Lady Gaga and an order of the Benedictine nuns now have something in common—they have major record contracts with the same music label, Decca Records.

Decca Records, which is part of Universal Music and also has among its talents Eminem, Amy Winehouse and U2, will release “Voice: Chant From Avignon,” the debut effort of nuns from the Abbaye de Notre-Dame de l’Annonciation in November.

The effort is the result of the nuns’ winning a Decca Records contract by besting 70 convents in a global search for the best Gregorian Chant singers in the world.  Read more... (379 words, 1 image, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

Israel denies it, Jordan ignores it, and a green group claims that the water of the Jordan River where Jesus is believed to have been baptized is unsafe.

The ecology group Friends of the Earth Middle East claims that the Jordan River is polluted on the sides of both Israel and Jordan. Both countries claim their side of the river is where Jesus was baptized.

Gidon Bromberg, Israeli director of Friends of the Earth Middle East said water baptisms should be banned from the popular tourism sites, “For reasons of public health as well as religious integrity,” RNS said.  Read more... (508 words, 1 image, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

The double life of three Catholic homosexual priests was revealed recently in a magazine article in Italy.

The article featured in Panorama magazine, a conservative magazine owned by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, describes the activities of the priests, which included going to nightclubs and having casual sex.

Using a hidden camera during the interview with the priests, the Panorama reporter also got footage of the priests—a Frenchman and two Italians, having sex with strangers, once, inside a church. The Frenchman celebrated mass the morning after an encounter, then drove his two hired escorts to the airport, Telegraph India said.  Read more... (343 words, 2 images, estimated 1:22 mins reading time)

Recent studies reveal that house or organic churches are gaining popularity in the U.S.

A Barna Group study suggests some six million to 12 million Americans now go to house churches. Barna is a firm that specializes in collecting data about religion and society.

The findings parallel that of a Pew Forum survey last year which showed that nine percent of U.S. Protestants go to home churches, the AP said.

A house church usually consists of 12 to 15 people who meet every week to share what is happening in their lives, and who refer to the bible for guidance. Gatherings are conducted in a largely spontaneous way with reliance on the Holy Spirit for guidance, the AP said.  Read more... (578 words, 1 image, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)

British columnist and former atheist, Peter Hitchens, has written a book about his conversion to Christianity.

Hitchens, a London Mail political columnist and former Marxist revolutionary, has penned “The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith.” The book has a different subtitle in the U.K., namely Why Faith is the Foundation of Civilization, the Washington Times said.

A Cain and Abel scenario has unfolded with Hitchens’ new faith. His older brother Christopher, who remains an atheist, and he have had heated public debates. Christopher has authored the tome God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, CBN News said.  Read more... (517 words, 1 image, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

A study by the United Methodist Church was conducted recently to learn what factors determine whether or not a church is healthy and vital.

The study, which cost several hundred thousand dollars, surveyed more than 32,000 Methodist respondents. It included bishops, churchgoers and district superintendants from Methodist churches in North America. The objective was to discover the facets that contribute to making churches more robust, Religious News Service said.

The study, made with Towers Watsons consultants, applied a “vitality index” by which each congregation was measured. It was conducted in response to a weak economy which has contributed to an ailing church budget. It is hoped that the survey findings will guide Methodist churches on a more energized pathway, RNS said.  Read more... (537 words, 1 image, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)

One day after his election, the newly-elected World Lutheran president spoke on behalf of Christians in Palestine–at a time when focus has long been on Christians from Israel.

Bishop Munib A. Younan called on believers to “pray that Palestinian Christians may not lose faith and leave the country,” the Anglican Journal said.

Younan succeeds Bishop Mark S. Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, who had headed the LWF—the church’s highest legislative body–for seven years, the Christian Post said.  Read more... (455 words, 1 image, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)

NFL player Al Harris is best known as “The Dirty One,” the veteran Green Bay Packers’ cornerback. But this time the football star is doing something different—a Christian rap album with his childhood friend.

Harris and ex-convict Kevin Soto go back more than 25 years when they lived a few blocks away from each other in a Pompano Beach neighborhood. They rode the school bus together and often got into trouble. This time however they are putting out a Christian rap record on Harris’ label 31Entertainment, The Palm Beach Post said.  Read more... (518 words, 2 images, estimated 2:04 mins reading time)

In 2003 Don Miller, then a freelance writer, published his first book, “Blue Like Jazz”—and became an instant celebrity. Now a movie is being made based on his biographical essays.

Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

The bestseller has led some to dub Miller “The voice of a new generation of evangelicals.” Brian McLaren, who wrote A New Kind of Christian said evangelicals have a “profound starvation for honesty,” and Miller responds to that, CNN said.

Miller co-wrote the screenplay with Taylor and Ben Pearson, the movie’s website says.  Read more... (416 words, 2 images, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)

Faithful America claims that Fox News commentator Glenn Beck preaches a false, piecemeal gospel and has sponsored a radio ad to counter some of the claims Beck has claims made by about Christianity.

The ad says “Would you support a leader who said Jesus’ teachings can lead to Nazi

Glenn Beck / yournews.com

sm? Or who attacks Christian pastors for preaching the full gospel? Then why do so many Christians tune into Glenn Beck? By deriding pastors who preach the justice taught by Jesus and the prophets, Glenn Beck has urged listeners to follow his piecemeal gospel. Scripture teaches that the tongue can be like a small fire that sets a whole forest ablaze, and Christians are cautioned not to praise God in one breath while cursing those made in God’s likeness in the next,” The Atlantic reported.  Read more... (355 words, 2 images, estimated 1:25 mins reading time)