The New Calvinists

An article from The Economist about Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention can be found here.

New Suit against Eddie Long

Georgia megachurch pastor Eddie Long is facing a bank lawsuit. The New Birth Missionary Baptist Church is also being sued by 4 men who are charging him with coercing them into sexual relationships as teenagers. The latest legal action against Long comes form the State Bank and Trust and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The company says Bishop and two others owe nearly two million on a loan for a gym.

Bible College Murder

A North Carolina man is behind bars in connection with the shooting death of a Bible college student. Christopher Amyx faces murder charges in the death of Jonathan Schipper at Mid-Atlantic Christian University in Elizabeth City. Amyz not only attended the school, he served as a part-time police officer. He says it was a case of self-defense.

Religious License Plate Ruling

A Vermont law banning religious expression on license plates has been overturned. A federal appeals court overruled a judge who had upheld the law which prohibited any combination of letters or numbers that referred to a religion or deity. The issue went to court after Vermont officials refused to allow Shawn Byrne to put John 3:16 on his tag.

Pastor Vies for Mayor

A megachurch pastor is running for mayor Chicago. James Meeks not only serves as pastor of Salem Baptist Church, but he is a state senator as well. He has told his congregation he has no plans to leave the church if he is elected.

Albertina Walker Dies

Gospel singer Albertina Walker died today in Chicago. She was 81 years old and had been battling emphysema. Here's a video of her singing.

Yoga a Threat to Christianity?

A leader in the Southern Baptist Convention is telling Christians to avoid yoga. Southern Baptist Seminary President Albert Mohler says it comes out of Eastern religions and Christians should avoid it. Mohler says messages have been coming in at a rate of about 100 an hour since his September article titled Should Christians Practice Yoga began receiving attention from the national news media.

Pastor Dies in Church Van Accident

A Georgia pastor and three others died in a church van accident yesterday. The van flipped over when a tire blew out near the south Georgia town of Blakely, ejecting 19 people. R.D. Williams, pastor of the Tabernacle of Prayer and Deliverance in Columbus, was among the four killed. The group was traveling to a Florida revival.

Shooting at Christian School

A student was killed yesterday at a small North Carolina Christian university. Jonathan Schipper was fatally shot in a dorm room at Mid-Atlantic Christian University. Police say the suspected shooter later surrendered. The Elizabeth City school was formerly known as Roanoke Bible College.

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.

Atlanta Pastor Blasts Eddie Long

An Atlanta pastor is urging Eddie Long to "tell the truth." Dennis Meredith, pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church, says in a YouTube video that he plans to address Long's controversy Sunday. Four young men are suing the Long, accusing him of coercing them into sexual relations. Long says he'll defend himself against the allegations. Most of Meredith's congregation is gay, lesbian and bisexual. Here's the video:

The Vote and the Pulpit

About 100 pastors joined a yearly campaign last Sunday where they endorse political candidates. Sponsored by the Alliance Defense Fund, the pastors hope to start a legal battle that will overturn prohibitions against churches endorsing candidates.

Obama Defends Religious Views

President Barack Obama defended his Christianity today during a stop today in Albuquerque, New Mexico. When asked, "Why are you a Christian" he told the audience:

"I'm a Christian by choice. My family didn't — frankly, they weren't folks who went to church every week. And my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn't raise me in the church. So I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead — being my brothers' and sisters' keeper, treating others as they would treat me. And I think also understanding that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility we all have to have as human beings, that we're sinful and we're flawed and we make mistakes, and that we achieve salvation through the grace of God. But what we can do, as flawed as we are, is still see God in other people and do our best to help them find their own grace."

"That's what I strive to do. That's what I pray to do every day. I think my public service is part of that effort to express my Christian faith. One thing I want to emphasize, having spoken about something that obviously relates to me very personally, as president of the United States I'm also somebody who deeply believes that part of the bedrock strength of this country is that it embraces people of many faiths and no faith. That this is a country that is still predominantly Christian, but we have Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, Buddhists, and that their own path to grace is one that we have to revere and respect as much as our own."

Who Knows More about Religion: Atheists or Christians?

A survey about religion finds that atheists and agnostics knew more, on average, than followers of most major faiths. A majority of Protestants, for instance, couldn't identify Martin Luther as the driving force behind the Protestant Reformation. The survey was conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Four in 10 Catholics incorrectly said that the bread and wine used in Holy Communion are merely symbolize the body and blood of Christ as Baptists believe, not actually become them. The question that elicited the most correct responses overall was about whether public school teachers are allowed to lead their classes in prayer.

Atheist Chaplain

Tufts University near Boston is seriously considering hiring an atheist chaplain. The "Humanist chaplain" would serve "non−religious Tufts students." The Tufts Freethought Society made the request of the school, pointing out that when its 2012 class was asked about religious affiliation, nearly a third who responded marked none.

Joni and Friends

PBS profiles Joni Eareckson Tada here.

Bart Simpson Sued

The woman who provides the voice of Bart Simpson is being sued for money that was given to the Church of Scientology. Nancy Cartwright has voiced the character since Fox started airing The Simpson's cartoon in 1989. Now, two insurance companies are suing her, claiming her late fiancé, Stephen Brackett, took money from a Hollywood restaurant before he committing suicide and gave it to the cult. Brackett's construction company was supposed to be renovating the restaurant, but never completed the project. His company filed for bankruptcy shortly after his death. Both Brackett and Cartwright have been active members of the church.

Sexual Accusations Against MegaChurch Pastor

A megachurch pastor is denying a lawsuit in which he is accused of coercing two teenagers into a sexual relationship. They say Eddie Long, pastor of the 25,000 member New Birth Missionary Baptist in Atlanta, seduced them at the ages of 17 and 18 (they are now in their 20s). Long denies the accusations and his lawyers point to a burglary at Long's office over the summer. One of the accusers is facing charges in relation to the break-in.

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.

Religious Speech Case Tossed Out

An Appeals Court has thrown out a lawsuit by a student whose professor shouted him down while he was giving a presentation about his Christian faith and called him a "fascist bastard" in the speech class. Jonathan Lopez sued the Los Angeles Community College District over the incident last year involving professor John Matteson. A judge agreed but a panel unanimously found that Lopez failed to show he was harmed and that he lacked standing to bring the case. He plans an appeal.