Judge: You are a 'pathetic human being'

During sentencing of convicted child molester, the Maryland judge called the former church youth group leader a ‘cowardly pervert.’ Worse yet, church leaders tried to cover up what Nathaniel Morales did. WJLA-TV has a video report.

University Suspension for Signing Petition

Some 15,000 people have signed an online petition calling on Gallaudet Univeristy to bring back Angela McCaskill as its chief diversity officer. She was suspended for signing another petition calling for a vote in Maryland on gay marriage. McCaskill had just heard a sermon at her church on gay marriage when she responded to a call to sign the petition, as many fellow members did. Many groups on both sides of the issue are upset that Gallaudet opposes diversity in opinions. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins Gallaudet even called for the school's president, Alan Hurwitz, to resign. Thousands have "liked" a post on the FRC Facebook page calling on Gally to “Reinstate Dr. McCaskill.” Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley supports same-sex marriage has called for the school to reinstate McCaskill along with a the pro-gay marriage group Marylanders for Marriage Equality. Hurwitz has ignored the outcry and not released any comments since the controversy began. Here's a video report from WJZ-TV on the debate.

Baptist State Convention Found Liable

A jury says the Florida Baptist Convention is liable for what a former pastor did. Douglas Myers plead guilty to sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy in Eustis at the Triangle Community Church where he served as pastor. The jury decided the state convention didn't properly investigate Douglas before giving him grant funds. He was accused of sexual abuse at churches in Maryland and Alabama before moving to Florida. Douglas is now serving a 7 year sentence for the crime. The church and another he started have been shut down.

Megachurch Removes Pastor

A Maryland megachurch has kicked out its pastor. The board of trustees of Jericho City of Praise Church in Landover fired Joel Peebles after a two year fight over control of the church's finances. Peebles became pastor after the church's founder, his mother, Betty Peebles, died in 2010. Here's a video report from WUSA-TV.

Debating the Bible in Chalk

There's a controversy brewing on the campus of Salisbury University in Maryland. The Atheist Society of Salisbury and the Salisbury University Cru (formerly the Campus Crusade for Christ) have been battling in chalk. Students from each group are writing Bible verses on the sidewalk and then debating them on Facebook. The Student Government Association and the Dean have met with each side, trying to keep the discussion civil. Some people at the school have complained the verses are offensive to them. The janitorial staff washes the evidence away as they make their rounds while the administration simple "chalks it up" to an expression of free speech. There are two examples of the chalking below.

Obama's New Pastor

Barack Obama’s new pastor is a Southern Baptist. The President has picked Camp David’s Evergreen Chapel at as his primary place of worship. It’s the same place George W Bush attended. The nondenominational Evergreen Chapel seats only about 150 people. It’s only a third full on most Sundays and is open to the nearly 400 military personnel and staff at Camp David. The Navy rotates chaplains through pulpit duties every three years. The present chaplain is Lieutenant Carey Cash from Memphis. Cash is a Southern Baptist who got his degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

Sunday Best

Y'Anna Crawley took the top prize in BET's American Idol-like gospel music competition, Sunday Best. The Maryland native won a recording contract and a 2009 Lincoln MKS. Crawley performed The Promise on the season finale which will be her first single on her debut project.

Hat in Church Leads to Stabbing

Baltimore police are looking for a man who stabbed his son over a hat. The two argued near the Carter Memorial Church of God when his 19-year-old son refused to remove his hat. The man got a knife from his car and stabbed his son in the left buttock.

Naval Academy Prayer Challenged

The Naval Academy is refusing to stop lunchtime prayer despite a threat from the ACLU to take the University to court. The tradition began at the Maryland school’s founding in 1845. Nine midshipmen have complained to the ACLU about the practice. Five years ago, an appeals court told the Virginia Military Institute that its mealtime prayer was unconstitutional.

The Give Project

The pastor of the Lifehouse Church East in Hagerstown, Maryland decided to give to his congregation the money he had saved for a car. Patrick Grach handed out the $6000 in various amounts and asked members to do something good with it. You can read stories of what they’ve done online.

FAITH-BASED VOTING

Mike Huckabee benefited from a strong turnout of born-again evangelical Christians in Virginia's primary. Thirty-seven percent of Virginia Republican voters were born-again evangelical Christians. They voted 63 percent for Huckabee and just 28 percent for John McCain. In Maryland, there were fewer evangelical voters and they supported Huckabee over McCain by a somewhat smaller margin. Among Republicans, Huckabee won the votes of 64 percent of Virginians and half of Marylanders who said they were looking for a candidate who shared their values.