NOTE: POSSIBLE WINTER WEATHER IN OUR AREA MAY NOT
ALLOW US TO COMPLETE THE MONDAY AND TUESDAY UPDATES. | Headlines for Weekend, January 8th-9th, 2011 | NEW AMERICAN: Americans Lack Faith in Obama’s Faith
Increasingly, Americans might say the following about Barack Obama: “He’s definitely a man who has faith….In what, I have no idea.” There’s good reason to wonder. Despite Obama’s claims of piety, his words and deeds speak otherwise. For example, during a trip to Indonesia, Obama told an audience that America’s motto was “E pluribus unum” (“From many, one” in Latin) when, in reality, “In God we trust” was made our official national motto by an act of Congress in 1956. And while this could be chalked up to ignorance, something else the president did cannot be. While rendering the Declaration of Independence line “they [all men] are endowed by by their Creator with certain..." MORE | Amish Migration Westward Spawns Curiosity & Criticism
The grumbling surfaced not long after the first Amish families moved to this sparsely populated farm region in the northeast corner of the state about a decade ago. Word spread that these Pennsylvania Dutch-speaking newcomers hated the government, didn't pay taxes, and wouldn't fight in a war. And then there were the whispers about intermarriage and suspicions of incest. "People didn't think too much of them the first few years," said Robert Aldridge, the county's presiding commissioner. Missouri is home to one of the fastest growing Amish populations in the United States.While the majority of the nation's 250,000 Amish still live in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana, a westward migration has pushed settlements into 28 states. MORE | | NPR: The Lasting Impact Of The King James Bible, 400 Years Later
The most widely published text in the English language, the King James Bible, was first released 400 years ago, this year. This version of the bible has had a lasting impact, not only on the Christian faith, but on the way English is spoken and written today. In Tell Me More's weekly "Faith Matters" segment, host Michel Martin speaks with renown religious scholar, Phillip Jenkins, about its legacy. MORE | VOICE OF AMIERICA: Iran Arrests Dozens of Evangelical Christians
Iran has reportedly arrested dozens of Christians, many of them converts from Islam, in a crackdown that began around Christmas. An Iranian official is accusing Protestant evangelical groups of causing a cultural invasion. Iranian opposition groups are reporting the arrests of dozens of evangelical Christians, many of whom are converts from Islam. Christian groups inside Iran say that the country’s Ministry of Islamic Guidance has also grilled dozens of Christians it accuses of proselytizing. MORE | Hagee Says Dividing Israel Is Not God's Will; Evangelicals Disagree
The new year has just begun but Pastor John Hagee, arguably the most vocal and controversial Christian Zionist in the nation, has already denounced any peace process between Israel and Palestinians that involves dividing the land of Israel as being against God’s will. In a Christians United for Israel webcast Thursday, Hagee cited several Old Testament verses to support his claim that God made an everlasting covenant with the Jewish people regarding their promised land. He pointed to Genesis 13:14-17, which says in part, “The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.” MORE | Franklin Graham to Lead Festival of Hope in Haiti
Almost a year has passed since the devastating earthquake hit close to Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, leaving over a million people homeless. It is in this desperate time that a Festival of Hope will be held with Franklin Graham. | Mormons Split Over Polygamy Practice, Expert Says At Trial
Even though the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially renounced polygamy in 1890, a religious studies expert says that mainstream Mormons are nearly evenly split over whether it should continue... | Conservative Groups Backing Away From CPAC
Several pro-family organizations have announced they won't attend an upcoming conservative gathering in Washington, DC, because among its sponsors is a homosexual activist group. | New Hampshire Supreme Court Hears Homeschool Case
The New Hampshire Supreme Court on Thursday heard arguments in a case of a Christian girl who was ordered out of homeschooling and into a public school by a state judge. | UK GUARDIAN: We Are Programmed to Believe in a God
As a psychologist, the focus of my work has been on people's reasoning about such things as God, the afterlife, and destiny. I am not a philosopher or a theologian, so I have not considered the actual existence of these... | More Young People Are Winding Up in Nursing Homes
Adam Martin doesn't fit in here. No one else in this nursing home wears Air Jordans. No one else has stacks of music videos by 2Pac and Jay-Z. No one else is just 26. It's no longer unusual to find a nursing home resident who is decades younger than his neighbor: | | Bible Believers Can't Shake Intolerant Image Without Scraping Bible, Says Atheist
A Texas atheist says “changing the face of Christianity” may mean throwing out the Good Book. Joe Zamecki, Texas State Director of the American Atheists, praises the new non-profit group Changing the Face of Christianity, Inc. for its efforts to eliminate the image of hypocrisy, homophobia and preconceived notions from within it ranks. However, as an atheist he contends that the only way to truly do so is to discontinue using the Bible. “If you ever want that friendly church, then throw out the book,” he shared in a phone interview. MORE | AMERICAN SPECTATOR: The Tea Party vs. the United Methodist Church
A prominent Tea Party activist recently called for shutting down the 7.8 million United Methodist Church, exciting the Huffington Post and various liberal bloggers. Tea Party Nation President Judson Phillips last month saw and disliked a banner at the Methodist Building on Capitol Hill demanding: "Pass the DREAM Act." The sign referred, of course, to now failed legislation seeking to legalize some illegal aliens brought to the U.S. as minors. "I have a DREAM," Phillips responded. "That is, no more United Methodist Church." He recalled having left Methodism as a teenager because the denomination is "little more than the first Church of Karl Marx" and the "'religious arm' of socialism." MORE | Senate Concludes Probe of 'Prosperity' Televangelists
A Senate investigation into the spending of six televangelists concluded Thursday with a list of concerns and a call for the formation of a federal advisory committee to ensure religious organizations comply with laws. | Bible, Baptism...and Beer?
A Minnesota bar is one of the unconventional places of worship around the country fostered by an evangelical movement known as "the emerging church." It was a Sunday during Advent, and inside a small pub a few blocks up from the north shore of Lake Superior, 17 people gathered around four bar-top tables shoved into a ring. | YWCA Loses Christianity From Title
The Young Women's Christian Association, which is one of Britain's oldest charities, has dropped the word "Christian" from its name to better reflect its role in society. | Tight Security, Somber Mood Mark Christmas in Egypt
Coptic Christians in Egypt observed a somber Christmas Eve Thursday as the memory of the grisly New Year’s Eve church bombing that killed 21 people was still fresh on everyone’s mind. | Report Rips IRS 'Torment' of Taxpayers
The IRS is tormenting struggling taxpayers in the midst of the nation’s economic woes, the agency’s internal watchdog charged in a scathing report released Wednesday. | God Was Behind Big Bang, Says Pope
God's mind was behind complex scientific theories such as the Big Bang, and Christians should reject the idea that the universe came into being by accident, Pope Benedict said on Thursday. | 'Generation Ex-Christian' Uncovers Why People Leave the Faith
Research and surveys show that many atheists, agnostics, and spiritual- seekers who lack religious affiliation are former Christians. | Video Contest Asks Youths: Is Lifelong Marriage Possible?
The National Organization for Marriage is encouraging youths to consider lifelong marriage with a video making contest called Reel Love Challenge. | | |
