Kim Kardashian gets Spritual

Kim Kardashian says she wants to start a Bible study. Before going to church this weekend in Los Angeles, the TV reality star told her 12 million Twitter followers "On my way to church with the girls!" and later she tweeted, "I want to start a bible study group with my friends!" Kardashian told CNN's Piers Morgan that she gives 10% of whatever she makes to the LifeChange Community Church. Her mother started the Calabasas, California congregation last year. The pastor, Brad Johnson, officiated at the marriage of Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom. There have been rumors that Kim Kardashian has a crush on Tim Tebow but the Denver quarterback has turned aside her overtures.

Twitter Censoring Messages

Twitter Inc., the microblogging service, gave itself extra flexibility to censor information in parts of the world that impose restrictions on self-expression. Effective yesterday, Twitter added the ability to censor tweets on a country-by-country basis, rather than globally, the San Francisco-based company said in a blog post.
 

The shift would let Twitter comply with strictures in one country without having to pull offending tweets from its entire audience. Previously, Twitter banned offensive content on a global basis, rather than for a specific nation. Still, the decision drew criticism from some users because the service has been used as an agent of social change around the world, including the Middle East.

Some Twitter users are calling for a boycott of the service tomorrow in protest of the decision. They’re using “#TwitterBlackout” as a hash tag -- a label that lets people easily find tweets on the same topic.

Reporters Without Borders, an organization that seeks to defend freedom of information, also said it was disturbed by Twitter’s decision.

Read more here

PBS on ‘The Evangelical Vote’

PBS’s Religion & Ethics Newsweekly takes a look at Evangelicals and their views on the Republican presidential race, particularly the religious views of Mitt Romney.

Watch The Evangelical Vote on PBS. See more from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.

Appeal Court: Student Expulsion Could be Religious Hostility

An appeals court has sided with a student who was expelled from her university for refusing to counsel a client about a same-sex relationship. Julea Ward told professors at Eastern Michigan University her Christian faith prevented her from supporting the sexual orientation of gay clients. She asked to have a gay client referred to another counselor. Instead, she was kicked out of school. A judge said the university was within its right to remove her from the program since she was unwilling to fulfill its requirements for a counseling degree. But today, the Sixth Appeals court said Ward's claim could be legitimate and sent it back to the lower court for further consideration. The judges said that she may have been dismissed because of "hostility toward her speech and faith." A spokesperson for the school says the case is really about doing what's best for the client.  The decision returns the case to the district court for a jury trial. The Sixth Circuit includes Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, so the legal precedent applies only to those states.

Church Bans Girl Scout Troop

St. Timothy Catholic Church in Chantilly, Virginia will not allow a Girl Scout troop to use its facilities any longer. The pastor says the decision was based on the Scout's association with Planned Parenthood. The Girl Scout have issued a statement denying any relationship between it and Planned Parenthood.

Churches Ask for Captioning Exemptions

Some 80 religious programmers are asking the FCC to exempt them from the Commission's new closed captioning rules because of financial hardship. This past fall, the FCC told more than 500 programmers, most of them religious broadcasters, that their exemptions would no longer apply and they would have to refile for a new exemption by January 18 (last Wednesday). Programmers were told they would have to fully document their financial resources and show that providing captioning would put an undue burden on the organization. This time, the Commission says it wants to look at the resources of the whole organization and not just the TV program itself. Most of those filing for the new exemption are churches with weekly TV broadcasts, such as Curtis Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia and Dilworth Church of Christ in Jasper, Alabama.

Why Evangelicals Don’t Like Mormons

The New York Times takes a shot at answering the question "Why Evangelicals Don’t Like Mormons" here.

Heavy Metal Rock Star to Seminary

The bass player for Megadeth -  is taking seminary classes. David Ellefson, an original member of the legendary band is now an online student in the Specific Ministry Program at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, which is associated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Ellefson grew up on an farm in Minnesota where he attended Our Savior's Lutheran Church. He moved to LA and became the Megadeth bass player. Despite immediate success came addictions. He entered a recovery program at the age of 25 where he embraced his faith again. Ellefson got involved in a Lutheran church in Arizona, starting a music ministry called MEGA life. Ellefson has two more years of online classes at the seminary before he becomes eligible for ordination. At the same time, he's still a part of Megadeth, which begins a new tour with Motorhead next week. He's been quoted as saying, "I love praise and worship music, and I love heavy metal."

Suit over Bible Club

The Dysart Unified School District is facing a lawsuit over its refusal to allow a Christian club at West Point Elementary, in Surprise, Arizona. Child Evangelism Fellowship wanted to give out a flier and permission slips for after-school meetings for one of its Good News Club. The problem started when the school wanted to give out fliers about the after-school program but the school district said "no" because the religious nature of the information. The Alliance Defense Fund filed the suit and says that courts have consistently ruled that such a policy is discriminatory because the decision is based solely on it having religious content.

Pagan Mom Wants to Hand out Literature at School

A North Carolina school is refusing to allow the mother of a student to give out pagan spell books at the school. Ginger Strivelli, who practices Witchcraft, wanted to hand them out at North Windy Ridge intermediate school in Asheville. She was upset that her son came home with a Bible given out by the Gideons International at the school. The Buncombe County school board is reviewing its policies on allowing groups to distribute religious literature on campuses. A decision is expected at its next meeting, scheduled for February 2nd.

Christian Radio Station expands

KSBJ radio in Houston is buying another station in the market for more than $2 million. The noncommercial Christian station is taking over KNTE at 96.9 on the FM dial, which currently carries a Spanish contemporary format. KSBJ already owns six FMs and has the construction permit for another.

Robbery at AOG Credit Union

The Assemblies of God Credit Union, just a few miles from the denominations headquarters, was robbed this morning by a man claiming to have a gun. Local paper the News-Leader has this video report.

John 3:16 ad

Here's the video of the Focus on the Family ad that ran during the Denver Broncos playoff game. The ad focuses on the favorite Bible verse of Bronco's quarterback, Tim Tebow.

The Con Man turned Inmate turned Pastor turned Fraud Fighter turned Movie Maker turned Con Man

Read the remarkable saga of Barry Minkow from Fortune magazine here. Below is the video 60 Minutes did on Minkow in 2005 related to his scams and work for the FBI. A CBS article titled Barry Minkow: 3 Lessons from Fraud-Fighter's Fraud Arrest is here.

Focus On The Family Spot During NFL Playoff

Focus on the Family ran a 30 second ad during the second quarter of the Denver-New England playoff game. It showed children reciting Bible verse John 3:16. Denver quarterback Tim Tebow has been associated with the verse. The children appeared against the same type of white background that Tebow and his mom did during a 2010 Super Bowl ad. The organization said the money to buy the spot came from donors and not from its operating budget, which was just over $102 million.

This is Religious Freedom Day

Each year, the President of the United States declares January 16th to be Religious Freedom Day and calls upon Americans to "observe this day through appropriate events and activities in homes, schools, and places of worship." The day is the anniversary of the passage, in 1786, of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. The goal is the promotion and protection of students' religious expression rights by informing educators, parents, and students about these liberties.

Evangelical Leaders Throw Support to Santorum

Some 150 influential Evangelical leaders meeting in Texas have endorsed the presidential bit of Rick Santorum shortly ahead of the South Carolina primary. The group met at a ranch outside of Houston in an effort to consolidate their support behind one candidate rather than splinter the conservative vote. Evangelicals and social conservatives make up more than half of the Republican electorate in South Carolina. Those attending include Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, American Family Association founder Don Wildmon, and American Values president Gary Bauer.

Tewbowie

Comedian Jimmy Fallon sang a re-written version of David Bowie's song Space Oddity on his Late Night show this week, making the song about Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. Among the lyrics:

"Tim Tebow to Jesus Christ...can't win by myself, but with your help I might. Tim Tebow to Jesus Christ, commencing fourth-down hut, hut, hike. Snap the football and may God's love be with me. This is Jesus Christ to Tim Tebow...please leave me alone...don't you know my day of rest is Sunday...and I'm sick of watching all these Broncos games. I hear that you play New England next week. Dude you're on your own. Brady is too good and I have better things to do."

The clip has gotten nearly a million views and is posted below.

David Letterman's Top Ten

CBS Late Show host David Letterman used Bronco's quarterback Tim Tebow for one of his Top Ten lists this week. Here's Letterman's Top Ten Little Known Things about Tim Tebow: 10. Fell to Earth after his home planet Krypton exploded 9. Throws left, prays right 8. For breakfast has Icy Hot on toast 7. If you tell him your street address, he'll tell you the value of your home 6. Currently ninth on the Kim Kardashian athlete waiting List 5. Back in college, threw a football twenty yards! 4. One time, lost his temper and said "Darn it!" 3. Distracts defenders by flashing his beautiful, piercing blue eyes 2. Justin Bieber fans have "Bieber Fever"; Tim Tebow fans have "The Tebola Virus" 1. Can turn water into Gatorade

Tebow's Charity

Donations to Tim Tebow's charitable foundation since he took the helm of the Broncos. The Foundation expects to meet the fund-raising goal of $2.5 million soon, well ahead of the start of its fiscal year. Donors who give $25 get a Team Tebow T-shirt, car decal and information on where to volunteer at a foundation community function. Within 48 hours of his win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, membership went from 100 to more than 4000. Tebow pays all of the foundation staff and administrative costs, so that all donations go to the outreach efforts. One of the the efforts of his foundation is allowing children with serious health problems to visit him on the field before a game. Tebow flies them and their family to the game, pays for their hotel and meals, gets them pre-game passes and visits with them after the game, often walking to the car with them. Find out more here or watch the video below.

Tim Tebow: Everything in Between Interview & Production Outtakes from FCTN on Vimeo.

Dead Sea Scroll Exhibit

A Houston man is giving $1 million to help fund an exhibit of fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Gary Loveless founded Square Mile Energy and is a member of the seminary's board of trustees. The exhibit will be open from July until January of next year.

Pastors Gather over Politics

More than 100 conservative Christians and evangelical leaders are gathering in Texas this weekend to discuss which of the GOP candidates they will be backing in the race for the White House. Here's an ABC video report on the gathering.

Survey of Mormons

Here are some of the results of a new survey of Mormons by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

• Mormons make up less than 2% of the U.S. population.
• 97% of Mormons overwhelmingly consider themselves to be Christians. 
• 62% say Americans know little or nothing about their religion. 
• 46% see a lot of discrimination against Mormons. 
• 63% say acceptance of their faith is rising. Seven of 10 Mormons scored highly on worship attendance, frequency of prayer and the view that religion is important in their lives.

Tim Tebow and.. Katy Perry?

Katy Perry's mom wants her daughter to date Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, according to OK Magazine. The singer only recently announced her divorce from comedian Russell Brand. A source tells OK! magazine, ”Katy’s mom firmly believes.. Tebow is the perfect guy for her daughter. He’s handsome, charming, intelligent and above all, a good Christian.”  Katy herself has "mentioned on more than one occasion how much she likes Tim.” Her parents have even invited Tebow to speak at their church in Huntington Beach, California. The Denver Broncos starting quarterback has become well-known for his outspoken Christian beliefs and charity work while Brand, a recovering alcoholic mocked Perry's parents and beliefs by telling off-color jokes. Meanwhile, Katy's dad apologized for remarks he made at an Ohio church that some took as anti-Semitic. Keith Hudson said in an written apology, he is not an anti-Semite and "I deeply regret the hurtful and ugly language I used in my message in Ohio."