Ethics/rights

The U.S. Air Force has garnered backlash from GOP lawmakers after it removed a reference to God that appears on the patch logo for the Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO).

The RCO, which was created in 2003 to communicate weapons system reports to the U.S. Air Force's top officials, changed its patch logo several weeks ago after the atheist group, the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers (MAAFA), complained about the logo's reference to God.

The logo originally read in Latin "Doing God's Work with Other People's Money." However, it has been changed to read: "Doing Miracles with Other People's Money." more >>

The Mississippi State Legislature is considering a bill that could see parents who "spank" their children face either 10 years in jail or life imprisonment depending on the intention and bodily harm caused to the child, but critics of the bill say its intentions are not clearly defined. 

Senate Bill 2180, an act to amend a section of the Mississippi Code of 1972, aims to revise the "offense of felonious abuse or battery of a child; and for related purposes." The bill is sponsored by Senator Brice Wiggins of District 52.

Dewitt Black, Senior Counsel for the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), believes that there are problems with the bill's language. Black told The Christian Post that the words "bodily harm" and "reasonable discipline" are not properly defined. more >>

Several reports of persecution against Christians from around the globe have emerged this week, including an update on violence against Christians in Nigeria, the deadly 2010 bombing of an Iraqi church, attacks against Christians in India and a bombing of a missionary Bible college in Sudan.

Kashmir - Muslim leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani spoke out Saturday in support of four Christian missionaries after a Sharia court last week issued a decree seeking their expulsion from the state, Christian Today reported. Despite the support, the missionaries were expelled Friday.

Nigeria – Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, who is the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Nigeria, posted a statement on his Facebook page Saturday in which he presumably warns  Islamist sect Boko Haram to stop attacking Christians, their homes and churches, or expect to face the consequences. "We are not allowed to burn mosques or kill people of other religious beliefs but [the] Bible says we are allowed [to defend] ourselves/churches/homes," the statement reads. more >>

Pastors seem to spend very little time addressing environmental issues in churches, and some critics suspect that might be due to fears of being labeled "liberal." The church leaders who see the importance of God's creation say it should not be so. Caring for God's creation is an important part of the Scriptures, those unafraid of the label "green" have been telling The Christian Post.

According to The National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE), an interfaith nonprofit, evangelical ethics of caring for creation rests on the foundations of several key biblical teachings, such as: "Honoring God as Creator by respecting His handiwork (Psalm 19, 121, Job 38, Job 39);" "Obeying God's command to humanity's first parents to care for the earth and its creatures (Genesis 2);" "Following God's call to love our neighbors, especially those who are poor and less powerful (Deuteronomy 6, Luke 10, Matthew 22, Mark 12);" and "Furthering Christ's work of reconciling all things to God (Colossians 1, Romans 8)." 

 These beliefs are often referred to by pastors as the "stewardship of creation," a belief that it is one's Christian duty to take care of the earth, which was created by God – and that the Bible urges one to do so. more >>

The Virginia House Education Committee has passed the "Tim Tebow Bill," which would allow home-schooled children to play varsity sports for public schools, in a 14-8 vote Wednesday.

Bill HB 947, named for the Denver Broncos quarterback who was also home-schooled, looks to amend the Code of Virginia that prohibits "participation in public school interscholastic programs by nonpublic school students."

Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell has presented the bill as part of his education package. HB 947 is expected to pass the House floor, where Republicans hold two-thirds of the seats. more >>

Pro-family group "One Million Moms" is urging customers to contact J.C. Penney and demand that the company drop openly homosexual Ellen DeGeneres as its spokesperson.

One Million Moms is an offshoot of the American Family Association (AFA), "one of the largest and most effective pro-family organizations in the country, with over two million online supporters…" according to its website. The AFA's mission is "to inform, equip, and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of American culture, and give aid to the church here and abroad in its task of fulfilling the Great Commission."

The group finds fault with J.C. Penney's recent decision to hire DeGeneres as its new spokesperson. In an announcement from the company's president last month, Michael Francis told the press, "Importantly, we share the same fundamental values as Ellen. At J.C. Penney, we couldn't think of a better partner to help us put the fun back into the retail experience." more >>