OUR COLUMNISTS Truth Isn't Enough ... You Must Weep Commentary by Matt Friedeman Whether making a political case or not, Christians must be people with a testimony, with a compassionate tale to tell, with compelling emotions to accompany our well-crafted arguments. Love Sick Commentary by Jane Jimenez What does it say for a love sick nation that our love doctors (psychologists) study all about our prefrontal cortex but nothing about love? Ever heard of a PhD in Love? An Olympic Prayer Revisited Commentary by Brad Locke I don't expect Olympic officials to allow any sort of prayer, ever, during the opening ceremonies or at any other time during the Games ... but just in case. Comparing Islamic Fascists to Christian Conservatives Commentary by Mark Creech The media has often compared Christian conservatives in America to violent Islamic radicals. Such comparisons are common today by those on the left, but nothing less than asinine -- and recent events on the world stage prove it.

...The Indiana House has urged its leader to keep challenging a court ruling that prohibits its official meetings from opening with prayers that mention Jesus Christ. A resolution the House passed unanimously Monday says House Speaker Brian Bosma should use all lawful means to appeal federal Judge David Hamilton's order. Bosma already has asked a federal appeals court to issue a stay of Hamilton's ruling. In the meantime, Indiana House members have submitted to the order by meeting for informal prayers in the back of their chambers before official business begins. [AP]

...Christian Coalition of Alabama (CCA) officials announced Monday that their organization is aligning itself with Governor Bob Riley and the Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA) by matching the $10,000 reward they are offering for information leading to the arrests of those responsible for a string of church fires across the state. News accounts strongly suggest the arson attacks are linked. CCA chairman Bob Russell issued a statement, saying his group is joining the governor and ALFA by putting up an additional $10,000 "for the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the heinous crimes against the House of the Lord." CCA president John Giles recently reported on the general sentiment among the Alabama congregations affected by the fires, paraphrasing these parishioners' defiant assertion that "You might try to burn down our churches, but you cannot burn down the Body of Christ. We will keep on marching." Giles notes that some of the buildings destroyed in these crimes were nearly 200 years old and housed the memories of church members who witnessed lives changed, marriages solemnized, births and baptisms celebrated and loved ones laid to rest. "How can anyone desecrate the House of the Lord?" Giles is compelled to wonder. "The fires need to be stopped, and they need to be stopped now," he says. A CCA statement notes that the public is the best source of information in generating leads; therefore, the group is asking anyone with suspicions or information about anyone who might be involved in the serial church fires to come forward. [Jenni Parker]

...It was a short 18 months ago -- August 2004 -- when the Liberty University School of Law opened its doors to young men and women wishing to learn constitutional law in a Christian environment. Now the American Bar Association (ABA) has granted the school provisional accreditation on its first try, meaning graduates of the Liberty program will be granted the same rights and responsibilities as students graduating from a fully accredited law school -- and are allowed to sit for the bar examination in any state. Less than 200 schools in America carry the ABA accreditation. The school says it is "virtually unprecedented" for a new law school to achieve provisional accreditation so soon after the arrival of its first students. The School of Law will graduate its first class in May 2007. The founding dean is Bruce Green. Liberty University, founded in 1971 by Dr. Jerry Falwell, is the largest evangelical university in the world. [Jody Brown]

...A Norwegian newspaper editor has apologized to Muslims offended by the reprinting of controversial political cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. The small, evangelical Christian newspaper Magazinet published the cartoons in support of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which has come under fire from Muslim extremists for its publication of the cartoons last September. Under the tenets of Islam, it is blasphemy to depict Muhammad. The Danish paper's satirical depictions of Islam's sacrosanct figure has sparked outrage throughout the Islamic world. Associated Press reports that the editor of Norway's Magazinet, who has been under police protection after receiving numerous death threats, says he failed to anticipate the pain and anger the cartoons would cause Muslims. The offending cartoons have been reprinted by a number of other European publications, generating protests and, in some cases, threats and violent retaliation from members of the Islamic community. [Jenni Parker]

...Five regional bodies in the Presbyterian Church (USA) are objecting to the church's attempt to pull investments from companies working in Israel. The regional bodies, called presbyteries, have drafted proposals that call for modifying or ending a divestment policy they believe is biased against Israel in favor of the Palestinians. The moves come almost two years after the mainline denomination started a process of selectively divesting in multinational corporations operating in Israel. Church officials say they are still negotiating with such companies and will not have a position when the recommendations come up at the PCUSA's General Assembly in June. That would push any action on the measures to its next assembly in 2008. [AP]

...Members of Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East along with a coalition of other Christian organizations will appear at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, on February 17 to issue a warning to churches about the Palestine Solidarity Movement (PSM). According to a Religion News Service report, as the PSM prepares to host a Divestment Conference at Georgetown University this weekend, the Christian groups presenting the Friday morning press conference are warning fellow believers not to embrace the anti-Israel message promoted by the pro-Palestinian group. Sister Ruth Lautt, O.P. (Dominican Order), the National Director of Fair Witness and a practicing attorney in New York, says the PSM "is not working toward a just peace in the Middle East," but instead is working to "delegitimize" the State of Israel. "We want to warn Christians about PSM's efforts to portray the Arab/Israeli conflict in a manner that blames the Jewish State as the sole source of the conflict," Lautt says. "Our goal is not to stifle debate," she emphasizes, "but to insist that it be based on facts, not anti-Jewish rhetoric." Several members of the diverse coalition will be speaking at the press conference, including Lautt, who will put the Arab/Israeli conflict into historical context; Rev. Currie Burris, pastor of Silver Spring (Maryland) Presbyterian Church (USA), who will reflect on why his denomination's recent decision to engage in selective phase divestment was a mistake; and Rev. Suzanne Wagner, associate pastor of the First Congregational Church (U.C.C.) in Fairfield, Connecticut, who will discuss how the divestment controversy has adversely affected her own and other denominations. [Jenni Parker]

...Susan Tully, national field director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), says she is not optimistic that Mexico's national elections this summer will do anything to change the corrupt and arrogant attitude of Mexico with regard to illegal immigration. In July 2006, Mexicans will decide whether to stick with President Vicente Fox or turn the presidency over once again to the left-wing PRI. That group, Tully notes, is actually a communist party that "has been in control of the major politics of Mexico for 80 years." Fox, on the other hand, came out of the party PAN, which Tully describes as "a more conservative, non-communist party." Unfortunately for Fox, the immigration reform activist says, the PRI still controls Mexico's Chamber of Deputies and that party has thwarted the current president's efforts to accomplish many of his aims. Tully believes when Fox leaves office after completing his six-year term -- re-election is not possible under the Mexican constitution -- little will change as far as the U.S. is concerned. "It will not matter in terms of illegal immigration which party is in charge," she asserts. Mexico's leaders "are corrupt," Tully says. "They're elitist in their thinking. They are promoting and will continue to promote illegal aliens from Mexico [coming] into the United States." [Chad Groening]

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