...Testimony continues in a federal trial in which a public university in Pennsylvania is being sued because administrators tried to have a Christian student involuntarily committed to a mental hospital. In 1999, Michael Marcavage, who was then a student at Temple University, became upset when the school sponsored the controversial play Corpus Christi, which portrays Christ and His disciples as homosexuals. School officials eventually tried to have Marcavage committed to a mental institution over his opposition to the play. Now Marcavage has sued the school, claiming his constitutional rights were violated. Steve Crampton is chief counsel for the American Family Association's Center for Law & Policy, which is representing Marcavage. "If Michael Marcavage really was in need of some kind of involuntary commitment, then far be it from us to stand in the way," the attorney says. "But all our investigations, all the discovery that we've undertaken, and all the witnesses that we've talked to point very strongly in the other direction -- that rather, it's Temple University that is basically fabricating testimony to try to preserve their reputation." But Crampton explains those discoveries are not being allowed as evidence. He says the judge in the case is preventing that. "She ruled at the beginning of the trial, before any witnesses had taken the stand, that [the evidence] was improper -- and that she would not allow testimony from the very doctors at the hospital who determined there was nothing wrong with Michael," he says. "So in other words, you're left with a situation where the only evidence the jury hears is from people who say that there was something wrong with Michael -- and we have been prohibited in our attempts to put on any evidence to the contrary." Crampton says the trial could wrap up today (Friday) or early next week. [Allie Martin]

...In San Diego, several churches have expressed interest in a 43-foot cross that will be removed from public land after a 15-year legal battle over whether it violated the separation of church and state. The city council this week rejected a plan to transfer the land around the giant cross to the National Park Service. That was a key part of a federal measure designed as a last-ditch effort to preserve the cross on public land. But the city attorney said the arrangement was probably unconstitutional. The council vote represents the final chapter of a legal battle that has raged for years. A final hearing Tuesday on whether to reject the land transfer attracted 400 people, forcing the council to meet in a convention center. The emotionally charged hearing lasted six hours. An attorney representing the atheist who initially sued San Diego in the early 1990s says he expects the cross to be moved within 90 days. He says at least four nearby churches have expressed interest in placing it on their property, including one that is within a thousand feet of where the cross is now. [AP]

...The Passion Recut opens in about a thousand theaters this weekend in what Mel Gibson describes as an attempt to cater to people who were reluctant to see the R-rated version of The Passion of the Christ because of the bloody scenes. The actor-director told Associated Press that he has removed about six minutes of the most graphic material from the crucifixion scene. Today (March 11) Gibson appeared in an exclusive interview on the Christian Broadcasting Network's 700 Club to discuss the revised version, and to speak about the pain caused from the personal attacks against him and his family surrounding last year's release of The Passion, which was one of the year's biggest money-makers. This recut version is unrated, making some theater owners reluctant to show it because it is unrated -- and possibly because it is already available on DVD. [Jody Brown]

...A leading evangelical group is trying to get the word out that evangelicalism is a big tent. Bob Wenz, vice-president of ministries for the National Association of Evangelicals, says there are anywhere from 30 million to 40 million American evangelicals, depending on how the term is defined. He says they represent a "very mixed bag" of people and "don't all vote Republican." Wenz and other evangelical leaders have been visiting cities around the country talking up evangelical diversity to media representatives to try to get them to think and report beyond stereotypes. He notes that evangelical Christians are found in many denominations, including liberal-leaning mainline denominations as well as charismatic and Pentecostal bodies. But he says many blacks, though theologically conservative, resist the evangelical label because white evangelicals were not at the forefront of the civil rights movement as they should have been. [AP]

...The Mississippi House has overwhelmingly passed a bill allowing the posting of certain religious documents in public buildings. At least one state senator thinks the measure will fare well in the Senate. The bill allows the posting of the Ten Commandments, the national motto ("In God We Trust"), and the Beatitudes on all public buildings, if local governing authorities approve. Leading the cries of opposition is the Mississippi chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which claims it would be unconstitutional. However, the issue has not even been decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is currently considering cases in Texas and Kentucky. State Senator Alan Nunnelee says liberals have a knee-jerk reaction to anything Christian. "I think there's a systematic effort made by the liberal elite in this country to deny any biblical basis for the foundation of our country, and it's just a fact of life that our nation was built on those principles. We're going to have to continue to fight the left every step of the way on the subject." Nunnelee believes this bill will pass in the State Senate -- and he thinks Governor Haley Barbour will sign it into law. [Rusty Pugh]

...The executive director of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations has been touring universities around the Midwest this week speaking to medical students and faculty about embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR). Dr. David Stevens has been to the University of Iowa, the Mayo Clinic, and even the birthplace of ESCR, the University of Wisconsin. He says he is going into these schools not with an air of condemnation, but with the light of the truth. "There's been so much misinformation in the press about embryonic stem cells in the last few years that I think it's important not only for the public, but for medical students, doctors, graduates, research scientists, and others to hear the facts." Stevens says overall his talks have been well received, and many people have left his lecture saying they want to know more. He also says he has had heated debates with some of the researchers themselves -- and just like the Apostle Paul at Mars Hill, he is speaking to the culture and bringing them the truth. [Mary Rettig]

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