Marco Rubio's Faith

The church history of a potential Republican vice presidential candidate is raising eyebrows among Evangelicals. Florida Senator was a Mormon until his family converted to Catholicism when he was 12 years old. Rubio was baptized as a Mormon as a child, but married in a Catholic church. In recent years, Rubio has regularly attended Christ Fellowship, a Southern Baptist church in Miami while attending Mass in Washington, DC when the Senate is in session. He has referred to himself as both a Baptist and a Roman Catholic.  Rubio's memoir may attempt to clear the air on his church affiliation - it's due out this fall.

On this Date.. Feb 25

On this date in 2004, Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ premiered.

Tebow signs with WME

Tim Tebow has signed up with the William Morris Endeavor agency based in New York. Tebow decided to let the large talent agency handle his endorsements, books, personal appearances, and any television or movie roles after deciding it was too much for his brother and a close friend. Tebow turned down offers to host Saturday Night Live and appear on late-night talk shows.

Linspired

A book about New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin is due out in April. Titled Linspired, the bio is written by Mike Yorkey, and there will be two versions - one for adults and one for youth. The publisher, Zondervan, already has a youth-version biography of Tim Tebow. Lin says this about the coming book:

"I'm not exactly sure how it is all going to turn out, but I know for a fact that God has called me to be here now in the NBA. And this is the assignment that He has given me. I know I wouldn't be here if that wasn't the case. Just looking back, though, it's been a huge miracle. I can see His fingerprints everywhere."

Posthumous Mormon Baptism

The Mormon church is being accused of posthumously baptized Holocaust victim Anne Frank. Just a week ago the church apologized for doing the same thing to the parents of Holocaust survivor and Jewish rights advocate Simon Wiesenthal. Mormons believe the baptism ritual allows deceased people a way to the afterlife. Here's a riff by comedian Stephen Colbert about the topic from last night.

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Campus to be Given Away to Christian School

An Oklahoma family worth billions is giving away an entire college campus. There are 15 schools in the running to take over what was supposed to be a new college named after CS Lewis. The institution never materialized because the CS Lewis Foundation in California has had trouble raising the money to get the school off the ground. Now the family that owns the Massachusetts property and made its fortune through the Hobby Lobby craft store chain, has 43 buildings on more than 200 acres ready for use, but no school. They put $5 million into making improvements to the campus and say they want to see it used by a Christian school - provided the new administrators can show an orthodox Christian vision and that there is enough money to keep it going. The facilities are sometimes referred to as the "Moody Campus" because evangelist DL Moody preached once there. Among the schools in the running: Liberty, Azusa Pacific, and Indiana Wesleyan.

Bob Green Dies

The ex-husband of Anita Bryant has died. Read the story here.

Christian Singer on "The Voice"

The son of megachurch pastor Tony Evans appeared on NBC's The Voice Monday night. Anthony Evans was accompanied to the audition with Kirk Franklin and his father, who watched backstage. Evans sang Marvin Gaye's What's Going On? and Christina Aguilera picked him to work with. The celebrities on the show get to select a dozen singers each. Evans says, "The struggle I have as a Christian artist is people would say 'who is he? He needs to define himself as a gospel act or a contemporary Christian act. I wanted to define myself as Anthony Evans which is straight up the middle. 'The Voice' asked me to be myself and so that's the whole reason why I'm here." Here's the video of his audition.

Dove Nominees

Nominees for the Gospel Music Association Dove Awards are out. Winners will be announced in Atlanta on April 19. Here are some of the nominees:

Male Vocalist of the Year
Chris August
Chris Tomlin
Jason Crabb
Kirk Franklin
Steven Curtis Chapman

Female Vocalist of the Year
Francesca Battistelli
Kari Jobe
Laura Story
Mandisa
Natalie Grant


Group of the Year
Casting Crowns
David Crowder*Band
Gaither Vocal Band
NEEDTOBREATHE
The Isaacs

For more click here.

Megachurch Wins Suit

Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston has won a copyright lawsuit. Read the details here.

Santorum's Satan Comments

Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum is being criticized for comments he made about Satan and America - four years ago. He told an audience at Florida's Ave Maria University,

"Satan is attacking the great institutions of America, using those great vices of pride, vanity, and sensuality as the root to attack all of the strong plants that has so deeply rooted in the American tradition... This is a spiritual war. And the Father of Lies has his sights on what you would think the Father of Lies would have his sights on: a good, decent, powerful, influential country - the United States of America. If you were Satan, who would you attack in this day and age?"

Matt Drudge highlighted the comments on his website today for several hours after RightWingWatch posted a video on YouTube that featured the audio from the Santorum speech. It comes just days after Santorum used the phrase “phony theology” in relation to Barack Obama. Santorum later said "theology" was a just a slip and he meant to refer to Obama’s “radical” environmental views.

Below you can hear the audio of his comments at Ave Maria.

Graham Accused of Double Standard

Franklin Graham appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe and discussed the faith of President Obama, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. The interview is below.

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Active Faith Bands

Look closely at the wrist of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin and you'll see a wristband from Active Faith. The apparel company is the creation of NBA players Lanny Smith and Anthony Tolliver. Both are members of the Houston-based Lakewood Church where Joel Osteen is pastor. The one Lin wears is available here. The website says Active Faith aims to:

“use the platform and visibility that athletics gives to bring glory to God’s name…. More than ever it seems athletes are more open about expressing their faith and being bold about their love for Christ. We are proud to be at the forefront of this movement that is spreading the Gospel to so many people.”

Lin's Faith

New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin says he's grateful for how he has been blessed.  Lin said in a recent post-game interview, "I'm just thankful to God for everything. Like the Bible says, 'God works in all things for the good of those who love Him.'" Lin became a Christian as a freshman in high school, leading his team in California to a state championship before playing college basketball for Harvard. Active in the chapter of InterVarsity at Harvard and in 2010, he told Patheos.com about the importance of his faith:

"Not just in basketball, but I think in life, when you're called to be a Christian, you're automatically called to be different from everyone else. In today's world of basketball, it makes you really different, because the things that society values aren't necessarily in line with what God values. Much of it comes down to humility. We as Christians are called to be humble. And if we really understand the Gospel, we will be humble. We should be humble, and understand that everything that is good comes from God."

Graffiti: "Death to Christianity"

A church in Jerusalem was vandalized early this morning with graffiti. Someone painted on the walls of the Baptist Narkis Street Congregation "Death to Christianity," a profanity about Jesus, and the words "Price Tag." That's a slogan sometimes used by nationalist Jewish settlers referring to attempts by the Israeli government to stop settlements in the occupied West Bank. Some care tires were slashed in the church's parking lot as well.

Linsanity!

The pastor of the New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin says the NBA star is staying in close contact with him. Stephen Chen, pastor of Redeemer Bible Fellowship in Mountain View, California, has told the media:

"It would be foolish to say that I'm not concerned with the temptations that are out there. The Scripture talks about the devil lying in wait like a lion waiting to devour. All Christians would be foolish to underestimate the devil. I did remind him of the Gospel and for him to continue to set his vision upon Christ."

Lin has become a basketball sensation after the Harvard graduate born in Taiwan has risen global fame within a few short weeks of remarkable play on the court.