CHRISTIAN WORLD NEWS
Religion Roundup
Bible-Based Program Remains at Iowa Prison
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A Bible-based treatment program at an Iowa prison will continue for now with private funding.
Prison Fellowship Ministries president Mark Earley says no more taxpayer money will be spent on the InnerChange Freedom Initiative at the Newton Correctional Facility.
Last year, federal Judge Robert Pratt ruled that the program was unconstitutional, but suspended his order to shut it down while his ruling is appealed.
The InnerChange Freedom Initiative has operated at the Newton prison since 1999. It now serves 145 inmates who spend their time in work, counseling, prayer and Bible study.
Earley says the voluntary program improves inmate behavior and reduces recidivism.
Alabama Gets Rain after Praying for It
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Most of Alabama has received rain since Governor Bob Riley proclaimed "Days of Prayer for Rain" -- not enough rain to end the summer drought, but enough to start turning yards from brown to green.
Riley issued a proclamation last week setting aside the eight days beginning last Saturday as a time to pray for rain. Most of the state received rain Saturday or Sunday, and some areas continued to get scattered showers on Monday.
Asked whether the rain is an answer to prayer, state climatologist John Christy says, "That's something we in the science part of our lives won't be able to answer." But Christy says there were prayers for rain at his church on Sunday.
Judge Rules against Evangelist in Free Speech Case
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - An evangelist who preaches on campuses nationwide has lost his initial bid to speak at Murray State University in western Kentucky.
James "Brother Jim" Gilles sued last year, claiming that the university deprived him of his free speech and religious rights by rejecting his request to preach at a high-traffic student center.
But federal judge Thomas Russell found that Murray State's campus speech policy requiring speakers to obtain on-campus sponsors is legal.
Since 1981, when Gilles says he found God while attending a Van Halen concert, the Pentecostal preacher has traveled across the nation to speak at dozens of universities and state capitals.
He has fought speaking restrictions at other colleges with some success.
Texas High Court Rules against Woman Who Sued Pastor
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Texas Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a woman who was furious that her pastor told church elders and the congregation about her extramarital affair.
A lower court had found that Peggy Penley could sue the Reverend C.L. Westbrook for professional negligence because he was acting as her marital counselor and not as her pastor.
But the Texas Supreme Court ruled unanimously that it would be difficult to separate those two roles, and that it would be unconstitutional for judges to interfere in a church's internal affairs.
Hiram Sasser of the Liberty Legal Institute, which represented the church, says the pastor had followed Jesus' instructions for dealing with someone who commits an offense.
Court Upholds Arsonist Preacher's Fraud Conviction
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - An unrelated fraud conviction for an ex-preacher found guilty of burning down his own church has been upheld by a federal appeals court.
Gerald Rayborn, former pastor of Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis, was convicted two years ago of lying about his income on a loan application for a $500,000 house.
Rayborn was sentenced in 2005 to five years in prison on an unrelated arson conviction. He was convicted of burning down his church in 1998 and trying to collect on almost $800,000 in insurance money.
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Elects Leaders
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has elected Michael Cromartie to serve as its chairman for a one-year term, starting July first.
Cromartie, who has served on the commission for three years, succeeds Felice Gaer who completed her term as head of the independent federal agency.
Cromartie also is vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington.
The Reverend Richard Land, who heads the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and Preeta Bansal were elected to serve as vice-chairs of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Muslim Says She Was Barred from Georgia Courtroom for Wearing Scarf
VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) - A 20-year-old Muslim woman seeking to contest a speeding ticket says she was denied access to a Georgia courtroom last week for wearing an Islamic head scarf.
Aniisa Karim says she was stopped after entering Valdosta's municipal court building and was told she would not be permitted to enter the courtroom wearing her scarf.
Karim says she explained that she's Muslim and wears it for religious reasons but was told that the scarf would violate security measures and would show disrespect for the judge.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has asked Georgia's attorney general to take action to uphold "the legal, religious and civil rights of Georgians of all faiths."
Egyptian Court Accepts Copts’ Appeal to Reclaim Christian Identity
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - A court in Egypt has accepted an appeal from 45 Coptic Egyptians who were denied the right to reclaim their religious identities after they decided to convert back to Christianity from Islam.
A lower court ruled against the plaintiffs in April, prohibiting them from restoring their Christian identities on their national identification cards. But Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court accepted their appeal and referred the case to a committee that will make the final ruling.
Islamic law welcomes converts from other faiths, but considers conversion out of Islam apostasy, which some Muslims say is punishable by death.
Pope to Visit Alpine Shrine in September
VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican says Pope Benedict will visit an Alpine shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary during a three-day trip to Austria in September.
The pilgrimage will be the seventh foreign trip in Benedict's two-year papacy.
The trip to Austria, which is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, includes a stop at the Mariazell shrine to mark the 850th anniversary of its founding, a Mass at Vienna's central St. Stephen's Cathedral and a visit to an abbey outside the Austrian capital.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
