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Bible Missing From Oath Do-Over

The Bible was absent from President Obama’s second swearing-in on Wednesday, but a U.K.-based ministerial alliance has sent him one for future use.

Jan. 22, 2009 -- President Barack Obama retook the oath of office on Wednesday evening after the first one was flubbed. But because the Bible was noticeably absent from the second swearing-in, a U.K.-based ministerial alliance is sending him one.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the second oath at the White House on Wednesday to dispel confusion created by the first one, which was given out of sequence, and to erase questions about whether Obama was legally president. On Tuesday, Roberts was apparently working without a copy of the oath, CNN reported. (View Tuesday’s swearing-in.)

Both oaths included the phrase “so help me God.” But on Wednesday, Obama raised his right hand but used no Bible, according to CNN. (Hear the second swearing-in.) read more

1:15PM EST 1/26/2009

Marvin Sapp Dominates Stellar Awards

Marvin Sapp recently took home seven awards during the 24th Annual Stellar Awards, which celebrated the achievements of African-American gospel music artist.

Jan. 22, 2009 -- Marvin Sapp took home seven Stellar Awards during last weekend's award show, garnering trophies in the Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, CD of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year categories.

Capitalizing on the success of his crossover R&B hit “Never Would Have Made It” and album Thirsty, Sapp was recognized during the 24th Annual Stellar Awards, which celebrated the achievements of African-American artists in gospel music at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 17.

Thirsty also generated Stellar trophies for Aaron Lindsey in the Producer of the Year category and Michelle Lukianovich in the Recorded Music Package of the Year category. read more

4:50PM EST 1/26/2009

Inauguration of Barack Obama "Hingepoint of History"

Christian leaders said the swearing-in of the nation's first African-American president is a sign of racial progress but worried that the battle to end abortion and defend traditional marriage would intensify in the coming months.

[01.21.09] Record-setting crowds braved frigid weather on Tuesday to witness the historic inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States. But while many applauded the event as a victory for racial progress, several ministry leaders warned that Christians must remain vigilant in a fight against abortion and same-sex marriage that is likely to intensify.

During his invocation, Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren called the swearing-in of the nation’s first African-American president a “hingepoint of history.”

“We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African [man] can rise to the highest level of our leadership,” Warren prayed. “We know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.” read more

8:37PM EST 1/25/2009

Fans Urged to Pray for Rock Star's Wife

Michael Sweet, lead singer of resurrected glam metal band Stryper, says prayer is desperately needed for his wife, who is suffering a two-year battle with stage four ovarian cancer.

[01.20.09] The frontman of a legendary Christian metal band says the pain and discomfort his wife has suffered since being diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer in 2007 is “break[ing] my heart into a million pieces.”

In an intimate letter written in a hospital by his ailing wife’s bedside, Michael Sweet, who formed hard rock band Stryper in 1983 with brother, Robert, told fans last week that that he and his wife, Kyle, are walking through the darkest time of their lives.

“I constantly wrestle with the reality of this monster that invades [Kyle’s] body and I can tell you that it’s been a tremendous struggle to see my wife so sick,” Sweet wrote in his letter, which he later posted on his Web site. “I have felt so helpless and at times completely hopeless … we covet and cherish every prayer from everyone of you.” read more

8:35PM EST 1/25/2009

Christian Businessman Killed in Iraq

The execution-style murder in Mosul has renewed concern about violence against the religious minority ahead of provincial elections on Jan. 31.

[01.20.09] A Christian businessman was killed execution-style in Iraq on Thursday, renewing concern about anti-Christian violence that saw thousands flee the area last fall.

The 36-year-old man, who owned an auto repair shop in Mosul, was shot in the head several times, police told the Associated Press (AP) on Saturday. No one took responsibility for the murder.

Another Christian, a city engineer, was kidnapped in early January but returned four days later when his family paid a $50,000 ransom, according to the AP.

Bassem Balu, an official with the Democratic Assyrian Movement, the largest Christian party in Iraq, said he did not think the violence would slow the return of Christians to northern Iraq, where more than a dozen Christians were killed in October. But he said he hoped the attack did not signal renewed violence against the religious minority, according to the AP. read more

8:34PM EST 1/25/2009

Israel Calls Ceasefire in Gaza

Israel’s prime minister initiated a unilateral ceasefire over the weekend while also addressing the devastation faced by Palestinians in Gaza.

[01.19.09] Israel agreed to a ceasefire Saturday after its three-week operation in Gaza significantly disrupted anti-Israel military operations ran by Hamas, an Islamic militant group and U.S.-classified terrorist organization that violently seized control of Gaza in 2007.

“Conditions have been created [in Gaza] so that our targets, as defined when we launched the operation, have been fully achieved, and more so,” said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. “Hamas was badly stricken, both in terms of its military capabilities and in the infrastructure of its regime.

“Its leaders are in hiding,” he said. “Many of its members have been killed. The factories in which its missiles were manufactured have been destroyed. The smuggling routes, through dozens of tunnels, have been bombed. The Hamas’s capabilities for conveying weapons within the Gaza Strip have been damaged.” read more

4:55PM EST 1/26/2009

Judge OKs References to God During Inauguration

Despite a legal challenge by several atheist organizations, President-elect Barack Obama will repeat the words “so help me God” when he is sworn in as president on Tuesday.

[01.19.09] A U.S. District judge denied a California atheist's request to remove references to God from President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in on Tuesday.

After a two-hour hearing last Thursday, Judge Reggie B. Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied plaintiff Michael Newdow’s request to bar Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts from administering the president’s oath with the words “so help me God.”

In their lawsuit filed in early January, Newdow and 11 atheist and humanist organizations also claimed that references to God in the invocation and benediction and the use of a Bible during the swearing-in ceremony violated the Constitution’s ban against respecting an establishment of religion and discriminated against them as nonbelievers. read more

4:59PM EST 1/26/2009

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