Magistrate: Prayers Improper

A prayer before county commissioners meetings in Winston-Salem, North Carolina violates the First Amendment, according to a federal magistrate. But the decision carries no legal weight and the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners are not obligated to follow it. The magistrate based his opinion on frequent referrances to Jesus and he says the prayers "display a preference for Christianity over other religions by the government."

The Jesus Christians (JC's)

Some call the JC's a dangerous cult. KTTV-TV has this video report on a mother who says the California group
brainwashed her son and is now fighting to get him back.

Christianity and the Occult

In Kenya, the line between Christianity and the occult can get blurry. CNN's has this video report.

Car Tags Lose Court Battle

South Carolina will not be allowed to issue license plates with a cross and stained glass window with the phrase I Believe. A district judge (appointed by President Clinton) says it violates the First Amendment ban on establishment of religion by government. Christian groups plan to appeal - and work to get a similar plate issued using a state law that permits private groups to issue tags they design.

Cross Comes Down

The owners of dogs that killed a teenager forced his friends and classmates to remove a cross placed in his honor. The makeshift memorial for Justin Clinton along Highway 135 in Rusk County, Texas was taken down Saturday. It was originally placed there several months ago after Clinton died. The owners of the dogs said the memorial was placed on private, leased land and demanded that it come down.

Dobson Honor

One Year Ago.. James Dobson was indicted into the Museum of Broadcast Communications over the complaints of protestors. They gathered to object to the Focus on the Family radio host receiving the honor because of his position on homosexuality. The hall of fame does not take into account a nominee's political or religious views.

Graham Library Upgrade

The Billy Graham Library in Charlotte will close for a time next year for renovations. The facility opened two years ago, chronicling the life of the evangelist. Charlotte is Graham's hometown and the library has drawn more than 165,000 people since it opened at a cost of $27 million. Although the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association layed off more than 50 workers earlier this year, the Billy Graham library does not plan to let anyone go during the temporary shut down.

Agassi's Book

Andrea Agassi in his autobiography Open has this to say about references to God by frequent opponent Michael Chang:

"He thanks God - credits God - for the win, which offends me. That God should take sides in a tennis match, that God should side against me, that God should be in Chang's box, feels ludicrous and insulting. I beat Chang and savor every blasphemous stroke."

Charity Founder Fired

Feed The Children has fired founder and president Larry Jones. He admitted that he put hidden microphones in executive offices. Jones says he did nothing wrong and plans to file a lawsuit to get his job back. Prosecutors haven't said whether they are going to charge him with a crime. He's been battling the directors, along with his daughter, for more than a year. Jones tried to have his opponents fired last year but a judge reinstated them. He receives more than $230,000 from the Oklahoma-Based Christian relief organization which gets about one billion in donations each year, mostly from its television pleas featuring Jones.

Reader's Digest Project Dropped

Rick Warren and Reader's Digest magazine have called it quits less than a year after starting a multimedia project called the Purpose Driven Connection. Warren's Saddleback Church is taking over the operation and the quarterly print magazine will be completely discontinued. Reader's Digest filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year. Rick Warren is author of the best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life.

Breakaway Church

A church in Bessemer City, North Carolina is leaving the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Members of the Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church are troubled by the denomination's acceptance of same-sex relationships, voting 559-451 to break away.

Fastest Growing

Americans with no religious affiliation are the fastest growing segment of the religious landscape. Trinity College researchers say about 15% of the adult American population has have no religious affiliation. The number was 8% in 1990. They are more likely to be young and live in the Northeast or Pacific Northwest. And in Vermont, they comprise the largest single “denomination.” A majority of them believe in God and about a third pray each week. Less than 10% call themselves atheists.

Dad: God Is Punishing Her

Lindsay Lohan's dad says God is taking her career from her. Michael Lohan is quoted in the New York Post as saying, "She's forsaken everything He's given her and she's done nothing but misuse all the gifts she's given."

Drive-Through Prayer

A Phoenix church offers drive-through prayer. KPHO-TV reports.

Atheists Gather

Atheists and agnostics are gathering in Seattle this weekend. Some 600 people are expected at the annual convention of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Ron Reagan is among the speakers and events include the Nonprayer Breakfast planned for tomorrow.

GMA May Shut Down

The Gospel Music Association may not be around much longer. The option to close has been put on the table due to financial problems (debt around $800,00). The future of GMA week, held annually in Nashville, is in doubt even if the organization survives falling membership and interest.

Winans on Oprah

Oprah Winfrey says she won't let Gospel singer BeBe Winans back on her show any time soon. He appeared on her talk show last week as part of her show's karaoke challenge. But Winan's ex-wife is complaining that since Oprah said she would let Chris Brown on the show because of his domestic abuse, she should have waited until Winan's case is settled as well. He's charged with domestic assault and will be back in court at the first of the year.

Haggard Opening Church

Ted Haggard is stepping into the pulpit again. He's starting a church out of his house in Colorado Springs. The megachurch pastor was dismissed after an alleged a cash-for-sex relationship was revealed. The first gathering is this Sunday.

Maine Vote

Maine will not be the first state to approve same-sex marriage at the ballot box. Voters rejected a referendum that would have repealed the state lawing allowing same-sex marriage that had passed the Legislature and was signed by the governor. In every state in which gay marriage has been put to a vote (31) it has lost. The 5 states allowing gay marriage have done so through the courts or legislation.

Grapes of Galilee

Adam Haroz came back with more than just stories from his trip to Israel. Along with his father, who founded Haroz Vintners, he’s offering Grapes of Galilee, a wine that comes from Israel. The grapes are grown next to Nazareth by the Sea of Galilee. The wine is being pitched as something for Christians who “seek a physical connection to their spiritual homeland.”

Illinois Abortion Law

Chicago's WFLD-TV reports on an abortion notification law.

Nun Murdered In Church

KOAT-TV in Albuquerque has a video report on a nun who was killed on Halloween night.

Hidden Mics

Feed The Children founder Larry Jones placed hidden microphones in the organization’s headquarters in Oklahoma City. A private investigator found the devices planted in the ceilings of three offices used by leaders in the organization - executives Jones has been fighting with over control of the organization - including his daughter. Jones tried to fire all of them last year but a judge reinstated them to their positions. The director of Feed the Children was later let go and is suing over his dismissal. The charity pulls in more than a billion in donations each year.

The state has no law against secretly recording your own conversation but recording conversations you are not a part of is illegal.

Meyer in Murder Case

Televangelist Joyce Meyer may have to testify in a murder trial. KTVI-TV explains why.

Evangelical March

More than one and a half million Evangelicals took part in Brazil's annual March for Jesus today. It is organized by the Reborn in Christ Church, operated by a couple who just finished serving five months in prison and five months under house arrest in Florida for failing to declair $56,000 in cash they were carrying on a flight from Sao Paulo to Miami. While Brazil has a larger Roman Catholic population than any other country, the number of evangelicals continues to grow.

Book Burning "Sucess"

The Amazing Grace Baptist Church says its book burning was a "great success." Pastor Marc Grizzard says a video of the event will be up soon. Local authorities in Canton, North Carolina. had warned the congregation that it would be against the law. Grizzard and his followers said they planned to burn versions of the Bible other than the King James translation along with books by Billy Graham and Rick Warren.

On the Ballot

Maine and Washington state voters will decided tomorrow whether to give marriage rights to gay men and lesbians. Washington's Referendum 71 would give same-sex partners and unmarried seniors who live together the same rights as married couples. Although the proposed law explicitly states, "a domestic partnership is not a marriage." The Maine measure called Question 1 would remove a law from the books that allows same-sex marriage. The state also has a ballot measure on medical marijuana. It would increase the number of conditions that qualify for patients to buy marijuana.

Pastor Shooting Update

An update on the pastor shot and killed by undercover police near Atlanta. This video report comes from WAGA-TV.

Largest Building Program Ever

It's perhaps the largest church building program in modern history. First Baptist Church of Dallas has approved a $130 million plan to build a 3,000-seat worship center and a religious education building downtown near the city's arts district. The effort includes a glass concourse and a sky bridge. The congregation currently meets in a sanctuary built in 1890. Five buildings on the old campus will be destroyed to make way for the new facilities.

Dobson Group Banned

Focus on the Family has been banned from schools around Australia's capital city. The country's education department is looking into allegations about its practices related to homosexuality and promoting religion without parental consent. Focus programs have offered students information about marriage, pornography and abstinence.

Nativity Scene

WJBK-TV in Detroit reports on a Nativity scene removed suddenly after 63 years.

GMC Growth

The Gospel Music Channel is the fastest growing cable channel. From offices in Atlanta, it has gone from reaching about one million homes in 2004 to more than 46 million subscribers today. That's more than TeenNick (44 million) and NBA-TV (39 million). Charley Humbard, son of televangelist Rex Humbard, runs the privately held network. He previously worked at the Discovery Channel as a senior vice president. The network focuses on Christian music videos of every style. Some estimates put annual revenue for the Gospel Music Channel at more than $13 million.

Dobson Leaving Radio

You will soon no longer hear James Dobson's voice on the daily radio show Focus on the Family. He's leaving the organization's flagship daily broadcast at the end of February. Six years ago, the 73-yearl-old Dobson first started reducing his role in the ministry he founded. He gave up his position as board chairman in February.

Bible Suit Dismissed

A Knoxville, Tennessee jury has ruled against a students' claims that he could not read and discuss Bible passages during recess. Samuel and Tina Whitson filed a lawsuit on behalf of their son Luke asking for $1. But Knox County Schools says it is a misunderstanding of the school policy against adult-led Bible classes during school hours. Administrators insist student Bible reading is fine if they do it on their own.

Frat Suit Dismissed

An appeal by a Christian fraternity has been dismissed. Beta Upsilon Chi filed suit against the University of Florida because it refused to recognize it as an official organization. The 11th Curcuit decided the issue was merely academic because the university had amended its policy and allowed to register.

Atheism Debate

Atheist Christopher Hitchens and Pastor Douglas Wilson debate the existence of God on Joy Behar Show that aired HLN (CNN Headline News).

Grandma's Letter

A grandmother in England was scolded by local police complaining in a letter about a gay pride parade. 67-year-old Pauline Howe is the wife of a Baptist minister near Norwich. She wrote the parade was a "public display of indecency" and "offensive to God." Local officials investigated her as to whether she was engaged in "hate speech." Howe says her letter was not hate-based but she was "simply speaking as a Christian." She told the media she felt threatened when officers arrived at her door and gave her a tongue-lashing.

Scientology Decision

The Church of Scientology is calling a decision by a French court a "modern Inquisition." The church plans an appeal of today's verdict, convicting the cult and six of its members of organized fraud. They will spend as much as two years in prison and pay as much as $595,000 in fines. The 3-judge panel did not ban the church as prosecutors asked them to do. The issue came to court when two former members said the group defrauded them out of money.

Gay Debate at Christian Colleges

Gay issues take center stage at two Christian colleges in Grand Rapids, Michigan. WOOD-TV reports on issues.