news-record.com

Click here to almost be there. Read the story, here.

"But in an age when the public, including many churchgoers, seem fascinated with the moral lapses and rebounds of famous people, celebrity sinner Ted Haggard, 52, finds himself in demand."

"But Thomas Berry also has disciples who are working locally to translate his abstract synthesis of modern science and religion into new ways of living in a post-Industrial Age.

"What's going on in this part of the 21st century is a cultural change. Big time," said Nelson Stover, a Greensboro resident and Berry follower. "My picture of Thomas is that (he) got through the wall of cultural change and got on to the other side."

Can he?

The Miss California controversy won't go away and is still very much in the news -- after an openly-gay judge at the beauty pageant last weekend asked if every state should legalize same-sex marriage, and she said no. Conservative Christians say they finally have a public figure to embrace.
Would you prefer to know where people stand?
What's really interesting is the aspect that she could sue -- I mean, that judge did say she had been the front runner and that he gave her a zero based on her answer.

Area Presbyterians voted this week in favor of a proposed constitutional amendment that could allow gays to serve as ministers and elders. (Read story at news-record.com.)

I've read about a number of these in the Charlotte area and beyond over the years. Do you think the feds are using a higher standard for religious leaders -- or what?

CHARLOTTE -- The indictment says Bishop Anthony L. Jinwright and his wife's expenses were too great for the income listed on their joint tax returns from 2001-2006 -- which included income from other businesses.
They say he evaded several hundred thousand dollars in taxes while spending lavishly on travel and luxury cars -- including a $175,000 Bentley GT he leased from 2005 to 2008.