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SAN FRANCISCO - An atheist who has spent four years trying to ban the Pledge of Allegiance from being recited in public schools is now challenging the motto printed on U.S. currency because it refers to God. Michael Newdow seeks to remove “In God We Trust” from U.S. coins and dollar bills, claiming in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that the motto is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion....

Abraham didn't exist? The Exodus didn't happen? The Bible's Buried Secrets, a new PBS documentary, is likely to cause a furor. "It challenges the Bible's stories if you want to read them literally, and that will disturb many people," says archaeologist William Dever, who specializes in Israel's history. "But it explains how and why these stories ever came to be told in the first place, and how and why they were written down." The Nova program will premiere Nov. 18. PBS presented a clip and a panel discussion at the summer tour of the Television Critics Association. The program says...

Hi everyone, I'm just wondering if anyone had this experience before. I wrote a column about the proof of the existence of a Divine Creator (see http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2029192/posts ) and am now getting google stalked by an Atheist Group in Austin, in addition to phone calls and emails. I'm not going to stop saying/writing what I believe or stop speaking out against these tactics, but was wondering if anyone here had experience and knows what to do about google, etc. I know some of us may disagree on the issues, but I don't think there's much debate about these tactics. The...

Hillary Clinton and John McCain both ripped into Barack Obama Friday for reportedly saying residents of small-town America “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them” out of bitterness over lost jobs, a remark his opponents interpreted as arrogant...

CNN's upcoming miniseries "God's Warriors," hosted by left-wing bias exemplar Christiane Amanpour, looks like it will play the old liberal game of moral equivalence. Amanpour reportedly compares Christian chastity advocates to the Taliban in the miniseries. Even the promos for the miniseries which have been running on CNN for the past few weeks demonstrate the probable "game plan" that Amanpour and CNN have in mind, grouping together pro-life Christian college students protesting in front of the Supreme Court, Jewish settlers on the West Bank, and Islamic radicals. To paraphrase an old children's jingle, "two of these things are not like...

A couple doors down the hall from Mr. Johnson's classroom at Westview High School in Rancho Peñasquitos, a suburb of San Diego, a teacher has a picture of the grunge rock band Nirvana on her door. Other teachers have slogans from sports celebrities and cartoon characters. Teacher Brad Johnson has decorated his assigned homeroom with pictures of families and nature, and banners relating to American history, such as God Bless America. That last item, the school district told Johnson in January of this year, is banned and must be removed from the classroom. Why? Because the Poway Unified School District...

On October 10, 1995, the 1/15 Battalion of the 3rd infantry Division of the U.S. Army came to attention at 0900 in Schweinfurt, Germany. All but one of the 550 soldiers were wearing a sky-blue baseball-style cap with a United Nations insignia on the front. One was wearing the olive-drab flat cap that is authorized to be worn with the Battle Dress Uniform. With this simple act of disobeying a direct order, Spc. 4 Michael New set the stage for a legal battle that has profound implications for the future of American soldiers into service of the United Nations without...

Poll Reveals America's Desire for Religion and Values NEW YORK—A recent survey commissioned by the American Bible Society and carried out by respected pollster Zogby International shows that 85 percent of American viewers want more religious values and references to the Bible, and less sex and violence shown on television. The survey, entitled "What Is More Offensive on Television: Religion or Sex and Violence?" was conducted by Zogby in November. "We firmly believe that the Bible plays a critical role in the on-going development of our culture and social fabric of our country," said Dr. Paul Irwin, President and CEO...

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The Tennessean is a Gannett newspaper and does not allow copying or excerpting of articles. Click on this link to read the article: ACLU sues Wilson County over alleged religious practices In my own words - the plantiffs are alledging a Christmas play, praying parents, national prayer day and teacher-led prayer in a public school have traumatized their child and they need attorneys’ fees and compensatory or nominal damages to get over it. The plantiffs are not named in the suit for fear they will be attacked and ostracized.

NEW YORK -- A minister in New York said billboards he paid for displaying a Bible verse that condemned homosexual behavior were removed after the president of the Staten Island borough called the message intolerant, offensive and unwelcome. The Rev. Kristopher Okwedy's lawsuit against the former official was heard Tuesday by a three-judge federal panel. Okwedy's attorney, Stephen Crampton of the American Family Association, said the case highlights the conflict between gay rights and the right of Christians to publicly quote Bible passages that declare such behavior sinful. Crampton predicts that the issue will ultimately be decided by the U.S....

MURRIETA ---- A lawsuit claiming the UC system discriminates against Christian beliefs by rejecting some private Christian schools' courses for college-entrance credit may proceed, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, rejecting the university's argument that the case should be tossed. U.S. District Judge S. James Otero's ruling states that claims in the lawsuit are worth pursuing. The suit was filed by Calvary Chapel Christian School in Murrieta, six of its students and the Association of Christian Schools International, which represents more than 4,000 religious schools nationwide. "Members of the Supreme Court have articulated on various occasions that a university's decisions regarding...

University of Wisconsin officials are being warned their refusal to recognize Christian student groups is illegal. In recent weeks, the University of Wisconsin-Superior has denied recognition of the school's InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison has derecognized the Knights of Columbus. The officials allege the groups violate school's "anti-discrimination policy" by not allowing non-Christians to serve in leadership positions, according to the Arizona-based public-interest legal group Alliance Defense Fund, which notes non-recognized groups are denied access to campus facilities and student funding. "Christian student groups shouldn't be treated differently from other student organizations," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel...

Junior Stowers raised his hands and exclaimed, "Thank you, Jesus!" in court last month when he was acquitted by a jury of abusing his son. But his joy was short-lived when Circuit Judge Patrick Border held him in contempt of court for the "outburst" and threw him in jail. Stowers, 47, sat in the courtroom and a cellblock for about six hours until the judge granted him a hearing on the contempt charge and released him. The judge at a July 7 hearing dropped the contempt charge, a petty misdemeanor that carries up to 30 days in jail. Stowers couldn't...

<p>WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court intervened Monday to save a large cross on city property in southern California.</p> <p>A lower court judge had ordered the city of San Diego to remove the cross or be fined $5,000 a day.</p> <p>Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, acting for the high court, issued a stay while supporters of the cross continue their legal fight.</p>

For years, seniors in the wind ensemble at Henry M. Jackson High School have selected a favorite piece of music to play during commencement. For last month's ceremonies, the 17 students chose an instrumental version of "Ave Maria," which they had performed at a school concert in December 2004. But their choice was vetoed by Dr. Carol Whitehead, superintendent of the Everett School District. Instead, the ensemble played a selection by British composer Gustav Holst. Now Kathryn Nurre, an 18-year-old who played alto saxophone in the ensemble before graduating, is suing Whitehead, claiming the decision violated her First Amendment right...

SEATTLE, Wash.—Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have filed a First Amendment lawsuit in defense of the rights of a member of a high school wind ensemble to perform an instrumental arrangement of “Ave Maria” at the school’s graduation ceremony. The case centers on a school official’s refusal to allow the senior high woodwind ensemble to perform their choice of an instrumental arrangement of German composer Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria” at the school’s graduation ceremonies. In the complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, Wash., Institute attorneys charge that the school superintendent’s unfounded concerns about the religious nature...

This is a perfect example of several current psychoses running through the seedy underbelly of our culture today. This one story reveals the selfishness, stupidity, and hypocrisy of the anti-religious as well as utter lack of knowledge about our nation's history and form of government. A school board in West Virginia is being sued by two "civil liberties" groups -- read that to mean groups promoting just THEIR point of view, the rest of you be damned -- because the school happened to have a portrait of Jesus displayed in the hallway. Did I mention it has been there for...

It may be illegal for school children to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, Rep. Todd Akin, R-MO, dreads. Akin fears what he calls activist judges and their ability to legislate what the American people don’t want. He spoke to the 13th Eagle Forum Collegians Annual Leadership Summit about two bills he supports designed to rein in activist judges who legislate from the bench. The Pledge Protection Act of 2005 received a 247-173 House vote in 2005, but died in the Senate. In reaction to a 2003 decision by the 9th U.S....

The New York State Division of Human Rights has begun a probe of a privately owned skating rink that recently advertised a "Christian Music Skate" party. The agency is investigating Len Bernardo and his wife Terry, owners of Skate Time 209 in Accord, New York, apparently because the rink plays Christian music during certain designated hours. The Division of Human Rights has warned the rink, which also advertises Christian skating on Sunday afternoons, that it may be violating anti-discrimination laws. The agency also threatened to charge a local weekly newspaper that published the rink's advertisement of its Christian music skate...