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Gunmen have attacked a church and killed at least 19 people including the pastor in central Nigeria. Armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, the assailants stormed the church in Kogi state, near the city of Okene, during a service. ... The attack comes amid a growing insurgency by the Islamist group Boko Haram in the north of Nigeria, which has targeted churches, schools, police stations and state institutions. The latest assault surprised security forces because Otite is in the south. The group wants Sharia law imposed

Jim Garlow is the pastor of a large Methodist Church in La Mesa, California. On October 7th, just weeks before the 2012 presidential elections, he plans to endorse a presidential candidate (and maybe congressional candidates) from the pulpit. While I cannot confirm that he will endorse Mitt Romney, I can confirm that he was an advisor to former Speaker Newt Gingrich. An initiative known as Pulpit Freedom Sunday began on a Sunday morning in October 2008, and has continued on that same Sunday each year since. In June, Garlow began meeting with other pastors across America to encourage them to...

I just listened to Bill O'Reilly discuss Michelle Obama's comment that "there is no place better than church to talk politics." My first thought was to agree with the First Lady and to ask why she doesn't do something about her Democrat party which believes the First Amendment's so-called "separation" of church and state means, among other things, that churches cannot take a political stance. The IRS disallows politics in the pulpits and pews across America. Why? Because some Americans oppose tax-exempt faith-based-religions and find it distasteful when they are forced to fund a politically religious ideology. It is necessary...

Christians in India's semi-autonomous province of Aceh faced a tense Sunday, July 1, after local authorities ordered the demolition of 20 churches. Razali Abdul Rahman, the acting regent of Aceh Singkil Regency in Aceh, signed the letter already on April 30, but details recently emerged. He ordered the closure of 17 Protestant churches, two Catholic churches and one place of worship belonging to followers of a local nondenominational faith... Rights activists said the announcement came after 16 smaller Christian places of worship were recently closed in the same district. Rahman ordered members of the targeted congregations "to tear down" the...

  Empty Churches – Where Should We Draw The Line? May 9th, 2012by Gary Zimak.  “Religion is popular only when it ceases to be truly religious. Religion by its very nature is unpopular – certainly unpopular with the ego.” (Archbishop Fulton J Sheen)Recently, an interesting article was brought to my attention. Appearing in The Morning Call (Allentown, PA), the point was raised that organized religion was on the decline throughout the area. More and more, organized religion is coming under attack, as evidenced by the recent YouTube video “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus”. While the idea of individuals...

Pastors and Christian ministry leaders have a high calling to preach the truth from the Word of God. Speaking the truth is essential all the time but it is especially important to do so when we elect leaders who will make law and policy that affect our faith, our families and our freedom. There is an ongoing struggle for the soul of America. Many people look to pastors and Christian ministry leaders for guidance on important moral and social issues.

Imagine if Pat Robertson called for the demolition of all the mosques in America. It would be front-page news. It would be on every network and cable-news program. There would be a demand for Christians to denounce him, and denounce him they would — in the harshest terms. The president of the United States and other world leaders would weigh in, too. Rightly so. So why is it that when Abdulaziz ibn Abdullah Al al-Sheikh, the grand mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, declares that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches in the Arabian Peninsula,” the major...

That is what is contained in the 2 Nephi 26-30, the section of the Book of Mormon that will be studied this Sunday in the LDS Church. This critique is set in the context of its supposed prophecy of Joseph Smith finding and translating the Book of Mormon. These chapters contain quite a few condemnations of Christian churches. One that is emphasized and the one that I will be focusing on is its condemnation of the position held today by millions of Christians that the Bible alone is God’s revealed Word. Following are a couple of quotes from these chapters...

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (BP) -- Religious leaders in Maryland say citizens will get the final say on a gay "marriage" bill that is set to become law -- with churches playing a critical role in possibly overturning it. The Maryland Senate passed a bill Thursday (Feb. 23) by a vote of 25-22 that would redefine marriage, less than a week after the House of Delegates approved the same bill, 72-67. Democrats control both chambers, and Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley -- who endorsed the bill in his State of the State address -- is expected to sign it. Maryland is but the...

The information in this section comes largely from The Urban Character of Christian Worship, by Rev. John Baldovin, S.J. Footnotes refer to the pages in his text where further information can be found.Station Churches 2012 Each year, the North American College follows the ancient tradition of the Roman stational liturgy. All are invited to join us for the celebration of Mass each day. Using the side bar on the left, you will find the schedule and listing of the churches. Each page contains a short description and history of each church. At the bottom of each page, you will find...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The nation's largest protestant denomination will definitely remain "Baptist," but leaders are thinking about whether it will be "Southern" for much longer.

Although the New York State Senate has passed an amendment that would reverse the New York City Board of Education and Mayor Michael Bloomberg's decision to evict nearly 70 churches from the public school spaces they have been renting, many of them for years, most of these congregations are already packed up and prepared for an exodus as the deadline for departure is this Sunday, Feb. 12. The state Senate overwhelmingly voted Monday 52-7 in favor of Bill A8800A/S.6087A but the NY State Assembly also has to approve its own version of the bill to successfully block the City and...

Because of a court’s ruling against one particular small church in the Bronx, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has now decreed that come February 12, 2012, all churches and fellowships meeting in public schools – 160 in total - have to be evicted. This terrible decision against religious freedom could impact the souls of thousands of people in New York City. And if this precedent is allowed to stand, the cancer could spread to other cities as well. These churches generally have great relationships with the community. They provide services and revenue for the city. But it seems that is trumped by...

Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Sir, I would ask that you would reconsider your decision to evict the houses of worship from public schools in New York City. Do you have any idea of what is going on in your city – let alone the rest of the country? This is not the time to be evicting churches, the lifeline of worship and hope, from the people of your community. Are you deliberately trying to sabotage your own community and increase the crime? Why would you take away something positive, that brings money into your system, when you have nothing to replace...

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has offered the Palestinians a powerful tool of propaganda: the comparison with Jesus’ passion. “We are to be freshly attentive to the needs of those who, like Jesus himself, are displaced and in discomfort”, Archbishop Vincent Nichols said during his Christmas Mass sermon at Westminster Cathedral. “A shadow falls particularly heavily on the town of Bethlehem tonight … We pray for them tonight”. It would have been more in keeping with Nicholas’ mission to mention hundreds of Christians losing their lives to Islamic terrorism and oppressed by Palestinian Muslim...

A drastic exodus from the church is underway in the Netherlands. With two churches shuttered each week, one man has become the country's top advisor on how to repurpose the once holy buildings. Some are demolished, while others find new life as mosques, stores and even recreation centers. The church pews will be sold according to size. The shortest ones, at 3.6 meters (12 feet) long, can be purchased for €40 ($52), the longer six-meter pews for €60. Churchgoers in the Dutch town of Bilthoven have already carried 17 pews out of their sanctuary. The pews will not be a...

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County, California is buying Robert Schuller's celebrated Protestant Crystal Cathedral megachurch for $57.5 million, the LA Times reports. The spacious, light-filled house of worship is a "a monument of 20th century modernist architecture," the Times writes.

An Orange County bankruptcy judge ruled Thursday that the Crystal Cathedral, a monument to modernism in faith and architecture, will be sold for $57.5 million to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, which plans to consecrate it as a Catholic cathedral. The ruling was a blow to Chapman University, which had fought bitterly down to the final moments of the bankruptcy case for the right to buy the property as a satellite campus. It also marked the end of a remarkable chapter in the history of American Christianity, one that was written in glass and steel by the Crystal Cathedral's...

Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, MD has penned an interesting Op-ed on the respective church communities of President Obama and Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain. Both worship--worshipped in the case of the President--in a predominantly black church. [quote] Like President Obama, Mr. Cain belongs to a mostly black congregation with a black pastor. But that is where the similarities end. Stark differences between the political philosophies of these two men may be rooted in their profoundly different theological heritages. The churches both men are (or in the case of Mr. Obama, were) longtime members of are...

Pulpit Freedom Sunday, sponsored by the Allied Defense Fund is in its fourth year.   This year has seen participation up nearly five times as many participants as last year's total of 100 pastors.  Pulpit Freedom Sunday is a demonstration, of sorts, and a test of freedom of religion as an IRS law says pastors endorsing political candidates from the pulpit can mean forfeiture of their 501(c)(3) tax exempt status.   Forbes reports: The 1954 version of the Internal Revenue Code added restrictions on 501(c)(3) organizations such as churches so they couldn’t participate in political campaigns.   For many of us who grew...