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Mother Says SpongeBob Tells her To Kill Daughter

In a tragedy that is a strong warning against drug use, a Michigan mom who allegedly killed her three-year-old daughter claims SpongeBob SquarePants made her do it. Justine Johnson, 22, is accused of stabbing her daughter, Sutton Mosser, two days after the child turned three. She allegedly stuffed the dead little girl’s body into a black trash back after hallucinations from heroin withdrawal and lack of sleep. Johnson told investigators that SpongeBob ordered her to kill the child or she herself would die, according to the police report. Read more about the tragedy here.

 

Tennessee Pastor Leads Burning Of Harry Potter Books

Controversial pastor Greg Locke of Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, held a “burning service” after his sermon. Church congregants threw items deemed by the church to be related to the occult into a large bonfire. The event is part of Locke’s sermon series on deliverance titled “Deliverance from Demons.” After Locke’s message, church members went outside and created a large bonfire in which they threw a variety of items, including Harry Potter books, Ouija boards and tarot cards, among other things. “Let’s go give the devil a black eye!” Locke declared. Read more about the burning here.

 

Freedom Convoy Protest Raises 3.5 Million On Christian Crowd Funding Site

A trucker-led protest against vaccine mandates in Canada has raised several million dollars on a Christian crowdfunding site after being removed from GoFundMe, sparking debate over how online platforms moderate campaigns. GoFundMe blocked fundraising for the “Freedom Convoy” over the weekend, after the mayor of Ottawa declared a state of emergency over a week-long protest led by truck drivers over Covid-19 restrictions. In response, the protestors migrated their fundraising to GiveSendGo, a self-proclaimed Christian crowdfunding site, raising more than $3.5 million dollars. Read more about the fund raising here.

 

Australian “Pirate Kitty” Famous For Both Stealing And Giving Gifts

Kay McCall and her husband were moving into their Australian Ferny Hills home when a ginger cat popped over the fence for a pat and quickly became a daily visitor. One day the McCalls noticed a couple of toys in the backyard. Then another toy appeared in the front yard, then another. “Most days the presents kept coming, and some days there was just one, and some days there was quite a few, and some days there were none,” Mrs. McCall said. After posting pictures online of the cat’s haul, residents commented that they, too, had been visited by the “Pirate Kitty”, or recognized one of his prizes. “Everyone fell in love with him on the spot, and he sort of became … a community icon,” Mrs. McCall said. Read more about the “pirate Kitty” here.

Michigan School Suspends Student For View On Homosexuality

A Michigan high school student who was suspended for calling homosexuality a “sin” and for failing to report his classmates’ inappropriate jokes filed a federal lawsuit last week, claiming the school’s actions violated his constitutional rights. David Stout, a junior at Plainwell High School in Plainwell, Mich., was suspended for three days last fall for allegedly violating the school’s bullying/cyberbullying/harassment policy. Stout says he was only stating his Christian beliefs and that the conversation was private. Stout is a member of the football team and the band. The Great Lakes Justice Center is representing the family. Read more about the suspension here.

 

“The View” Suspends Host Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg found herself in hot water and suspended for two weeks over comments claiming that the Holocaust wasn’t based on race. On “The View,” the daytime talk show she co-hosts, they discussed the recent controversy over a Tennessee school board’s decision to ban “Maus,” the iconic graphic memoir about the Holocaust. The genocide was “not about race,” Goldberg said, insisting instead that it was about “man’s inhumanity to man.” And it involved “two white groups of people.” The comments immediately went viral and struck a nerve, leading to what Goldberg described as a deluge of accusations of antisemitism and Holocaust denial, and criticism from groups like the Anti-Defamation League. Read more about the suspension here.

 

An Arizona Woman Claims To Have Met Jesus Face To Face

An Arizona woman claims to have gone to heaven and met Jesus Christ face to face after suffering a near-death experience. On February 12th, 2018, Tina Hines suffered a sudden heart attack, rendering her unconscious. Despite resuscitation attempts by paramedics while on the way to the hospital, Tina remained unresponsive for over 20 minutes. But doctors were able to bring her back with use of defibrillation. Regaining consciousness, Hines wrote a message saying, “I-T-S-R-E-A-L.” She stated, “I just wanted to share that I saw Jesus face to face and the unbelievable rest and peacefulness of what I was experiencing was Jesus standing there with His arms open wide, and right behind Jesus standing there was this incredible glow it was the most vibrant and beautiful yellow.” Read more about her experience here. 

 

Flying Car Certified As Airworthy To Fly

A flying car capable of converting from a road to an air vehicle has been granted an airworthiness certification in Slovakia, as its makers eye mass manufacturing. The Slovak Transport Authority awarded the AirCar by Klein Vision a Certificate of Airworthiness earlier this week, after the vehicle completed more than 70 hours of successful flight testing. The AirCar is a dual-mode vehicle with a petrol engine that can convert from a car to an aircraft at the push of a button. Last June, this car deployed some mechanical wings and took off from a runway in the city of Nitra in Slovakia, and landed in Bratislava 35 minutes later. After it folded up its wings, the exotic-looking sports car drove off down the highway. Read more about the car here.

 

 

“To God Be The Glory”, Cincinnati Bengals Evan McPherson Sends Team To Super Bowl

Christian kicker, Cincinnati’s Evan McPherson, on Sunday booted four field goals, set an NFL record, and – more significantly – catapulted the Bengals to their first Super Bowl since the 1988 season with another walk-off kick. McPherson also continued to represent his Christian faith in a public way, wearing a “God is good” T-shirt to a postgame news conference and referencing his faith on social media. “To God be the glory!!” he wrote on Instagram. The Bengals will face the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl on Feb. 13. Read more about this remarkable athlete here. 

 

China Bans From Attending Church And Threatens Parents 

The persecutions of Christians in China continues to escalate. “It is getting worse,” David Curry, president and CEO of Open Doors, stated. Christians in China must attend government-approved churches that face heavy regulations, such as the editing of sermons. Because of that, many Christians attend illegal underground churches. “So parents either have to disciple them themselves or sneak them into some sort of Bible study,” Curry said. “What happens, in this case, is that the kids may not be let into the college of their choice if they attend Bible study, they may not get jobs, the parents may lose their job. So there’s repercussions for this sort of thing.” Read more about the persecution here. 

 

Who doesn’t love Charlie Brown? In sad news, Peter Robbins, the original voice actor for Charlie Brown in the iconic Peanuts cartoons, has died by suicide at the age of 65. Robbins’ family confirmed the tragic news and asked for privacy as they grieve the loss of their loved one. Robbins, who voiced Charlie Brown in the 1960s, reportedly struggled with various issues, including addiction, mental illness and legal problems, among other things. His agent, Dylan Novak, told news outlets that Robbins was in a bad place mentally and checked himself into a mental health facility in California right after Christmas. Read more about his death here.

 

Chic-fil-A Buries Bible In Foundation

A Texas-based Chick-fil-A set to open this spring was literally built on the Bible. When the foundation for the restaurant was laid, a Bible was placed in it. The chicken restaurant, based in Marshall, will be led by East Texas natives David and Holley Snow. The Snows are committed to God and wanted to honor Him through their restaurant by making the Bible a part of its foundation. The couple’s 4-year-old son, Montgomery, placed a Bible on the foundation during construction which was left open to Joshua 1:9, which reads, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Read more about the building here.

 

 

Mother Sues School Over Teachers Manipulating Daughter To Change Gender Identity

Jessica Konen filed suit last week against teachers Lori Caldiera, Kelly Baraki and the Spreckels Union School District for allegedly manipulating her seventh-grade daughter to change her gender identity under the guise of the district’s “Parental Secret Policy” where teachers could counsel students and assert a new gender identity without notifying parents. At the time, the daughter, known as “A.G.” in the suit, was 11 years old. According to the suit the teachers coached students on LGBT+ identities such as homosexuality, bisexuality, transgenderism, gender non-conformity, etc., and how to express those identities. Read more about the lawsuit here. 

 

Atlanta Pastor And Wife Arrested For Holding Group Of Disabled People In Basement

A Georgia pastor and his wife were arrested for allegedly imprisoning people against their will after eight disabled residents were found in the basement behind a deadbolted door. Pastor Curtis Keith Bankston, 55, and his wife Sophia Simm-Bankston, 56, of Griffin, were arrested for false imprisonment after authorities found eight people who were suffering from a mental or physical disability between the ages of 25 and 65 inside the basement of their home. Police also alleged that the couple controlled the patients’ ‘finances, medications, and public benefits’ and that they were often denied their medications and medical care. Read more about the arrest here.

 

Tennessee Pastor Claims Autism Is A Sign Of Demonic Oppression

Pastor Greg Locke of Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, recently drew criticism after claiming that mental health disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and developmental disorders like autism are signs of demonic oppression. According to Church Leaders, Locke went on to say that people use medical terms instead of biblical terms, like spiritual oppression, because it makes them feel better. “Are you telling me my kid is possessed,” the pastor rhetorically told congregants. “No! I’m telling you your kid could be demonized and attacked, but your doctor calls it autism.” Read more about his controversial remarks here.

 

Billionaire Mark Cuban Opens Online Pharmacy To Provide Affordable Generic Drugs

The Shark Tank judge, and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, will be selling more than 100 generic drugs practically at cost through his new pharmaceutical wholesaler company, The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs Company (MCCPDC). Cuban’s company is seeking to combat the price gouging of prescription drugs by large pharmaceutical companies, pledging that MCCPDC will be “radically transparent” in its price negotiations with drug manufacturers. MCCPDC purchases drugs directly from manufacturers, bypassing middlemen to lower the price of more than 100 medications, the company said in a statement. Read more about his endeavor here.

 

 

 

Josh Duggar Asks For Dismissal Or Acquittal In Child Phonography Trial

Josh Duggar’s defense team has filed a motion for acquittal following last month’s guilty verdict. The former “19 Kids and Counting” star was convicted in December of downloading and possessing child sex abuse images. The motion, which was filed on Wednesday argued in part that  “The evidence elicited at trial does not support a conviction on either count.” Josh Duggar could face as much as 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. It is likely to take some weeks for the motion to be decided by a court of appeals. Read more about the appeal here.

 

Pastor David Jeremiah Warns Truth Is Disappearing From Our Culture

Saying Christians are living in a “post-truth world,” David Jeremiah on Sunday urged believers to be bold stewards of God’s Word even as the culture continually rejects it. Jeremiah, the pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, Calif., is quoted as saying, “We’re living in a post-truth world. If you watch television, if you read magazines, if you read the newspaper, [then] you realize truth is little by little just disappearing from our culture.” Adding, “Many U.S. churches today have “forgotten” their purpose, becoming entertainment-driven social organizations eager to blend in with secular culture instead of focusing on biblical discipleship.” Read more of his warning here.

 

Grammy Nominated Christian Rapper Renounces His Faith

Brady ‘Phanatik’ Goodwin, founding member of Grammy-nominated Christian hip-hop group, The Cross Movement, and in recent years an apologetics teacher, stated Monday in a video posted online that he has renounced his Christian faith. Stating, “I sent a letter to my church withdrawing my membership and saying that I am denouncing the Christian faith that I have believed, professed, proclaimed, and defended for the last 30 years of my life.” Comparing Christian theology to a Rubik’s cube he said, “I began to look at the faith and say, ‘Man you could turn this Rubik’s cube any particular way and end up with a different understanding.’ And who can say that understanding is right or that understanding is wrong?’ Read more about his statement here.

 

Study Shows dogs Can Differentiate Between Languages 

MRI scans revealed that dogs‘ brains can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar languages, making them the first-known, and so far only, non-human animals to be able to tell the difference between human languages.  The new study, which was published online Dec. 12, 2021, in the journal NeuroImage, was conceived by lead author Laura Cuaya, a neurobiologist at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary, who recently moved from Mexico to Budapest alongside her dog Kun-kun. She wondered if her dog noticed that people in Budapest speak a different language. The brain scans suggested that not only were the dogs able to clearly distinguish between speech and non-speech, but they also reacted differently to familiar and unfamiliar languages. Read more about the study here.

 

 

 

Lawsuit Forces California Dept. Of Education To Remove Aztec God Chants

In response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of parents, The California Department of Education will no longer be teaching students two religious chants to Aztec gods from its ethnic studies curriculum. The program, was adopted last May, featured a section called “Affirmation, Chants, and Energizers,” which included an invocation of five Aztec deities called “In Lak Ech Affirmation.” The affirmations addressed the deities by their names, acknowledged them as sources of knowledge and power, called on their assistance, and expressed thanksgiving to them. Read more about the lawsuit here.

 

Supreme Court Questions Boston’s Refusal to Fly Christian Flag

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on whether Boston city officials wrongfully denied a request to fly the Christian flag at City Hall. The nation’s high court heard arguments in the case of Harold Shurtleff, et al. v. Boston, MA, et al., with the justices expressing skepticism of the arguments on both sides. Shurtleff’s request to fly the Christian flag (which features a cross) outside of City Hall on Constitution Day 2017 was denied based on a policy that gives the city discretion on which flags it can fly on the City Hall flagpoles.  The court will decide if the denial was unlawful discrimination and censorship. Read more about the lawsuit here.

 

Former Israeli Leader Benjamin Netanyahu Considering Pleas Deal In Corruption Trial

Benjamin Netanyahu, who lost the premiership of Israel last June after 12 consecutive years in power, is accused of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in a series of complicated cases. He has denied all charges. Now after vowing to fight all charges, he is considering a plea deal which would keep him out of prison but also out of politics for the coming years. The deal would likely limit his sentence to a fine and several months of community service. But it would state that Netanyahu’s wrongdoing amounted to “moral turpitude,” a determination that would ban him by law from holding public office for at least seven years. Read more about the plea deal here.

 

Group Donates 20 Million Dollars Towards Preservation Of Black Churches

$20 million dollars has been donated towards efforts to preserve, rebuild, and share the stories of historically Black churches. The donation was made by philanthropic foundation Lily Endowment Inc. to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. The money will go to help congregations including one that was slammed during the tornado that killed more than 20 people in Mayfield, Kentucky, last month. Rather than just fixing broken windows or straightening rafters, the project will provide assistance with things including asset management and helping historic churches tell their own stories, said Brent Leggs, executive director of the fund. Read more about the donation here.

 

 

Tulsa Pastor Rubs Spit On Face Of Man During Sermon

While we are still fighting the covid  pandemic, a Tulsa pastor is stirring controversy after he was seen wiping spit on a man’s face during his sermon Sunday. Pastor Mike Todd of Transformation Church made some people in the crowd and online uneasy during the demonstration as he wiped spit onto the face of another parishioner to show that “receiving God’s vision can sometimes be nasty.” After receiving backlash Todd stated, “That was gross. I want to validate everybody’s feelings,” he said, apologizing. “That was a distraction to what I was really trying to do.” Read more about the disgusting act here.

 

Governor Phil Murphy Signs Law protecting Abortion Rights

A bill affirming abortion rights has passed in New Jersey while a looming U.S. Supreme Court decision means that the future of choice remains uncertain nationwide. The Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act was signed Monday by Murphy. In a statement, Murphy praised the “historic legislation” as a necessary precaution with the United States Supreme Court slated to rule on a case that could reverse or chip away at Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide. New Jersey Republicans opposed the legislation. “This bill and the rhetoric we’ve heard from the other side is: any abortion, at any time, for any reason,” said Assembly member Jay Webber this week. Read more about the bill here.

 

How Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker Helped Fellow Jewish Hostages

On Saturday, a stranger knocked on the door of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas. The rabbi, Charlie Cytron-Walker, assuming the stranger needed shelter from the cold, invited him in and made him tea. But moments later, the stranger made clear he had a gun and took the rabbi and three others hostage. The ordeal dragged on for 11 hours. “In the last hour of our hostage crisis, the gunman became increasingly belligerent and threatening,” Cytron-Walker said. But the rabbi knew what to do.  a statement provided to CNN. Cytron-Walker waited for the right moment before throwing a chair at the assailant, buying enough time for himself and two others to run out. Read more about his heroic efforts here.

 

Man comes To Christ After Finding Lost Bible

Victory Church Pastor Paul Daugherty lost his personal bible fifteen years ago, and now that bible has been found and is helping another person. The bible had belonged to Daugherty for many years and he even made it his own journal, filling it with notes, underlines, and thoughts scribbled throughout. Daugherty learned that the bible was found at a local shelter by a man named Clayton many years ago who has treasured it ever since finding it. At the beginning of January, Clayton showed up at Victory showing the bible to Paul, and then started attending church at Victory to hear Paul preach. The Bible remains with Clayton where Pastor Paul says it should stay. Read more about the encouraging find here.

 

Ann Graham Lotz Asking For Prayers For her Daughter

The granddaughter of Billy Graham is in hospital after having two back-to-back heart attacks. Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of the late evangelist Billy Graham, is asking people to pray. Lotz’s daughter Rachel-Ruth was rushed to the hospital on Saturday. “She was rushed to the hospital on Saturday night with a heart attack, followed by a catheterization,” says Lotz on Tuesday with a Facebook post. “Sunday afternoon, she had a second heart attack, followed by another catheterization.”  According to Lotz, the doctors do not know what caused the heart attacks. Read more about Rachel-Ruth’s struggle here.

 

Board’s Approval Of After School Satan Club For Elementary Students Raising Eyebrows

Parents at an Illinois elementary school are expressing concern after the local school board approved a new extracurricular club for children that will be led by members of The Satanic Temple and held in school facilities. the so-called “After School Satan Club” was approved by the Moline-Coal Valley School District Board of Education.  The club will hold meetings at Jane Addams Elementary in Moline, Illinois, beginning immediately after school. It is open to children in first through fifth grade, although students first need permission from a parent. The school district said it had a legal obligation to approve the club, just as it approved an evangelistic Good News Club. Read more about the club here.

 

U.S. Religious Donations Rebound But Still At All Time Low

Donations to charities rebounded in 2021 among U.S. adults, although donations to religious organizations remained at an all-time low, according to a new Gallup survey. Eighty-one percent of American adults say they donated money to a charitable cause in 2021 – a major rebound from a poll in 2020 that found a record-low 73 percent answering that way. Donations to religious organizations, though, did not experience an increase, with only 44 percent of Americans – the same percentage as 2020 – saying they donated to a faith-based organization. It’s the lowest percentage in the history of Gallup, which began asking the question in 200. Read more about the poll here.

 

Christian Singer Natalie Grant Wows Audience With Rendition Of National Anthem

Acclaimed singer Natalie Grant’s rendition of the National Anthem during Monday’s college football championship game led to widespread acclamation. The nine-time Grammy-nominated Christian singer delivered a powerful rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner before the national championship game in Indianapolis between Georgia and Alabama that immediately drew applause from sports and non-sports fans alike. Grant stated, “Beyond grateful for the opportunity. Last words in my mind before the first note, ‘Jesus, be glorified.’” Read more about her performance here.

 

 

Dave Ramsey Under Fire For Saying Raising Rent And Displacing Family Not Un-Christian 

Dave Ramsey, personal finance radio host and evangelical Christian, was the target of social media criticism Saturday, as outraged individuals slammed him for saying that if tenants at his residential properties are displaced because he raised rental rates to meet market price, it does not make him “a bad Christian.” Ramsey stated, “I own rental property, single family homes, among many other properties that we own. And if I raised my rent to be market rate that does not make me a bad Christian. I did not displace the person out of that house if they can no longer afford it.” Read more about his comments here.

 

Bishop TD Jakes Makes Potter House Permanently Virtual Due To Covid

TD Jakes, bishop of the megachurch The Potter’s House, has made the decision to go virtual permanently. Citing financial pressures due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, The Potter’s House of Denver has decided to sell its 137,000-square-foot building and take its worship and other services to the community completely online. The megachurch had been at the same location for 32 years. First known as the Heritage Christian Center, it transformed into The Potter’s House of Denver in 2010 with thousands of members assembling for worship services every week. Read more about the move here. 

 

Ex Youth Pastor Sentenced To 20 Years For Molesting Boys 

A former Goshen youth leader is going to prison for admittedly molesting several young boys between the ages of 11 and 13 during the better half of the last decade. Scott Christner is starting a 20-year prison sentence on Wednesday, which is the most time he could spend behind bars because of the terms of his plea deal. However, the judge ordered a 21-year suspended sentence that could land him back in prison if he violates probation within the 10 years following his prison term. “Christner was a trusted member of the church and was considered family,” a parent of a victim was quoted as saying. Read more about the sentence here. 

 

Baby Donkey Named Betty White To Honor Her Support For Animal Sanctuary 

For years, television star Betty White had donated to the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue in San Angelo, Texas. Now, upon her death on December 31 at the age of 99, the animal sanctuary has introduced an adorable baby donkey as her namesake. “This beautiful little jennet was born on Christmas Day but we were unable to come up with the perfect name until New Year’s Eve,” the rescue donkey group wrote on Facebook. Ms. White has supported the group since 2006, and to honor her memory, Peaceful Valley is also naming their newly constructed nursery in her honor. Read more about this precious little donkey here.