SUPER BOWL SCREENINGS

The NFL says it will allow churches to show the Super Bowl on big-screen televisions. In a complete turnaround, the league commissioner says in a letter to congress that it will not object to live showings by religious organizations regardless of screen size. Many churches cancelled their Super Bowl parties this year after the NFL threatened to sue them for copyright violations if screens larger than 55 inches were used. The league allowed sports bars an exception. In response, several members of Congress have threatened to offer legislation to stop the NFL restrictions.

PASTOR DISPUTES CLINTON’S RECOLLECTION

The pastor of Houston’s Second Baptist Church is accusing Bill Clinton of lying about a 1993 encounter between the two at the White House. Ed Young sent a letter to Clinton’s foundation saying what actually happened was nothing like the former president described in a recent speech to Baptists in Atlanta. Clinton said he debated the former Southern Baptist Convention president at a breakfast. But Young says they did not share breakfast that day and the exchange about women in the ministry was not a debate, as Clinton described. Young also says Clinton was misleading about their exchange on whether the Bible is literally true.

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP

Here are some changes in church membership for the past year according to the National Council of Churches 2008 yearbook:

• Jehovah's Witnesses - up 2.25%

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints - up 1.56%

• The Roman Catholic Church, Southern Baptist Convention, Assemblies of God and African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church – up less than 1%

• The Episcopal Church - down 4%

• Presbyterian Church, USA - down 2.4%

SEMINARY AGREES TO PAY $300K

Seattle’s Mars Hill Graduate School has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a harassment and discrimination lawsuit brought by one of its founders. Heather Parkinson-Webb, the first female professor at the seminary says she was fired after she was granted a restraining order against her then husband, Kirk Webb. Both are founders of the school. She says the school knew that her former husband had an affair with a student but failed to dismiss him. He has since left Mars Hill.

MILLION DOLLAR ‘GOD’ STUDY

London’s Oxford University plans to spend a bout $4 million on why whether belief in a divine being is a basic part of mankind's makeup. The major grant from the John Templeton Foundation will bring together academics from a variety of disciplines including theologians, anthropologists, and philosophers. The Ian Ramsey Center for Science and Religion will take three years to complete the study on why mankind embraces God.

EVOLUTION IN FLORIDA

For the first time, schools in Florida will be required to teach evolution next year. The state Board of Education made the decision on a 4-3 vote. But parents, educators and lawmakers who insisted that evolution was far from an iron-clad fact are pleased that an amendment was added to put the words "scientific theory of" in front of the term "evolution".

COPELAND VOWS TO FIGHT INVESTIGATION

Televangelist Kenneth Copeland says he’s going to fight an investigation spearheaded by Senater Charles Grassley. Copeland told a group of ministers that any attempts by Grassley to gain information would be made "over my dead body." Grassley first sent letters in November to six ministries teaching prosperity gospel asking about contributions, salaries and spending. They include Randy and Paula White, Benny Hinn, David and Joyce Meyer, Eddie Long and Creflo and Taffi Dollar. The only one that has cooperated is Joyce Meyer. The senator plans to send a second request for information, along with further justification for his probe. Copeland's response has been posted on YouTube. COPELAND VIDEO

CONFESSION TO A MURDER

The former youth minister of Elim Church in Pasadena, California has confessed to police he killed a convenience store clerk for when he was 16 years old. Calvin Wayne Inman now faces capital murder charges. Inman turned himself in more than 13 years after the crime. Inman had decided he should resign his position just a few month after being ordained by the church. Church leaders say the arrest is a lesson in taking responsibility and they fully forgive Inman.

THEY SAID IT: JAMES DOBSON

"He once berated one of our staffers to tears because he simply had to wait a few minutes to see the member" - A congressional aide talking about Focus on the Family founder James Dobson as quoted in an Associated Press article

FEMALE REF REJECTED

A Kansas athletics oversight organization is looking into whether a religious school refused to allow a female referee call a boys' high school basketball game. Referees have reported to the Kansas State High School Activities Association that St. Mary’s Academy northwest of Topeka refused to allowed Michelle Campbell to officiate a February 2nd game. A school official apparently insisted that a woman could not be in a position of authority over boys because of academy beliefs. St. Mary’s is not a full member of the association but participates in league activities. The Association is expected to deal with the issue at its next meeting on March 11.

WHO WOULD JESUS VOTE FOR?

A new website lets visitors vote on what they believe Jesus would have as his political goals. JesusIn2008.com attempts to be nonreligious, aimed at a debate on the issues rather than an exchange of dogma. Besides inferring his stances on modern politics, internet users can choose a contemporary running mate for Jesus. All of the real presidential candidates are offered as options.

THEY SAID IT: CHARLES BARKLEY

"Every time I hear the word 'conservative,' it makes me sick to my stomach, because they're really just fake Christians, as I call them. That's all they are." – former NBA player Charles Barkley

COLLEGE GROUPS LOSE FUNDING

Christian groups at Florida State University are losing their funding because they don’t include gays in their anti-discrimination policies. The Student Government Association approved the move unanimously. That means hundreds of dollars will be held back from Every Nation Campus Ministry and the Christian Legal Society. Both groups object to the decision but neither given the opportunity to respond