Saturday, July 3, 2010

Regent Struggling

Regent University is in serious financial trouble, but a cash infusion from Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network will help. Robertson serves as Regent's chancellor and president. He agreed to loosened restrictions on a $95-million gift CBN made to the university. Now the school can spend the money freely. Deficits were about 26% for the school between 2007 and 2009 and its endowment draw more than double the normal payout rate last year. Increased enrollment has helped the school is operating with only enough cash to keep it going for six days. Moody's Investment Services says the university will likely continue experiencing deficits.

Beliefnet Sold

Fox Network owner Rupert Murdoch has sold Beliefnet.com to the owners of Affinity4. The company is operated by a group of Evangelicals. Beliefnet was started in 1999 by Steven Waldman who had worked at the Washington Monthly and Newsweek magazines. Waldan sold his stake in Beliefnet to Mr. Murdoch in 2008. He is and now working for the Federal Communications Commission.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Candy Cane Suit

A lawsuit over candy canes will move forward. A federal appeals court has refused to dismiss a suit against two Dallas-area elementary school principals who told students to stop giving out Christian candy cane pens and making other religious expressions at the school. They argued there is no "First Amendment's freedom of speech protection" for "non-curricular materials in public elementary schools." The judges simply wrote "They are wrong."

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Getting to Know.. Robert Schuller

1926: Born in Alton, Iowa
1950: Earns bachelor of divinity degree from Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan

1950: Ordained a minister of the Reformed Church in America

1950: Marries Arvella DeHaan

1950: Serves as pastor of Ivanhoe Reformed Church in Chicago 1955: Founds the Garden Grove Community Church in Orange County

1961: Dedicates the first walk-in, drive-in church.

1968: Dedicates the Tower of Hope, a 14-story office and counseling center 1970: Begins broadcasting the Hour of Power TV ministry

1980: Dedicates the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California

1980: Launches The Glory of Christmas pageant

1985: Launches The Glory of Easter pageant

1986: Becomes the only nonarchitect to be elected to the board of the American Institute of Architects

1989: Mikhail Gorbachev invites Schuller to speak on a telecast to the entire Soviet Union

1996: Declares his son, Robert A. Schuller to be his successor

2003: Completes $40-million International Center for Possibility Thinking

2006: Announces he is turning over Crystal Cathedral leadership to his son, Robert A. Schuller

2006: Turns over leadership of the Crystal Cathedral to his son, Robert A. Schuller

2008: Removes his son as preacher on the church's weekly Hour of Power and Robert A. Schuller soon resigns from leadership at the Crystal Cathedral

2009: Robert A. Schuller announces his company has acquired cable network AmericanLife TV from the Unification Church

2009: Announces that eldest daughter, Sheila Schuller Coleman, will take over leadership of his ministry

Monday, June 28, 2010

High Court Rules Against Christian Group

The Supreme Court says a Christian group on public college campuses must allow any student to join whether gay or atheist if the group is to be recognized by the school. San Francisco's University of California's Hastings College of the Law would not allow the Christian Legal Society to register as a student group because members were prohibited from "fornication, adultery and homosexual conduct" which violated the school's antidiscrimination policy. In the 5-4 ruling, the court found that the law school didn't violate the group's constitutional rights.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Seminary Dean Loses Position

The dean of the university founded by Jerry Falwell is out - at least as Dean. Ergun Caner will no longer be dean at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary when his term expires at the end of the month, but he will remain a member of the faculty. Caner had regularly told a story about his conversion to Christianity from Islam as a teenager, but his saga was called into question by bloggers. A board of trustees committee decided he had made contradictory statements. They say he has apologized for his comments that led to the review. He apparently was raised a Muslim but was not as serious about the religion as he has led people to believe.