OUR COLUMNISTS Christian Rockers -- Here's a Song About Education You Ought to Sing Commentary by Matt Friedeman How about this for a contemporary Christian rock song: "Give public schools what they need. In the name of heaven, choice!" Add a screaming lead with a solid bass line, and you'll have a winner. To Know Love When We See Love (Part 1) Commentary by Jane Jimenez Love American Style is still a television favorite. And the search for love drives nearly every television talk show from Phil to Montel to Oprah. With so many people looking for love, why is it so hard to find? Generous to a Fault Commentary by Brad Locke United Way TV spots show NFL players interacting with children; NBA players are shown reading to a class; baseball players are shown giving kids batting tips. But why is it necessary others know the giver's identity? What does that add to the gift? The Church Joins the World -- and Almost No One Notices Commentary by David Sisler In the spirit of the season, churches all over our nation will have a very spiritual experience by being closed in celebration of the birthday of our Savior. No matter how you phrase it, no matter how you spin it, that is a prime example of evangelical Christianity having lost its way. The Book of Daniel: A Form of Godliness, But Denying the Power Commentary by Mark Creech Wrapped in the garb of professed good intentions, NBC's The Book of Daniel is really a slight on genuine faith in Christ. It highlights and emphasizes "a form of godliness," but denies the power of the Gospel to transform a life.

...By most media accounts, Judge Samuel Alito is on track to become the next Supreme Court justice. The hearings on his nomination wrapped up yesterday (Thursday) in Washington, DC. While some reports indicate Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee may seek a delay in next week's vote, it is apparent the Committee will soon send Alito's nomination to the full Senate where it is expected he will receive confirmation. Alito has had some young cheerleaders at his Senate confirmation hearings this week. About 60 Christian home schoolers spent the week in Washington as part of the TeenPact Leadership School. They welcomed Alito to Capitol Hill each morning. Some then attended the hearings while others called on congressional offices or held impromptu news conferences on the Supreme Court steps. TeenPact founder and president Tim Echols says the program's goal is "turning students into statesmen" by making the government process "come alive." [AP]

...Capturing the Christian heritage of the nation -- that's the focus of biannual tours of the nation's capital. Each June and September for the past six years, Christians from across the nation have taken part in "Spiritual Heritage Tours." The five-day tours are hosted by Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association; Marvin Sanders of American Family Radio; and Providence Foundation president Stephen McDowell. Wildmon says the tours capture the rich Christian history of the nation, and that many who participate find it to be both rewarding and educational. It is more than a sightseeing trip, he says. "The Christian heritage of our country has been censored out in a lot of ways in the textbooks that kids use, particularly in public schools today -- and that's unfortunate," the AFA president says. "So we need to reeducate our children and our grandchildren on the Christian heritage of America." How does one accomplish that? "There's no better way to do it than to actually go to Washington and see the sights and to read the inscriptions and to hear about the men, particularly George Washington and others, who had as their bedrock in their lives their belief in the Bible and their belief in Jesus Christ," Wildmon suggests. Nearly a thousand people have take the Spiritual Heritage Tour over the past six years. According to Wildmon, the tours usually fill up three months in advance. [Allie Martin]

...A South Carolina lawmaker has proposed legislation allowing cadets at the Citadel to pray together before meals. In 2003, the state military college replaced a cadet-led prayer with a moment of silence after a federal appeals court ruled that saying prayers before meals at Virginia Military Institute was unconstitutional. The bill proposed by state Representative Wallace Scarborough and backed by at least 30 other lawmakers could face constitutional challenges, since the Citadel receives about 20 percent of its funding from the state. The bill would allow, but not require, prayers before meals and at graduation and other events. [AP]

...The head of a pro-Israel ministry says she believes there is a reason why President Bush and many in his administration don't have a problem with continually forcing Israel to give up its covenant land. Jan Markell is founder and director of Minnesota-based Olive Tree Ministries. Markell shares the frustration of many Evangelicals who love Israel and oppose the president's support of a Palestinian state. She says it is a theological problem. "He is the product of replacement theology churches all of his life [and the teaching] that the Church is the new Israel and that literal, physical Israel has no relevance whatsoever anymore," she asserts. According to Markell, Bush advisors like Karen Hughes, Andrew Card, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are proponents of replacement theology as well. So someone else, she says, needs to educate the president. "He and his advisors do not see the biblical significance of Israel today," Markell says. "There are many trying to get the message to him, but he's got 60 years of false teaching into his head, so it's kind of hard to get it out." The Olive Tree Ministries founder is convinced the United States faces serious spiritual consequences if its national leaders continue to follow replacement theology. [Chad Groening]

...A clinical psychologist says in most teacher-student sex abuse cases, female teachers are treated far more leniently than are male offenders. A flurry of cases involving alleged or proven sex between female school teachers and male students have been garnering nationwide media attention. The latest involves a 41-year-old teacher in California who is suspected of raping a 12-year-old boy. Dr. Julia Hislop, a clinical psychologist and author of the book Female Sex Offenders, says female rapists generally receive a lighter sentence than men. "There are some findings that the men are getting the harsher sentences. There have been a couple of studies that have looked at that, one in Texas and one in Kentucky," Hislop notes. "When you look at cases too, in which there's been both a male and a female perpetrator offending together, it's very often the case that the male offender will say the female wasn't reported or she got the lighter sentence or she was never prosecuted." Dr. Hislop says she has found that females who have sex with children commonly have themselves experienced severe sexual abuse in the past, which brings with it a number of mental health problems. [Jim Brown]

...A Canadian pro-family activist is pleased with recent poll numbers that show a growing Conservative lead in the final weeks leading up to the national elections. A recent survey for the Globe and Mail newspaper showed that Stephen Harper's Conservatives have opened up an eight-point advantage over the Liberals, with the other two parties even further behind. Dr. Charles McVey, president of the Canada Family Action Coalition, says this is just one of several polls he has seen that look good for the Conservatives. "From the outset of this campaign, the Conservative polling numbers have been increasing gradually but steadily," McVety observes, "and now there have been several polls that show a solid lead for the Conservatives going into the last two weeks of this campaign." McVety says it is easy to figure out why Conservatives are fairing so well. "The Canadian citizens are fed up -- fed up with this campaign or agenda of extremism," he says, "and the Liberal Party has tried to force down the throat of the Canadian people things that they are opposed to such as the redefinition of marriage." McVety says voters are also unhappy with the Liberals' efforts to legalize prostitution. The election is on tap for January 23. [Chad Groening]

...Having legalized homosexual "marriage," Canada is now considering removing polygamy from its law books. A taxpayer-funded study done for the Federal Justice Department there is recommending that polygamy be legalized. The study, conducted by three law professors, argues that the polygamy law serves no useful purpose and, in any case, is rarely prosecuted. The Globe and Mail newspaper quotes one of the professors as arguing that because there is no law against adultery, there should be no law against someone having multiple spouses. [Fred Jackson]

...The U.S. Federal Election Commission has fined former first lady Hillary Clinton for not reporting campaign donations from a Hollywood donor. Tom Fitton's group Judicial Watch was instrumental in the Commission's decision to fine Mrs. Clinton. "Judicial Watch initiated an FEC complaint against Hillary Clinton over her failure to report nearly a million dollars in contributions she should receive from this donor," Fitton explains. The fine totals $35,000. "This was a fraud upon the voters of New York and the voters of America," the Judicial Watch spokesman says. "She knew that she needed to have fixed this as long ago as four years, yet did nothing." Fitton expects the fine will be a mark on the Senator Clinton's record that will provide further impetus to other investigations, including those by the Senate Ethics Committee and an ongoing Justice Department investigation. [Bill Fancher]

...When Congress begins its legislative session at the end of this month, a controversial issue will be on the agenda. It will not be long into the session before the Senate takes a look at the hot-button issue of the death penalty. Republican Sam Brownback of Kansas will be heading up the effort. "I think we should step up and look at this more carefully," the senator says. "It's being debated in the judiciary, it's being debated more in living rooms across the country. And I think the question stirring amongst people's minds is, is this an appropriate thing taking place in the United States today? That's something we're going to [examine] at a hearing the first part of this year." Brownback is currently lining up the witnesses who will appear at that hearing. [Bill Fancher]

...A Christian state representative from Indiana says America's national motto, "In God We Trust," doesn't endorse a specific religion -- and therefore, there shouldn't be anything to stop it from being put on a license plate. Representative Woody Burton says his bill to put the national motto on a license plate will soon go before the State House for a vote. The lawmaker says he is not concerned about it passing, because about 92 of the 100 state representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of the measure. Burton says, given the recent federal court ruling against prayers in Jesus' name in the Indiana State House, this bill is a way to stand for what is right. "The federal courts ruled that we cannot say prayers at the beginning of our sessions that use the word Christ, Jesus Christ, or Jesus," he explains. "There's an attack on Christianity in this country -- I truly believe that. And it isn't just an attack on Christianity; it's an attack on free speech and the right to worship as you please." For that reason, Burton is convinced it is "extremely important" that everything be done to keep the words "In God We Trust" out in the open so the public can express its support for the motto. Burton says it is important for the public and for lawmakers to take a stand -- or else the judiciary will slowly take away individuals' rights. [Mary Rettig]

...A California-based ministry is encouraging public schools to celebrate Religious Freedom Day. Every year since 1993, the president proclaims January 16 as a day for Americans to celebrate and commemorate the nation's religious freedom. The observance marks the anniversary of the 1786 passage of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, drafted by Thomas Jefferson. This year, Religious Freedom Day falls on Monday -- which is also Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Eric Buehrer of Gateways to Better Education advises schools to tie both events together. "We're recommending that whatever they would do to commemorate Dr. King, they would also incorporate something about students' religious freedom," says Buehrer. "You know, it was Dr. King's religious faith that motivated his civil rights actions, and it was America's freedom of religious expression that allowed him to have his civil rights activity informed and animated by his religious faith." And although many believe Christian students are constantly under attack in public schools because of their views, Buehrer contends that respect for the religious freedom of those students is growing by the day in the schools. "More people are standing up for their liberties -- and one of the things that the Department of Education has done is issued guidelines, very clear guidelines, for the last 10 or 12 years on what students' religious liberties are," says the ministry leader. "The goal of our effort with ReligiousFreedomDay.com is to help inform people of what students' religious freedoms are and use Religious Freedom Day as an opportunity to disseminate that information throughout schools." Buehrer says students should understand their "civil liberties" to express their faith in their homework, classroom assignments, conversations, and prayers over lunch. [Jim Brown]

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