American Baptist Churches of New York State, said U.S. Baptist Churches are autonomous and that there would not be many other Baptist Churches that share LaBouf's view.

"A considerable number if not a majority of American Baptist Churches have been quite aggressive in affirming the place of women's leadership roles within the church," Carlsen said.

The board of the Watertown First Baptist Church said in a statement on its Web site that the scripture rules concerning women teaching men in a church setting had only played a small part in Lambert's sacking.

"Christian courtesy motivates us to refrain from making any public accusations against her," the board said.

Posted at 09:50 AM | Permalink

From the AP

The minister of a church that dismissed a female Sunday School teacher after adopting what it called a literal interpretation of the Bible says a woman can perform any job -- outside of the church.

The First Baptist Church dismissed Mary Lambert on Aug. 9 with a letter explaining that the church had adopted an interpretation that prohibits women from teaching men. She had taught there for 54 years.

The letter quoted the first epistle to Timothy: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent."

The Rev. Timothy LaBouf, who also serves on the Watertown City Council, issued a statement saying his stance against women teaching men in Sunday school would not affect his decisions as a city leader in Watertown, where all five members of the council are men but the city manager who runs the city's day-to-day operations is a woman.

"I believe that a woman can perform any job and fulfill any responsibility that she desires to" outside of the church, LaBouf wrote Saturday.

Mayor Jeffrey Graham, however, was bothered by the reasons given Lambert's dismissal.

"If what's said in that letter reflects the councilman's views, those are disturbing remarks in this day and age," Graham said. "Maybe they wouldn't have been disturbing 500 years ago, but they are now."

Lambert has publicly criticized the decision, but the church did not publicly address the matter until Saturday, a day after its board met.

In a statement, the board said other issues were behind Lambert's dismissal, but it did not say what they were.

Posted at 11:23 AM | Permalink

[From the AP]

So much for "Thou shalt not steal." Just before 4 a.m. Thursday, an intruder snatched the contentious painting of Jesus Christ from the halls of Bridgeport High School. The theft came just two days after the Harrison County School Board voted to fight a legal challenge over the portrait.

Schools Superintendent Carl Friebel said the bandit took the painting, but left behind the gilded frame and backing.

"The picture was the only thing stolen, so the deliberate intent was to steal the picture and only the picture," Friebel said.

Three security cameras caught images of the intruder, whose face was obscured. The security tapes have been turned over to police.

A custodian reported the break-in to the principal after discovering a broken window in a lab at the back of the building Thursday morning.

Friebel said the intruder exited the building through an emergency-exit door that allows exit without a key.

"Anytime there's a break-in at a school, it's a high alert, whether it's a portrait of Jesus or anything else," said Mike Queen, a school board member and proponent of keeping the portrait hanging. "It's a very serious offense."

The painting, which depicts Jesus in sepia tones on a large canvas, hung on the wall outside the principal's office and had been at the school for 37 years.

The Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the West Virginia
American Civil Liberties Union sued the school board in June, saying the painting, "Head of Christ," sends the message that the school endorses Christianity as its official religion.

"Americans United for Separation of Church and State is very disturbed by the breaking and entry of Bridgeport High School and the theft of the portrait of Jesus," said group spokesman Jeremy Learning.

"The Bridgeport, West Virginia, community is already roiled over this constitutional debate, and the current illegal activity is no way to reach a conclusion in this matter."

On Tuesday, the school board decided to fight to keep the portrait hanging after an outside group, the Christian Freedom Fund, raised more than $150,000, including $6,700 raised by students at the school, to pay the board's legal costs.

Eight national groups with expertise in constitutional law have offered legal help to the Harrison County Board of Education. One of those groups will be selected to lead the defense at trial, which is set for Feb. 26, 2007, before U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley.

Keeley, who will decide the case instead of a jury, said the trial should last no more than two days.

Posted at 11:13 AM | Permalink

Be careful next time you're eating a bologna sandwich. Evidently the mother of Jesus loves to show up in your food. From CNN [thanks Carlos]

"For me, it was a sign," Cruz Jacinto says of finding the chocolate icon that matches her prayer card. Jacinto says the white speck is the head of the Baby Jesus held in Mary's folded arms.

And who could forget the Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich?!

[From the BBC]

A decade-old toasted cheese sandwich said to bear an image of the Virgin Mary has sold on the eBay auction website for $28,000..... Diane Duyser, from Florida, says the sandwich has never gone mouldy since she made it 10 years ago... Mrs Duyser told reporters the sandwich had brought her luck - including winnings of $70,000 at a casino near her Florida home....I went to take a bite out of it, and then I saw this lady looking back at me. I hollered for [my husband]. It scared me at first

Posted at 09:57 AM | Permalink

Anthony Perkins, who incidentally is no relation to the knife-slashing lunatic played by Anthony Perkins in Psycho

From Tony Perkins' daily newsletter at the Family Research Council:

A better journalist wrote this in The Washington Post: "If Americans do not fight, the terrorists will attack America again. And we now know such attacks can kill many thousands of Americans. The American pacifists, therefore, are on the side of future mass murderers of Americans. They are objectively pro terrorist. There is no way out of this reasoning. No honest person can pretend that the groups that attacked America will, if let alone, not attack again. Nor can any honest person say that this attack is not at least as likely to kill thousands upon thousands of innocent people. Not to fight in this instance is to let the attackers live to attack and murder again; to be a pacifist in this instance is to accept and, in practice, support this outcome." Those are the words of Michael Kelly, prize-winning author, editor, and columnist. He died on the road to Baghdad in 2003. Let's honor his memory, by heeding his warning.

Evidently, Jesus prefers kicking ass to diplomacy. The Family Research Council is Focus on the Family's main lobby on Capitol Hill. [Hat tip Jesus Politics]

Posted at 03:38 PM | Permalink

Armor of God Bear

Description: He's cute and cuddly, but he's also well-equipped to face the powers and evils of this world! This plush teddy bear helps children understand Ephesians 6:13-17 in a very real way. The bear is outfitted with:

Shield of Faith: Teaches kids about their relationship with a faithful, all-powerful God who protects them
Breastplate of Righteousness: Teaches kids to reflect the righteous character of God by their actions
Sword of the Spirit: Teaches kids that the Word of God is an instrument by which His power is shown
Belt of Truth: Teaches kids to be strengthened by God and to live truthfully
Helmet of Salvation: Teaches kids that God is their ultimate protection.

Interactive Prayer Bear

Description: He's cute! He's cuddly! He's a committed prayer warrior! And he's eager to teach your little ones about talking with God. Press any of his four touch points and he recites a different prayer, and before you know it, your tots are joining in.

The Full Armor of God Playset

Description: Play and learn about God's protection for Spiritual Battle. Complete set based on Ephesians 6:13-18, for ages 3 and up. Each item is made of molded, flexible plastic designed to fit most children. Adjustable straps and velcro allow children to wear certain pieces. Each item is labeled in order to recall God's Word. The set includes: The Sword of the Spirit, the Helmet of Salvation, the breastplate of Righteousness, the Belt of Truth, the Shield of Faith, the Gospel of Peace Shin Guards, and a Parent-Teacher Guide with suggested activities and scripture verses.

Buy them all here. A big hat tip to the Right Rev Rabbi Judah

Posted at 12:42 PM | Permalink

From The New York Times

When Israel and Hezbollah began trading blows last month, the community at RaptureReady.com, a fundamentalist Christian site dedicated to the proposition that the end times are near, was atwitter, taking the conflict as another sign of an impending judgment day. Quotes from—and links to— the site’s forums (www.rr-bb.com) became a hot commodity on the blog circuit (“I have been having rapture dreams and I can’t believe that this is really it!”), causing a brief service collapse when forum traffic spiked.

But the chatter is back—although a user named Kathe advised members that “we must all (including me) watch our words carefully. Our Christian witness (or lack thereof) might make the difference with someone coming here for answers.”

To wit, with terror attacks on the West—including the airline bomb plot foiled in Britain last week—being a bit of a deviation from the rapture script, several of the forum’s faithful could be found politely exchanging Christian guidance on a central question: What do you do with a problem like a Muslim? Excerpts follow.

From: Resting in Him

Date: Aug. 10, 11:55 a.m.

“I know this is extreme, but am I wrong in thinking that we should close our borders to Muslims and evacuating a few who are already here? In fact, I’m wondering if all Muslim mosques, which are a haven for perpetrating hate against us, shouldn’t be closed down.” READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

Related:
Middle East Conflict Has Rapture-Ready Nuts Very Excited

Posted at 12:17 PM | Permalink

It's Not Unusual.... well, maybe it is

[from BBC, hat tip Right Rev Rabbi Judah]

A US preacher who has set up a church dedicated to the Welsh sex symbol and crooner Tom Jones has denied using religion in vain.

Pastor Jack Stahl said Jones's "soulful, spiritual and supernatural" voice helps him contact God.

The minister, based in Sacramento, California, uses his music in baptisms, marriages, funerals and exorcisms.

"I'm using his voice to get in touch with God and there's nothing wrong with that," he said.

Jones is not the first personality to have a church dedicated to him. He shares the honour with Elvis Presley and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane.

The Welsh singer, who has been nicknamed The Voice, has enjoyed hits with songs like It's Not Unusual, Delilah and What's New Pussycat. It's not the lyrics of his songs, it's his voice which is soulful, spiritual and supernatural Pastor Jack Stahl

He was big in the 60s and 70s, when it was not unusual for adoring female fans to throw their underwear at him on stage.

However such behaviour is not encouraged by Pastor Jack, as he is known, who dresses up as Jones while conducting his services.

He said he discovered Jones in 1969 when he was only six-years-old watching the This is Tom Jones television programme.

"Instantly, I became hypnotised by that gyrating god and it was almost as if angels had surrounded me," he told the World Service's The Beat programme.

"So it just made sense that years later when I started my own ministry that I would incorporate the angelic voice of Tom Jones in it."

He said it was more to do with the quality of Jones's voice than his songs' lyrics that made his singing special.

"It could be Sex Bomb and still to me I will almost openly weep," he said.

"It's not the lyrics of his songs, it's his voice which is soulful, spiritual and supernatural."

He said he was not dogmatic about Jones and encouraged people at his non-denominational church to use whatever vehicle necessary to "get in touch with their higher power".

But he insisted he did not consider Jones to be a God.

"He is a mortal," he said. "He's a person like any of us. I don't think of him as being a deity."

When interviewed recently about Pastor Jack's church, Jones said he did not object to it.

"It's weird, but a positive thing," he said. "I inspired Pastor Jack. He saw the light through me, so it works."

Posted at 01:51 AM | Permalink

Meanwhile, the United States is actively recruiting minorities in Wal-Mart parking lots and forcing Reserve soldiers to extend their tours of duty. [from NY Times, hat tip Right Rev Rabbi Judah]

The Defense Department discharged 726 service members last year for being gay, up about 10 percent from 2004, figures released by a gay rights group show.

The group, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, obtained the information through a Freedom of Information Act request. A spokeswoman for the Defense Department, Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, confirmed that it had released the information.

On Monday, the legal group released a breakdown of discharges by installation. A sharp increase occurred at Fort Campbell, Ky., where in 1999 a soldier was bludgeoned to death in his barracks by fellow soldiers who thought he was homosexual. In 2004, 19 service members from the base were discharged, a number that climbed to 49 last year.

Fort Sill, Okla., had 27 dismissals last year, up from 8 in 2004. Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., had 60 dismissals, up from 40 in 2004, and the Marine base at Parris Island, S.C., discharged 22, up from 12.

The Army, by far the largest branch of the military, discharged more gay personnel last year than the other branches with 386, the figures show, followed by the Navy with 177, the Air Force with 88 and the Marines, the smallest force, with 75.

The overall number of men and women dismissed because they were found to be gay or because they disclosed their sexuality fell in the three years from 2002 to 2004. From Sept. 11, 2001, through last year, the discharge rate dropped 40 percent.

The total of such discharges in 2004 was 653. That compares with 770 in 2003, 885 in 2002 and 1,227 in 2001.

Under a policy introduced by the Clinton administration known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the military cannot inquire into service members’ sex lives unless there is evidence of homosexual conduct.

Those who volunteer the information have to be discharged. More than 11,000 members have been discharged for that reason, the legal group said.

In a review by the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, the Pentagon said last year that more service members had been discharged for drug offenses, pregnancy and weight problems than for being gay.

Colonel Krenke said: “The Department of Defense policy on homosexual conduct in the military implements a federal law enacted in 1993 following extensive hearings and debate. The law would need to be changed to affect the department’s policy.”

The military has argued that allowing openly gay troops would disrupt unit cohesion and undermine the services’ missions. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has said that the Bush administration will not revisit the policy.

Representative Martin T. Meehan of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities, introduced a bill last year to repeal the policy on gay service members.

In an interview on Monday, Mr. Meehan pointed to “the seamless integration of openly gay service members into the militaries of many of our closest allies, namely the United Kingdom, Australia and Israel.” His bill has 118 supporters, including 5 Republicans.

A spokesman for the legal group, Steve Ralls, said it had detected no increased effort to oust members under the policy last year. Mr. Ralls said that some bases reporting increases in discharges had few, if any, reports of unchecked harassment. It often boils down to the tolerance of individual commanders, he said.

“In the end,” Mr. Ralls said, “we just don’t know what exactly led to these dismissals.”

Some service members have used the policy to escape their military obligations as morale has dipped and multiple overseas deployments have caused strain, Mr. Ralls added.

The legal group has also seen an increase in the malicious use of the Internet and e-mail to disclose the sexual orientation of service members, Mr. Ralls said. Sites like MySpace.com are routinely visited by service members and military officials, and service members who identify themselves as gay or lesbian on the Internet risk expulsion.

In one case, the orientation of a gay sergeant was disclosed to his superiors by anonymous e-mail messages. The sergeant was honorably discharged this year from the Army.

Posted at 02:31 PM | Permalink

recently released prequel to Left Behind

As conflicts continue to multiply in the Middle East, Rapture-Ready evangelicals have begun to sound the Armageddon alarm. Many evangelicals, such as John Hagee, are beginning to lobby Capital Hill in favor of a preemptive strike on Iran. You know, since that worked so well in Iraq. The resident "prophet" on the Left Behind website, Joel Rosenberg, doesn't mince words about his stance on attacking Iran. The Jesusy neocon "prophesizes" that Iran is possibly planning an attack on August 22, implying that the United States needs to thwart this alleged attack militarily, before it transpires. [From the Left Behind website article: "Apocalypse Now? Is Iran planning an August 22 attack against Israel and/or the U.S.?"]

How much time do we have to pursue a diplomatic track with Iran? At what point do we have to conclude that negotiations are going nowhere? Are we prepared to live with a nuclear-armed Iran? If so, how? Why? If not, what is the President prepared to do to protect Americans and our allies from an Iranian nuclear-strike, or nuclear blackmail? [...]

In his famous "axis of evil" speech on January 29, 2002, President Bush made the following case: "We will work closely with our coalition to deny terrorists and their state sponsors the materials, technology, and expertise to make and deliver weapons of mass destruction. We will develop and deploy effective missile defenses to protect America and our allies from sudden attack. And all nations should know: America will do what is necessary to ensure our nation's security. We'll be deliberate, yet time is not on our side. I will not wait on events, while dangers gather. I will not stand by, as peril draws closer and closer. The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons."

Today, the country is deeply divided over whether using military force in Iraq was the right thing to do. But the Iranian nuclear threat is now far worse than the Iraqi threat of having or obtaining weapons of mass destruction was then. President Bush has a decision to make and precious little time to make it. For let's be clear: should Iran go nuclear on this President's watch, all the gains made to date in the War on Terror will be wiped out overnight. That is neither a legacy this President wants, nor this nation can afford.

Of course, this wouldn't be so troublesome, if people such as the Left Behind author Tim LaHaye and his cohorts were lacking influence. Not only have LaHaye's Left Behind books sold millions, he's also an influential political insider. And with Condi speaking in Armageddon code language and John Hagee lobbying for increased military support on Capitol Hill, who knows how much influence biblical "prophecy" is having on our Middle East policy. God help us.

Related:
— Pastor Strangelove - Promotes Invading Iran to Hasten Rapture
— Christian Zionist, John Hagee, Explains His Insanity On CNN, Scares Children
— Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey Says He (And the Prez) Believe Book Of Revelation 'Prophesies' Are Real
— Condi Uses Biblical Code Words To Speak To Her Rapture-Ready Base

Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink

Meanwhile, All Saints Church in Pasadena is under investigation by the IRS. The crime? A former pastor gave an antiwar sermon prior to the invasion of Iraq.

From LA Times

Conservatives Put Faith in Church Voter Drives
As discontent with the Republican Party threatens to dampen the turnout of conservative voters in November, evangelical leaders are launching a massive registration drive that could help counter the malaise and mobilize new religious voters in battleground states.

The program, coordinated by the Colorado-based group Focus on the Family and its influential founder, James C. Dobson, would use a variety of methods — including information inserted in church publications and booths placed outside worship services — to recruit millions of new voters in 2006 and beyond.

The effort builds on the aggressive courtship of evangelical voters in 2004 by President Bush's reelection campaign, even as the Internal Revenue Service has announced renewed scrutiny of nonprofit organizations, including churches, that engage in political activities.

The new voter registration program puts a special focus this year on eight states with key Senate, House and state-level races. Turning out core voters is central to the GOP strategy to retain control of Congress, especially as the party struggles with negative public sentiment over the war in Iraq and other administration policies.

"Any time you go from a big presidential year like 2004 to an off-year like this, there's going to be a drop-off" in voter interest, said John Paulton of Focus on the Family Action, the political arm of Focus on the Family. "It's a question of how much. You could argue that the fear of what could happen if many more liberal politicians take over could be very motivating to get out and vote as strongly."

The program, announced in an e-mail to activists last week, is seeking county and church coordinators in the targeted states of Maryland, Montana, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Minnesota.

"In 2004, about 25 million evangelicals failed to vote. Now is the time to reverse the trend," the e-mail said.

According to the e-mail, county coordinators are being asked to work about five hours a week and would be responsible for "recruiting key evangelical churches.

The church coordinators, devoting one or two hours per week, would be in charge of "encouraging pastors to speak about Christian citizenship, conducting a voter-registration drive, distributing voter guides and get-out-the-vote efforts."

Registering voters in churches is not a new tactic for either party, but Republicans have proved far more effective in recent years at combining religion and politics for electoral gain.

Critics say the practice is potentially illegal, citing tax laws that prohibit churches from engaging in partisan activities.

The IRS has launched a program to crack down on violators, with investigations pending against dozens of churches.

The IRS probe with the highest profile is that of All Saints Church in Pasadena, one of Southern California's largest and most liberal congregations.

After a priest delivered a sermon critical of the Iraq war two days before the 2004 presidential election, the IRS began reviewing the Episcopal church's tax-exempt status. No decision has been announced.

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called the evangelical voter registration drive a "blatant effort by Dobson to build a partisan political machine based in churches."

"He has made it abundantly clear that electing Republicans is an integral part of his agenda, and he doesn't mind risking the tax exemption of churches in the process," Lynn said. "Dobson wants to be a major political boss, and this is his way to get there."

Organizers of the drive say they pay careful attention to the law — focusing on registering voters and discussions of values, not endorsing a specific candidate or party.

But, they acknowledge, the goal is reaching the conservative base.

"Everybody knows where their audience is, and we know who our audience is," said Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, an Ohio-based group coordinating voter registration with Dobson's organization.

"Absolutely we can target who we want to register to vote," he said. "There's nothing that prevents us from doing that."

He said that in Ohio, where this year's Senate and gubernatorial races are highly competitive, the plan calls for 3 million bulletins detailing voter registration procedures to be placed in publications distributed by 15,000 churches.

The group will also distribute voter guides listing candidates' views on same-sex marriage, abortion, stem cell research and other hot-button issues.

In 2004, Burress said, his group registered more than 50,000 voters, largely because of a ballot measure seeking a ban on same-sex-marriage, a campaign he headed.

This year, a potential ban on same-sex marriage is on the ballot in Tennessee, where there is a competitive Senate race. Legal and political battles are also raging over the issue in three of the other targeted states: Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Maryland.

The Republican Party is escalating its own courtship of evangelicals, registering voters at Christian rock concerts, state fairs and other events that draw religious activists and core conservatives.

The effort has been complicated in recent months, though, with Dobson and other evangelical leaders expressing disappointment in Bush and the Republican leadership.

They were pleased with Bush's nominations of John G. Roberts Jr. and Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court, but distressed by Congress' failure to approve a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and its support of expanded federal spending on embryonic stem cell research.

Bush used the first veto of his presidency on the stem cell bill, a move that some viewed as an effort to mobilize evangelicals.

In May, Dobson warned the GOP that trouble might lie ahead, holding a series of meetings with party strategists and members of Congress to remind them of the evangelical movement's muscle.

"There's just very, very little to show for what has happened," Dobson said on Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" show at the time, "and I think there's going to be some trouble down the road if they don't get on the ball."

Posted at 01:36 PM | Permalink

Will Farrell from Talledega Nights Pat Boone

Not content offending the musical tastes of billions worldwide, 'musician' and evangelical nutjob Pat Boone is now a regular columnist at WorldnetDaily. As blogger Ed Brayton jokes: "I guess Perry Como was busy." His columns include diverse topics such as "What is an American patriot?" (July 8) and "Are you an American patriot?" (July 1). Here are some of Pat's other highlights:

From Lay off Mel Gibson, for Christ's sake!

I know both individuals personally, Mel and Christ—and my friend Mel is no anti-Semite....

Mel Gibson anti-semitic? Don't make me cry.

Gradually, people are being reminded that he's always been exceedingly ''hyper,'' possibly obsessive-compulsive, wildly energetic and driven, and he's admittedly an addictive personality. ..

[H]e deserves our empathy, the forgiveness for which he has asked abjectly, and our understanding of the all-too-human condition from which he suffers—humanness.

From The ACLU: Malignant—and growing

"Sit down, Mr. Citizen. I hate to tell you this, but I guess the best thing is just to spit it out. You've got cancer.

"And not just a localized cancer, but a malignant, fast-spreading strain of cancer. It's already attacked all your vital organs and is infiltrating through your circulatory system to even your outer extremities. Unless we take every action available to us and attack this disease on all fronts with the strongest possible treatments, you will surely die a painful, lingering, wasting death.[...] Well—whether we realize it or not—you and I are living right now under such a sentence, such a diabolical attack. The disease is called ACLU.

And from Please, leave marriage alone

I feel I'm watching a "reality" version of "Gulliver's Travels," in which a sleeping giant is gradually staked to the ground by little people and rendered helpless while he slumbers....

I do feel we're suffering, as a nation, a moral trichinosis—that little talked-about malady that occurs when worms, gaining entry through poorly cooked pork, infiltrate a person's muscles, gradually sapping strength and weakening the body beyond recovery...

[A]s recently as the 1950s our Supreme Court acknowledged that America is a Christian nation, founded on biblical principles...

[T]he apparent necessity to codify in the Constitution that the institution of marriage is to be confined and defined as a contract between one man and one woman is, to millions of stunned Americans, a very ominous "sign of the times," if not of "the last days" described in the first chapter of Romans in the New Testament.

Anybody who hasn't read that graphic depiction of an "end time" society and still cares what the Bible says should turn there immediately and fasten his seatbelt. It reads like a Gallup poll description of life in America today.

Time to toss out that Pat Boone Christmas record. You can read all of Pat's *inspiring* columns here.

Posted at 10:13 AM | Permalink

Randall W. Harding's "Just the Lord" ministry stole $50 million

From the AP

Randall W. Harding sang in the choir at Crossroads Christian Church in Corona, Calif., and donated part of his conspicuous wealth to its ministries. In his business dealings, he underscored his faith by naming his investment firm JTL, or "Just the Lord." Pastors and churchgoers alike entrusted their money to him.

By the time Harding was unmasked as a fraud, he and his partners had stolen more than $50 million from their clients, and Crossroads became yet another cautionary tale in what investigators say is a worsening problem plaguing the nation's churches...

Between 1984 and 1989, about $450 million was stolen in religion-related scams, the association says. In its latest count—from 1998 to 2001—the toll had risen to $2 billion. Rip-offs have only become more common since.

READ IT ALL

Posted at 01:01 AM | Permalink

Dick Armey: Another Top GOP Who Believes "The Omen" Will Come True

Here's a chunk of an interview Armey did with the BBC in regard to the current Israeli/Hezbollah conflict [via Bartholomew]

Armey: We talk about the End Times, the day of Tribulation. Yes there seems to be, if you believe in Bible prophecy, there seems to be a great deal of the circumstances that was prophesised present at this time, and a lot of people believe that this is the time for that prophecy. They also believe that a free and a, what shall I say, well, Israel will be a consequence after those days of Tribulation, but that the whole world goes through a difficult time during those days of Tribulation.

Do you believe it?

Armey: Yes, I do.

Does the President of the United States believe it?

Armey: I believe he does.

Of course, this is just further confirmation that much of the GOP are buying into the Rapture-Ready nonsense spewed by the likes of John Hagee.

Related: Condi Uses Biblical Code Words To Speak To Her Rapture Ready Base

Posted at 04:27 PM | Permalink

The so-called successor to Billy Graham and author of The Purpose-Driven Life (the bestselling nonfiction book in the history of publishing) clearly has sex on his mind. Otherwise, why would the Hawaiin shirt-wearing pastor publish this bizarre note on pastors.com?

No matter how many times I hear it, it still shocks me: A pastor announces his resignation because of adultery... I have told my staff that if any of them even flirt with temptation, I will come after them with a baseball bat...

That’s why I established these Saddleback staff standards for maintaining moral integrity:

Thou shalt not go to lunch alone with the opposite sex.*
Thou shalt not have the opposite sex pick you up or drive you places when it is just the two of you.*
Thou shalt not kiss any attender of the opposite sex or show affection that could be questioned.*
Thou shalt not visit the opposite sex alone at home.
Thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex alone at the office, and thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex more than once without that person’s mate. Refer them.
Thou shalt not discuss detailed sexual problems with the opposite sex in counseling. Refer them.
Thou shalt not discuss your marriage problems with an attender of the opposite sex.
Thou shalt be careful in answering emails, instant messages, chatrooms, cards, or letters from the opposite sex.
Thou shalt make your secretary your protective ally.
Thou shalt pray for the integrity of other staff members.

* The first three do not apply to unmarried staff

Is he living in the 1950's? Why not simply create two gender segregated churches? Or maybe Warren could have his dad escort adults of different genders on outings. Shouldn't Christian adults be able to keep their own libidos in check? Especially if Jesus is always with them?

Posted at 01:55 AM | Permalink

From Daily Telegraph Hat tip Bartholomew

Powerful evangelical churches are pressing Kenya's national museum to sideline its world-famous collection of hominid bones pointing to man's evolution from ape to human.

Leaders of the country's six-million-strong Pentecostal congregation want Dr Richard Leakey's ground-breaking finds relegated to a back room instead of being given their usual prime billing.

The collection includes the most complete skeleton yet found of Homo erectus, the 1.7 million-year-old Turkana Boy unearthed by Dr Leakey's team in 1984 at Nariokotome, near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya.

The museum also holds bones from several specimens of Australopithecus anamensis, believed to be the first hominid to walk upright, four million years ago. Together the artefacts amount to the clearest record yet discovered of the origins of Homo sapiens.

They have cemented the global reputation of Kenya's Great Rift Valley as the cradle of mankind, and draw in tourists and locals to the museum's sprawling compound on a hill above Nairobi.

Permanent exhibitions cover Kenya's cultural and scientific history from pre-history to independence. A snake park was added in the early 1960s.

As part of an ongoing expansion funded by the EU, the National Museums of Kenya, which manages the country's cultural sites, is conducting a survey to determine what visitors to its Nairobi headquarters most want to see.

Church leaders aim to hijack that process. "The Christian community here is very uncomfortable that Leakey and his group want their theories presented as fact," said Bishop Bonifes Adoyo, the head of Christ is the Answer Ministries, the largest Pentecostal church in Kenya.

"Our doctrine is not that we evolved from apes, and we have grave concerns that the museum wants to enhance the prominence of something presented as fact which is just one theory."

Bishop Adoyo said all the country's churches would unite to force the museum to change its focus when it reopens after 18 months of renovations in June next year.

"We will write to them, we will call them, we will make sure our people know about this and we will see what we can do to make our voice known," he said.

Dr Leakey said the churches' plans were "the most outrageous comments I have ever heard".

He told The Daily Telegraph: "The National Museums of Kenya should be extremely strong in presenting a very forceful case for the evolutionary theory of the origins of mankind.

"The collection it holds is one of Kenya's very few global claims to fame and it must be forthright in defending its right to be at the forefront of this branch of science."

Calling the Pentecostal church fundamentalists, Dr Leakey added: "Their theories are far, far from the mainstream on this. They cannot be allowed to meddle with what is the world's leading collection of these types of fossils."

The museum said it was in a "tricky situation" as it tried to redesign its exhibition space to accommodate the expectations of all its visitors.

"We have a responsibility to present all our artefacts in the best way that we can so that everyone who sees them can gain a full understanding of their significance," said Ali Chege, public relations manager for the National Museums of Kenya.

"But things can get tricky when you have religious beliefs on one side, and intellectuals, scientists or researchers on the other, saying the opposite."

Posted at 10:27 AM | Permalink

Dr. James Dobson: The Evangelical Pope

From AP via Huffpost

Focus on the Family ministry founder James Dobson spoke in support Thursday of Mel Gibson and his film, "The Passion of the Christ," saying Gibson's drunken tirade during a traffic stop had nothing to do with "one of the finest films of this era."

Gibson, 50, was arrested for drunken driving Aug. 1 in Malibu, Calif., and launched an anti-Semitic rant toward the arresting deputy. Gibson reportedly said, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," and asked him, "Are you a Jew?"

Dobson said in a statement that "we certainly do not condone that racially insensitive outburst," but added "Mel has apologized profusely for the incident and there the matter should rest."

"Mel has also indicated his willingness to seek help to overcome his alcoholism, and has asked the Jewish community for forgiveness," Dobson said. "What more can he do?"

Gibson has had a troubled relationship with Jewish organizations since his violent 2004 blockbuster about the crucifixion, which some criticized for portraying Jews as responsible for Jesus' death. Supporters, including Dobson, say the movie followed the Gospel story.

"Our endorsement of it stands as originally stated. We did not believe it was anti-Semitic in 2004, and our views have not changed," Dobson said.

Posted at 10:39 AM | Permalink

Via Fox News, hat tip Right Reverend Rabbi Judah

The University of Arkansas will have to pay $33,120 in attorneys fees to a preacher who sued the school over alleged free speech violations [...]

Bowman, of Cherokee County, Okla., sued the university in October 2003, saying the school policy of allowing him only five days to preach on campus was illegal [...]

While on campus, Bowman preached outside the Student Union. Witnesses in a trial on his lawsuit said Bowman had called students "sluts," "whores," and "fags" and told them they were going to hell because they participated in fraternities and sororities.

Bowman preached on the Fayetteville campus twice in 1998 and returned to the school in 2000. By then, the university had imposed restrictions on when non-university entities could use school facilities, including spaces traditionally regarded as public forums.

Posted at 10:11 AM | Permalink

Paul Weyrich

Talk2Action has an excellent article about one of the Right's most influential, yet widely unknown figures, Paul Weyrich. Be sure to check it out here.

Posted at 10:06 AM | Permalink

Related John Hagee Articles:
— "The end of the world as we know it is rapidly approaching.... Rejoice and be exceeding glad"
— Pastor Strangelove - Promotes Invading Iran to Hasten Rapture
— 2000 Rapture Ready Evangelicals Leaders Promise To Convert Lobby For Israel...
— Rapture Ready Pastor Creating Pro-Israel Lobby To Hasten Armageddon

Posted at 03:31 PM | Permalink

click image for a must-see teaser from the new film, "Jesus Camp"

From the Christian Media Wire: Standard Newswire

Magnolia Pictures formally requested Michael Moore's Traverse City Film Festival pull its showing of the documentary Jesus Camp.

Jesus Camp, for which Magnolia recently acquired the North American distribution rights, highlights the experience of three young children attending Rev. Becky Fischer’s charismatic Christian summer camp in Devil’s Lake, N.D. The film, co-directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, has already won the Special Documentary Jury Prize at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival and the SilverDocs Sterling Award at SilverDocs last month.

“Due to the subject of the documentary, we want to guard it from being associated with any group or agenda that may influence viewers one way or another," said Magnolia Pictures President Eamonn Bowles. "One of the great strengths of the film is that it doesn't come with any prepackaged point of view. It shows an honest and impartial depiction of one faction of the evangelical Christian community, something I believe that both Christians and non-Christians alike can appreciate.”

The film's producers originally gave the festival permission to screen the film several weeks ago prior to Magnolia acquiring the distribution rights. However, despite requests from Magnolia and representatives of the filmmakers weeks before the festival to pull the film from the program, the festival went ahead and played the film for two screenings, one Friday and one Saturday, both of which were sold out.

“We know Moore’s association with this film may turn potential viewers away, and we are deeply disappointed in his choice to not comply with our request,” Bowles said. “Magnolia’s desire is to present this film in the same manner it was filmed and edited – objectively. While the individuals profiled in the documentary feel it's a fair presentation, we understand audiences are going to have wildly differing opinions about it. They should have the opportunity to make up their own minds.”

Jesus Camp is set to debut in select markets on Sept. 15 with an opening in New York City on Sept. 22 and an L.A. opening to follow Sept. 29. Additional cities will open in October. For more information about the documentary, visit www.magpictures.com.

Posted at 12:01 AM | Permalink

From MarketWire

ChristiaNet Poll Finds That Evangelicals Are Addicted to Porn

If there could be one place protected from the cancerous infection of pornography and sexual misconducts, one would assume that the Christian church would be that sanctuary. But, recent research is revealing that no one is immunized against the vice-grip clutches of sexual addictive behaviors. The people who struggle with the repeated pursuit of sexual gratification include church members, deacons, staff, and yes, even clergy. And, to the surprise of many, a large number of women in the church have become victim to this widespread problem. Recently, the world's most visited Christian website, ChristiaNet.com, conducted a survey asking site visitors eleven questions about their personal sexual conduct. (http://www.christianet.com)

Amazingly, there were one thousand responses to the poll conducted by ChristiaNet.com. ChristiaNet.com partnered with Second Glance Ministries in evaluating the poll responses and it seems the Christian community is struggling with many of the same "temptations" that the secular society is faced with.

"The poll results indicate that 50% of all Christian men and 20% of all Christian women are addicted to pornography," said Clay Jones, founder and President of Second Glance Ministries whose ministry objectives include providing people with information which will enable them to fully understand the impact of today's societal issues. 60% of the women who answered the survey admitted to having significant struggles with lust; 40% admitted to being involved in sexual sin in the past year; and 20% of the church-going female participants struggle with looking at pornography on an ongoing basis.

"There have been dynamic paradigm shifts in the behavior of Christians over the last four years," explained Jones. "Technology [the Internet] has allowed pornography to flood the market place beyond a controllable level." Jones' ministry also includes providing Christian intervention programs for churches and for individuals. All of Second Glance Ministries' services are free and recipients may remain anonymous.

"We directed over 100,000 inquiries to Second Glance Ministries in one year," stated ChristiaNet.com's President, Bill Cooper. "We are seeing an escalation to the problem in both men and women who regularly attend church." ChristiaNet.com is committed to addressing the devastating consequences that sexual addictions can have on a family and society by providing a safe environment for blogging discussions and referrals.

For more information visit ChristiaNet's website at: http://www.christianet.com

Posted at 04:55 PM | Permalink

From Time:

The least known but one of the most eagerly courted, screening committees for the next G.O.P. presidential nominee met recently in Colorado Springs, Colo., amid the panoramic opulence of the Broadmoor Hotel and Resort. The four-day meeting of affluent Evangelicals was billed as a "summer family retreat," and the kids rode ponies and played water sports while their folks chewed over immigration and gay marriage. The political group, called Legacy, aims for mystique: it has received no media attention and is unknown even on the Web. Yet all the marquee '08 Republican candidates have spoken to Legacy or met with its founders, having come to regard the group as a prime audience in these early days of raising money and trying to conjure momentum. "If you're running for President," said a close associate of President George W. Bush's, "it is the place to go." One of the group's first projects: supplying cash and ground troops to help South Dakota's John Thune beat Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle in 2004. Thune, a presidential prospect, electrified the Broadmoor audience, which also heard from Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn of Texas.

Legacy was started by two Dallas businessmen: Ray Washburne, a real estate and Tex-Mex-restaurant baron, and George Seay III, founder of the Seay Stewardship & Investment Co. and grandson of former Texas Governor Bill Clements. Its members are mostly young--in their 30s and 40s--and wealthy, through entrepreneurship, inheritance or both. They are Christians concerned with social justice, in the mold of Rick Warren of Purpose Driven Life fame, and practice their faith without, as a Broadmoor attendee put it, "quoting Leviticus"--a reference to the harder-edged rhetoric at other gatherings of social conservatives.

Organizers declined to be interviewed, saying they want to continue working below the radar. Cornyn tells TIME that the founders "have been beneficiaries of the political activity of their parents, and want to step up now that they're the next generation in line." Legacy, he says, fills "a vacuum between national organizations and political activists who are grandparents."

Speakers at the retreat in late July, which drew 165 families, included Matt Daniels of the Alliance for Marriage, and an immigration panel featured tax-cut leader Grover Norquist and Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio host and blogger. Reflecting Legacy's aim for social impact, Gary Haugen of International Justice Mission talked about heading the U.N. genocide investigation in Rwanda. Audience members rose to describe a trip they had taken there. The weekend ended in the Cheyenne Lodge with a family worship service led by Mark Brewer of California's Bel Air Presbyterian Church. He was Ronald Reagan's last pastor, now ministering to a group hungry to amplify Reagan's spirit.

Posted at 10:02 AM | Permalink

On his website pastors.com, the Purpose Driven pastor, Rick Warren, is spreading lies about stem cells to further his far Right, "pro-family" agenda. Despite a consensus in the medical community that embryonic stem cells show much more promise than adult stem cells for curing disease, pastor Warren has posted an article by a "specialist" who erroneously claims the opposite to be true:

I and others with disabilities have been closely monitoring the debate between adult and embryonic cells, and we know there isn’t an embryonic cell treatment that heals even a rat [...] True, many adult stem cell therapies are not yet bona fide cures, but so far, they have proven substantially more successful than embryonic stem cell approaches. That is why I am grateful that President Bush continues to uphold the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

In the past, Warren has claimed that supporting stem cell research defies the teachings of Christ. He says opposing embryonic stem cell research is "non-negotiable" and "not even debatable" for people of values. Obviously, Warren is allowed his opinion, but like Karl Rove (who recently made false claims about the value of adult stem cells too) Warren needs to stop his disinformation campaign. In addition to being posted on his website, the article was sent by Warren to over 110,000 pastors who subscribe to his "Minister's Toolbox" newsletter. Last time we checked, lying was a "non-negotiable" sin in the eyes of the Lord.

Posted at 05:28 PM | Permalink

Not to be outdone by Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ or The Da Vinci Code craze, the director of Titanic and Terminator 2 is producing a new documentary called The Exodus Decoded. The documentary hopes to "prove" that the Red Sea actually parted in Old Testament times, allowing the Jews to escape the pharaoh’s army. If Exodus Decoded is successful, maybe Jerry Bruckheimer can produce a documentary proving that Jonah lived inside orca's belly. [From The Sunday Times]:

Volcanic eruption 'triggered biblical parting of Red Sea'
THE greatest story ever told has acquired a Hollywood twist. James Cameron, the director of Titanic, is the executive producer of a new documentary that claims to have uncovered fresh evidence confirming one of the most dramatic episodes in the Old Testament — the parting of the Red Sea and the Jewish exodus from Egypt.

In The Exodus Decoded, a 90-minute documentary that will be shown in America this month, Cameron and Simcha Jacobovici, the Canadian film producer, claim a volcanic eruption on the Greek archipelago of Santorini triggered a chain of natural catastrophes recorded in the Bible as the 10 plagues that God visited upon Egypt as punishment for enslaving the Jews.

Cameron believes the parting of the Red Sea may have been a tsunami that destroyed the pharaoh’s army as it pursued the escaping Jews. The documentary claims the episode occurred not at the Red Sea but at the smaller Sea of Reeds, a marshy area at the northern end of the Gulf of Suez. An underwater earthquake may have released poisonous gases that turned the waters red.

Jacobovici said “the common wisdom is there isn’t a single piece of archeological evidence backing up the biblical story of the exodus”. Jewish scholars have reluctantly concurred that an episode central to their faith — commemorated each year at Passover — may never have taken place.

Yet Cameron and Jacobovici claim to have unearthed more than a dozen archeological relics that suggest the exodus took place three centuries earlier than biblical scholars estimate. By reinterpreting artwork at museums in Luxor, Cairo, Athens and elsewhere, Jacobovici dates the exodus to around 1500BC.

That was about the time when some geologists believe the Santorini volcano, 400 miles north of Egypt, erupted in the eastern Mediterranean. Scientists and historians have long speculated that the 10 “plagues” suffered by Egypt might have been linked in a “domino theory” of natural causes.

The documentary’s website argues that a series of earthquakes may have “destabilised the entire Nile Delta system and resulted in part of the delta sliding off the African continental shelf”. This would have raised the level of land around the Sea of Reeds, believed to have been saltwater swamps around El Balah, the now extinct lake.

“In other words, the sea parted,” the website says. “Water would have cascaded from higher ground to lower ground . . . creating dry land on which the Israelites could cross. This event would also have caused an enormous ‘backsplash’ of water, a veritable tsunami. If the waves went a mere seven miles inland they would have engulfed the Egyptian army.”

The Exodus producers believe the waters were turned red by chemicals released by underwater tremors. Something similar happened to the lakes in Cameroon in 1986. If the waters were poisoned, amphibians would hop ashore, producing the biblical plague of frogs. When the frogs died, insects would have bred on their bodies leading to plagues of locusts, fleas and lice.

They in turn would have spread disease to humans, the plague of boils, and animals, the plague of dying livestock. They would also have threatened crops, forcing the Egyptians to store grain which might have then turned mouldy. Contaminated food might account for the plague of deaths among first-born Egyptian males. Weather conditions spawned by the eruption might also have caused the plagues of hailstorms and darkness.

“It’s individual pieces that start to form a compelling pattern,” said Cameron.

Related: Major News Outlet Claims Noah's Ark Discovered

Posted at 09:05 AM | Permalink

Yes, he's on their team now too, along with Kirk Cameron and Lisa Whelchel. [From Arizona Republic via The Right Reverend Rabbi Judah]

Alice Cooper shook the rock world in the 1970s with on-stage beheadings and songs about dead babies; now he's opening a Christian youth center in Phoenix.

The $3 million center Cooper is establishing with Grand Canyon University in Phoenix will be similar to a Boys Club with a school of rock and roll, a concert hall and sports activities -- except all will have a Christian thrust, the Arizona Republic reported Tuesday.

The United States "needs a good hypodermic needle shot of morality," said Cooper, the 58-year-old born-again son of a Christian minister and grandson of an evangelist.

The singer of "Dead Babies," "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "Welcome to My Nightmare" said the club called The Rock will offer a variety of wholesome activities free of charge to youth ages 12-18.

The project is still in the design stage and Cooper said he's looking to add corporate sponsors to help its funding with an eye toward starting construction next year.

Posted at 11:30 AM | Permalink

Former Survivor star and host of The View, Elisabeth Hasselbeck freaked the fuck out this morning discussing the morning-after pill. Evidently, taking the pill is a sin, even if your dad rapes you. Hasselbeck delivered a primetime speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention, which, of course, is the true sin. [via Gawker]

Posted at 10:01 AM | Permalink

R-Carlsbad and Mayor Jerry Sanders praise the unanimous Senate vote to place the Soledad cross under federal protection

From SignOnSanDiego:

The U.S. Senate approved a plan yesterday to transfer land beneath the Mount Soledad cross to the federal government, bolstering supporters who have been fending off efforts to remove the monument for nearly two decades.

The Senate's unanimous vote sent the cross-transfer plan to President Bush, which he is expected to sign. It creates what some consider an entirely new dynamic in the battle over the cross at the Mount Soledad war memorial, though others say the action is another hopeless attempt to preserve a symbol on city land that courts have said unconstitutionally favors one religion over others.

James McElroy, the attorney representing Philip Paulson — the Vietnam War veteran and atheist who filed a lawsuit over the Mount Soledad cross in 1989 — said the bill is “still unconstitutional.” [...]

“I guess the Senate has a short memory,” he said. “You've got a local issue here. What business does the federal government have getting involved?” [read it all]

Posted at 09:46 AM | Permalink

"Atlanta Braves pitcher and devout Christian John Smoltz, who once compared gay marriage to bestiality, spoke July 27 at Major League Baseball’s first-ever 'Faith Day."

Thankfully, Dobson's company will not be included in future events. [From SoVo via The Right Reverend Rabbi Judah:]

On July 27, the Atlanta Braves was the first Major League Baseball team to participate in the Christian “Faith Day” — a promotional event co-sponsored by the anti-gay Focus on the Family to get evangelical Christians to pack the stands of ballparks across the country.

"We have asked the promoter [Third Coast Sports] to not include Focus on the Family in our other two Faith Day events," Beth Marshall, Braves spokesperson, said Aug. 1. "We do not feel it is an appropriate connection for Focus on the Family to be part of this event."

Marshall declined further comment on the matter, but said the request was made two days ago.

The event that attracted some 3,000 members of local Christian churches to Turner Field on July 27, which included team speakers and Christian musicians, was begun in 2002 by Third Coast Sports. Until last week, Third Coast Sports’ “Faith Days” were only held at minor league games. [read the whole article]

Related Articles:
— Faith Night?!
— Colorado Rockies Turn America's Pastime Into Jesus' Pastime

Posted at 01:44 AM | Permalink

What would Jesus do, you ask, if he were alive and well on Earth today? He'd rent an airplane and terrorize Cleveland with pictures of aborted fetuses. After all, it's much cheaper than feeding the homeless people down below. [From Cleveland Plain Dealer via Talk2Action]

As a shock tactic, a national group that opposes abortion plans to fly a billboard-size picture of an aborted fetus over Cleveland beginning Monday.

The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, which frequently employs such attention-grabbing advertising, hopes to jar people into reconsidering their support of abortion, director Gregg Cunningham said.

He said the banner would be the most graphic picture ever displayed from the air.

"It will be categorically the most shocking we have ever done," he said. "The imagery is so horrifying that I can't almost stand to look at it."

Cunningham wouldn't describe the advertisement, which also displays a toll-free number to the organization. But he said the advertisement would compare an aborted fetus to a second graphic image related to the war in the Middle East.

"This thing just sucks the wind out of even me," he said.

The California-based group, which has an office in Columbus, is best known for displaying on college campuses giant photos of mutilated bodies of genocide victims or lynchings next to photos of aborted fetuses.

The group advocates nonviolence, but its displays often set off aggressive protests that result in vandalism and lead to arrests.

The group's nonprofit status prevents it from campaigning for candidates or ballot issues, but it is targeting Ohio because of its heated races for governor and other statewide offices. The group flew pictures above Cincinnati and Columbus in the weeks leading up to Ohio's May primary as part of its 2006 Key States Initiative.

Cunningham said the group is spending millions of dollars on the campaign, which he said is not political.

"We know from a great deal of market research that people who see what abortion does to a baby are less likely to support abortion rights," he said.

Comparing his campaign to the civil rights and anti-war movements, he said, "Social reform is driven by horrifying pictures of injustice."

Kellie Copeland, president of the NARAL-Pro Choice Ohio, a group that supports abortion rights, dismissed the banner campaign as a gimmick.

She said that if the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform "is really concerned about reducing the number of abortions, they should help us and other groups trying to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, because that is what works."

Of the group's influence on this year's election, Copeland said, "I don't believe these tactics will have any impact at all."

Posted at 02:52 PM | Permalink

In the fallout following Mel Gibson's bizarre anti-Semitic tirade, a planned miniseries about the Holocaust (which would have been directed by Gibson) has been cancelled. [from NY Times]

On Monday, Hope Hartman, a spokeswoman for Disney’s ABC television network, said the company was dropping its plans to produce a Holocaust-themed miniseries in collaboration with Mr. Gibson.

“Given that it’s been nearly two years and we have yet to see the first draft of a script, we have decided to no longer pursue this project with Icon,” Ms. Hartman said, referring to Mr. Gibson’s production company.

She did not connect the project’s termination to Mr. Gibson’s remarks. But his statements had already attracted sharp criticism from some who argued that he should be disqualified from moving ahead with the series, despite having apologized for several anti-Jewish statements.

“I don’t think he should be doing a film on the Holocaust,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, who had previously criticized what he saw as anti-Semitic overtones in Mr. Gibson’s hit, “The Passion of the Christ.” “It would be like asking someone associated with the K.K.K. to do a movie on the African-American experience.” [read it all]

This begs the question, why would such an obvious anti-Semite want to do a miniseries on the Holocaust anyway? If he gets convicted of a crime, maybe Mel will be reassigned. You know, as a public service advertisement.

Posted at 09:51 AM | Permalink