A struggling Christian school teaching creationism in South Carolina is receiving some unexpected financial help after an atheist website posted an exam from the school on the Internet. Aid has come from Answers in Genesis and concerned readers.

"It is unmistakable that our culture greatly needs well-equipped warriors for Christ. Even though the attack on the school was meant to be harmful, God has used it to provide affirmation regarding the importance of our work," Diana Baker, an administrator at the Blue Ridge Christian Academy in Landrum, S.C., said in a press release emailed to The Washington Post regarding the recent controversy over a quiz provided to the school's fourth grade class, which included questions relating to creationism.

"We are hopeful that the recent unexpected interest in our school and in Christian Education will provide support for a future for BRCA," Baker added. more >>

A poll commissioned by evangelical Christian group BioLogos found that pastors hold a variety of views when it comes to the origin of life and science, though Young Earth Creation remains the most popular theory.

The survey was conducted in 2012 by the Barna Group, which asked 743 Protestant pastors from churches across various Christian denominations in the U.S. to share their origin of life views. While BioLogos asked a variety of questions and is putting together a comprehensive, in-depth report in the coming months, the group released last week some key findings.

"The numbers varied widely based on a number of factors, however. Pastors of mainline churches were most likely to accept Theistic Evolution, while non-Mainline, Charismatic, and Southern Baptist pastors were overwhelmingly Young Earth Creationists. Pastors of larger churches were also more likely to accept Theistic Evolution," BioLogos said of the results. more >>

According to a recently announced study, praying for close friends or romantic partners can lead to more forgiving and overall cooperative behavior.

Florida State University released the results of a report of five studies Wednesday, which concluded that individuals who prayed for a close friend or romantic partner were "less vengeful" and "more cooperative."

"Study 3 showed that, compared to partners of targets in the positive partner thought condition, the romantic partners of targets assigned to pray reported a positive change in their partner's forgiveness," reads the study's abstract. more >>

The scientific belief that everything in the universe came from nothing before there was a "Big Bang," or a moment of creation, is something that all Christians and scientists can agree on, says a leading Christian apologist. Also, J. Warner Wallace argues that the primary premise of Big Bang Cosmology, that everything came from nothing, is consistent with Scripture.

"There are good scientific reasons to believe, good evidential reasons to believe that all space, time, and matter have a beginning. This idea that everything (space, time, and matter) came from nothing is the foundational premise of Big Bang Cosmology," Wallace told The Christian Post. "It turns out that the primary proposal is absolutely consistent with what we see in Scripture – that God has created everything from nothing and that moment of Creation is something that I see as having good evidence to support such a thing from Big Bang Cosmology."

Wallace, who recently released his book, Cold-Case Christianity, said that there are some churches that have a certain view of the earth or the Creation model and for whatever reason are hesitant to embrace even the notion of Big Bang Cosmology. more >>

The openly gay son of a conservative Republican Congressman has stated that he benefitted from undergoing the controversial practice of reparative therapy as a teenager.

Matt R. Salmon, son of Ariz. Rep. Matt Salmon, told CNN's Anderson Cooper that his taking of "ex-gay" conversation therapy helped him be more comfortable around other men.

"Looking back, I don't regret it. The goal was to become straight, and it turns out what I took away from it was an increased confidence," said Salmon, who entered therapy at age 18. more >>

If you ever wondered how much of an impact the Christian faith of Dr. Hannah Gay, the University of Mississippi Medical Center pediatrician whose treatment "functionally cured" a baby girl born with an HIV infection, has had on her work, you don't have to anymore. Her faith is "everything," she says.

The former Baptist missionary who spent years living with her husband in Ethiopia in the 1980s opened up about her faith to the Baptist Press in a recent interview and she explained that her Christian faith defines her life.

"My faith affects everything I do. It defines who I am," she said. "It is actually everything I do and that includes my medical career. And certainly it's the love of Christ that I'm passing on to these children [patients]. It's not anything from myself; it comes from my faith." more >>