OUR COLUMNISTS Religious Communities Hardly Score with TIME Commentary by Matt Friedeman You'd think that in trying to identify a hundred people who have had a positive influence in the world over the past year, that TIME Magazine could drum up a healthy list of those known for their relationship with God and service to those less fortunate. Think again. Why Condoms Will Not Save Us Commentary by Jane Jimenez Long heralded as the key to solving problems associated with teen sex, you would think a national agreement on the issue of condoms would exist by now. Ignore Truth at Your Own Risk Commentary by Brad Locke It's a startling contrast, the types of comments and commentary Barry Bonds' surpassing of Babe Ruth has elicited from fellow major leaguers and the journalists who cover them. The Truth of Scripture -- The Lies of The Da Vinci Code Commentary by David Sisler Know what the Bible says. Know what happened in history. And be ready with an answer for the 43,000,000 who bought the hardcover version of Dan Brown's novel, and the millions more who are buying the paperback, and the still millions more who will see the movie. When God Wrote His Message In the Sky Commentary by Mark Creech It seems as though God anticipated the question, as well as sought to answer it, when Pope Benedict recently inquired about God's "silence" during the Holocaust.

...Governor Mike Huckabee says Arkansas' new faith-based prison program is privately funded, so it won't be affected by a federal judge's ruling that Iowa's program is unconstitutional. Judge Robert Pratt ordered Prison Fellowship to cease its state-funded program in Iowa and repay the state more than $1.5 million, but suspended his ruling pending appeal. (See related article) Huckabee says Arkansas' program will not face a similar challenge because no taxpayer money is used. He adds that it is "totally voluntary and does not require Christian conversion." Prison Fellowship programs in Kansas, Iowa, and Minnesota receive some state funds. [AP]

...Children often imitate behaviors and actions they see -- and that's why Dr. James Dobson says families in the U.S. should have the choice of not paying for cable channels they find offensive. "Study after study shows that children exposed to highly sexualized entertainment are likely to mimic what they see," says the well-known author and founder of Focus on the Family. "It's one thing to offer these shows for adults, but quite another to require families to subsidize content that's actually harmful to children in order to receive the programming they want." Dobson sides with Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin in saying that the cable industry's efforts to create so-called "family tiers" of cable programming are inadequate. The pro-family leader notes that under such an arrangement, cable executives -- not parents -- are deciding what constitutes "family-friendly" programming. "Only families themselves are capable of making such personal, values-based decisions," states Dobson. Dobson and other family advocates, as well as FCC chairman Martin, have called for the industry to initiate "a la carte" pricing of cable channels that would allow families to purchase only the channels they wish to come into their homes. But industry executives continue to voice opposition to such a pricing arrangement, saying it would not be cost-effective for consumers -- an argument the FCC found inaccurate in a February 2006 report. [Jody Brown]

...A children's consumer advocate believes the best approach to providing more educational content and quality in children's programming is to find better ways to fund it. Dr. Susan Linn, an educator and author of the book Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Children, says the use of commercial marketing to cover costs is a primary culprit of sub-par children's television. Linn favors the Public Television model in concept and wants more people to support it -- but admits that organizations like PBS cannot survive currently without licensing of their fictional show characters and advertising on-air. Viewer donations do not raise enough, she says. "I think that if we're concerned about programming for television and providing educational, good quality programming for children," says Dr. Linn, "then one of the things that we need to consider is [finding] a way to fund this programming without potentially sacrificing children's health and well-being by having it laden with advertising." One idea Linn suggests is for networks to use the marketing profiles from their adult shows to support commercial-free children's programming. [Ed Thomas]

...A pro-family leader has issued a stern warning to Congress and the White House. The Capitol Hill religious leader feels pro-family people are getting tired of the political runaround from the candidates they support. Rob Schenck of the National Clergy Council says it is time for the White House to listen to the pro-family community before that support disappears. "Those in political leadership have to know that unless they act on our principles, they can say anything they want," observes Schenck. "But unless they take the right actions, we're going to be looking elsewhere for our principles to be advanced." With the lowest approval ratings in recent history -- even among their supporters -- both the president and Congress must do something to bolster that support, says Schenck, because it will not be there forever. [Bill Fancher]

...American Values president Gary Bauer feels the Republican Party has gone "liberal" on the issue of illegal immigration because of a baseless fear. The pro-family leader believes the GOP is making a huge mistake with its Senate immigration reform bill because party members are too worried about a backlash from Hispanic voters if it takes a tough stance. But according to Bauer, Hispanics in the U.S. favor both enforcement of the law as well as the idea of English being the official national language. He says that being soft on illegal immigration will only damage the party. "Any temptation the Republicans have of trying to 'out-liberal' the liberals on the immigration issue is doomed to fail," he says. "And the best way to get the Hispanic vote is to appeal to the traditional values that most Hispanics have, according to the opinion polls." Sadly, adds Bauer, the GOP is listening to the media and to advocacy groups. "It really is evidence that the Republicans need to spend more time back home in their districts to remind themselves of what the values are of the voters that sent them here," he says. Until that happens, says Bauer, the disconnect between Washington and the heartland of America will continue to grow wider. [Bill Fancher]

...A media watchdog organization says amid all the recent hoopla over the departure of Katie Couric from NBC's "Today" show, one must not forget that the future anchor of "CBS Evening News" is a committed liberal whose bias will likely continue on her new job. The Media Research Center (MRC) recently published an article titled "Memories of Katie's Dramatic Liberal Bias," going back as far as 1991 in its litany of memorable examples. Rich Noyes, director of research at MRC, says Couric has "the most well-documented track record of bias going into the anchor job of anybody ever in broadcast history." According to Noyes, that may be a first. "I mean, anchors like Dan Rather developed that reputation as they wore the anchor," he says, "but she's got that same reputation going into the job on her first day, and I think that's unprecedented." He notes that Couric has been "extremely friendly" to liberal politicos like former President Jimmy Carter and California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. "... Hillary Clinton's a big favorite of hers," he adds. "[And] she's had scornful things to say about Ronald Reagan and other conservatives." Noyes says based on the fact that CBS made no apparent attempt to rein in the liberal bias of previous news anchor Dan Rather, he assumes Couric will remain the "same full-throated liberal" she was during her 15 years on the popular NBC morning program. [Chad Groening]

...A Christian organization says despite the continued violence in Iraq, it will stay the course in that dangerous country and provide aid to the suffering Christians and the persecuted Church there. Jerry Dykstra, media coordinator for Open Doors USA, says the ministry is concerned about a recent incident that left 54 dead and 120 wounded. He says while terrorist attacks are dangerous for everyone, it is much worse for Christians, who face persecution at the hands of radical Muslims. "Many of the Christians [in Iraq] don't see the light at the end of the tunnel," says Dykstra. "Of course, when Saddam was driven out and later captured, there were tremendous hopes that Christians would have it better, but it hasn't worked out that way so far." Fundamental Muslims, he says, would prefer the Christians leave the country so they can put strict Muslim law into effect. Consequently, he says, many of them have remained "underground" and continue to worship in their houses. But Dykstra says despite the violence, Open Doors will stay, and pray for the believers in the Middle Eastern country. "As we've seen God work in places like China and in the fall of the Iron Curtain, our job is to pray and to support them, and [pray that] the Lord's will will be done and that He can work mighty miracles," he says. According to the ministry spokesman, an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 Christians reside in Iraq, but as many as 100,000 believers have fled the country since the beginning of the war in March 2003. [Chad Groening]

...A November federal trial date has been set for three college students charged in a string of church arsons in Alabama, although plea agreements are still possible. Nineteen-year-old Russell DeBusk, 20-year-old Matthew Cloyd, and 20-year-old Benjamin Moseley are accused of setting fire to nine rural Baptist churches in February. The three, who initially had a June trial date that was set aside, have entered pleas of not-guilty, but court documents and defense attorneys have suggested an interest in plea agreements that would dispose of state and federal charges at the same time. State and local prosecutors have been meeting with members of the burned churches to get their input on possible penalties. [AP]

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