New TV Show: Preachers of L.A.

A group of prosperity teachers are getting their own reality show. The Oxygen network will debut Preachers of L.A., a look at six mega-pastors in Southern California. "P. Diddy. Jay-Z. They're not the only ones who should be driving Ferraris and living in large houses," said Bishop Ron Gibson in one of the show’s episodes. The show has sparked a petition on change.org to stop the network from launching what the site calls “a poor representation of the Kingdom of God.” You can see the petition here. Here's the trailer:

Preachers assaulted at gay pride festival

A group of people attacked two sign-carrying preachers at the Seattle gay pride festival Sunday. Their signs said Jesus saves from sin and repent or else. One woman tried to take one of the signs and then a group of men grabbed it while the crowd applauded. One of the men, Jason Queree, began beating the preacher. He was later arrested. Here's a video of the altercation.

Westboro: We'll Picket Andy Griffith's Funeral

The Westboro Baptist Church may have missed its chance. The group that thrives on picketing funerals had said it planned to picket the funeral of actor Andy Griffith. But Griffith was buried on North Carolina's Roanoke Island just hours after he died. The star of The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock, Griffith also won a Grammy for a Gospel album. Margie Phelps, spokesperson for Westboro, called him a "twice-divorced adulterer who taught sin.

Protest against Billy Graham

The infamous Westboro Baptist Church has set its sights on Billy Graham's Charlotte-based library yesterday. Members protested what the church's website calls the "lying whore false prophet Billy Graham" because he should tell people "that it's not okay to be a fag, it's not okay to divorce and remarry, it's not okay to fornicate, it's not okay to kill your babies." The group declared Graham's wife is in hell and he will go there as well. Graham has publicly supported a proposed state amendment that would ban gay marriage.

Burning the Koran.. again

Evangelical leaders are condemning Terry Jones decision to burn copies of the Koran over the weekend along with an image of Muhammad. The Gainesville, Florida pastor says he's protesting Iran's continued imprisonment of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. About two dozen people showed up and the city gave the church a citation for violating burn ordinances.

Students Walk out on Speaker

Students walked out on a speaker at a high school journalism conference in Seattle following his derogatory comments about the Bible. Dan Savage told students at the National High School Journalism Convention - among other things - to ignore the “bulls--t in the Bible about gay people.” A conservative gay rights group said it was ironic that at a speech on bullying, the speaker would resort to name-calling. Savage called the students who were offended "pansy-asses." Video of what happened is posted below.

Pastor's Protest over Mascot

A central Georgia pastor has filed a lawsuit for his arrest while protesting a high school's demon mascot. Donald Crosby, pastor of God’s Kingdom Builders Church of Jesus Christ, says city of Warner Robins violated his First Amendment rights. He gathered with a couple of dozen members of his congregation outside of the city's high school on the first day of classes. Officers told him that he needed a permit and he got one, but was arrested both times.

Atheist group Demonstrates

Doughnuts for Protesters

A Seattle pastor bought food for the Westboro Baptist Church members this weekend. Word got out the serial protesters were coming to Mark Driscoll's Mars Hill Church. He wrote a post on his blog welcoming Westboro "to our whore house for God's Grace and free donuts." Read it here.

Protest at Mosque

Terry Jones, the Quran burning Florida pastor, wants to protest in front of a mosque. But a Michigan judge has told him to appear in court first. The protest is scheduled for later this week in Dearborn at the Islamic Center of America. Prosecutors have asked the judge to make Jones post a bond to cover the cost of additional police officers during the demonstration. When Jones burned a Quran at his small church in Gainesville, Florida last month, riots broke out in Afghanistan, leading to an attack on a United Nation's facility that killed seven staff workers.

Pastors Protest BP

A group of 40 people including many Black pastors protested at the Calvary Baptist Church in Kenner, Louisiana against BP. They are complaining that the oil company was slow making payments to their churches. The pastors say the spill cut into their donations.

Religion at the High Court

The Supreme Court begins a new term today and on the docket are two high profile cases involving religious issues. The justices will look at an Arizona program that directs state money to religious schools through an income tax credit scholarship program. The high court will also consider anti-gay protests by a church group at military funerals. The court must decide whether the public rants against homosexuality by the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas are protected by the First Amendment.

High Court to Consider Church Protests

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider the case of a Pennsylvania man awarded $5 million from the Westboro Baptist Church of Kansas, after members of the church protested outside his son's military funeral. Snyder found the church's Web site attacked him for raising his son a Catholic and supporting his service in the armed forces. The decision was overturned by an appeals court last year.

DC March for Life

WTTG-TV reports on the March for Life in Washington, DC.

Little Rock Protest

An anti-abortion rally in Little Rock. KLRT reports.

Portland Rally

KPTV reports on an anti-abortion rally in Portland.

Suit Over Abortion Protest

A New Jersey teen is suing Bridgeton High School for refusing to let her join a anti-abortion protest. The girl is only identified as CH in court papers. The suit claims she asked the school's principal for permission to join in the Pro Life Day of Silent Solidarity on October 20th. The protest is organized annually by Stand True, a ministry based in Troy, Ohio. But the principal told her she could not "do anything religious" on the campus. The teen wanted to wear an armband with the word "life" on it and to hand out anti-abortion pamphlets. CH says she was later punished for sharing her views.

Church Boycott Poll

A Florida church’s boycott of Pepsi has local newspaper readers split. Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon decided to pull away from the soft drink company after it refused to drop its support of organizations that "oppose traditional family values.” Specifically, it has sponsored gay pride parades and opposed California's same-sex marriage ban. A Tampa Tribune readers poll found 45% of readers agree with the church and 55% disagree. Some 50 area churches are joining the boycott.

Pink Menno Video

Here's video of the pink menno protest in Columbus, Ohio. Gay and lesbian Mennonites gathered outside the church's official convention to pray, sing and tell stories about how they've been ostracized in the denomination. Some 1400 members signed a letter calling on the church to allow homosexual members to participate in the church services. Inside the annual meeting, the subject was avoided because it had stirred up conflict at other meetings. Here is video of the protest.

Pink Menno

A group of about 100 Mennonites dressed in bright pink are protesting the denomination’s views on gay issues. The church is holding its biannual convention in Columbus, Ohio. Those gathered outside to protest are calling it the pink Menno campaign. They have a petition with the names of 1400 Mennonites who say they support the effort.