NC Baptist church plans Halloween book burning. A North Carolina Baptist church plans to go ahead with a Halloween celebration that will center around the burning of bibles and other books, even though the event will be illegal. The Amazing Grace Baptist Church will be subject to a $25,000 fine for violating open burning laws,... Continue Reading

by Diana Chandler, a freelance writer and member of Irish Channel Christian Fellowship in New Orleans. It’s informally known as “the church that buys gas for people.” The moniker is a result of community outreach spurred when Pastor Jeff McMain plainly told members of First Baptist Church in Clay, Ky., to “just go.” “We were... Continue Reading

By Matthew Davies Describing themselves as representing the “broad center” of the Episcopal Church, six U.S. bishops were welcomed Oct. 23 as guests of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams at his London residence, Lambeth Palace. “Our message was to say that the Episcopal Church is not a perfect church, but … it is alive, it... Continue Reading

Robert Knight A funny thing happened on the way to one of the biggest scam attempts in history. It got ratted out. And Capitol Hill got an earful. So the U.S. Senate failed by seven votes to invoke cloture on Wednesday and push forward a bill that even had Washington Post editorialists gagging on its... Continue Reading

A coalition of about 40 pro-life Democrats apparently could decide the fate of a health care bill that soon will come before the House of Representatives, with the outcome decided either way by only a handful of votes. At issue is whether the health care bill being written by congressional Democratic leaders will include public... Continue Reading

President Barack Obama has now signed into law a controversial “hate crimes” bill that authorizes the federal government to intervene in violent crimes that appear motivated by hatred of homosexuals and apply stiffer penalties and sentences. President Barack Obama signed the measure into law at 2:30 pm today, Oct 28. The expanded hate crime legislation... Continue Reading

Three weeks ago, with much fanfare, a team of scientists unveiled the fossil skeleton of Ardi, a 4-foot-tall female primate who lived and died 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia. According to her discoverers, Ardi – short for Ardipithecus ramidus, her species – is our oldest known ancestor. She predated Lucy, the... Continue Reading

Hannover Bishop Margot Kaessmann became the first woman to lead the Protestant church in Germany on Wednesday, Oct 28th after receiving 132 out of 142 votes from the synod. The 51-year-old succeeds 67 year old Bishop Wolfgang Huber, who is retiring. “With trust in God’s help I accept the vote,” she said. Following the vote... Continue Reading

By Julia Duin Although I think religion is the queen of beats, it’s not often I hear journalists from other disciplines admit how important covering God really is. Which is why I was glad to see two editors from the Economist magazine release “God is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith is Changing the... Continue Reading

By: Angela Abbamonte The Department of Homeland Security has amended its uniform and grooming policies after a Sikh man lost his job for wearing a turban and refusing to shave. Federal standards had required security guards to be clean-shaven and to wear a specified uniform and hat, two things that conflict with Sikh requirements to... Continue Reading