Church State

Less than a month after a North Carolina Pagan woman caused a stir because her son's middle school allowed him to take a Bible from the school's office, some area pastors are speaking out, saying that if it was the other way around, and their children could get books about Paganism from the school, they wouldn't mind.

Rusty Smart, an associate pastor at Calvary Worship Center in Marshall, N.C., told the Citizen-Times that if his son brought home a Pagan spell book he would use it as a “teaching moment” to share his Christian beliefs with his child without bothering the school.

“All these other religions claim to coexist, but they don’t want to coexist with Christians,” said Smart. “They want to drive us out.” more >>

Dimas Salaberrios, pastor of Infinity Church in the Bronx borough of New York City, led a protest Thursday, Jan. 5, outside the offices of the New York City Law Department over his ministry's eviction from the Bronx River Community Center, owned by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).

Pastor Salaberrios claims that NYCHA was following in the footsteps of the NYC Board of Education, which served eviction notices to religious groups who use public school facilities after school hours for their ministries. The education department's move stems from the Supreme Court's refusal in December to review a lawsuit filed on behalf of the Bronx Household of Faith that challenged the Board of Education’s policy.

As a result, the Bronx Household of Faith congregation was told by the Board of Education that it had to quit the school auditorium it has been using as a worship space since 2002 by Feb. 12, 2012. Dozens of NYC churches have been affected by the Board of Ed's decision, which goes back to its victory in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court had decided in June to uphold the board’s policy against religious activity in public school facilities. more >>

Does presidential candidate Ron Paul want to use government to impose Old Testament laws on the nation? As incredible as it sounds, journalist Michelle Goldberg makes that claim in an article for The Daily Beast.

Goldberg's assertion is based upon Paul's supposed ties to devotees of Christian Reconstructionism. Christian Reconstructionists, such as R. J. Rushdoony and Gary North, believe that it is the duty of Christians to take control of their government and impose Old Testament law.

Christian Reconstructionism has always been a fringe group and is not taken seriously by mainstream Christians. Goldberg admits this as well, but continues to argue that several Republican candidates are actually Christian Reconstructionists, which she also labels “dominionists,” and wish to convert American democracy into a theocracy. more >>

NEW YORK – Dimas Salaberrios, pastor of Infinity Church that is being forced to leave the Bronx River Community Center next month, was arrested while rallying against the eviction at the New York Department of Law on Thursday.

Salaberrios, who is also fasting to counteract the eviction mandate, said he is willing to fight against city officials, who he feels are targeting churches.

“New York City law department is working on getting rid of churches from community centers. Now they're targeting us,” Salaberrios told The Christian Post the day before his arrest. “All together this will mean 17,000 people will be out of their church homes in less than a month in a half.” more >>

A Texas school district refunded hundreds of dollars back to Child Evangelism Fellowship’s Good News Club after the Liberty Counsel discovered they were overcharging the organization with higher-than-normal fees.

The Midlothian Independent School District, accused of violating the First Amendment, agreed to give CEF a discounted rate for use of the school’s facilities after initially denying the group a fee waiver.

The Liberty Counsel pointed out that CEF should be entitled to lower fees because they met goals outlined in the Texas Education Code. School policy allowed any youth-oriented, character building groups like the Boy Scouts a waiver of facility fees, only charging them for use of utilities. more >>

A New Mexico abortion doctor has said he will retire at the end of the year for the sake of his own sanity.

Project Defending Life and Operation Rescue announced that Dr. Bruce Ferguson told a private investigator that he is retiring on Dec. 30 and closing his clinic for his own “sanity” and that "someone else needs to carry the burden now."

Project Defending Life and Operation Rescue aims to keep women informed of the dangers of abortion, close abortion clinics, and eventually work with the government to acknowledge rights of the unborn and end abortions entirely. more >>