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"This is not a gun question, it is a question of religious freedom," said the sponsor of legislation that would allow concealed weapons in Arkansas churches.

The city's oldest Jewish synagogue is holding a special "GLBT Shabbat" service for the gay community -- just as the latest salvo in the battle against homosexuality in North Carolina includes a proposal putting the prohibition of gay marriage in the state constitution.
"We've always been curious as to what size community of gays and lesbians there is in the Jewish community -- and making sure they understand they are welcome and have a home at Temple Emanuel," said Rabbi Fred Guttman , whose special guest will be the Triad Pride Men's Chorus.
Guttman's sermon -- "Rick Warren: Evolving or Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing?" -- analyzes the words of the mega-church pastor and gay marriage opponent's inaugural prayer, which included asking God's forgiveness for "...When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the Earth with the respect they deserve."
The Jewish sabbath service is open to anyone -- but especially members of the gay community.

For Lent, I gave up talking on my cell phone while driving. Now, I pull over or wait until I stop to respond to the call. I was prompted while witnessing a woman almost hit someone crossing the street, because she was on her telephone. At least three weeks changes a habit, right?

I wonder if anyone is trying to give up texting, as the Catholic Church urges?

Most religious groups have lost ground.

Want to know how young people are enticed to run away and meet up with online strangers they don't know? Or how a predator can get enough information out of your child to track him or her down?
This conversation with a local police officer who poses as a teenager can answer your questions.
"The officers and deputies who go out and talk to these groups aren't just saying, 'This is what the statistics are showing us," said Cpl C.E. Williams of the Greensboro Police Department. "... They are coming from the point of view that we are online and we know this is happening because we are seeing it."

The other day I did something stupid, and I'm very glad of it.

I was searching out the dog park and found myself at the wrong park complex. My handy GPS device didn't have the dog park listed, and as my poor dog whined in the backseat, as she does whenever the car comes to a stop, I debated how to continue.

I'd pulled over beside a teeball field where a game was going on. It was a bright, sunny day -- Monday, the day I literally went outside singing "Morning Has Broken," which is not something I'm prone to do. I decided to turn around to try the find the right park, and I saw a guy, probably in his 40s, very well-muscled, walking up the street toward me. I pulled up beside him and asked if he knew where the dog park was.

"Yeah, it's just down the way I'm headed. Could you give me a ride? I've been walkin' a long way."

As a woman -- particularly as a white woman, whose society has taught her to fear black men -- I hesitated. You don't let strangers into your car, I thought. Then I thought of the teeball field full of people behind me; there would be lots of witnesses if something went awry.

It's amazing what can go through your head in a second or two. I made my decision.

"Sure, let me turn around." I turned the car around, cleared the passenger seat of junk, and unlocked the doors. As he came around my car, he saw my greyhound in the backseat -- a vicious-looking creature if ever there was one -- and asked if she would bite him. I remembered black friends telling me they were afraid of dogs because some white people trained dogs to only go after black people.

I introduced myself and he did the same. He directed me to the street he needed to get off on, and I drove for about three minutes. We chatted in that time, me admitting (with some embarrassment) that I'd lived here for almost nine years and couldn't find my way back to the park, which we'd visited before.

I'm not proud to say I was afraid, the entire time we drove -- which, again, was only a few minutes -- that he would pull out a gun and carjack me. Would he take my dog?

Soon enough he said, "This is where I'll get off," and I pulled over to let him out. We thanked each other and agreed it was serendipitous that we ran into each other. He gave me directions to the park -- which were perfect -- and we parted ways.

I came away glad I had let him in my car and glad that I hadn't let fear rule me. It could have gone very differently, I know. But that day my almost unwavering faith in humankind was reinforced, and I hope to keep that in my heart.

As my husband said when I told him about it, "That's how I want the world to be."

Amen, brother. Amen.

Pope Benedict XVI said on his way to Africa on Tuesday that condoms were not the answer in the continent's fight against HIV, his first explicit statement on an issue that has divided even clergy working with AIDS patients.
The Vatican encourages sexual abstinence to fight the spread of the disease.

Have we really tried to make abstinence work? Or do we just say abstinence won't work and move on?

This question will be debated Friday at Mars Hill Church, when ABC records a “Face Off” debate for Nightline. What would you say to theology students?

For the existence of Satan:
Pastor Mark Driscoll, founding pastor, Mars Hill Church
Annie Lobert, executive director, "Hookers for Jesus"
Against the existence of Satan:
Deepak Chopra, president, Alliance for a New Humanity
Bishop Carlton Pearson; author, "The Gospel of Inclusion"

Gospel singer/judge for "Sunday Best" singing competition charged with assault. Hear what his wife has to say.

So much is written about greed. Bernie Madoff took billions, knowing that one day he would get caught. Then there's Emily Field, who wanted to help the families of other children, who are often in for long stays on the oncology wing at Brenner Children's Hospital. So many of these families can only visit on the weekend, or have a tough time juggling all the costs, from travel, to eating to even leaving the parking deck.

As a chaplain at a local hospital, I have the opportunity to offer patients and family members in distress prayer shawls: They are knitted by community members as they pray for healing, love, and grace for the recipient, and we chaplains give them to patients with a prayer for grace and God's presence in their often lonely hospital rooms.

Have you experienced the power of a physical reminder of God's presence in your life? For me, it's often a stone or piece of wood that catches my eye, even just out in our woodsy backyard. I might pick up a pretty stone and carry it around, reminding me of the divine in our natural world. It isn't a shawl, but it serves a similar purpose.

Do you have a reminder such as these? Something to wrap around you or carry with you as a reminder that we're not alone?

Maybe we disagree on politics and most definitely, the best college basketball team in the country. But when it comes to reaching out to help each other, we tend to live by the Golden Rule, or some semblance of it.

"Well, at least one person saw it, went straight out to Kmart, and brought us a whole case of disposable diapers." -- Mark Sills

I'm searching for an Islamic earth-centered ministry for an upcoming project, and Google's not much help. Can any of you out there offer me a hand? I know many faith traditions are developing or have already developed their own programs to make their buildings and habits more earth-friendly; I imagine our mosques are no different in that respect, and I'd like to include them.

Anyone?

Since this article, at least one other church called to say the same thing happened to them: A scam artist uses the church as a "mail drop" to steal cell phones. Has your house of worship checked for unathorized charges?

About 2 minutes into her valedictorian speech, Brittany McComb starts to preach -- and the school cuts her microphone off. The courts agreed it's not a violation of her free speech. Was that the right call?

Under the plea agreement, a Baltimore mom accused on being in a cult would get 20 years behind bars with a judge suspending all but time served. She must also undergo treatment, including the process of deprogramming and five years of probation.

But the plea agreement also included that the murder charges against her be dropped if her son was resurrected.