CHRISTIAN WORLD NEWS
Religion Roundup
Falwell Denies Report That He Believes Jews Don't Need Christ
LYNCHBURG , Va. (AP) - The Reverend Jerry Falwell is denying an Israeli newspaper report that he now believes Jews can get to heaven without becoming Christians.
Wednesday's Jerusalem Post said that two Texas clerics, the Reverend John Hagee and Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg, had convinced Falwell that Jews have their own separate covenant and don't have to go through Jesus or the cross to get to heaven.
But Falwell says, "Anybody who knows me knows that I believe that Christ is the way, the truth, the life, the only way to heaven."
After hearing about the article, Falwell says he contacted Hagee and Scheinberg, who he says signed affidavits denying that they made the statements reported in the Jerusalem Post.
Proposal Would Let Resident Assistants Lead Bible Studies
MADISON , Wis. (AP) - University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly has proposed a policy that would let resident assistants participate in or lead any meeting they want, including Bible studies in their rooms, so long as they don't coerce anyone into attending.
Reilly devised the plan in response to an outcry over a decision by the Eau Claire campus to ban a resident assistant from leading Bible studies in his dorm room.
Reilly said in a statement that his proposal "balances the rights and responsibilities of R-As as students and employees."
Resident assistants receive free room and board and stipends to supervise students on their dorm floors and are considered state employees.
Dobson Says Alito Thanked Him and Listeners for Support
COLORADO SPRINGS , Colo. (AP) - Focus on the Family founder James Dobson says that new Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito sent him a letter thanking him and his radio listeners for their support during his Senate confirmation hearings.
On his Wednesday radio broadcast, Dobson said Alito wrote that "the prayers of so many people from around the country were a palpable and powerful force." Dobson said Alito added, "As long as I serve on the Supreme Court, I will keep in mind the trust that has been placed in me."
The Reverend Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State called the letter "grossly inappropriate" and said it "strongly suggests that Alito is carrying out a right-wing agenda instead of being a justice for all."
Movieguide Faith and Values Awards to Be Handed Out Tonight
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The films that will be honored tonight in Beverly Hills have been far more popular at the box office than those nominated for Best Picture Oscars at Sunday's Academy Awards.
The top nominees at tonight's 14th annual Movieguide Faith and Values Awards Gala include "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which has earned an estimated $640 million dollars so far worldwide.
Movieguide publisher Ted Baehr says the Narnia film is nominated for Best Family Movie and could also win the $50,000 Templeton Foundation Epiphany Prize for most inspiring movie.
Other nominees for Best Family Movie include " Madagascar," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Chicken Little," "Dreamer," "Robots" and "The Greatest Game Ever Played."
Scott Stapp's Faith a Work in Progress
WASHINGTON (AP) - Rock musician Scott Stapp's lyrics with his former band Creed and as a solo artist have long led Christian fans to claim him as a fellow believer.
In a 2004 interview with Christianity Today, Stapp confirmed that he was a Christian, while denying that Creed was ever a Christian band.
His latest album, "The Great Divide," contains songs that are both spiritual and prayerful, but Stapp still talks about his faith as a work in progress.
Stapp says his songs have reflected his personal struggle to determine what he truly believes as opposed to what he just grew up hearing in church. He adds, "I don't try to push that on people."
Cardinal Mahony Calls for Immigration Reform
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony says the Catholic church will help immigrants, "regardless of how they got here."
Mahony used an Ash Wednesday sermon to criticize increasing hostility toward immigrants.
He said that while the church doesn't favor "unfettered immigration," the current system is inhumane and inefficient. Mahony said immigration reform must include a guest-worker program and the legalization of undocumented immigrants.
The sermon follows Mahony's criticism of the Minutemen Project and other groups that oppose illegal immigration.
Minutemen co-founder Jim Gilchrist accuses Mahony of pandering to Hispanic immigrants and encouraging illegal immigration.
Catholic Charities Leaders Resign to Protest Bishops' Move
BOSTON (AP) - Seven members of the Catholic Charities Board have resigned to protest the Massachusetts bishops' call for Catholic agencies to be exempt from a law requiring them to place some adoptive children in gay households.
In a statement, the seven board members said the bishops' request threatens their "Christian mission" and undermines their "moral priority of helping vulnerable children find loving homes."
The board members add that they "cannot participate in an effort to pursue legal permission to discriminate against Massachusetts citizens who want to play a part in building strong families."
The Vatican has said gay adoptions are immoral. On Tuesday, Massachusetts' four bishops said state law violated their religious freedom by requiring them to consider gays as adoptive parents.
U.S. Orthodox Bishops Order Audit, Tighter Fiscal Controls
NEW YORK (AP) - With a former church treasurer leveling charges of financial mismanagement, bishops of the Orthodox Church in America have agreed to work toward tighter fiscal controls.
At a special meeting Wednesday, the ten bishops authorized a review of all special collections since 2001 and independent audits covering 2004 and 2005.
Those steps, however, fell short of dissenters' demands for an audit of all church accounts over the past decade and a full-fledged investigation.
The bishops' action came after allegations from the Orthodox Church in America's former treasurer, Eric Wheeler. He said church funds were spent on "embarrassing credit card debts," individuals who continually "leached off" family members, and unspecified blackmail payments.
Watchdog Group: Chinese Police Raid Bible School
SHANGHAI, China (AP) - A watchdog group says Chinese police have raided a Bible school run by an underground Protestant church, detaining 36 people. That comes amid a nationwide crackdown on Chinese Christians worshiping outside Communist Party control.
The China Aid Association says about 50 officers armed with electric cattle prods surrounded the school and took away students, teachers, and leaders of the underground church in police vans.
The association is headed by Bob Fu, a former leader in the unofficial church movement, who maintains strong ties to church leaders within China.
The reported crackdown follows the adoption of new rules on religious organizations that critics say are being used to persecute groups deemed troublesome by authorities.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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