ROME — In an effort to encourage peace in the Middle East, Pope Francis hosted the leaders of the Israeli and Palestinian worlds at the Vatican on Sunday, presenting an ecumenical gathering that joined professing Christians and Catholics together with Muslims, Jews and Druze. Pope Francis, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas […]
BELFAST, Ireland — An assistant pastor of a church in Ireland has resigned over his opposition to a co-pastor’s recent Sunday sermon against Islam, which resulted in an official ‘hate crime’ investigation by the Irish government. As previously reported, James McConnell, pastor of the Whitewell Metropolitan Church in North Belfast, Ireland, discussed the religion of Islam […]
ROME — Megachurch speaker and author Joel Osteen was among a group of political and religious leaders who met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday. According to reports, Osteen was part of a delegation organized by the International Foundation in an effort to encourage interfaith relations and ecumenicism. Utah Senator Mike Lee (R), […]
LA MIRADA, Calif. – The leaders of a Southern Baptist congregation in southern California have voted to not dismiss their ‘pastor,’ despite recently stunning his congregation in announcing from the pulpit that he believes homosexual behavior is not a sin. Danny Cortez leads New Heart Community Church—a small congregation in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Last […]
A group of 80 pastors is suggesting that the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination is facing an imminent split over its inability to resolve long-standing theological disputes about sexuality and church doctrine. But more than lamenting the current divisions, the pastors indicated there is little reason to think reconciliation — or even peaceful coexistence — could […]
A company known for publishing books of interest to Christians has generated criticism for agreeing to publish a memoir from Jennifer Knapp—a former contemporary Christian singer who now describes herself as a lesbian. Jennifer Knapp, now 40, was a popular Christian singer who won Dove Awards and a Grammy Nomination during the late 1990s and […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, has enrolled its first Muslim student and is defending its decision to accept the applicant despite concern and criticism. According to reports, Ghassan Nagagren, a Palestinian Muslim, recently completed his first year of studies at the Christian seminary as he […]
Ex-Mormons across the country are decrying Liberty University’s decision to feature Glenn Beck at their recent convocation ceremony, who invoked the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith and referenced LDS doctrine before the thousands of students in attendance. “I am Mormon and share your faith,” the outspoken conservative talk show host asserted during his spiritually-mixed charge to students, […]
LYNCHBURG, Va. — Liberty University and its president, Jerry Falwell Jr., recently invited Glenn Beck to take center stage to address thousands of students during its annual convocation ceremony, whose speech included references to Joseph Smith and Mormon theology. The outspoken conservative talk show host, and founder of the news outlet The Blaze, compared Mormonism to Christianity […]
CHARLOTTE, NC — A group of liberal clerics have filed a legal challenge against North Carolina’s same-sex ‘marriage ban,’ asserting that it violates the free exercise of religion among clergy. The Cleveland, Ohio-based United Church of Christ (UCC), which is outside of biblical orthodoxy and was the first American religious group to ordain homosexuals and […]