KJV: 400th Birthday in May

The King James Version of the Bible will celebrate its 400th anniversary on May 2, 2011. More than 70 events are planned around Britain to mark the date. Ohio State University is planning a conference on the influence of the King James Bible.

Camel Falls in Church Program

Things didn't go right for a Florida church that used a camel in its Christmas program. Watch what happened during a rehearsal at First Baptist Church in West Palm Beach.

Jewish Speaker

An effort is underway to oust Republican Joe Straus from his position as speaker of the Texas House. Some in the Texas Tea Party wants a Christian speaker and Straus is Jewish. Emails are going around that say his rabbi is affiliated with Planned Parenthood. Joe Cook told supports, "We elected a house with Christian, conservative values. We now want a true Christian, conservative running it." Cook insists, "My e-mail said nothing about Jewish people. I just want Christian conservatives in office."

iPad Band

Northpoint Community Church in Atlanta features a band that uses iPads as instruments. Here's a video sample.

North Point's iBand from North Point Web on Vimeo.

Palin & Graham

Sarah Palin and Franklin Graham are heading to Haiti this weekend. The former governor and evangelist will visit a clinic where people are being treated for cholera. The disease has killed more than 2000 people in the country as it still is recovering from a devastating earthquake earlier this year. Graham's Samaritan's Purse has treated thousands of people in Haiti, building a cholera clinic and bringing in plane loads of medical aid into the country.

Blackmail Investigation Dropped

A police investigation into the Daystar TV network has ended. Marcus Lamb, who founded the network, says 3 former employees tried to extort money from him about an affair. But authorities say there does not appear to be any criminal conduct under the Texas Law. One of the former employees has filed a lawsuit again Lamb.

School Controversy over Gay Soccer oach

Belmont University is catching flack for the departure of its women's soccer coach. Some players, students and alumi believe Lisa Howe is no longer at the Tennessee school because she is a lesbian and expecting a child with her same sex partner. Belmont issued a statement insisting the decision was a mutual and the school doesn't consider sexual orientation in its hiring or dismissals. However, former players turned out to protest yesterday and about 50 showed up for a sit-in at the office of the school's president last Sunday. Belmont was affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention until 2007.

Elizabeth Edwards' Faith

An article from Politics Daily about why Elizabeth Edwards left God out of her last goodbye here.

Looking for a Leader

The Economist takes a look at leadership among Evangelicals here.

More on Megachurch Pastor Mediation Talks

Megachurch Pastor in Settlement Talks

Mediation for Long

Atlanta pastor Eddie Long has agreed to mediation with those who have accused him of multiple counts of sexual coercion when they were teenagers. Long hopes to avoid a trial, though he first said he would go to court to clear his name.

Grinch Alert

The 1st Baptist Church of Dallas has launched a website to indicate which North Texas businesses show outward support for Christmas through marketing, advertising and community relations. Consumers can visit GrinchAlert.com to suggest businesses or organizations that don't acknowledge Christmas which can land a group on the "Naughty List." Those celebrating Christmas get on the a "Nice List."

Watching over Baby Jesus

An article about Baby Jesus and GPS in USA Today here.

Most Muslims want Islam in politics

A majority of Muslims around the world want Islam to play a big role in their countries' political life. Here are some of the other findings of a new poll from the Pew Research Center:

Pakistani Muslims said they would support laws that would separate men and women at work.

Most Muslims in Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Nigeria want to change the law to allow stoning for adultery, hand amputation for theft and death for those who convert from Islam to another religion.

Even in Turkey, where 74% of Muslims say they are not fundamentalists, more than half are in favor of combining Islam and politics.

In Lebanon 84% say they are moderates.

59% in Egypt identify with fundamentalists.

58% in Nigeria identify with the fundamentalists.

Hamas and Hezbollah are supported in Jordon and Lebanon.

Al Qaeda was rejected by strong majorities in every Muslim country. Nigeria was the exception. Muslims there gave the group a 49% approval rating.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points for Pakistan and 4 percentage points for the other countries.

Build an Ark

The New York Times looks at plans in Kentucky to build a Noah's Ark Theme park in an article here.