OUR COLUMNISTS Truth Will Not Set You Free Commentary by Matt Friedeman Truth will not set a person free. Truth, applied, will. Too many would rather talk the truth, and correct all others' theology, without first applying the truth to their families, to the needy in their communities, to the Christ-less masses around the world. Governed by Faith Commentary by Jane Jimenez Attacks on Christian politicians are frequent. Lacking restraint, critics compare them to Hitler, Nazis, facists ... well, you get the idea. So what is the answer? America without religion? A Good Kind of Hurt Commentary by Brad Locke It's curious why so many people in this world take exception to affliction. A lost job, a broken relationship, an illness -- they all can cause bitterness and regret. It can lead one to question why God would allow this to happen. Papal Souvenirs! Get 'em While They're Hot! Commentary by David Sisler When Pope John Paul II passed away, it opened the floodgates for the gluttonous and the unappeasable. Shortly after his death, John Paul II souvenirs numbered over 12,000 on eBay. Now they are down to about 5,000. I guess folks are gobbling up the goodies. A Dark Day for North Carolina Commentary by Mark Creech It was certainly one of the saddest days of my life. The arguments made by certain lawmakers on the floor of the North Carolina House in favor of the lottery were unbelievably shallow and morally bankrupt!

...The appeals committee of the United Methodist Church's Northeast Jurisdiction is considering the appeal of defrocked lesbian minister Beth Stroud today in a hearing outside Baltimore, Maryland. The committee, whose chair is an outspoken critic of UMC teachings about sexuality, could overturn the church trial court's verdict and sentence, in which case the matter would most likely go to the denomination's highest court, the UMC Judicial Council. But according to a spokesman for a church reform group, the Institute on Religion and Democracy, no matter what happens with Stroud's appeal, the UMC's teachings about marriage and sex will remain the same. Mark Tooley of IRD's UMAction program, says the UMC believes, like all of Christianity, that "its clergy are called to the highest level of personal conduct and ethics" and that "sex is God's gift for heterosexual marriage." Should Stroud's defrocking be overturned on appeal, many United Methodists believe her dismissal would ultimately be upheld by the Judicial Council, since that court has been emphatic about enforcing church policies on sexual behavior among ministers. In its last decision on the issue of homosexual clergy in 2004, the Judicial Council ruled that clergy found by a church trial court to be practicing homosexuals may not be appointed as UMC pastors. [Jenni Parker]

...Episcopal Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold is rebuking fellow U.S. bishops for asking Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the world Anglican leader, to intervene in the Episcopal Church's ongoing dispute over homosexuality. Griswold says appeals to overseas churchmen cannot excuse Episcopal bishops from working within the U.S. church to overcome divisions. The heads of 17 of the 100 Episcopal dioceses wrote Williams asking for a May meeting to discuss their church's "irreconcilable differences" and "mutually exclusive" theologies, which they said pose a threat to unity within the church and the world Anglican Communion. [AP]

...Voters in South Carolina will have the opportunity to weigh in on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage next year. An amendment protecting traditional marriage, which was previously passed by the state's Senate, also passed in the House by voice vote April 26. As a result, the measure will be placed on the November 2006 ballot in South Carolina, putting the state on a list with three others -- Alabama, South Dakota, and Tennessee -- that will also be voting on state constitutional marriage amendments next year. So far, 18 U.S. states have already adopted such amendments, approving them by an average 70 percent margin. According to a Baptist Press report, there was broad bipartisan support for what South Carolina Rep. Greg Delleney called "just another protection against activist judges in other states." The state constitutional amendment declares, in part, that a marriage between one man and one woman is "the only lawful domestic union that shall be valid or recognized in this State." [Jenni Parker]

...A Texas school board has voted unanimously to add a Bible class to its high school curriculum. Hundreds of people packed the school board meeting in Odessa, most of them supporting the move. More than 6,000 Odessa residents had signed a petition calling for a Bible class, but others warned of possible lawsuits. Barring any hurdles, the class could be added to the high school curriculum in 2006 and taught as a history or literature course. In Frankenmuth, Michigan, a similar proposal led to a year-long controversy before the school board voted in January not to offer such a course. [AP]

...An authority on radical Islam is confident that the new pope recognizes the threat the Muslim religion poses for Europe. Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch believes Pope Benedict XVI sees the growing expansion of Islam throughout the European continent. "He has even spoken openly how the necessity for Europe to recover its Christian roots, if it truly wants to survive, which indicates that he has a clear understanding of the deep crisis that Europe is in," Spencer says. By all indications, he observes, the Roman Catholic pontiff will be an avid fighter against terrorism. The Jihad Watch spokesman notes that Benedict "has already, in his many writings before he became pope, taken a stronger line against the rapid encroachment of radical Islam in Europe than his predecessor ever did." At its current rate of expansion, many analysts predict that Europe will be dominated by Islamic ideals within a decade; Spencer says Pope Benedict has called upon the European nations to reconnect with their Christian heritage before Islam takes over the continent. [Bill Fancher]

...Muslim authorities and fundamentalist extremists in several Islamic nations are coming down hard on Christians caught sharing their faith with Muslims. Associated Press reports that police in Saudi Arabia recently raided an underground church in suburban Riyadh and arrested 40 foreigners, including some children, for proselytizing. It is illegal in modern Saudi Arabia to promote any religion other than Islam, and organized churches are illegal. Adherents of non-Islamic faiths there are generally allowed to practice their beliefs in private homes but may not proselytize or meet for organized worship or other religious observances. Those arrested could face prison or possible deportation. And in Malaysia, another Islamic nation that forbids proselytizing of Muslims, police have detained two U.S. citizens who allegedly were handing out Christian pamphlets near a mosque. A Malay official says the American men were taken into custody on charges of "disturbing the peace in a religious manner," and the police have a court order permitting them to hold the two men for up to two weeks "for questioning." And while official retaliation for proselytizing can be harsh, the response from Muslim radicals in Islamic-dominated regions often proves lethal. AsiaNews.it has confirmed reports that a Christian minister and evangelist was found beheaded in Jalalpur, a village in south-western Bangladesh on March 8. The authorities believe the 35-year-old Baptist pastor from the Bangladesh Free Baptist Church was killed by Muslim extremists who had threatened his family after he discussed his faith with some Muslim villagers. [Jenni Parker]

...A nationally known radio personality and former mayor of San Diego believes President Bush's so-called 'Guest Worker' plan is an unrealistic approach in dealing with the illegal immigration crisis. Roger Hedgecock is a talk-show host on KOGO in San Diego and frequently fills in on the Rush Limbaugh show. This week he did his broadcast from the U.S. capital as part of the "Hold Their Feet to the Fire" rally in Washington, DC. The gathering was an effort to raise awareness about America's need for better border control and to call the nation's leaders and lawmakers to account for immigration policies that perpetuate the problem. (See related story) Hedgecock feels one only needs to look back at Ronald Reagan's 1986 amnesty plan to see the folly of such programs. That plan, the talk-show host says, "didn't stop illegal aliens. We have 11 to 15 million now who've come in since 1986, have been encouraged to come in because they think now 'Well, if I stay here long enough, there'll be another amnesty.'" The KOGO commentator feels the offer of amnesty to illegal aliens is unfair to the thousands of legal immigrants who play by the rules to enter, work, and reside in the United States. "The legal immigrants, over the course of the last 150 years, have built this country. Legal immigration is good; illegal immigration is tearing this country down and exposing us to a national security disaster," Hedgecock says. [Chad Groening]

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