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.

Rise in Religiously Unaffiliated Americans

One in five Americans doesn't have any religious affiliation. It's the fastest growing category of Americans, according to a new Pew survey. This group has jumped by a quarter in the last five years. That percentage is even higher when it comes to younger Americans. Some 35 million have no religious affiliation - with more than a third of that group labeling themselves atheist or agnostic. Still, more than two-thirds of the unaffiliated say they do believe in God and more than a third call themselves spiritual and a fifth say they pray each day. More than a third of younger millennials (18-22 year olds) have no ties to any religious group.

Bookstore Drops Book over Controversy

The bookstore chain run by the Southern Baptist church won't stock a book because it includes the word vagina. LifeWay Christian Resources decided against stocking Rachel Held Evans book A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband Master. The author says she was advised by her editor to remove the word before it was published. She did - until an outcry from her readers changed her mind when they started an Amazon petition to keep the word in the book. The book comes out at the end of the month.

More Suits against Mandate

A couple of Baptist colleges are suing the Obama administration’s mandate about contraceptives. East Texas Baptist University and Houston Baptist University say the Health and Human services requirement would force the schools to violate their religious beliefs related to providing their employees with access to what they call abortion-causing drugs. Tyndale House Publishers, Hobby Lobby, and other schools have filed suits as well. Lawsuits filed by Wheaton College and the Catholic Belmont Abbey College have been dismissed. The judges in those cases said the legal action was premature because the government hasn't actually said these groups aren't covered by a religious exception yet.

Plan to Firebomb 50 churches thwarted

An Oklahoma man is behind bars for planning to burn down some 50 churches, according to Ottawa County prosecutors. Gregory Weiler attended Bradley University in Illinois but left to join a religious group in Missouri. Authorities say he had already bought materials for putting together Molotov cocktails in his hotel room. Family members say both of his parents committed suicide while he was a young teenager, he had been hospitalized for mental illness and become addicted to heroin and alcohol. He is believed to have been acting alone.

Singing Instead of Praying

KXNW-TV reports on a school where preschoolers are singing Bible verses instead of praying because of new federal laws. Here's the video.

"Touchdown Jesus" gets Replaced

A large statue of Jesus now looms at an Ohio megachurch. The Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio dedicated the new "Lux Mundi" (The Light of the World) statute yesterday. It replaces the sculpture commonly known as "Touchdown Jesus." In 2010, it was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. The new statue has lots of safety features designed to prevent that from happening again. The dedication drew a few protesters who said the statue amounted to idol worship.

'America for Jesus' campaign

CNN offers a video report on the 'America for Jesus' campaign below.

TBN in Israel

TBN sets up shop with a camera on the Mount of Olives. Read about the building Christian TV broadcasters bought in Jerusalem here.

Jesus Wife Fragment Authenticy Questioned

Baptist Press takes a look at what scholars are saying about a small, newly translated Coptic manuscript fragment indicating that Jesus may have had a wife here.

Warren Hospitalized

Megachurch pastor Rick Warren is in a California hospital. The Saddleback pastor said he was having pain in his arms and numbness in his fingers. He's now undergoing tests. He has canceled plans to lead a church event tomorrow (Thursday).

Suit over Muslim attack in Michigan

A group called the Bible Believers are suing a Sheriff's office in Detroit, Michigan for not protecting two of its members from being attacked by Muslims. The group claims the Wayne County Sheriff and two of his deputies stood by while the Christian men were hit by bottles, rocks and other debris while they were witnessing at the Arab International Festival in Dearborn this summer. Here's a video of what happened.

Banner Controversy

NBC News offers this reports on a story we told you about last week - run-through banners at football games at a Texas school.

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Update on TX Verse Ban

The ban on Bible verses on banners at a Texas school we told you about yesterday is on hold. A judge has stepped in, issuing a temporary restraining order while he considers a lawsuit filed by parents of cheerleaders. The parents claim in the suit that the ban amounts to speech censorship. Cheerleaders at Kountze High School in Beaumont were told to stop by the school superintendent.

Bible Verses on Banners Banned at TX Football Games

Texas educators are telling cheerleaders to stop putting Bible verses on banners for high school football games. The Texas Association of School Boards told the Kountze Independent School District to get rid of the verses after a resident complained that the banner one of the teams runs through at the start of games has a Bible reference. The cheerleaders say no school money was involved and the signs were not designed on school property.

Fragment: Jesus Married?

A Harvard professor says she has identified a scrap of papyrus suggesting some early Christians believed Jesus was married. Read the story here.

Baylor Prof wins Philosophy Award

C. Stephen Evans is winner of the C.S. Lewis Book Prize Competition. The Baylor Philosopy prof took the award for the best book published in the philosophy of religion or philosophical theology written for a general audience in the last five years with his Natural Signs and the Knowledge of God: A New Look at Theistic Arguments. Minnesota's University of St. Thomas hands out the award which is funded by the John Templeton Foundation. It includes a $15,000 prize.

Wal-Mart: You Can't Sing God Bless American Here

Wal-Mart officials are now apologizing to an elementary school choir after one of its Florida stores would not allow students to sing God Bless America inside the store on Sept. 11. Here is video report from WSVN-TV. WSVN-TV -

Winan operated Scam

One of the Winans gospel music family is facing fraud charges in Detroit. Authorities say Michael Winans Jr. operated a Ponzi scheme, where investors lost more than $8 million. Winan's lawyer says his client plans to plead guilty and try to repay the people who lost money. He sold the bogus oil bonds, knowing they were worthless, to more than one thousand church-goers. Michael Winans Jr. is the grandson of Mom Winans and Pop Winans and the son of a member of The Winans, a quartet of brothers. Authorities say the scam did not involve other members of the Winans family.

Christian Album Tops Pop Chart

TobyMac is the first to put a Christian album on the top of the Billboard chart in some 15 years. Eye On It is the first since 1997 to hit number one when LeAnn Rimes’s You Light Up My Life – Inspirational Songs made it. Bob Carlisle’s Butterfly Kisses made it to number one earlier that year. Several Christian albums have reached #2 in the last two years. That list includes: Casting Crowns’ Come to the Wall, Red’s Until We Have Faces and David Crowder Band’s Give Us a Rest all peaked at number two.