FCC say no to Graphic Super Bowl Ad

The FCC says a Chicago TV station does not have to run a graphic anti-abortion ad during the Super Bowl. Christian activist Randall Terry wanted to buy the ads as part of his campaign for the Democratic nomination for President. Broadcast stations are not allowed to censure political ads once they accept ads for a particular race. But WMAQ-TV refused, so Terry appealed to the FCC. The Commission supported the station's decision, basing its ruling on Terry's failure to show that he is a bona fide candidate who is running a substantial campaign, necessary requirements in order for him to be considered a legitimate candidate entitled to the broadcast time. Terry is not on the ballot in Illinois. The Commission also said that Terry had no right to demand when his ads would run.

Woman reads Bible to attacker

A North Carolina mother stopped an attacker by ready the Bible to him for an hour. The man slashed the throat of Lindsay Wood right after she returned home from church Wednesday night. He eventually apologized and fled the scene. Wood was hospitalized with wounds requiring several dozen stitches. The man is still on the run. There is a video report from WSOC-TV here.

Baptists Poised to Make History

Southern Baptists could soon have its first Black leader. Fred (Chip) Luther says he will seek to become president of the denomination. Baptist leaders says the New Orleans pastor is the easy favorite. Church representatives will meet in his city during June to make a decision, when Georgia's Bryant Wright finished his second one-year term. Luther already made history by becoming the convention's first African-American vice president. At the moment, Luther has no other competition for the post.

Eddie Long 'Crowned King'

Jewish leaders and Messianic Jewish groups say they are outraged over an incident at Eddie Long's Atlanta megachurch this past Sunday. A Messianic preacher had two men wrap Bishop Eddie Long in a large scroll of the Torra and called a "king." Long has been in the middle of a sex scandal. There are accusations that he sexually abused several teenagers at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church over a period of years. See the video below.

Osteen's Church Sued

A man who volunteered at Joel Osteen's Houston is suing the megachurch because of molestation accusations. Daniel Guzman claims Lakewood Church was negligence when another volunteer accused him of inappropriately touching an autistic child in 2010. Because the child cannot speak the police investigation was inconclusive. However, Guzman was arrested a year later, but he was never indicted for lack of evidence. In his lawsuit, Guzman claims the church "abandoned" him - while failing to gather video evidence and training of church personnel to deal with the issue. His attorney says Guzman left the state over the allegations.

Obama: What Would Jesus Tax?

President Barack Obama spoke today at the National Prayer Breakfast, saying Jesus’s teachings have shaped his beliefs about taxes. He told the audience that the rich should pay more not only because “I actually think that is going to make economic sense, but for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’ teaching that ‘for unto whom much is given, much shall be required." Here's the video of the event at the Washington Hilton.

Tebow Turns Down Parsley

Tim Tebow won't be speaking at a Rod Parsley revival in Ohio as originally planned. After researching some of Parsley's controversial views, particularly his prosperity teaching, the Denver Broncos quarterback declined the invite. Robbie Tebow, Tim's brother, says their speakers' bureau didn't check out the event enough before agreeing to appear. Televangelist Kenneth Copeland is also slated to speak.

Missionary Couple Murdered

A missionary couple killed near Monterrey, Mexico will be buried near Dallas today. John and Wanda Casias were found strangled in their home Tuesday during an armed home invasion. They had labored on the mission field for nearly 30 years. John Casias was 76 and and Wanda Casias was 67.Funeral services are being planned Lewisville's Liberty Baptist Church. Read more about their work here.

Charges in Murder of Pregnant Woman

For the first time, a North Carolina man faces murder charges in the death of an unborn child under a new law that went into affect this year. Mark Anthony Cox is accused of robbing the Flying Biscuit restaurant and killing the manager, Danielle Watson, who was pregnant. Here's two video reports from WCNC-TV in Charlotte.

Megachurch for Sale

The Fellowship at Two Rivers is selling its sanctuary. The former Two Rivers Baptist Church near the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center in Nashville is a meagchurch that once needed its 3000 facility. But now, after the church split over a legal controversy involving a former pastor, there's less than 1000 people coming each week. a

Kim Kardashian gets Spritual

Kim Kardashian says she wants to start a Bible study. Before going to church this weekend in Los Angeles, the TV reality star told her 12 million Twitter followers "On my way to church with the girls!" and later she tweeted, "I want to start a bible study group with my friends!" Kardashian told CNN's Piers Morgan that she gives 10% of whatever she makes to the LifeChange Community Church. Her mother started the Calabasas, California congregation last year. The pastor, Brad Johnson, officiated at the marriage of Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom. There have been rumors that Kim Kardashian has a crush on Tim Tebow but the Denver quarterback has turned aside her overtures.

Twitter Censoring Messages

Twitter Inc., the microblogging service, gave itself extra flexibility to censor information in parts of the world that impose restrictions on self-expression. Effective yesterday, Twitter added the ability to censor tweets on a country-by-country basis, rather than globally, the San Francisco-based company said in a blog post.
 

The shift would let Twitter comply with strictures in one country without having to pull offending tweets from its entire audience. Previously, Twitter banned offensive content on a global basis, rather than for a specific nation. Still, the decision drew criticism from some users because the service has been used as an agent of social change around the world, including the Middle East.

Some Twitter users are calling for a boycott of the service tomorrow in protest of the decision. They’re using “#TwitterBlackout” as a hash tag -- a label that lets people easily find tweets on the same topic.

Reporters Without Borders, an organization that seeks to defend freedom of information, also said it was disturbed by Twitter’s decision.

Read more here

PBS on ‘The Evangelical Vote’

PBS’s Religion & Ethics Newsweekly takes a look at Evangelicals and their views on the Republican presidential race, particularly the religious views of Mitt Romney.

Watch The Evangelical Vote on PBS. See more from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.

Appeal Court: Student Expulsion Could be Religious Hostility

An appeals court has sided with a student who was expelled from her university for refusing to counsel a client about a same-sex relationship. Julea Ward told professors at Eastern Michigan University her Christian faith prevented her from supporting the sexual orientation of gay clients. She asked to have a gay client referred to another counselor. Instead, she was kicked out of school. A judge said the university was within its right to remove her from the program since she was unwilling to fulfill its requirements for a counseling degree. But today, the Sixth Appeals court said Ward's claim could be legitimate and sent it back to the lower court for further consideration. The judges said that she may have been dismissed because of "hostility toward her speech and faith." A spokesperson for the school says the case is really about doing what's best for the client.  The decision returns the case to the district court for a jury trial. The Sixth Circuit includes Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, so the legal precedent applies only to those states.

Church Bans Girl Scout Troop

St. Timothy Catholic Church in Chantilly, Virginia will not allow a Girl Scout troop to use its facilities any longer. The pastor says the decision was based on the Scout's association with Planned Parenthood. The Girl Scout have issued a statement denying any relationship between it and Planned Parenthood.

Churches Ask for Captioning Exemptions

Some 80 religious programmers are asking the FCC to exempt them from the Commission's new closed captioning rules because of financial hardship. This past fall, the FCC told more than 500 programmers, most of them religious broadcasters, that their exemptions would no longer apply and they would have to refile for a new exemption by January 18 (last Wednesday). Programmers were told they would have to fully document their financial resources and show that providing captioning would put an undue burden on the organization. This time, the Commission says it wants to look at the resources of the whole organization and not just the TV program itself. Most of those filing for the new exemption are churches with weekly TV broadcasts, such as Curtis Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia and Dilworth Church of Christ in Jasper, Alabama.

Why Evangelicals Don’t Like Mormons

The New York Times takes a shot at answering the question "Why Evangelicals Don’t Like Mormons" here.

Heavy Metal Rock Star to Seminary

The bass player for Megadeth -  is taking seminary classes. David Ellefson, an original member of the legendary band is now an online student in the Specific Ministry Program at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, which is associated with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Ellefson grew up on an farm in Minnesota where he attended Our Savior's Lutheran Church. He moved to LA and became the Megadeth bass player. Despite immediate success came addictions. He entered a recovery program at the age of 25 where he embraced his faith again. Ellefson got involved in a Lutheran church in Arizona, starting a music ministry called MEGA life. Ellefson has two more years of online classes at the seminary before he becomes eligible for ordination. At the same time, he's still a part of Megadeth, which begins a new tour with Motorhead next week. He's been quoted as saying, "I love praise and worship music, and I love heavy metal."

Suit over Bible Club

The Dysart Unified School District is facing a lawsuit over its refusal to allow a Christian club at West Point Elementary, in Surprise, Arizona. Child Evangelism Fellowship wanted to give out a flier and permission slips for after-school meetings for one of its Good News Club. The problem started when the school wanted to give out fliers about the after-school program but the school district said "no" because the religious nature of the information. The Alliance Defense Fund filed the suit and says that courts have consistently ruled that such a policy is discriminatory because the decision is based solely on it having religious content.

Pagan Mom Wants to Hand out Literature at School

A North Carolina school is refusing to allow the mother of a student to give out pagan spell books at the school. Ginger Strivelli, who practices Witchcraft, wanted to hand them out at North Windy Ridge intermediate school in Asheville. She was upset that her son came home with a Bible given out by the Gideons International at the school. The Buncombe County school board is reviewing its policies on allowing groups to distribute religious literature on campuses. A decision is expected at its next meeting, scheduled for February 2nd.