OUR COLUMNISTS For Whom the (Liberty) Bell Tolls Guest Commentary by Joe Murray 'Get your history straight and your nightlife gay,' is the new tale of tolerance emanating from the City of Brotherly Love. Philadelphia, best known for being the cradle of liberty and the birthplace of democracy, is striving to become the new city that lies somewhere over the rainbow. Racing Toward Heaven Commentary by Brad Locke There are innumerable sports metaphors that relate directly to everyday living, usually dealing with the pursuit of lofty goals. These metaphors can naturally extend beyond routine, worldly life and into the spiritual realm. There is precedent, and a guide, for such analogous rumination. Just look in the Bible. Freedom from Fear Commentary by David Sisler Fear does have a positive side. But the gut-wrenching fear that paralyzes so many of us is anything but positive. The fear that immobilizes is simply not of God. What to Do With Santa Claus Commentary by Mark Creech How should Christians deal with the Santa Claus phenomena? Is Santa harmless or hell spawn? Is the jolly old elf in the red suit pure paganism foisted on an unsuspecting populace? Or does he have Christian roots?

..At least one pro-family advocate says he is "cautiously optimistic" about the decision by Abercrombie & Fitch to discontinue its racy quarterly catalogue. A&F surprised many pro-family groups this week when it abruptly announced that the catalogue -- described by many as outright pornography -- would be stopped. The clothier, which has stores in malls across the country and is frequented mostly by adolescents, cited a "change in marketing strategy" and denied that threatened boycotts had any effect on their decision. David Miller, with the Ohio-based Citizens for Community Values -- a group that challenged A&F this week with full-page ads in newspapers like USA Today and Wall Street Journal -- says he knows A&F's history. That is why he says time will tell if the retailer will change its ways when it unveils an "innovative and exciting campaign" in the spring. "You can't help but wonder whether this move is just a sacrificial lamb and that management is going to continue the same marketing direction, or if there will be real change," Miller says. "I think it really is a cautious and optimistic wait until spring and we see what they do." The anti-porn advocate admits A&F's announcement is great news, but adds that the move could be a cleverly designed public relations ploy by the company. [Rusty Pugh]

...But where Abercrombie & Fitch may have stepped back from its sexually-laced marketing strategy, another major clothier appears to have stepped in to fill the void, says a major pro-family group. JCPenney & Co. is now under fire for a line of shirts for youngsters that, according to the American Family Association, contain "highly suggestive sexual innuendos." The "attitude" shirts for Juniors include printed slogans such as "Had a great time last night, whoever he was," and "You don't know me, but your girlfriend does." AFA also cites another example: a fictional "McLay's Plumbing Service" has "Winki" proclaiming: "No pipe too big or small. We clean your pipes 24/7." Dr. Don Wildmon, founder and chairman of AFA, admits some may find the messages on the apparel innocent and "flirty," but says in his book they imply that teens are "loose and carefree with their bodies." The pro-family leader says that is not the case; that millions of young people today are choosing to remain pure and abstain from sex until marriage. He says the retailer is being "reckless and irresponsible" by peddling the message that casual sex is okay. Wildmon says more than 2,000 people have contacted JCPenney just this week, asking them to remove the shirts from store shelves -- but that there has been no response from the company. [Jody Brown]

...The head of the Episcopal Church says the denomination will resolve internal divisions over the consecration of a homosexual bishop without intervention from Anglicans overseas. Conservative Episcopalians who opposed the consecration of New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson are building a separate network of Episcopal churches and are asking Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to provide direct oversight for them. But Episcopal Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold has sent a letter to American bishops saying that together they will devise their own means of providing alternative leadership for dissenting congregations. Griswold says a draft will be considered at the U.S. bishops' next meeting in March. But that may be too late. The American Anglican Council says 13 conservative Episcopal bishops have agreed to establish the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Congregations, with Pittsburgh's Bishop Robert Duncan as moderator. [AP]

...The New York State Medical Review Board has suspended the license of an abortionist who refused to call an ambulance for a patient after he botched an abortion. The woman was bleeding profusely when she was driven by private car to a nearby hospital where her life was saved. Abortionist Joel Novendstern had his license revoked for six months, after which he will only be allowed to practice medicine in a hospital. But Lori Keiho of New York Right to Life believes those penalties are not harsh enough. "If he has to practice in a hospital because they understand that he's a butcher and that he needs somebody to clean up his messes in a hospital setting, then we need to ask: What is he doing practicing medicine at all?" Keiho says. In Arizona and Louisiana, similar tragedies resulted in the passage of laws requiring abortion clinics to be regulated. New York has no such law. [FNIF]

...Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was ousted for refusing to move a Ten Commandments monument, has filed a notice of appeal with the state Supreme Court. The notice precedes the full appeal, which Moore is expected to file later this month to the court which he led for three years. Moore, who was removed from office last month by Alabama's Court of the Judiciary, has also asked that acting Chief Justice Gorman Houston be removed from hearing the appeal. Moore's motion says his former colleague's statements to the media suggest "a personal bias or prejudice." [AP]

...A conservative pro-family leader has developed an on-line test to help individuals gauge how well their worldview lines up with biblical standards. Author and American Family Policy Institute President Brannon Howse is the founder and director of Worldview Weekend, an organization that provides educational resources and puts on conferences designed to help individuals develop a biblical worldview. For several years now, the American Family Association and other pro-family ministries have partnered to present Worldview Weekend, a two-day conference aimed at equipping Christians to take a biblical stand on the issues of the day. Now the Worldview Weekend Internet site features a test, developed by Howse, that he says can assess a person's worldview in a number of areas, from theology to family and society issues to economics and politics. "There's a difference between being a committed Christian and being a thinking Christian ... a Christian that can use [his or her] mind and think biblically on the issues of the day," Howse says. While some may find the test somewhat politically slanted, Howse claims that the questions, which include many that are not strictly theological, query how people apply biblical principles to life and determine whether their worldview is theistic or not. Howse says many Christians who have taken the test have been shocked to find out that they do not score as a biblical theist in many areas "because they have been conformed to the thinking of the world." [Allie Martin and Jenni Parker]

...An advocate for constitutional government says activist judges could be dealt a fatal blow if Congress would follow its mandate and use the authority granted to the legislature by the Constitution to keep the courts in check. Many conservatives feel that liberal judges who make law rather than interpret the Constitution have been leading an assault on the traditional values on which America was founded. But Howard Phillips of the Conservative Caucus says that could all end if the U.S. Congress would act. "Article Three gives Congress the power to abolish every federal court except the Supreme Court, and to limit the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court," he says. He goes on to explain that this empowers Congress to prevent the courts by statute from ruling against the public display of the Ten Commandments, the inclusion of "one nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, prayer in schools, and similar religious freedom and freedom of expression issues. Phillips says these rights are guaranteed. "You don't need a Constitutional Amendment -- it's in the Constitution." Unfortunately, he says, Congress has been derelict in its duty to protect these rights by failing to oversee the courts more closely. [Bill Fancher]

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