A 17-year-old student from Georgia whose family of five was homeless for most of her high school career has managed to graduate at the top of her class and earn a spot at prestigious Spelman College, where she will be enrolling as a junior in the fall.

"I just told myself to keep working, because the future will not be like this anymore," Chelesa Fearce told a local news station. "You're worried about your home life and then worried at school. Worry about being a little hungry sometimes, go hungry sometimes. You just have to deal with it. You eat what you can, when you can."

"It makes you more humble," she said of her experience. more >>

Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum has posted a video of atheist Internet users who are planning on protesting his participation at a homeschool convention in Texas.

In a two-hour video chat titled "Home School Abuse by Creationists," the atheist members talk about their opposition to Ham's planned speech at the Texas Home School Coalition Convention on Aug. 1–3.

"Every pastor, Christian leader, homeschooler, teenager, Christian parent, and, in fact, all Christians need to see this video chat featuring a number of very intolerant atheists (and some are hateful and angry)," the creationist writes about the video, which he breaks down into separate parts in his blog post to address the various criticism thrown at him. more >>

Is Robert Downey Jr.'s mention of Bible prophecy teacher Chuck Missler during an appearance on Jon Stewart's Daily Show a sign that the "Iron Man" actor is tracking with the latest End Times conversation? Prophecy News Watch took the opportunity to post a short video clip of Downey's Missler reference on the show and write about current events in the Middle East.

Downey's own faith or religious beliefs are not highly publicized, but his mention of Missler, which included him saying "love Chuck Missler," has come at a critical time when "people are looking for answers to help understand many of the current events happening around us," said Prophecy News Watch Director Kade Hawkins.

"To those who teach Bible Prophecy such as Chuck Missler, the events in Syria, Iran, Israel and throughout the Middle East are considered a foreshadowing of bigger events yet to happen – events that were prophesized thousands of years ago but possibly may now be just around the corner," stated PNW. more >>

Evolutionists and atheist activists who recently complained about a Ball State University assistant professor teaching creationism may be missing a broader view of education, according to popular Christian apologist Lee Strobel, who says that colleges should be a place where students can explore both Darwinism and creationism fully and freely.

"I believe we should give teachers, scientists, and students the right to pursue the evidence wherever it takes them – even if it takes them to the politically incorrect conclusion that there's an Intelligent Designer," Strobel told The Christian Post via email. "In other words, let's test the evidence in the marketplace of ideas.

"As two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling said, 'Science is the search for the truth.' At least, it should be. Personally, I even believe we should teach more on Darwinism," he added. "That's right – more. That's because today students are given only a cursory and one-sided explanation of evolution. On this surface level, the theory's grandest claims seem to hold together pretty well. Yet if students are encouraged to dig deeper – in fact, to examine all of the evidence, pro and con – they begin to recognize its fatal flaws." more >>

At a recent interfaith prayer breakfast in Jacksonville, Fla., Bishop T.D. Jakes, lead pastor of The Potter's House in Dallas, Texas, encouraged religious and city leaders to acknowledge their "daunting job" of helping at-risk youth by uniting on a private, public, and spiritual front to improve graduation rates and decrease crime and unemployment rates in the city.

Jakes served as the keynote speaker at Mayor Alvin Brown's annual Interfaith Breakfast on Monday. along with speakers from Faith Temple Assembly of God, Evangel Temple, Alachua-Central African Methodist Episcopal Church, Celebration Church, and Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church.

"We need to fight the good fight of faith," Jakes told those in attendance, as reported by The Florida-Times Union. more >>

With the cost of higher education skyrocketing, student loan debt growing, and youth unemployment persistently high, a former United States Secretary of Education asks "Is College Worth It?"

In Is College Worth It?: A Former United States Secretary of Education and a Liberal Arts Graduate Expose the Broken Promise of Higher Education, William J. Bennett and David Wilezol examine the costs and benefits of American higher education. The book explains the tough jobs market, a potentially repressive academic culture, and the benefits of alternative options.

Wilezol, an associate producer of the Bill Bennett's Morning in America show, discussed the economic benefits of a college degree. He intends the bookto be for "parents who think about not only the ROI [Return On Investment] for their kids in terms of jobs, but also what is being taught in the classroom in terms of what they want their kids exposed to," he told The Christian Post. more >>