OUR COLUMNISTS (Click on photos for archives) Why Much of Religious Programming Is Just Plain Awful Commentary by Matt Friedeman For the first time, most American homes have more televisions than people. Much of the programming on TV, alas, is religious. Where Have All the Christians Gone? Commentary by Joe Murray Christians have retreated from politics to the subculture and divided amongst themselves. Christians have not remained united in this cultural battle, but have resorted to bickering and infighting -- and in the process have divided our churches and diluted our votes. A Forest of One Tree Commentary by Jane Jimenez No issue this year looms larger than marriage and the fight to define what marriage will be for the next generation. Thousands of words are printed daily on the subject, but they fail to speak to the central point of marriage. Fear Not Commentary by Brad Locke Trusting God with your fears is all about giving Him complete control of the situation. Ah, but that doesn't render us useless. Who Shall Care for the Nation's Soul? Commentary by Mark Creech Make no mistake about it, the November 7 midterm elections are really about to whom Christians will leave the care of America's soul -- which begs several questions.

...A Christian film critic says The Nativity Story, which opens in theaters today (Friday, December 1), is not only a compelling movie, but also brings the gospel to life. Dr. Ted Baehr is founder of MovieGuide, a bi-weekly publication that reviews movies from a biblical perspective. Baehr says New Line Cinema's The Nativity Story is nearly a perfect movie. "This is one of the two top movies ever done about Jesus -- for three reasons," he says. "One, it is very dramatic. Two, it is very, very authentic. And three, it is an extremely worshipful, sacred, god-honoring, Christologically sound movie." According to the Christian movie reviewer, it is a movie that Christians should support. "For me, going to this movie is not just going to support the good, which is very important; but it's going to spread the Word of God," he explains. "So I would take your children, your grandchildren, their friends, their loved ones, your neighbors who never talk about church." Baehr believes the movie will also be an evangelistic tool to reach the lost. (See related story) "I would use this as a very strong opportunity to introduce people to the reason for the season," Baehr urges. [Allie Martin]

...California's homosexual "marriage" bill is "returning from the grave," says a prominent pro-family activist in the Golden State. According to Randy Thomasson of Campaign for Children and Families, Democratic Assemblyman and homosexual activist Mark Leno plans to reintroduce his gender-neutral marriage bill when the California State Assembly reconvenes on Monday (December 4). If that happens, Thomasson says it promises to become the state's "biggest legislative battle of 2007." In March 2000, 61.4 percent of the state's voters approved Proposition 22, an initiative which states that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Yet the traditional institution remains under constant attack by homosexual activists in the state -- most recently when Leno's measure, after being passed in the Democrat-controlled Assembly and Senate, was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in September 2005. Thomasson points out that the continued push for "full-blown gay marriage," as he calls it, is unlawful, unconstitutional, and undemocratic. "The California Constitution specifically prohibits the Legislature from repealing voter-approved initiatives," says Thomasson. And Schwarzenegger, he says, should veto Leno's bill again, if it makes it that far, "because the people have already voted to keep marriage between a man and a woman -- just as God created it."

...Episcopal leaders have offered conservatives more independence from the national church as a California diocese backed down from its threat of a swift break with the denomination. The Diocese of San Joaquin had been pressured by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori and her advisors to ease off a proposal to leave. Episcopal Church leaders are trying to heal divisions over the Bible and sexuality that erupted over the 2003 consecration of the openly homosexual Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. San Joaquin and six other conservative dioceses have rejected Jefferts-Schori's authority. On Thursday, leaders of the national church offered to appoint a new vicar who would work with those dioceses and perform functions that normally fall to the presiding bishop. [AP]

...Arkansas officials will dedicate a Bible-based program for female prisoners today despite a warning from Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which convinced a federal judge that a similar program in Iowa was unconstitutional. The Arkansas prison's InnerChange Freedom Initiative is run by Prison Fellowship Ministries, which is appealing a judge's order to cease its Iowa program and repay the state $1.5 million. Prison Fellowship also operates programs in Minnesota, Kansas, and Texas. Prison Fellowship president Mark Earley says, "The issue in the Iowa case was the partial contribution by the state." He says all of the new programs are privately funded. [AP]

...The executive director of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) says the state of California is taking a big risk with taxpayer money in the name of embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR). On Monday (November 27), the California State Department of Finance approved a $181-million loan to the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine -- a group founded in 2004 when voters passed Proposition 71, a $3-billion bond issue to support ESCR. However, very little money has been seen because pro-life groups took the state to court, challenging the issue's constitutionality. Dr. David Stevens of the CMDA says the loan was given as a desperate act. "I think part of the reason is they feel like they've lost momentum, and they're not getting a huge influx of scientists to get access to all this free money, as they [had] hoped," he shares. Stevens says there is a big risk involved because the courts could find in favor of pro-lifers, in which case the loan would never be paid back. If that happens, he says, taxpayers' money would be wasted -- and California is already in a tight budget situation. [Mary Rettig]

...A Mississippi-based missions agency is helping Christians around the world lean how to better witness to Muslims. Delbert Adamson (not his real name) is a missionary through Tupelo-based Global Outreach International. Adamson and his family travel the world, teaching Christian leaders, pastors, and laypeople how to reach out to Muslims. Adamson says while there are many people in Latin America and Asia who want to impact the lives of Muslims for Christ, there appears to be a dearth of such individuals in the U.S. "In America and in the West in general," says Adamson, "we have education and we have resources -- but we really lack the people who are willing and able to go to work with Muslims." But in Latin America and Asia, says the missionary, there are "literally hundreds of thousands" who are wanting to go but are waiting on the resources and the training. According to Adamson, Muslims are receptive to the truth of God's Word -- but that most Christian missionaries make a mistake by approaching them in the same manner used in the past with various people groups. "We love them," he assures, "[but] with the growth of radical Islam, they're asking really hard questions and they're looking for the answers. So we try to help [the missionaries] know how to answer those questions." Adamson recently trained Christians in Brazil to reach Muslims with the gospel. His next project will focus on Iran. [Allie Martin]

...The Washington, DC-based Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) has just completed a comprehensive analysis of the recent congressional elections and has concluded that there is no mandate for an illegal alien amnesty or "guest worker" program in the new Congress. FAIR spokesman Ira Mehlman says many of the new House Democrats campaigned on stronger border enforcement, and he does not think they will be anxious to upset their constituents. "It is always very difficult for members of parties to break with the leadership, especially when you're brand new there," he notes. "But it's going to be very difficult for them at this point to go back to the folks in their districts and say, 'As one of my first acts in Congress, I voted for the most massive amnesty in human history.'" Mehlman says FAIR's election analysis concludes that voters did not elect Democrats to pursue the same failed immigration policies of the Bush administration. [Chad Groening]

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