JMC Live Interview: Pastor Ronald "Foot" Robinson of Chillicothe Bikers Church

15,000 People From 62 Winnipeg Churches Have A Citywide Service

Nearly 15,000 people from 62 Winnipeg churches packed the MTS Centre on Sunday for a massive citywide church service.

The downtown hockey arena was almost at capacity for the third annual "One Heart Winnipeg" event, which brought together numerous Christian denominations under one roof for a single service.

"Today we are telling everybody, including the city of Winnipeg, that we are on the same team," co-organizer Bruce Martin, who is the lead pastor with the Calvary Temple Church, told CBC News.

"We are not in competition. We are not threatened by each other. We work together."

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"R" rated Films Aren't What the People Want Study Shows

Hollywood took in 4.5 percent less revenue in 2011 than in 2010, selling the least amount of tickets since 1995. Are consumers simply fed up with what Tinseltown has to offer? Dr. Ted Baehr of MovieGuide says it depends on the film in question.

"The spin is that people want more R-rated films, but the actual truth of the matter is that there were more R-rated films last year than there were the year before, and there were more than the year before that," he explains.

Two years ago, 44 percent of the films were rated R. Now, 51 percent of films carry that rating. At the same time, however, films that are rated G, PG, and even PG-13 are outperforming the movies for restricted audiences.

"There was a study out from the Los Angeles Times that 74 percent of the young women [and 58 percent of the young boys] don't want to see sex, violence, nudity, [or] profanity in films," Baehr cites. Since "consumers don't want to see R-rated films," he wonders who filmmakers are making them for.

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More TV nudity, profanity? Supreme Court will Decide on Tuesday

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in its most significant broadcast indecency case since 1978, and conservative groups are warning the justices that if the television networks win, profanity and nudity will flood TV broadcasts.

At issue is whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the constitutional authority to set rules governing what is permissible on the airwaves and to fine stations that cross the line. One example is the infamous Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident in 2004 and the FCC's ensuing fine of CBS and CBS stations. Lower courts overruled the fine, and CBS has yet to pay.

Among other examples of TV indecency that led to FCC fines yet to be paid because of lower court rulings, ABC's "NYPD Blue" showed a nude female character in 2003 and Fox's Billboard Music Awards in 2002 and 2003 failed to bleep profane words by Cher and Nicole Richie.

The Supreme Court case is an appeal from the U.S. Second Court of Appeals, which in 2010 struck down the FCC's entire broadcast indecency policy. Fox, ABC, CBS and NBC want the Second Circuit's decision upheld.

Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council co-sponsored a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the FCC.

"If the court opens the floodgates to so-called 'adult material' at all hours on broadcast TV and radio in the name of the First Amendment, then TV and radio will be open only to adults, not children, and, at that, adults who desire only more indecent material," the brief stated. "Television viewers will be forced to listen to indecent material. Profanity and sex will dominate daytime radio. Nothing in the First Amendment requires this result."

Conservative groups are concerned about the case because the high court's four-member conservative bloc -- often reliable in taking the conservative stance on such social issue cases -- might not hold together. Specifically, Justice Clarence Thomas in 2009 questioned the "viability" of two Supreme Court cases cited by the FCC as constitutionally supporting the current indecency policy: a 1969 case, Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, and a 1978 case, FCC v. Pacifica Foundation.

"Red Lion and Pacifica were unconvincing when they were issued, and the passage of time has only increased doubt regarding their continued validity," Thomas wrote in a 2009 concurring opinion.

In Red Lion, the Supreme Court upheld the so-called Fairness Doctrine; in FCC v. Pacifica, the high court ruled that the FCC had the authority to regulate indecent language on the airwaves. The latter case involved comedian George Carlin's "seven dirty words" routine.

Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council argued that the Supreme Court was right in its 1978 ruling to note that "since broadcasting was uniquely available to children merely by turning on the television or radio, it could be regulated to a greater extent than other forms of media." The two pro-family groups also cited studies showing that media has a negative impact on children and can lead to risky sexual behaviors, poor body image, violence and smoking.

The networks already are allowed to broadcast patently offensive material, as long as it is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., the groups say. But it is wrong to broadcast such material during the daytime and early evening when "children are likely to be in the audience," the groups say.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) filed a brief arguing that regulations on broadcast indecency are similar to regulations on public indecency. An indecent television broadcast, the legal organization said, "is essentially an indecent public display."

"Just as a state could prohibit someone from strutting around naked in public, the state could forbid someone from strutting around carrying a display -- still or video -- of someone naked," the ACLJ brief, which supported neither party, said. "Likewise, a state may forbid companies from broadcasting into people's homes programs depicting someone strutting around naked. Thus, an indecent broadcast is properly subject to government prohibition."

Broadcasters are different from other types of media -- such as print media, which has more freedom -- because of their ability to "intrude on the privacy of the home without prior warning," especially for the viewer who is "just tuning in or switching channels," the ACLJ brief said. Further, broadcast media is "uniquely accessible to children."

The Parents Television Council (PTC) filed a brief supporting the FCC policy and quoted its own research showing a 69 percent increase in profanity in prime-time programming from 2005 to 2010. If the FCC's policy falls, the Parents Television Council said, television will only become more coarse.

"The public airwaves will afford no shelter for parents who want to shield their children for as long as they can from the corrosive effects of what broadcasters think is appropriate," the PTC brief said.

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80 Percent of Americans say they are Christian

More than three-quarters of Americans identify themselves as Christian, Gallup reports. Pollsters found that 78 percent of Americans identify with Christianity. Overall, more than 82 percent of Americans have a religious identity, with this percentage breakdown:

52.5: Protestant/other Christian

23.6: Catholic

1.9: Mormon

1.6: Jewish

0.5: Muslim

2.4: Other non-Christian

15: None/atheist/agnostic

2.5: No response

The findings fit the trend of an increasing percentage of Americans who do not embrace a formal religious identity.

In 1951, 1 percent of Americans did not have a religious identity, compared to 24 percent identifying as Catholic and 68 percent claiming a non-Catholic Christian faith.

Gallup found earlier this year that 92 percent of Americans say they believe in God, which suggests that a lack of religious identity is not necessarily linked to atheism.

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Glide Memorial Church hands out 8,000 toys

Atheists Say "Santa" is OK but Jesus Has to Go! Calls Nativity a "Superstition"

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has taken offense with a nativity scene displayed outside a courthouse in downtown Athens, Texas.

The Keep Athens Beautiful Committee has been putting up the nativity scene since 2002, and County Judge Richard Sanders says it’s not violating any law, according to ABC News affiliate KBMT.

“Because we have all the other decorations, it’s legal,” Sanders said. “Our county attorney has looked into it.”

A Henderson County resident complained to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based atheist group, and the foundation notified the committee that the nativity scene was in violation of federal law. The foundation asked for the baby Jesus to be removed, or for a sign to be put up next to his crib that would read: “At this season of the winter solstice may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”

But while some believe Santa is “but myth and superstition,” no one has asked for a sign to be placed next to him, clarifying his non-existence. The town has several other seasonal decorations up, such as reindeer, garden gnomes and snowmen, but the nativity scene is the only decoration has been criticized as a religious symbol. As for Santa, he’s more of a tradition than a religious icon, so the foundation has not taken issue with him.

Henderson County Commissioner Joe Hall says he’ll fight to keep the nativity scene in place.

“Don’t come down here and tell me there is no God. This nation is a Christian nation regardless of what those fruit loops and fruitcakes in Washington D.C. say. Hell will freeze over before I vote to have it removed,” Hall said.

Pastor Nathan Lorick of First Baptist Church in Malakoff, about 10 miles from Athens, said it is time to stand up and speak up in defense of Christianity, which is the majority in Athens.

“I hope this is a platform all across the nation that says, let’s take America back,” he said.

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How The Recession Has Affected Many This Christmas Season

YAHOO NEWS--For most Americans, the holidays are a time for happiness and celebration with family and friends--or at least for a few precious days of hard-earned relaxation. But when you're out of work and struggling to get by, the season can make things even harder.

Barry Viprino, a 30-year old financial adviser from Cape Cod, Mass., has been jobless for a year, and his family of five has been living in a one-room apartment. "It is hard looking myself in the mirror, or my kids in the eye," he told us. "For Christmas, they keep asking if we can just get a house. And I have to explain that, Santa cannot give us a house."

Barry Viprino and family

Four years into the Great Recession and the jobless recovery that's followed, we've become inured to the grim statistics. More than 13 million Americans are still officially out of work, and more than four in 10 of them are considered long-term unemployed--they've been jobless for six months or longer. But personal accounts like Barry's--or like one from Norman Spooner of Spencer, Iowa, who explained why he's staying home alone for Christmas this year while his wife visits their grown children: "I am too ashamed to go because I have nothing to offer" -- still hit home.

Over the summer, we asked Yahoo News readers to tell us what it's like to be out of work for an extended period. We got thousands of compelling responses, which we used to create an up-close look at the plight of the unemployed -- a project we called Down But Not Out. For the next installment, we put out a call last week for more stories, this time about how the jobless are coping with the holidays. And once again, readers responded with some fascinating, poignant, heartfelt tales, that help create a rich, nuanced picture of prolonged joblessness in America.

We've posted some of them, in full, on the separate Tumblr site we created for the project. And we've excerpted some below.

"We have started writing letters to one another."
It's not all doom and gloom. To enjoy the season, some readers have been forced to get creative --and even have found some unexpected sources of contentment.

Kellie Norton with her son Justin, at his graduation from U.S. Airforce basic trainin …

Kellie Norton, 38, of Colorado Springs, Colo., is a single mother who lost her job in a department store in March after her autistic 13-year old son became ill and she had to change her schedule. "He doesn't understand that Mommy has no money for presents," she wrote.

Still, she's looking on the bright side. "We won't be traveling anywhere this year. I can not afford the gas," she told us. "I will be bundling my son up on Christmas Eve though. We will spend the few dollars in gas to drive around the city and see all the Christmas lights. The heat in my truck no longer works, so it's gloves and hot chocolate to stay warm. But that's OK. If there is one thing my son loves, it is Christmas lights."

"I can't give anybody anything for Christmas," wrote Paul M., 25, who lost his job three months ago with a contractor at Chicago's Midway Airport. "The least I could do is take some of the food stamps I'm expecting soon and buy materials to make homemade pretzels for my family and friends. The only downside is they'll be hard once they get them."

Dina Johnson with her grand-daughter

Dina Johnson, 39, from southeast Idaho, who lost her job over two years ago, told us she's found a good way to let her loved ones know what they mean to her."We have started writing letters to one another," she wrote. "Mainly the letters are sharing how the other person is important in our lives and what little things they have done to strengthen that relationship."

Heather Yeager, 26, from Tampa, Fla., lost her job at a hospital two months ago, and is facing eviction from her home, along with her four kids, all under the age of 6. "I can't just go out and buy my kids things for Christmas like I would like," she wrote, "so I find myself on the Internet looking at Craigslist ads for things people are giving away for free so that my kids can have some sense of Christmas."

Kevin S., a 48-year-old Californian, told us that last year he was unemployed and couldn't afford gifts for his young son, a big SpongeBob fan. "So I found a yellow and pink sponge in our bathroom," Kevin wrote. "I drew SpongeBob's eyes, nose and mouth on the yellow sponge and cut the pink sponge into a star for the Patrick character. He absolutely loved them and took them everywhere he went. A friend of mine saw them and laughed and said: 'Recession, huh?' 'Yup,' I told him."

"I am always so relieved when Christmas is over"
Still, a lot of readers wrote about the pain of being unable to afford to buy gifts or plan celebrations.

"I always feel like I am missing out on something," wrote Brenda Tlapa, 44, of Bedford Park, Ill., who lost her job at a Fortune 500 design company back in 2008, and is scheduled to lose a warehouse position this Friday. "I see others shopping and spending money, and I honestly get a little upset and resentful. I have absolutely no money to spend on gifts, nothing to give my mother (who means the world to me) and nothing to give my nieces and nephews."

"I am always so relieved when Christmas is over," she added. "It's like a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders."

Spooner, who told us he's spending the holiday alone because he's shamed about being unable to afford gifts, appears to feel the same way this year. "I cannot watch any TV shows or movies that are Christmas themed," he wrote. "I cannot go into any stores during the season because it hurts to see all the Christmas gift wrap, decorations and shoppers. If I am watching TV and a Christmas-related commercial comes on, I immediately have to mute the TV and turn away. I have always loved Christmas and have never missed a Black Friday shopping day, until this year."

Tom H., 57, who lives near Austin, Texas, and has been looking for work for more than two years, is making sacrifices. "My wife asked me for some face wash for Christmas, with tears in her eyes, saying it is something she can't afford to buy anymore," he told us. "I plan on finding something else I can sell to try to order that for her."

K. Smith

Meanwhile, K. Smith (she asked to be identified that way), 50, from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, whose job with a defense contractor was outsourced to China, is cutting back. "There will be little Christmas in our house," she wrote. "Some stocking-stuffers are wrapped in newspaper under a Charlie Brown tree. No turkey or ham waits to be served on fancy linen . . . . No, it'll be simple fare, biscuits and gravy, spaghetti and such." And for Mike Famous of Skippack, Penn., who's been out of work around two years, Christmas is a difficult reminder of better days. "You damn sure don't think about Christmas," he wrote. "If you do, it's only in the sentimental, wayward sense that you have some distant memory as a kid or of when you were with your kids and times were good . . . . I can recall the night before Christmas like it was the night before PARADISE. Those were the days, as they say. Now twenty bucks for a tree is twenty bucks I ain't got. Twenty bucks is three dinners if I work at it. Keep the tree and let me eat."
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Is There A World War On Christmas?

NEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on how crazy the "War on Christmas" has become:

North Korea is putting South Korea on notice, warning of "unexpected consequences" if Seoul displays Christmas lights near the border. In China last week, government officials and the police smashed the sound equipment of Christians who were about to celebrate Christmas in a village outside Beijing.

Our atheists share the same mindset, if not the same means.

In a South Carolina cancer center, a 67-year-old volunteer Santa was evicted because of the "different cultures and beliefs of the patients we care for"; it later reversed its decision. In an elementary school in Stockton, California, poinsettias were banned but somehow snowmen were permitted; they justified their censorship by saying there was a Sikh temple in the city (note: there is no evidence that Sikhs suffer apoplexy when they see poinsettias, but there is plenty of evidence that cultural fascists enjoy using them as a foil to justify their own intolerance).

A homosexual group on the campus of Washington and Jefferson College succeeded in getting the Dean to approve a condom-decorated Christmas tree. A skeleton St. Nick was found hanging from a cross on the grounds of the Loudoun County Courthouse in Leesburg, Virginia.

Most atheists are not intolerant, but rare is the atheist qua activist who is not. Unfortunately, we don't have to look overseas to Communist nations to witness this verity. That they show up at Christmastime, as well as at Easter, is proof that their real hatred is of all things Christian.
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Retired Astronomy Teachers Says She Has Discovered The Christmas Star

Christian Post--When former high school astronomy teacher Irene Worthington Baron received 60 astronomy computer programs from NASA for her classroom, she started wondering if she could use them to prove there really was a Christmas star.

Baron, recently retired after almost 40 years of teaching, just released a new ebook, Unraveling the Christmas Star Mystery. In it, she explains how she used ancient astronomy symbols and modern computer programs to uncover events surrounding the birth of Christ.

She told The Christian Post, “I always thought there was one Christmas star and I wanted to find it.” So she started studying the symbols of ancient astronomers.

In her book, Baron claims that her findings reveal there were 10 major, celestial events announcing the birth of Jesus Christ, the last being the position marker over Bethlehem.

She writes, “The sixth significant event of Jesus’ birth announcement occurred on September 1st, 0004 when a spectacular solar eclipse occurred close to Mars, Venus, and Saturn while the Sun was partially eclipsing the slow moving Saturn. The Moon then moved in front of the Sun and totally eclipsed it. To have the Sun eclipsing Saturn and the Moon eclipsing the Sun simultaneously is an extremely rare event at any time, let alone for a dawn sky.”

She told CP that the “Christmas star was, in fact, Saturn.” It was on the other side of the sun during that time and was very bright in the night sky. It was moving right over Bethlehem during a two-week time period.

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