PAULK SENTENCED

Earl Paulk of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church has plead guilty to lying under oath. A judge sentenced him to 10 years probation and a $1,000 fine for the felony charge. The charge stems from a deposition in a civil lawsuit filed by a former church employee who says she was coerced into an affair. Paulk claimed under oath that the only woman he had ever had sex with outside of his marriage was the woman who filed the suit. But a court-ordered paternity test revealed Paulk is the biological father of his brother’s son.

MAMMAL SKULL FOR SALE

The Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum in Lubbock, Texas is selling off a prehistoric mastodon skull in order to stay in business. The facility teaches creationism and needs a big payoff from the auction of the fossil. The skull of the elephant-like mammal is about the size of a small-car and estimated to be about 40,000 years old. It’s the largest of its kind and expected to bring in at least $160,000.

PROBE OF TV MINISTRIES

Another set of letters are expected to go out from Senator Charles Grassley in his probe of Christian television ministries. The top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee already put the spotlight on Creflo Dollar, Bishop Eddie Long, Joyce Meyer Kenneth Copeland Benny Hinn and Randy and Paula White. Grassley wanted to know how they are spending their money and how they are governed. Some have not cooperated and Grassley’s new letters will be asking why. Christianity Today magazine has suggested in an editorial that the probe is overstepping the Senator’s authority while the head of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and the editor of Charisma magazine say they support Grassley’s effort.

PAULK OUT OF JAIL

Earl Paulk is out on bond after turning himself into authorities. The Atlanta megachurch leader charge that he lied under oath about having sex outside of his marriage. The pastor of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church testified in a lawsuit filed by a onetime member who accuses Paulk of manipulating her into an affair by telling her it was her only path to salvation.

“HUCK AND THE EUCHARIST”

St. Lake City’s Public radio station, KCPW, has apologized for airing a skit about presidential candidate Mike Huckabee called Huck and the Eucharist. Listeners heard it on January 7th as part of the Fair Game with Faith Salie program. Among other things, it offered a “Huckabee family recipe” called “Deep-Fried Body of Christ - boring holy wafers no more. Take one Eucharist. Preferably post transubstantiation. Deep-fry in fat, not vegetable oil, ladies, until crispy. Serve piping hot." Hundreds of angry email came in to the station.

THEY SAID IT: JK Rowling

"No one in my family was a believer. But I was very drawn to (the Christian) faith, even while doubting. I certainly had this need for something that I wasn't getting at home, so I was the one who went out looking for religion… I'm opposed to fundamentalism in any form," she says. And that includes in my own religion." - J.K.Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series.

BUSH IN THE MIDDLE EAST

While in the Middle East, President Bush is spending time at important Biblical sites. He visited Capernaum and at Sea of Galilee yesterday, where the Bible says Jesus walked on water and calmed a sudden storm. He spent time Friday at the sites of Jesus' early teaching in northern Israel and Bethlehem the day before.

ROBERTSON MAY GET INTO PRINT

Pat Robertson is thinking about buying a Virginia Beach newspaper. He’s often been critical of The Virginian-Pilot’s coverage. The daily could provide internships for journalism students at Regent University, the private Christian school he founded. The Virginian-Pilot has a circulation of more than 186,000 each week.