News-Record.com

A flock of birds fly into the engine of an airplane, which is landed safely in the Hudson River, allowing everyone onboard to escape without major injuries. It seemed like one of those "act of God" things where something happened that might not have been under anyone's control. Some of the passengers say they are owed more than what US Airways is offering -- a litany of upgrades of sort for a year and $5,000 for luggage and other immediate costs. Would $1 million be enough? Has the victim mindset permanently shifted in this country -- or is this thought process fair, considering the positive press the airline has gotten, just from the crew appearing, even, at the Super Bowl last night?

President Barack Obama wants to review faith-based policies. UNCG's Bob Wineburg had hoped that he would consider a number of issues related to the newly-formed White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Here's what Obama said would be his guiding principles in 2008.

So, there's a North Carolina connection: Rogers, the director of the Center for Religion and Public Affairs at Wake Forest University's School of Divinity and an expert on church and state issues, has been named by President Barack Obama to the new advisory board for the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

You can get our religion calendar in Saturday’s Local section. But if you want to plan ahead, go to http://tinyurl.com/dc49nn and you’ll find a link to a Google map showing where events will take place and listing the details you need.

The founder of Habitat for Humanity impacted the people and the work in our community (See today's News & Record).

Want to join a Habitat build?

Mississippi is number 1.
North Carolina ranks 8.

Ahead of the 200th anniversary of the pioneering naturalist's birth on Thursday, scientist and religious leaders call for an end to fighting over Charles Darwin's legacy, saying militant atheists are turning people away from evolution by using it as a weapon with which to attack religion.
Darwin, they say, should be celebrated for his biological achievements and not fighting over his legacy as some kind of anti-theologian.
Is it possible to celebrate both?

Free showings of the movie this weekend.

One of the most shocking (and most pathetic) things about religious extremists of all stripes is the way in which they attempt to blame some of the world's worst tragedies on their ideological enemies, no matter how ridiculous the assertion.

Whether it's Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson blaming Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 on the wickedness of lesbians and the ACLU, extremist Muslims blaming Jews, Christians and the West for all of the problems of the Middle East or believers of all sorts telling you that Hitler, Mao and Stalin's crimes can be laid at the feet of atheism -- it's a weak and disgusting practice.

Now -- the Scientologists explain how the Holocaust and 9/11 can be blamed on Psychiatry.

Scientologists Try to Explain how Psychiatrists caused 9/11 and the Holocaust from Chris Doyle on Vimeo.

How Beck, Tom Cruise and John Travolta can listen to this and stay on board is just beyond me.

If you missed it in theaters Bill Maher's documentary Religulous is on DVD this week.

It was the highest grossing documentary of last year and I enjoyed it in theaters. If you hate Bill Maher you may have even more fun MST3king it.

Billy Graham's organization is laying off 55 people, or 10 percent of its staff. All eligible employees will receive severance packages as well as outplacement and spiritual counseling, reports the Charlotte Business Journal.

BISMARCK, N.D. -- A measure approved by the North Dakota House gives a fertilized human egg the legal rights of a human being, a step that would essentially ban abortion in the state.

Drinking from a well of spirituality.

What would Jesus do with $787 billion?

He couldn't spend it, not if he had 2009 years to do it, spending $1 million a day.

"Suppose you spent $1 million every single day starting from the day Jesus was born -- and kept spending through today," says the announcer of a new nationwide commercial as an image of the three wise men flashes on the screen. "A million dollars a day for more than 2,000 years. You would still have spent less money than Congress just did."

The commercial makes you think. Yet, didn't Jesus give away everything he had -- and urge others to do the same? Nancy.