Dove Awards

TobyMac named artist of the year at Dove Awards

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - TobyMac has been named artist of the year at the 39th annual Dove Awards.

It was one of several Doves for TobyMac, who said God has surrounded him with people who have made him better and has blessed him with fresh songs.

Chris Tomlin took the Dove for male vocalist of the year, and Natalie Grant was named female vocalist of the year for the third year in a row.

Natalie Grant's husband, Bernie Herms, and Mark Hall of Casting Crowns shared song of the year honors for "East to West." Casting Crowns was named group of the year and Brandon Heath got the Dove for new artist of the year.

The Christian music awards show was broadcast live on the Gospel Music Channel, and included tributes to Michael W. Smith, who sang a duo with Amy Grant, and to the late Larry Norman.

Pray at the Pump

Motorists are urged to pray for lower gas prices

WASHINGTON (AP) - Rocky Twyman says nothing else has worked, so he's urging motorists to pray for lower gasoline prices when they fuel up.

Twyman says he and his fellow volunteers at a church soup kitchen launched "Pray at the Pump" Wednesday at a gas station in Washington D.C.

After fueling up their cars, Twyman says they bowed their heads and asked God for cheaper gas.

There was no immediate answer, but he says other motorists joined in and the service station owner didn't run them off.

Twyman says if God brought down the walls of Jericho when the ancient Hebrews prayed, then divine intervention can bring down gas prices, too.

Bush-Religious Schools

Bush hosts White House conference on religious schools

WHITE HOUSE (AP) - President Bush is hosting a conference today that aims to raise the alarm about the decline of Catholic and other religious schools, especially in the inner city.

The president says faith-based schools can be a life-line for poor kids otherwise trapped in failing public schools. But since 2000, nearly 1,200 religious schools have closed their doors, many in poor neighborhoods where public schools are struggling.

Today's White House summit of educators, clergy and business leaders aims to drum up support for a remedy: what Bush calls "opportunity scholarships." But opponents call that an unconstitutional use of taxpayer funds to support religion.

Florida-Evolution

Florida Senate passes evolution challenge bill

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Public school teachers could challenge the theory of evolution with scientific information under a bill that passed Wednesday in the Florida Senate, but opponents say it would allow the teaching of religion.

The measure would prohibit school officials from punishing teachers who offer "germane current facts" and "data" that cast doubt on Darwin's theory.

Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller questioned whether such data would be reliable. But Majority Leader Dan Webster said the "Evolution Academic Freedom Act" would simply allow a free exchange of ideas.

A key issue is whether the bill would permit the teaching of creationism or intelligent design, which courts have labeled religion rather than science.

Creationism-Master's Degree

Commissioner recommends rejection of creationist program

AUSTIN (AP) - The Texas Commissioner of Higher Education has recommended that a state panel reject a school's proposal to offer a Bible-based online master's degree program to science teachers.

The Higher Education Coordinating Board is expected to follow that recommendation in a vote today.

The Dallas-based Institute for Creation Research asked for state approval to offer the program.

But Raymund Paredes, Texas' higher education commissioner, said that because "the proposed degree program inadequately covers key areas of science, it cannot be properly designated either as 'science' or 'science education."'

Henry Morris, who heads the Institute for Creation Research, says the proposed curriculum includes the teaching of evolution but also includes Bible-based alternatives.

Ten Commandments Lawsuit

Opponents of Ten Commandments monument suing Fargo

FARGO, N.D. (AP) - Opponents of a Ten Commandments monument in Fargo, North Dakota, have filed a civil lawsuit against the city, asking that the granite marker be removed.

The Red River Freethinkers accuse the city of "unconstitutional conduct."

The Freethinkers contend that their rights were violated when Fargo refused to allow them to put up their own monument near the Ten Commandments monument on city property. The proposed monument would say, "The government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion."

The Freethinkers lost an earlier attempt to have the Ten Commandments monument removed. Federal Judge Ralph Erickson ruled in 2005 that the monument celebrates both religious and secular ideals and does not violate the Constitution.

Israel-Easter Baptism

Israel stops baptisms at holy site

QASR EL-YAHUD, West Bank (AP) - Thousands of Christian pilgrims have gone down to the river where Jesus was baptized only to be disappointed. Israel isn't allowing people into the water.

In this holy week before Orthodox Easter, an estimated 15,000 Christians are visiting the site on the Jordan River where John the Baptist is believed to have baptized Jesus.

But Israeli officials say they closed the steep riverbank because of safety problems in previous years. Instead, they set up tubs of river water and pumped water from the Jordan into showers on the riverbanks.

Some pilgrims are upset, but others are content to be near the holy site. A New Yorker who immersed himself in a tub overlooking the river said 30 feet didn't make that much of a difference to him.

Europe-Iraqi Christians

Thousands march to demand EU protection for Iraqi Christians

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Thousands of people have demonstrated outside the headquarters of the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, to demand protection for Iraq's Christian minority.

Iraqi religious leaders led the protesters, whom police prevented from marching on the U.S. Embassy.

Islamic extremists have killed prominent members of Iraq's Christian community in recent weeks. Tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians are believed to have fled since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

German officials have sought backing from other EU nations to accept more Christian refugees from Iraq, arguing that they're particularly vulnerable to violence and discrimination. But other EU countries have expressed concern that giving priority to Christians could discriminate against other groups.

Brazil-Flying Priest

Hopes fade for ballooning priest

SAO PAOLO, Brazil (AP) - Hopes are dimming for a priest in Brazil who sailed into the air under hundreds of colorful helium balloons.

The 41-year old Roman Catholic priest has been missing since Sunday, when he lifted off from a port city in an attempt to raise money by setting a ballooning record.

The cleric's paragliding instructor describes the priest (Adelir Antonio de Carli) as a "headstrong, anxious individual who was always in a rush." He adds that he's not surprised by what happened.

The priest's support crew still can't say for sure what happened. He told them by satellite phone Sunday night that he would not be able to complete the planned flight and that he was beginning to descend over the ocean. Rescuers continue to search off Brazil's southern coast, near where a cluster of yellow, orange, pink and white balloons was found floating in the Atlantic.

Vatican-Lopez Portillo

Pope eulogizes cardinal who led opposition to abortion

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict has presided at a funeral Mass for Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, praising him for the "courage with which he defended the non-negotiable values of human life."

The 72-year-old cardinal, who died Saturday of heart failure, was best known for his campaigns against abortion and insistence that condoms were not a dependable way to stop HIV transmission.

At Wednesday's funeral in St. Peter's Basilica, the pope praised Lopez Trujillo's defense of human life, Christian marriage and the family.

Pastor Death

Police investigating pastor's death as homicide

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A Church of God in Christ pastor has been found dead in his apartment in Memphis, Tennessee, and police are investigating the case as a homicide.

Police say Ronald Page was last seen alive sometime late last week. A concerned employee at the apartment building went to check on him Tuesday and found him dead.

There was no immediate word on the cause of death.

A neighbor described Page as a man with a big heart who always helped the homeless.

Books-Jesus

Film director's Jesus biography denies virgin birth

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - Film director Paul Verhoeven has written a book that contradicts the Bible by suggesting that Jesus might have been fathered by a Roman soldier who raped Mary.

An Amsterdam publishing house says it will publish the book titled "Jesus of Nazareth: A Realistic Portrait" in September.

Verhoeven is best known as the director of films including "Basic Instinct" and "RoboCop," but he is also a member of the Jesus Seminar, a group that questions church teachings about Jesus.

John Dominic Crossan, a Jesus Seminar founder, says that while Verhoeven is a member in good standing, there is little evidence for the view that Jesus was illegitimate.

Crossan says the claim was first reported in a polemic written in the second century to refute the Christian belief that Jesus was born of a virgin.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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