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.

The Guy Behind eHarmony: Neil Warren

1934: Born September, 18 near Des Moines, Iowa

Family: Marylyn Mann, wife of 46 years, 3 married daughters, 9 grandchildren

1956: Graduated from Pepperdine

1959: Master's in divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary

1967: Doctorate in psychology from Univ of Chicago

1975-82: Assis prof and dean Fuller Theological Seminary's Grad School of Psychology 

2000: Launched eHarmony (favorite dimension of "Marrital Compatibility" is adaptability)

2007: Retired from eHarmony

20012: Returned to eHarmony as CEO

False Rumor about Joel Osteen

A fake website proclaimed that Megachurch pastor Joel Osteen was resigning from the pulpit due to a lack of faith. You can see it here. It was only a hoax. The Texas pastor's name is even misspelled in the web address. The site includes a fake CNN story with the headline Pastor of mega church resigns, rejects Christ. A statement alledgedly from Osteen reads, "I believe now that the Bible is a fallible, flawed, highly inconsistent history book that has been altered hundreds of times. There is zero evidence the Bible is the holy word of God. In fact, there is zero evidence 'God' even exists." There are more details at the Houston Chronicle here.

Home News Top News Business Canada Sports Entertainment Technology World Indices Products & Services Support About Thomson Reuters Religious groups vie for new Web domain names

Who gets .church or .Bible? Read the story here.

Taking Revivals Online

AP takes a look at efforts by the Billy Graham Assoc. to reach out through new media here.

Tebow's Supernatural Coincidence?

The most Googled search term last night and this morning was... John 3:16, thanks to Tim Tebow. The Denver quarterback led his team to an overtime win against the Pittsburgh Steelers last night in dramatic fashion. The outspoken Christian was banned by the NFL from putting John 3:16 paint in white on top of his eye black. but that didn't stop the Denver Broncos QB from delivering the message in another way. He passed for 316 yards against the Steelers, and set an NFL playoff record with 31.6 yards per completion. Tebow also refers to the verse when he signs off in a message to fans on his website.

Christian Book Store Struggles in Internet Culture

Fox News takes a look at the financial struggles of Christian bookstores here.

Steve Jobs

CNN offers a story about the spiritual side of Steve Jobs here.

Megachurch Pastor Launches Site

Controversial megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll has launched a new website focused on theology and culture. PastorMark.tv joins several other sites that Driscoll is involved in - including Resurgence which is designed for church leaders and Acts 29 Network which is for leaders of new churches. Driscoll has made extensive use of new media - he has more than 117,000 Facebook fans and more than 167,000 Twitter followers. The pastor of Seattle's Mars Hill church has found himself in the middle of several controversies, including a recent move into Portland by his church that brought protests from gay rights groups.

What would Jesus hack?

The Economist looks at "Just how much does Christian doctrine have in common with the open-source software movement?" here.

NASCAR Prayer is now a song

You may have heard of the pastor whose unusual prayer at a NASCAR event has garnered national attention. Joe Nelms, pastor at Family Baptist Church in Lebanon, Tennessee, thanked got for his "smokin' hot wife" and ended his prayer with "Boogity, boogity, boogity. Amen." Now, the Gregory Brothers ("schmoyoho" on YouTube and best known for creating the Bed Intruder Song) has posted a song using Nelms's prayer using Auto-Tune.

Link Complaint

An atheist group is asking the state of Wisconsin to remove a link from its website to an anti-abortion group. Care Net is a faith-based ministry helping pregnant women. The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation says a state link to Care Net is a state endorsement of religion, despite a disclaimer to the contrary on the site. The state Department of Administration is reviewing the complaint.

Petition Against Megachurch Leaders by Members

Senior members of the Crystal Cathedral have started an online petition against the megachurch's current leadership provided by the daughters of founder Robert Schuller. It proclaims to the congregation "It is time to rise up and take our church back!” The organizers are calling for a church board independent of the Schullers. The Southern California church filed for bankruptcy last year, leading the layoff of nearly 150 employees.

Exorcism, Satanism and the Internet

NPR offers a report on a Vatican Conference covering exorcism, Satanism and the Internet here.

The Manhattan Declaration

Apple has removed an app called the Manhattan Declaration from its iTunes store. Some 7000 people had signed a petition to get it deleted, saying it is anti-gay. Launched in October, the 4000 word statement has been signed by more than 400,000 people and is described as 'a call to Christian conscience.' Read the Manhattan declaration here.

Facebook Theology

A look at Facebook theology at CNN.

Pastor Bans Facebook

A pastor at a New Jersey church is giving his staff an ultimatum: Give up Facebook or give up their position. Cedric Miller at Living Word Christian Fellowship Church says Facebook is breaking up marriages at his Asbury Park evangelical congregation because people can reconnect through the social network.

Search Engines

A number of new Internet search engines promise to filter out queries related to potentially offensive or tempting topics like alcohol and pornography. The Muslim-oriented search engine I'mHalal offers no results at all for terms like pornography. Type in alchol and it give results explaining the Islamic view of drinking. A similar Christian search engine is SeekFind, operated from Colorado Springs, Colorado and the Jewish community has Jewogle.

Focus Going Social

Focus on the Family say it is going to do "everything Facebook lets a company do." The ministry founded by James Dobson plans to use social media and extensively even though it didn't have a Facebook page until last year. Even then, it was a supporter and not an employee who started it. The site now has 51,000 fans. Facebook says it has surpassed 500 million active users, making it the largest social network in the world.

Beliefnet Sold

Fox Network owner Rupert Murdoch has sold Beliefnet.com to the owners of Affinity4. The company is operated by a group of Evangelicals. Beliefnet was started in 1999 by Steven Waldman who had worked at the Washington Monthly and Newsweek magazines. Waldan sold his stake in Beliefnet to Mr. Murdoch in 2008. He is and now working for the Federal Communications Commission.