Christian College Prof says discovery supports believe in God

Leslie Wickman, director of the Center for Research in Science at Azusa Pacific University, writes in an Op/Ed piece for CNN, "The remarkable discovery, announced this week, of ripples in the space-time fabric of the universe rocked the world of science – and the world of religion. Touted as evidence for inflation (a faster-than-the-speed-of-light expansion of our universe), the new discovery of traces of gravity waves affirms scientific concepts in the fields of cosmology, general relativity, and particle physics. The new discovery also has significant implications for the Judeo-Christian worldview, offering strong support for biblical beliefs." Read more here.

World Vision flip flop hits bottom line

World Vision back out of plans to start hiring legally married gays after more than 3000 sponsors pulled out their support for the relief group. Among those protesting World Vision's initial decision: The Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Franklin Graham and the Family Leadership Council led by Tony Perkin. Based in Seattle, World Vision has more than 1000 employees. Some of the denominations World Vision represents have decided to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies.

Emma Watson talks religion

Even though Emma Watson is a star in the Biblical epic Noah, she doesn't have Christian views. She tells The Telegraph , "I already, before I did the movie, had a sense that I was someone that was more spiritual, than specifically religious. I had a sense that I believed in a higher power, but that I was more of a Universalist, I see that there are these unifying tenets between so many religions."

Pastor says he accidentally flooded Texas by praying too hard

An Oklahoma pastor this week said that his attempt to remove demons from the United States had worked a little too well, causing a severe drought to turn into massive flooding. Read more here or watch the video below.

Theives take $600k from Megachurch

Houston's Lakewood megachurch says about $200,000 in cash and $400,000 worth of checks is missing. KPRC-TV has a video report.

Fake arrests of pastors

A video of three Ohio pastors being arrested at their churches during Sunday services for preaching the gospel has caused a stir in Akron. The law enforcement officers are real, but the videos are faked. They are part of a production coming up at the Akron Civic Theater called Defending the Faith. Summit County Sheriff Steve Barry issued a press release explaining the arrest were just a promotional effort.

Scientists who say they are Christians

A new survey finds 2 million out of nearly 12 million scientists are evangelical Christians. According to Christianity Today, "The survey also found that evangelical scientists are more active in their faith than American evangelicals in general. They are more likely to consider themselves very religious, to attend religious services weekly, and to read religious texts at least every week." Read more at here.

'Sports Chaplains' Bring The Gospel To Olympic Village

There are probably fewer American fans in Sochi than at previous Winter Games, partly because of concerns about security, and partly because of the time and expense it takes to get to the Russian resort town on the Black Sea. But Americans are represented there, with gusto, by a group of evangelical Christians who call themselves the International Sports Chaplains. Members of the group have been going to the Olympic Games since 1988.

Read or listen to the full story at NPR.

Divorce and the nonreligious

Evangelical Christians have higher than average divorce rates than people who say they aren't religious at all. That's according Baylor University research. The researchers also say the percentage of Americans with no religious affiliation has risen from 3 to 30 percent in the last 50 years. Read more here.

Hollywood films a testament to renewed interest in Bible stories

Hollywood appears to be banking on moviegoers’ interest in faith and God as it prepares to roll out two big-budget films based on biblical tales. Producer-director-screenwriter Darren Aronofsky’s 3-D opus “Noah,” starring Oscar winners Russell Crowe as Noah and Anthony Hopkins as his grandfather Methuselah, is due to be released in March. “Exodus,” directed by Ridley Scott and starring Christian Bale as Moses, is scheduled to be released in December. Read more at the Washington Times.

Singer Skips Grammys

Mandisa won two Grammy Awards for her Christian music, but she wasn't at the awards show Sunday night to pick up here awards. Find out why in a Daily Caller post here.

The Most Bible-minded American Cities

The American Bible Society has come out with its list of the most "Bible-minded" American cities. Chattanooga takes over the top spot this year from Knoxville, which held it in 2012. Other Southern cities follow while East coast towns populate the bottom. The only large American city in the top 10 is Charlotte, North Carolina.

1. Chattanooga
2. Birmingham, Al.
3. Roanoke/Lynchburg, Va.
4. Springfield, Mo.
5. Shreveport, La.

Academy Award nomination for Christian singer

Christian author and singer Joni Eareckson Tada is up for an Oscar. She sings the title song from the film Alone Yet Not Alone. The song is up for Best Original Song. Written by Bruce Broughton and Dennis Spiegel, it beat out songs from Jay Z, Taylor Swift and Coldplay, among others. Alone Yet Not Alone is the only song that doesn't come from an animated movie. It's up against Karen O's The Moon Song from Her, Pharrell Williams' Happy from Despicable Me 2, U2's Ordinary Love from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" and Let it Go from Frozen. Here's a video of Tada, who is a paraplegic, singing the song. The movie opens nationwide in March.

TV show about a Texas megachurch

NBC has ordered a pilot episode of a show about a Texas megachurch. The working title is Salvation. The lead character's husband dies under mysterious circumstances. Read more about it at Deadline.

Chartig new evangelical waters in documentary films

The Denver Post takes a look at efforts by Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family to move into documentary film, particularly it's nationwide effort to push Irreplaceable in theaters this summer. The paper quotes the head of Focus on the Family as saying, "Culture is led by entertainment. We're awakening to the fact we have to do more in this (area). Just getting in the public policy arena and slugging it out — we're not not doing it very well." Read more here.

The declining membership numbers of the Protestant church

The dramatic decline in confidence in organized religion is unmistakable. According to the General Social Surveys of the National Opinion Research Center, the percentage of Americans who have a great deal of confidence in organized religion declined dramatically from 2000 to 2010—and the decline was nearly the same for evangelicals as for oldliners. Surprisingly, the biggest decline among any age group within these families is among older evangelicals. Among that group, the number expressing confidence in organized religion fell from 42 percent to 26. Indeed, this was the largest decline for any family or age group except among younger black Protestants—another ominous sign for an established segment of American religion. Read more at the Christian Century here.

Baptist churches bet on college footbal

Two churches made a bet on the outcome of the BCS National Championship game. The First Baptist Church of Auburn and First Baptist Church of Tallahassee agreed to travel to the other's city if the opposing team won the game. Since Florida State beat Auburn, a group from the Auburn church will travel to Tallahassee for a summer mission trip.

Atheist church schism

A non-religious gathering started last year in London already has a breakaway group forming. Read more at CNN.

One year without God

California pastor Ryan Bell has lost his teaching positions and a consulting job after announcing he would live the year as an atheist. “I am not sure what I am. That’s part of what this year is about,” he told the Huffington Post. Read the full story at Charisma Magazine.

Christian Singer details battle with Alcoholism in Book

Ashley Cleveland's new autobiography, Little Black Sheep: A Memoir, tells about the singer's parents, who were alcoholics--something that she dealt with as well. She tells Cross Rhythms, "There was quite a bit of alcoholism in my family on both sides so I would say that I have quite a strong genetic predisposition for it and then environmentally I was quite right for it because I was vulnerable and so yes I did, I became an alcoholic and a drug addict myself." Read a detailed review here.