WRIGHT'S RETURN

Barak Obama's longtime pastor returned to his Chicago church last night for a service held in his honor and was greeted by thunderous applause. Speakers at the Trinity United Church of Christ told the congregation the church "would not be silent" and that Wright's controversial views are "consistent with the black church's tradition". Wright himself did not speak.

LAWSUIT: STUDENT ARTWORK CENSORED

A Wisconsin high school student is suing Tomah High School in Madison for allegedly censoring an art drawing because it included the words John 3:16 and showed a cross. His teacher gave him a zero for the effort. The lawsuit also claims that he was prevented from making a chain-mail cross in his metals class while at the same time figurines from Hinduism and Buddhism are in display along with a picture of a six-limbed Hindu woman and a sorcerer. The district has not commented on the suit.

SUPREME COURT TAKES ON 10 COMMANDMENTS

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving the Public displays of the Ten Commandments. A court in Denver told Pleasant Grove City, Utah that it had to let the followers of the Summum religion put up a monument in a public park if it allowed the display of a Ten Commandments monument. The city refused and the group filed a lawsuit. A federal judge ruled for the city. Then a three-judge panel reversed that decision. Then the full 10th Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case. It split, leaving the decision against the city to stand. Now the Supreme Court will weigh in.

MEGACHURCH DEADLINE

Today is the deadline (again) for six megachurch pastors to hand over their church's financial records to a congressional committee. Republican Senator Charles Grassley starting asking for the information in November and most have resisted. Atlanta pastor Creflo Dollar has sent a letter to Congress explaining why he’s decided to ignore the request. Although he admitted in December that his World Changers Church International took in $69 million in 2006, he now claims only IRS can check into whether he’s complying with federal tax laws. Another Atlanta pastor, Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church has also resisted opening his books but now says he’ll meet the Monday deadline. As for the others: Kenneth Copeland says he won’t comply but Benny Hinn, Paula White and Joyce Meyer of Missouri say they will go along with the request.

OBAMA PASTOR MISSES SUMMIT

Barak Obama’s longtime pastor was supposed to attend the State of the Black Church Summit hosted by Fort Worth's Brite Divinity School this weekend. Jeremiah Wright bowed out, citing security concerns. But those who took part in the panel discussion without Wright defended the controversial pastor. Dallas preacher Frederick Haynes said, “(Wright) has dared to unwrap the flag from around the cross, and when you do that, you give the cross the power to tell the flag which way to wave." The audience of about 100 applauded throughout the summit. Dwight Hopkins, professor of theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School, warned, “If the black church is censored, other churches will be the next in line."

"WE’RE SORRY"

An Atlanta area pastor has put a sign in front of his church that says We're Sorry. Richard Mark Lee told the congregation of Sugar Hill Baptist Church that he wanted to apologize to gays, people living together and women who have abortions for the way the church has approached them. He also put the message on the church's website.

WHO’S NUMBER ONE?

There are now more Muslims than Catholics, making it the world’s largest religion.

All Christians – 33%
Muslims - 19.2%
Catholics -17.4%

Source: The Vatican newspaper

OBAMA APPEARS ON “THE VIEW”

Barak Obama will appear on today’s edition of The View and talks about the controversial comments of his long time pastor Jeremiah Wright. During the ABC daytime television show, Obama says, "I never heard him say some of the things that have people upset". But the Democratic presidential candidate also suggests he may have left Wright’s church if he had not retired this year. Wright is getting criticism for slamming materialism in the pulpit and then retiring in luxury.

WRIGHT’S RETIREMENT HOME

Wright is getting criticism for slamming materialism in the pulpit and then retiring in luxury. Fox News is reporting that Jeremiah Wright is about to move into a large 10,000-square-foot home in a gated community in suburban Chicago. Tax experts say the deal was set up in an unusual way because Wright first sold the land to his church which then turned around and financed it with a $10 million line of credit. Church officials refused to discuss the specifics of the home it’s building for Wright or the way it was financed.

REWRITING THE BIBLE

A pastor in the Anglican church has published a collection of Bible stories rewritten for the modern reader. In Robert Harrison's book The Rev Must Know Stories Jesus is born in an overcrowded house, Eve is sex-obsessed and Goliath is a celebrity binge drinker. Harrison preaches at St John's in Hillingdon, West London. Critics complain that the book distorts the facts.

OBAMA TALKS ABOUT HIS FAITH

Senator Barack Obama took time to defend his longtime pastor, Jeremiah Wright today. He told a crowd in Charlotte, North Carolina, “In the last couple of weeks my church became a source of controversy.. My pastor did say, my former pastor said some very objectionable things when I was not in church on those days… they find five or six of his most offensive statements and boil them down onto a 30-second recording and replay them over and over on television.”

At a town hall-style meeting Obama was asked about the role that Jesus played in his life. The presidential candidate said, “I’m a Christian. What that means for me is that I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins, and his grace and his mercy and his power, through him, I can achieve everlasting life… I think it’s very important to think that you do not have to have the same faith as me to be a moral person – there are a lot of Jewish people who are as moral, or more moral than I am, there are a lot of Muslims who are decent kind people. I don’t think they are any less children of God.”

HANNAH MONTANA “LOVES JESUS”

Miley Cyrus, star of Disney’s Hannah Montana show, says she loves Jesus. In a YouTube video with Mandy Jiroux, the best friends answered questions from fans. One of the questions was whether they are Christians. Miley responded, "Yes! We love Jesus! Happy Easter! He died for our sins. That’s how awesome he is. Jesus rocks! She dances for Jesus. I sing, dance and act for Jesus! ... Now that I think about it, I do everything for Jesus. We make the YouTube videos for Jesus. We’re Christians! We’re all about it." See the Video

WRIGHT SKIPPING TEXAS, TOO

Jeremiah Wright won’t pick up his award in Texas after all. Barack Obama's former pastor planned to visit Fort Worth this Saturday to be honored by Brite Divinity School. But he’s cancelled that appearance along with plans to speak at a Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston on Sunday. Wright already nixed a Florida trip, blaming security concerns. He says the Texas visit was dropped for the same reason.

PARENTS PRAY WHILE GIRL DIES

An investigation is underway in Weston, Wisconsin into the death of 11-year-old Madeline Neumann. Prosecutors are considering filing charges against Dale and Leilani Neumann after they allowed their daughter to die rather than seek medical help. She had a treatable form of diabetes. An autopsy shows Madeline had probably been sick for month, enduring symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and weakness. The Neumann’s say their only effort to help her was pray and that the girl died because they did not have enough faith. They don’t attend any organized church but hold a regular Bible study in their home.

OBAMA CHURCH: ISRAEL GUILTY OF GENOCIDE

An anti-Israel letter written by an Palestinian activist letter has turned up on the website of Barack Obama's Chicago church. It’s in the newsletter of the Trinity United Church of Christ from June of last year. Originally printed in the Palestine Times, a pro-Palestinian newspaper, the article is called titled An open letter to Oprah because she had agreed to visit Israel with Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. It claims the Jewish state worked with South African creation of an "ethnic bomb" that would kill "blacks and Arabs." It accuses Israel of "genocide and ethnic cleansing”.

OBAMA PASTOR CANCELED

Barack Obama's long-time pastor won’t be speaking at Bible-Based Fellowship Church in Tampa Bay, Florida as planned. Jeremiah Wright was supposed to be the featured speaker at the church's 10th anniversary celebration revival. The pastor says it’s an issue of security concerns. The local sheriff’s office backed out of plans to provide that security. Recent videos have surfaced showing Wright making inflammatory and racially divisive sermons.

GORBACHEV STILL AN ATHEIST?

The Russian news agency Interfax has published an article saying former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev denies reports he has become a Christian. A variety of news services reported Gorbachev’s recent visit to the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi in Italy was an expression of his faith. But Interfax claims the last communist leader of the Soviet Union is still an atheist and his visit was as a tourist and not a pilgrim.

THEY SAID IT: JOHN HAGEE

My statements regarding the Catholic Church have been grossly mischaracterized. I never called the Catholic Church “the anti-Christ” or a “false cult system.” I was referring to those Christians who ignore the Gospels. - Pastor John Hagee in an interview with the New York Times

THEY SAID IT: HILLARY CLINTON

“He would not have been my pastor. we don’t have a choice when it comes to our relatives. We have a choice when it comes to our pastors and the churches we attend.” - Hillary Clinton on the controversy surrounding Barack Obama’s long-time pastor

WHAT ABOUT OBAMA’S NEW PASTOR?

Barak Obama’s new pastor (Otis Moss) was asked by NPR if he agreed with Obama’s old pastor (Jeremiah Wright) that the US is "culpable in the spread of HIV". Wright has said, "The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color". Moss did not renounce or distance himself from the comment. Instead, he said, “I think that, in terms of that particular narrative, I think that we need to be very, very honest that our government has the ability to place a Hubble telescope in the sky but we have not had the political will to shut down drugs coming into our community.” During his Easter Sunday service, Moss compared Wright’s ordeal to a crucifixion.

BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Here’s the Christianity Today picks for books of the year.
Apologetics/EvangelismThere Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His MindAntony Flew with Roy Abraham Varghese
Biblical StudiesThe Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus TraditionPaul Rhodes Eddy and Gregory A. Boyd
Christianity and Culture: Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American EliteD. Michael Lindsay
Christian LivingCaring for Mother: A Daughter's Long GoodbyeVirginia Stem Owens
The Church/Pastoral LeadershipThe Call to Joy and Pain: Embracing Suffering in Your MinistryAjith Fernando
FictionQuaker SummerLisa Samson
History/BiographyA Secular AgeCharles Taylor
Missions/Global AffairsDisciples of All Nations: Pillars of World ChristianityLamin O. Sanneh
SpiritualityThe Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus Is the WayEugene H. Peterson
Theology/EthicsResounding Truth: Christian Wisdom in the World of MusicJeremy S. Begbie

CHURCHES ATTACKED

Someone vandalized seven churches around the Gardner, Massachusetts area. Anti-Christian graffiti included used expletives along with the name of Jesus and Mary and painted several upside down crosses. Police say the messages included "Jesus is dead" and "You brainwashed zombies." Churches hit include Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist and Baptist churches.

BIBLE COIN DISCOVERED

Archaeologists in Israel say a shekel dating back to the days of Jesus has turned up. The silver coin is the kind once used in the second Temple built in the sixth century BC. It was found near the Old City of Jerusalem in a 2000-year-old drainage ditch.

MILLION DOLLAR PRIZE

The 2008 Templeton Prize goes to Michael Heller. He's a philosophy professor and Roman Catholic priest in Poland. Besides the honor, he gets more than $1.6 million to spend any way he likes. Heller plans to set up an academic center that will promote research and education in science and theology. More Info

BOYCOTT OF FORD

Donald Widmon’s American Family Associate has ended it’s boycott of Ford Motor Company. The activist group says Ford has agreed to stop supporting gay organizations and parades and promoting same-sex marriage. Ford says it will continue treating individuals equally, regardless of sexual orientation.

McCAIN’S PASTOR

The attention on Barak Obama’s longtime pastor has gotten many wondering about John McCain's pastor. Although raised in the Episcopal Church, or the past 15 years, the Republican presidential candidate has attended a Baptist church in Phoenix where Dan Yeary is the pastor. Despite McCain’s support for stem-cell research and his past criticism of Evangelical leaders, Yeary is a vocal conservative who opposes abortion and gay marriage. His North Phoenix Baptist Church has some 7000 members.

BOOKS ON THE RESURRECTION

A new book called Resurrection: The Power of God for Christians and Jews by two Harvard Divinity School professors hopes to strengthen the theological bonds between Christians and Jews. Kevin Madigan who teaches Christian history and Jon Levenson who teaches Jewish studies challenge the idea that resurrection for Jews and the followers of Jesus is simply the survival of the soul. The scholars say resurrection occurs for the whole person body and soul. New Testament scholar N.T. Wright has just published a book aimed in the same direction: Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection and the Mission of the Church. His 2003 book The Resurrection of the Son of God argues that Jesus was physically resurrected.

MUSLIMS IN CONGRESS

Andre Carson has become the second Muslim elected to congress. The Democrat won a special election to succeed his grandmother, Julia Carson. He’ll represent the district around Indianapolis for the rest of the year. A May primary will select the Democratic nominee who’ll serve the full two-year term. He converted to Islam more than a decade ago after being raised in a Baptist church. The only other Muslim in Congress is fellow Democrat Keith Ellison of Minnesota.

SEMINARY GENDER SUIT

A Texas judge has thrown out a lawsuit against Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary filed by a professor who taught Hebrew. Sheri Klouda says she was fired because of her gender. The judge decided the case was a religious matter and he had no jurisdiction. She may appeal. She now teaches at Taylor University in Indiana.

COUPLE CAUGHT AT CHURCH ALTER

A Sanderson, Florida couple is in jail after police say they were caught having sex in Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church. A call about someone hanging around the church led Baker County Sheriff’s Deputies to find Crystal Rowland and Matthew Pearce inside. A church deacon says he was told their clothes were scattered around the alter and burning candles.

SURGERY ON SEM PREZ

The president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is recovering from surgery to remove a colon tumor. Doctors say the procedure on Albert Mohler was successful. Mohler has served in the position for 15 years and withdrew from consideration for the position of president of the Southern Baptist convention when he began having health problems.

WHAT IS SIN?

Here are the results of a survey on sin. The percentage indicates how many Americans say the activity is sinful. The "more sinful" is at the top, the "less sinful" is at the bottom.

Adultery - 81%
Racism - 74%
Using "hard" drugs, such as cocaine, LSD - 65%
Not saying anything if a cashier gives you too much change - 63%
Having an abortion - 56%
Homosexual activity or sex - 52%
Not reporting some income on your tax returns - 52%
Reading or watching pornography - 50%
Gossip - 47%Swearing - 46%
Sex before marriage - 45%
Homosexual thoughts - 44%
Sexual thoughts about someone you are not married to - 43%
Doing things as a consumer that harm the environment - 41%
Smoking marijuana - 41%
Getting drunk - 41%
Gambling - 30%
Not attending church or religious services regularly - 18%
Drinking any alcohol - 14%

Margin of error: ±3.1 percentage points
Source: Ellison Research

CLINTON & OSTEEN

Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea visited Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch the Sunday before Hillary Clinton won the Texas primary. Clinton did not speak but the congregation applauded when Osteen recognized the former president from the pulpit.

ROBERTSON’S COMPLEX TRIMMED

Pat Robertson is cutting back on plans for a 500 acre complex near Regent University in Virginia Beach. The development was supposed to include shops, offices and homes. The effort depended in part on construction of a interstate exit at the location but that has fallen through. In April, the Virginia Beach City Council will vote on whether to approve the residential project.

POLL ON THE OBAMA CONTROVERSY

The percentage of people who say Barack Obama shares the controversial views of his longtime pastor Jeremiah Wright:
All Americans – 24%
Republicans – 36%
Whites – 25%
Independents – 20%
Democrats – 17%
Blacks – 15%

The percentage of people who say the controversy has caused them to question Obama’s candidacy:
Whites – 40%
All Americans – 35%
Independents – 27%
Democrats – 26%
Blacks – 2%
Source: FOX News poll

SAFE CORNERS OF THE WEB

A new way for parents to keep their children in “kid safe” areas of the internet launches this week. KidZui is designed to let them roam freely without worrying parents that something objectionable will pop up. Aimed at the age 3 to 12 crowd, the service is run by a San Diego company and includes some half-a-million safe sites, photos and videos, all approved by a group of parents and teachers. While content can be shared, there’s no email, IM, or ads. Users must download a special browser and pay either $100 a year or $10 a month. There’s a one-month free trial available. Each child is represented by a cartoon figure that can be customized. Detailed reports on the sites children have visited is available as well.

SCHOOL HONORS OBAMA PASTOR

Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University plans to honor Barack Obama’s longtime pastor a week from Saturday. The Fort Worth, Texas divinity school is hosting the Black Church Summit and will give laud Jeremiah Wright at a formal awards banquet that evening. TCU says it does not support the plan because of Wright’s controversial statements that have recently come to light. But Brite is a fully separate school and plans to go forward even after reviewing the video and audio tapes of Wright that have been circulating around the internet and on television. In a statement Brite’s leaders says, “Contrary to media claims that Wright preaches racial hatred, church leaders who have observed his ministry describe him as a faithful preacher of the gospel.”

CHURCH IN QATAR

The first Christian church to officially be pemitted to meet in the tiny Middle Eastern country of Qatar held its first service last week. The small Catholic chapel has no visible crosses but it still considered a positive step between Catholicism and Islam. And that may only be the beginning. The Vatican is in talks that may give it permission to build the first church in Saudi Arabia. There are some 800,000 Catholics in the country. Celebrating non-Muslim holidays and wearing crucifixes has been strictly forbidden.

WILL SMITH & SCIENTOLOGY

Actor Will Smith says he’s not a Scientologist. The rumor has been fueled by his close association with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Smith says he’s a Christian and likes to study various religions. Radar magazine reports the church is looking to gain members from the African American community, having opened a center in Harlem a few years ago.

DAMAGE CONTROL

Barack Obama made a speech yesterday at a Philadelphia museum honoring the nation's founding intended to blunt criticism of his association with pastor Jeremiah Wright. He once again rejected controversial comments made by his longtime pastor that have circulated in the last few weeks, calling it a "a profoundly distorted view of this country”. Obama went on to say:

"I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother — a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe. These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love."

WILL SMITH QUOTE

"You don't have to be Jewish to be a friend of Steven Spielberg. You don't have to be a Muslim to be a friend of Muhammad Ali. And you don't have to be a Scientologist to be a friend of Tom Cruise. I am a Christian. I am a student of all religions. And I respect all people and all paths." – Will Smith in an interview with the New York Daily News

"GOD D- AMERICA"

Barak Obama’s pastor once told his congregation that God should D- America instead of bless it. Jeremiah Wright said it was in response to how the country has its black citizens. Obama has already backed away from other controversial statements from the pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ.. telling PBS yesterday his pastor’s remarks were “stupid”. Pundits suggest whether the controversy hurts Obama’s presidential changes will largely depend on his reaction to the fallout. Obama plans a speech today in Philadelphia that will repeat his earlier denunciations of the minister’s words and address the issue of race in broader terms. Here's the video of Wright:

ROCK GETS TECHIE

Visit Rock Church in San Diego and you’ll find a world of advanced multimedia at work. The five Sunday services are shown in HD video on a 90-foot screen in a theater. Engineers designed and installed a fiber optic network throughout the 279,000 square foot facility. With the majority of its parishioners under the age of 30, the church web site offers lots of audio and video content, including sermons, short messages from the pastor along with podcasts.

OBAMA CHURCH CHANGES WEBSITE

The Trinity United Church of Christ has changed its website. Gone is an “about us” page outlining its commitment to a Black Value System. A toned down page has replaced it. The section has been moved to a less obvious place. Among other things, it calls for a commitment to the black community and family because of “our racists competitive society”. Retiring pastor Jeremiah Wright has come under fire for his support of black separatist Louis Farrakhan.

TRINITY DEFENDS PASTOR

More than 6,000 people took part in Palm Sunday services at Trinity United Church of Christ. Wright is retiring from the pulpit and Sunday the church's new pastor preached a sermon titled Why the Black Church Won't Shut Up. Before the service began, a statement was handed out by ushers defending Wright as a teacher of Black liberation theology and describing the controversy as a "modern-day lynching."

OBAMA’S PASTOR BECOMES FLASHPOINT

Barack Obama’s pastor has become a flashpoint in the Democratic presidential race. Jeremiah Wright, pastor of the 8000-member Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, has been dropped from Obama’s African American Religious Leadership Committee after controversial remarks he made surfaced about Aids and 9/11. Obama says he’s still a member of Wright's church but is distancing himself from remarks the mega-church pastor made about the U.S. bringing the 9/11 attacks on itself and his accusation the federal government is spreading the AIDS virus in the African-American community. Obama was married at Trinity and his three daughters were baptized there. He gave $22,500 to the church in 2006 but says he was unaware of Wright's remarks until last year. He retires from the pulpit in June. Here's Obama's statement about Wright:

MCCAIN & ROD PARSLEY

John McCain is backing away from Rod Parsley. The Ohio pastor spoke before McCain at a rally last month in Cincinnati where McCain called him a “a moral compass, a spiritual guide”. Some pundits have seized on the remark, claiming Parsley plays an important role in the Senator’s life. But McCain’s campaign says he had never met Parsley until that rally and has never attended one of his services. Parsley has preached against Islam, calling it a religion based on deception and that Mohammad’s revelations came from demons. As a result, a recent headline in the Tehran Times says “McCain advisor: Destroy Islam.”

$1 MILLION MISAPPROPRIATIONS

Prosecutors in Pennsylvania says a church treasurer stole more than $1 million. Barry Herr of Lancaster worked for the central office of the region's Evangelical Lutheran Churches. That’s more than 250 congregations. Police say he used the money given over the last 17 years for overseas missionary work to buy collectable cars.

STUDENTS VOTE ON PRAYER

Students in a Austin, Texas suburb will not be allowed to vote anymore on whether they want to include prayer in their graduation ceremony. The decision by a federal judge is part of a settlement between Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Round Rock school district. Students at three of four high schools in the district had voted in favor of allowing prayers at their graduations. But the school district is now forbidden to survey the students any further on whether they want prayers or any other religious aspect to their graduations.

TEXAS BIBLE CLASSES

A new Texas law may require public high schools in the state to offer elective, neutral Bible classes during the 2009-2010 school year. The state's top educator is asking the Texas Attorney General to clear up confusion over whether offering the classes is mandatory or optional. Texas Education Commissioner Robert also complains that lawmakers provided no funds for training teachers for the new classes.

TEACHER SLAMS CHRISTIANITY

A lawsuit filed against a California history teacher for criticizing Christianity is going to trial. A judge has refused to dismiss the suit brought by a student against Advanced Placement European history teacher James Corbett at Capistrano Valley High School. Chad Farnan alleges Corbett made repeated disparaging remarks about Christians during class. Some students have put up signs in support of Corbett, saying it’s an issue of free speech.

CLINTON CHURCH ON SAME-SEX UNIONS

The church attended by Bill and Hillary Clinton while he served as President plans to hold same-sex union ceremonies. The Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington changed its policy to recognize same-sex unions. Because the denomination's Book of Discipline includes a sanction against clergy performing such ceremonies, services for same-sex "marriage" ceremonies will be held away from the church and not led by a minister. The pastor says the church is recognizing same-sex unions but not celebrating them. But the Institute on Religion and Democracy says The Foundry is violating church law.

CHANGES TO BIBLE CLASS

The Ector County Independent School District in West Texas will make changes to it’s Bible course. That will settle a lawsuit filed by the ACLU. The suit alleged the curriculum created by the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools promoted Evangelical beliefs. The District says it will switch to material approved by a committee of local educators and will likely use material from the Bible Literacy Project.

BEATEN IN THE SUDAN

A mob of students in the Sudan beat an American couple working with Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse and then set fire to their office. The students were part of a training program run by the group and were upset over increased costs. The missionaries were taken to a Nairobi hospital and are recovering.

BUSH TO RELIGIOUS BROADCASTERS

President Bush told the National Religious Broadcasters convention meeting in Nashville efforts in Congress to revive the FCC’s Fairness Doctrine is really an attempt to shut down conservative voices like James Dobson. He pledged to veto any such bill. The President also reiterated his opposition to abortion and spoke about the global war against terrorism. The text of the President’s full remarks.

BEN STEIN’S DOCUMENTARY

Money expert and actor Ben Stein has made a new documentary in support of intelligent design. It’s called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed and will be shown today to Florida lawmakers. Stein supports the discussion of both the pros and cons of evolution and his film discusses how critics of Darwin's theory have run into trouble in higher academics. A bill working its way through the Florida legislature would give educators the right to teach students how to question evidence and analyze scientific theories. Critics say it’s just a cover for bringing religion into the science classroom.

TELEVANGELIST BEATING

Thomas W. Weeks III (better known as Bishop Weeks) has plead guilty to assaulting his wife, televangelist Juanita Bynum. An Atlanta judge sentenced the founder of Global Destiny churches to three years' probation, counseling and community service. After sentencing, Weeks asked to address his wife. He apologized to her “for all she's had to go through”. They left the court together. Prosecutors say Weeks beat Bynum in the parking lot of hotel this past Summer. Six years ago, they wrote a book called Teach Me How to Love You: The Beginnings.

PASTOR ACCUSED OF RAPE

The pastor of Brethren Church in Sunbury, Ohio is under house arrest after a teenager accused him of raping her last week at a church office. The 15-year-old claims to have come to Brian Williams for help with school work. Local media say Williams had no comment and no prior record. The case now goes to a grand jury.

BAPTISTS STEP UP GLOBAL WARMING TALK

44 Southern Baptist leaders are signing a statement saying their convention’s stance on global warming is too weak. A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change calls for more action and got a nod from president Frank Page along with two past presidents. The climate change statement says, “Our cautious response to these issues in the face of mounting evidence may be seen by the world as uncaring, reckless and ill-informed.” Notably absent from the list of supporters is the head of the convention’s political arm, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

GOD LICENSE PLATES

Illinois lawmakers have passed a bill that will allow drivers to pick license plates that say In God We Trust. The vote was 105-to-3. Drivers would pay an extra $20 and a part of that fee would go to the Illinois Military Relief Fund for armed forces members.

ONLINE CONFESSIONS

Thousands of confessions have posted online at church-run Web sites like mysecret.tv and ivescrewedup.com. Those anonymous postings have revealed the confessor’s guilty over such issues as abortion, homosexuality, extramarital affairs, addictions and even murder. An Oklahoma megachurch runs mysecret.tv. Pastor Bobby Gruenewald says the site has gotten more than 7,500 confessions since it began in 2006. ivescrewedup.com is the brainchild of Troy Gramling, pastor of Florida’s Flamingo Road Church. The site went up last Easter and has had a quarter million visitors and more than 100,000 confessions.

PROTESTANTS GO FOR HILLARY

Protestants voted strongly for Hillary Clinton in primary voting according to exit polling by Edison/Mitofsky. Here’s how the Protestant vote among Dems breaks out by state. Listed is the Clinton margin over Obama:

Tenn 38
Ohio 34
Ga 27
Wis 22
Mo 20
Fl 18
Mass 16
Cal 15
Texas 12
Ariz 12
Md 11
Ill -11
Va -18

GAYS IN CHURCH DIRECTORY

Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas has voted to keep its pastor. Members voted 237 against keeping Brett Younger and 499 voted in favor of it. The moderate Baptist church has been the center of controversy over whether gay couples should be pictured in the church's annual directory. A group called Friends for the Future of Broadway says Younger in an ineffective leadership and has pushedthe church in a liberal direction. Younger is known nationally for his book Who Moved My Pulpit? Broadway’s Website

LENT FOR EVANGELICALS

Washington’s National Community Church is one of a growing number of Evangelical Churches observing Lent – an ancient church practice typically observed by Catholic churches. Other Evangelical churches offer private confession, Quaker-style silence, weekly communion and the lighting of candles at Advent. Supporters say the traditions add a richness to the worship experience while critics reject the movement mystical practices that don't belong in the church.

CONSERVATIVES ON NPR

National Public Radio surprised some listeners a couple of weeks ago with a series on Morning Edition called a Conversations with Conservatives. Guests include Southern Baptist leader Richard Land, the founder of Americans for Tax Reform Grover Norquist, talk-radio and TV host Glenn Beck along with David Keene of the American Conservative Union. More than 60 angry email and phone calls chided the radio network.

THEY SAID IT: THE NY TIMES

"Contemporary Christian music was created in the late 1950s by a guitar-strumming, long-haired Jesus freak named Larry Norman, who sang hymns about venereal disease to astonished parishioners in California churches. Sometimes Norman was invited back. Mostly he wasn't." - from the New York Times obituary of Larry Norman

IRS INVESTIGATION

The IRS is investigating gospel singer Yolanda Adams. The probe was prompted by applications she made for a two million-dollar mortgage loan that gave different accounts of her assets. The agency is asking a judge to make Adams turn over the financial documents and explain why she didn’t show up for a meeting with agents in February.

LARK NEWS

If you’ve ever stumbled on a Christian parody site called Lark News, you may have wondered where the ideas on it come from. They are hatched in the imagination of 35-year-old Joel Kilpatrick. An Evangelical who grew up in a Pentecostal home, his five-year-old site is sort of sanitized version of the satirical newspaper the Onion. The son of a Christian musician, Kilpatrick works now as a freelance journalist in Southern California.

SEMINARY SHOOTING

A Palestinian gunman killed eight students at a seminary in Jerusalem with a machine gun. He wounded nine others in the school’s library before being killed himself by an off-duty army officer and police detectives. An Israeli offensive in response to rocket fire from militants has killed more than 120 Palestinians. Peace talks have been put on hold after the conflict started.

THEY SAID IT: STEPHEN BALDWIN

"I don't believe that gay marriage is in line with God's word, which is found in the Bible... and the Bible says that gay marriage is not acceptable." – Actor Stephen Baldwin

MEGACHURCH FOR SALE

Without Walls International Church is for sale. The famous megachurch in Tampa has a price tag of $30 million. Founders Randy and Paula White divorced last year and the church has come under scrutiny as part of a senate investigation. The buyer will get the 45,000 seat sanctuary along with a 94,000-square-foot office building and a television studio.

FROM VAMPIRES TO CHRIST

Novelist Anne Rice is known for her best-selling books about vampires and witches. But now she writes about Jesus. A few years ago Rice returned to her Catholic faith and started writing a four-volume life of Christ. The first book Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt came out in 2005. The second one is called Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana and it hit store bookshelves yesterday. Her next book, Kingdom of Heaven will cover the raising of Lazarus to Jesus’ decision to go to Jerusalem. The final installment will take readers through the Passion and Resurrection.

THE EVANGELICAL VOTE

Exit polls from Tuesday's primaries show John McCain won those identify themselves as moderates or conservatives but Mike Huckabee won the evangelical vote in Ohio. They divided that vote fairly evenly in Texas.

MILLION DOLLAR “MISTAKE”

The state of Illinois wants to know why Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago spent $1 million on cover the cost of buying a school facility from a convicted swindler. The money was from a state grant intended to help the Church recover from a fire that took place two years ago. Governor Rod Blagojevich says he’s launching an investigation into why the money wasn’t used for its intended purpose – and giving the Church another million to reopen a food pantry and programs for senior citizens and children.

OPRAH’S NEW EARTH

Oprah Winfrey is coming under fire from Evangelical circles for promoting the teaching of Eckhart Tolle. She’s conducting a live, free, 10-week interactive web seminar based on his book A New Earth. Barnes & Noble says it’s the fastest-selling title in the history of Oprah's Book Club. Tolle blends tenets of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Sufism, Christianity and other faiths into his teachings. More than 700,000 people in 125 countries have signed up for the seminar and more than 3-and-a-half million copies of his spiritual self-help guide have been sent out.

THEY SAID IT

"I am a devout Christian. I pray to Jesus every night and try to go to church as much as I can." – Barack Obama in Ohio yesterday responding to rumors that he's a closet Muslim

FINED FOR PROTESTS

Protesters who interfered with the Southern Tier Gay Pride Festival in Elmira, New York this past summer have been convicted of disorderly conduct and ordered to pay a $100 fine. They wore t-shirts reading By the Blood of Jesus and Liberated from Sin. Police arrested them for lying down in front of a stage and refusing to obey police orders. An appeal is planned.

CITY TO CHURCH: REPAINT ROOF

Officials in Cathedral City, California want the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church to remove the red letters he recently painted on his roof that spell out eternity. Pastor Jim Nimmons has been given a notice of public nuisance and is being threatened with fines and a misdemeanor charges. The congregation of more than 2000 just south of Palm Springs doesn’t plan to back down. Although the city claims the sign is somehow a commercial that invites commerce, the church is tucked away down a dirt road and the sign is difficult to see because it is not raised.

COUNTRY TRIES TO STOP CHURCH OUTREACH

A fight over a church’s counseling center and food pantry is headed to federal court. Virginia’s Calvert County tried to shutdown the effort by Chesapeake Church in Huntingtown three years ago, saying the community outreach violated its zoning laws. But last week, a judge turned down the county’s request that the center and pantry be shut down while the court battle continues. He decided that closing the ministry would cause harm to county residents. Calvert officials say the church didn’t get a proper site plan and operating permit for the outreach which operates out of a house next to the sanctuary. They are back in court on March 21.. Good Friday.

CHRISTIAN CAMPUS GROUP CLAIMS DISCRIMINATION

The chapter of the Christian Legal Society on the campus of the University of South Carolina is suing the school for discrimination. The school has refused to give the organization a share of the student activity fees like other student groups. A University had no comment, saying he had not seen the lawsuit yet.

WHITE HOUSE LIASON RESIGNS

President Bush's liaison to Christian groups has resigned. Timothy Goeglein admitted to plagiarizing material that was published in an Indiana newspaper. The News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne found 20 columns he wrote were lifted from other publications without attribution. Goeglein has worked closely with Karl Rove at the White House for more than six years.

CHURCH BILLBOARDS GETTING ATTENTION

A church in a St. Louis suburb is getting attention with a set of billboards along Interstate 55. Each one bears one of these messages:

• Boycott Jefferson Hills Church
• Hate Jefferson Hills Church
• I was robbed at Jefferson Hills Church
• Jefferson Hills Church Sucks

Below is a hyphen, followed by the word Satan, as if the message is a note from the Prince of Darkness himself. The billboards were bought by the Jefferson Hills Evangelical Lutheran Church in Imperial, Missouri. Some motorists have misunderstood the message and thought the billboards were put up by an atheist group.

BAND GETTING SPORTS ATTENTION

A song by the Christian band Pillar has recently popped up on Sports Center and College Gameday. For the Love of the Game has also hit #1 on the Christian radio charts. It was first used to promote coverage of the World Series. The band has collected 4 Dove Awards and had one Grammy nomination.

OBAMA’S CHRISTIAN FLIER

A flier circulating around Texas promotes Barack Obama’s religious credentials. It’s called Faith. Hope. Change and shows him standing in front at a church pulpit with a cross prominently displayed in the backdrop. Obama is quoted on the flier as saying, "My faith teaches me that I can sit in church and pray all I want. But I won't be fulfilling God's will unless I go out and do the Lord's work." On the other side are printed the words Committed Christian. Rumors have circulated that he is a Muslim, so Obama has made it a point on the campaign trail to emphasize his Christian. His campaign has used similar material in other states with significant Evangelical communities.

JORDAN EXPELLING CHRISTIANS

Jordan has expelled 27 Christians in the last year and is refusing to renew visas for anyone wanting to study at the Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary in Amman. It’s just one of a handful of Protestant seminaries in the Middle East. Proselytism of Muslims is against government policy. Christians make up only 3% of Jordan’s population. There are only 5,000 Evangelicals in the country.

THEY SAID IT.. JOHN MCCAIN

“I think it’s important to note that Pastor John Hagee who has supported and endorsed my candidacy supports what I stand for and believe in. When he endorses me, it does not mean that I embrace everything that he stands for and believe.” John McCain in response to criticism he’s received following his endorsement by megachurch pastor John Hagee who has been critical of Roman Catholicism

OBAMA CHURCH UNDER INVESTIGATION

The IRS is investigating Barack Obama’s denomination over one of his speeches. The agency has told the United Church of Christ that is looking into whether Obama's speech at the denomination’s 2007 General Synod violated tax rules last June in Hartford, Connecticut. If UCC is found to have engaged in political activities, it could jeopardize its tax-exempt status. During the speech, Obama spoke against the war in Iraq and promised to sign a universal health care bill.

DOBSON INTERVIEWS KILLER’S PARENTS

James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio program will air an interview today and tomorrow with the parents of the man who killed four people at a church and missionary training center. They say Matthew Murray was angry over being treated and an outcast and battled ADHD for which he was taking medication. Ronald and Loretta Murray tell Dobson there were no indications their son was about to react violently. After killing two people in Denver, Murray slept at his parents house and then drove the next day to a church were he killed two sisters, then himself. The Murrays met the parents of the girls who forgave the Murrays. Although brought up in a Christian home, Murray got involved in the occult before joining the Mormon church shortly before the shootings.

MEGACHURCH LAWSUIT TOSSED

A lawsuit filed against Atlanta megachurch pastor Earl Paulk has been tossed out. The judge ruled that Mona Brewer was of "sound mind" during an affair that lasted more than a decade while Paulk lead the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church. Brewer was ordered to pay more than $1 million in attorney's fees. After Paulk denied under oath that he did not have an affair with anyone besides Brewer, it was later proved by DNA testing that he fathered his brother’s son who now leads the church. Paulk pled guilty to a charge he lied under oath.

HAGEE GIVES ENDORSEMENT

Televangelist John Hagee has endorsed John McCain for president. The pastor of Dallas' Cornerstone says McCain will work against abortion rights and defend Israel. Hagee is also encouraging McCain to do more to “bring evangelicals into his camp”. Last year, he introduced McCain at a Washington gathering called Christians United for Israel.

PRAYING ON EVANGELICALS?

The payday lending industry targets Evangelicals more than any US demographic. That’s the finding of a soon-to-be published study by the Catholic University Law Review called Usury Law and The Christian Right. A payday advance is a short-term loan of usually just a couple of hundred dollars that covers a borrower's expenses to get them through to the next paycheck. The catch is that the borrower often pays an outrageous interest rate. When spread out over a year, rates can range from 156% in Oregon to a whopping 869% in Maine and Montana, according to the Community Financial Services Association of America. The group denies targeting conservative religious homes and says the study was poorly set up. But the study found lending highest in the Bible Belt, followed by area of the West where many Mormons live.

TEENAGERS AND THE SUFFERING OF JOB

A survey of US teenagers asking basic history and literature questions shows about half of the teens knew that in the Bible Job is known for his patience through suffering. About the same number said he was known for his skill as a builder, his prowess in battle or his prophetic abilities. The survey was commissioned by Common Core.

HINN COOPORATES, COPELAND DIGS IN

Televangelist Benny Hinn has turned over material to the Senate Finance Committee in response to a request from Iowa Senator Charles Grassley. At the same time, Kenneth Copeland is rejected the same request, telling supporters in a letter this month Grassley is targeting prosperity teachers. Grassley's office has begun getting calls from Copeland supporters complaining about the probe. Atlanta-ministers Creflo Dollar and Eddie Long are also refusing to send any information to Grassley. His request to Paula and Randy White have gone unanswered.

THEY SAID IT.. HILLARY CLINTON

"My faith protected me and gave me the space and the time to really come to an understanding of what was right for me and my family”. - Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday during her first ever appearance on CBN’s 700 Club

LARRY NORMAN DIES

A pioneer of contemporary Christian music has past away. Larry Norman died of heart failure in Salem, Oregon at the age of 60. Norman stirred controversy in the 70’s with songs like Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music? and I wish We’d all Been Ready. The Gospel Music Association inducted him into the group’s Hall of Fame in 2001. He introduced Randy Stonehill to Christianity and produced his first few albums. An album he recorded with Frank Black and Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse was set to be released later this year.

CROSSES DEEMED GANG-RELATED

South Albany High School in Albany, Oregon has suspended two students for wearing crucifixes. The principal called the jewelry “gang-related” because sometime gang members put their colors on rosaries and claim they are religious. The 14-year-old and 16-year-old students say the crosses were just gifts from their mothers.

WHAT AMERICANS BELIEVE

Almost half of American adults have left their religious upbringing. That’s the finding of a new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The organization polled more than 35,000 adults and discovered the US is..

• 78% Christian
• 51% Protestant
• 44% Have switched denomination of Protestantism to another or from one religion to another
• 25% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 have no religious affiliation
• 19% are Roman Catholic
• 10% are former Catholics
• 9% say they are protestants without denominational ties
• 6.9% History black churches
• 4% are atheists or agnostics
• 1.7% are Jewish
• 0.7% are Buddhist
• 0.6% are Muslim

Other findings:
• For every person leaving the unchurched group, there are three others taking their place
• Nearly half of all Catholics under 30 are Hispanic, the survey found.
• Nondenominational protestant churches are growing but Baptist and Methodist churches are
showing net losses.
• Hindus have the highest retention of childhood members
• Jehovah's Witnesses have the lowest retention of childhood members
• Most Buddhists are converts

LORD OF THE RINGS LAWSUIT

The British charity managing the estate of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien wants to stop New Line from making The Hobbit. The charity filed suit against New Line Cinema this month claiming it cheated the Tolkien Trust out of its 7.5% share of the gross profits from the first film Lord of the Rings.

THE WILLIAM TELL MOM

Perhaps you’ve seen a funny video floating around the internet describing the trials and tribulations of motherhood set to the tune of the William Tell Overture. The singer is the wife of an Atlanta pastor by the name of Anita Renfroe who has been building a career as a Christian comedian. Her kids got her to post the video on YouTube last year and it’s popularity grew until it recently passed the 8 million mark for views. Renfroe was recently rewarded for her work by Good Morning America which has created a regular segment featuring her humorous take on life.

DEDUCTING YOUR CHURCH GIVING

If you want to deduct donations to your church, you’ll need to have "proper" records. And that includes your smaller donations. It used to be you only needed something to back up gifts of $250 or more. But now you need a receipt even if you just toss a few bucks in the offering plate. Proper documentation would include a check, bank copy of the check, electronic funds transfer record, credit card or credit union statement, payroll stub or W-2 in the case of a payroll deduction. These records must indicate the charity name, the amount, and the date the donation was given. A written letter from the charity or church with the information also acceptable. You don't have to submit the information with your tax return. Just be able to produce it if you are audited. There’s more info charitable giving on IRS Publication 526 and 562.