Ted Cruz booed at Christian event

Senator Ted Cruz was booed off the stage at an event sponsored by In Defense of Christians in Washington, DC--where most of the people in attendance came from the Middle East. IDC focuses on the plight of Iraqi Christians and others believers in the region. Cruz was initially welcomed, but when he began a defense of Israel, the crowd turned against him--especially when he remarked, "“Let me say this: those who hate Israel hate America. And those who hate Jews hate Christians.” Here's a video from the event.

Reagan: "Not afraid of burning in hell"

Ronald Reagan's son is supporting atheism in a new radio advertisement. The ad for the Freedom From Religion Foundation features Ron Reagan saying, "I an unabashed atheist, and I’m alarmed by the intrusions of religion into our secular government...Ron Reagan, lifelong atheist, not afraid of burning in hell."

There's a Civil War Brewing at Rick Santorum's Christian Film Company

A lawsuit filed Monday in Tarrant County and first reported by Courthouse News describes escalating tensions between Santorum and other top executives that finally boiled over in recent days. Read more at the Dallas Observer here.

Billy Graham's Throat-slashing comment to Nixon

A recently released audio tape by the Nixon Presidential Library shows a comment from Billy Graham in 1973 to then President Richard Nixon that has gotten a reaction from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The exchange concerned the CBS television network coverage of Nixon’s first speech about Watergate.

Nixon: “What did CBS do? Did they knock it?”
Graham: “I felt like slashing their throats, but anyway God be with you.”

You can hear the exert on the audio file below. The tape was part of 340 hours of conversations released and posted online by the National Archives and Records. Graham's organization says:

Mr. Graham has always been the first to admit that he is a sinner saved by grace. In response to some of the things he said during the Watergate era, he admitted, “I sometimes put my foot in my mouth. I’ve made many statements I wish I could recall. I am an erring, fallible disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ, and am subject to all the temptations, human frailties and errors of other disciples of the Lord.”

Even in death, a popular pastor makes Chinense authorities nervous

On August 16th some 30,000 people attended a memorial service for a popular Christian pastor in Guangzhou, his home city. That does not count the many police. Officially, China has 23m Christians. The real number is somewhere between 60m and 130m. Read more in The Economist.

Public Prayer Heads to the Supreme Court

The public prayers of a small town in New York are now the focus of a U.S. Supreme Court case that may redefine the legal limits on religious expression at official functions across the country. Read more in Business Week.

Liberty Loses Appeal on Obamacare Suit

An appeals court has turned aside a challenge to Obamacare by a Christian university. Liberty University claimed the law makes large employers provide health insurance to full-time workers. Liberty's attorneys claimed forcing people to buy an unwanted product is a violation of the constitution's Commerce Clause. But a panel of the 4th Circuit voted 3-0 against the school, which plans an appeal to the Supreme Court. The judges said the mandate does not force employers to buy an unwanted product since they many self-insure.

Rick Santorum takes Helm of Movie Studio

Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has a new job. He's taking over as CEO of EchoLight Studios, a Christian film studio based in Dallas. Santorum joined EchoLight's board a year ago. The studio will release a Western-themed film later this year called The Redemption of Henry Myers.

President's pastor attacks 'religious right' on Easter

President Obama attend Easter worship at St. John’s Church where Luis Leon called conservatives bigots and racists from the pulpit. Here's a video report from Fox News.

TV Series: Who Does Satan Look Like?

The History Channel is catching some flack for the way Satan looks on The Bible special. Many people took to social media to say Satan looks like President Barack Obama. Even Glenn Beck tweeted "Anyone else think the Devil in #TheBible Sunday on History Channel looks exactly like That Guy?" Actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni plays the role of Satan. Series creator Mark Burnett gave a couple of thousand dollars to Obama's campaign during the 2008 election.

Baptist Appointed by White House

The White House has tapped Melissa Rogers to chair an advisory panel of faith leaders. Rogers replaces Joshua DuBois at the Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, which was formed by President George W. Bush in 2001 to create partnerships between public and private organizations. She is a Baptist and former general counsel for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. Read a blog post on the White House website from Rogers here.

Atheists apologize for misquote of Sarah Palin

American Atheists is apologizing for misquoting Sarah Palin on a billboard in Texas--but at the same time defending it. The billboard says, “We should create law based on the God of the Bible." While being interviewed by Fox's Bill O'Reilly, Palin referenced the founding fathers, saying that they gathered and decided “we would create law based on the God of the Bible and the Ten Commandments.” The atheist billboard says "should" but Palin actually said "would" and it was in reference to the founding of America, not today's political landscape. American Atheists first declared in a tweet that “Sarah Palin was NOT Misquoted” but later admitted it was wrong--saying it would change the wording but still insisting that even the mistake reflects Palin's view. There are a half-dozen other billboards going up around the Dallas and Austin area.

Colorado Springs Evangelicals

PBS takes a look at Evangelical organizations in Colorado Springs in the video below.

Stanley gets heat for Obama comment

Megachurch pastor Andy Stanley responds to his description of President Obama as 'pastor in chief' here.

This is Religious Freedom Day

Each year, the President declares January 16th to be Religious Freedom Day and calls upon Americans to "observe this day through appropriate events and activities in homes, schools, and places of worship." The day is the anniversary of the passage, in 1786, of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom.The goal is the promotion and protection of students' religious expression rights by informing educators, parents, and students about these liberties.

Inaugural Benediction

Luis León will give the closing prayer at the presidential inauguration. He is pastor of Saint John’s Church, an Episcopal parish located near the White House. It is so close, in fact, a pew has been reserved for the president to visit any service since 1815. In 2005 Luis León gave the invocation for the President George W. Bush’s second inauguration. Just a few days ago, Atlanta Evangelical pastor Louie Giglio withdrew from consideration after a sermon he gave more than a decade ago about gays came to light.

Pastor Drops out of Obama inauguration over Gay comments

The pastor picked to give the inauguration benediction is out. Louis Giglio withdrew when some comments he made some 20 years ago were posted on ThinkProgess - a politically liberal website. The pastor of Atlanta's Passion City Church said gay relationships are sinful, an abomination and he warned his congregation about the “aggressive agenda” for acceptance of the “homosexual lifestyle.” The Presidential Inaugural Committee picked Giglio for his efforts related to human trafficking, but withdrew its support of him over the remarks and gay advocacy groups urged the committee to pick someone else. Read Giglio's comments about why he pulled out here.

Scores of Evangelical Christians to show support for Hobby Lobby

In the video below, KCTV in Kansas City reports on Hobby Lobby's stand on a healthcare measure they said conflicts with the company's Christian beliefs.

KCTV5

Christian Colleges win appeal

An appeals court is ordering the Obama administration to revise its contraception mandate. Wheaton College and Belmont Abbey College complained about rules requiring employers to provide access to contraceptive care. The schools said they should fall under a religious affiliation exemption. Lower courts dismissed their challenge. This decision reinstates it.

Baptists in Congress

Southern Baptists increased their numbers in Congress this election cycle. 35 members of the House and six Senators identify themselves as Southern Baptists - the highest number in recent history. All Southern Baptist incumbents held their seats and five new members join them.