Abortion Billboard Removed

Pirates Murder Couple Giving Out Bibles

African Pirates have killed an American couple delivering Bibles around the world. Jean and Scott Adam were sailing around the world when their yacht was hijacked by Somali pirates. A US Navy ship was following the yacht when the Adams and another couple were killed. The Adams passed out Catholic Bibles from the American Bible Society and New International Version Bibles from the International Bible Society. Scott Adam earned a master of theology degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California last year.

Hate Crime in Washington State

Someone wrote disparaging remarks about Jesus, and painted swastikas on vehicles at a residence in North Spokane. Someone left a burned Bible on a nearby porch. Police are looking into it as a hate crime.

Couple Denied Entry at Museum

Kentucky's Creation Museum would not allow a same-sex couple entry during a date night event. The two men claim they also did not get a refund. The two tickets cost them $71.90. A Museum spokesperson said the promotional material indicated the event, including a talk from founder Ken Ham about love and marriage, was for heterosexual couples only. A local writer had suggested on his blog that it was the "duty of his readers to send a flamboyantly gay couple" to the event.

Church Attendance

The number of people attending mainline churches is dropping, according to a yearly report, produced by the National Council of Churches. Meanwhile, the only religious groups showing increases are Jehovah's Witnesses and the Seventh-Day Adventists (up more than 4%), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (up just over 1%), the Catholic church and the Assemblies of God (up just over one-half of one percent), and the Church of God Cleveland (up about a quarter of one percent).

Here are the mainline churches reporting declines in membership:

United Church of Christ, down 2.83%
Presbyterian Church, USA, down 2.61%
Episcopal Church, down 2.48%
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. down 1.96%
American Baptist Churches USA, down 1.55%
Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod), down 1.08%
United Methodist Church, down 1.01%

The Southern Baptist church also fell about half of one-percent.

Benny Hinn Lawsuit

A lawsuit against Benny Hinn claims the televangelist broke a morality clause in a contract between them. Strang Communications says it gave Hinn $300,0000 for three books he was going to write and Strang was going to publish. But the suit claims he violated a morality clause in the book contract when he started what's described in the document as an "inappropriate relationship" with another popular charismatic figure, namely, Paula White. The court document says Hinn admitted to having an "inappropriate relationship" with White this past fall and agreed to return the money but he never has given it back. A tabloid newspaper printed pictures of the couple last year entering and leaving an Italian hotel, holding hands. Both have denied a romantic relationship, although White has been divorced twice and last year Hinn's wife left him and filed for divorce.