Free Republic

Rob Bell, who once enraged many evangelicals by questioning hell, is back with a new book that could re-ignite their fury. It’s called “What is the Bible?” And in it, Bell calls for the Bible to be read “literately, not literally.” In these polarized times, many Christians who claim to read the Bible are really more interested in cherry-picking verses to support their political or social points of view, Bell said in a phone interview with the Observer. “You can pull a verse out to justify almost anything,” he said. “When you read the Bible fuller and in-depth, suddenly you...

Charlie Crist, the former Republican governor of Florida and friend of Scott Rothstein, has an interesting new pursuit: attorney and television spokesman for Morgan & Morgan, a personal-injury firm in the state that uses the tag line, “for the people.”

Has California's biggest political pitchman lost his punch? Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's folks say "no," but Democrats and unions are betting big money -- and votes -- that the onetime Hollywood he-man has turned into just another Sacramento girlie man. The issue: his ability in the next several weeks to sell voters on his "reform" package. The stakes: everything from extending teacher tenure and giving the governor increased budget clout to redrawing the state's spaghetti-like political lines. The question: Do voters still believe Arnold? According to polling by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, it's a serious issue. Surveys show...