Scotty McCreery, season 10 winner of American Idol, went through the entire season being open about his Christian faith and family values, without being preachy.

When he was announced as the winner in the finale, which garnered a record-breaking 122 million votes cast, McCreery remembered to thank God first, and then he hugged his parents, Us Magazine said.

The 17-year-old McCreery said, “Never in my wildest dreams [did I think I'd win]. I’ve got to thank the Lord first, he got me here. Thank y’all so much!” according to Us Magazine.

McCreery, who is from Garner, N.C., sang I Love You This Big, which is already No. 1 on iTunes. As he walked among the audience, he headed straight for his parents, hugged them, and then hugged other Idol finalists, Us Magazine said.

During a press conference, McCreery was surprised to learn that already, his first single was the top song on iTunes. He said, “Is it really? That’s the first I’ve heard. That’s amazing! That is wild!” USA Today reported.

In a previous interview with Us Magazine, when asked to name some of his favorite things, he cited the verse Phil. 4:13 which says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Two other things he mentioned were Sundays at church with his family, after which they would go out for Mexican food, and his youth praise band, called Audience of One, Us Magazine said.

Oftentimes during the season McCreery expressed his love for his family, including his parents and grandparents. Just before the finale he told All Access “Just to be in this moment where we [including Lauren Alaina] never expected to be…we both had our moms here since day one, so it’s really emotional,” The Christian Post reported.

McCreery often was seen wearing a cross necklace in American Idol, and when Lady Gaga mentored him [and shocked him just a bit], he good-naturedly kissed his cross afterwards. He was also seen wearing a black bracelet from the Christian ministry I Am Second, a movement that stresses that Jesus Christ comes first in one’s life, and that oneself falls second, The Christian Post said.

Mike Jorgensen, executive director of I Am Second told The Christian Post, “It is inspiring to see him confidently display his faith to millions each week. We wish him the best.”

McCreery said, “My faith is a big part of my life. I love Jesus Christ with all my heart. He’s got me through this for sure. I need to stay by him through this competition. He’s the only way I’m getting through it,” The Christian Post reported.

High ratings

Season 10 experienced a shot in the arm with Nielsen figures indicating 29.3 million viewers during the finale, and in the last seven minutes, drawing 38.6 million, USA Today said.

A doctor in the U.K. might lose his job and his medical license because he talked about his Christian faith with a patient.

Dr. Richard Scott is one of six partners at Bethesda Medical Center, Margate. All the partners are Christian, and they have been open about this. Scott received a formal complaint from the General Medical Council because he told a 24-year-old patient that praying to Jesus could help him out of a difficult condition that he is in, NY Daily News said.

The complaint was filed by the patient’s mother, who has accused Scott of taking advantage of her son’s vulnerability by trying to push his religion on him, the NY Daily News said. The GMC is charged with regulating all British doctors.

Scott, 50, is a former missionary. His record as a doctor has been unblemished—until now. He said the conversation about Jesus only came as the consultation was coming to a close, and he did so with the permission of the patient.

Scott told NY Daily News, “I only discussed mutual faith after obtaining the patient’s permission. In our conversation I said that, personally, I had found having faith in Jesus helped me and could help the patient. At no time did the patient indicate that they were offended, or that they wanted to stop the discussion.”

Scott told NY Daily News that if the patient complained at the time, “I would have immediately ended the conversation.” He has decided to fight the GMC censure. In doing so he may lose his medical license, and this would spell the end of a 28-year profession, according to The New American.

In recalling the conversation Scott said the patient was “in a rut and in need of help.” Scott said the medical consultation was lengthy, during which he discussed various possible interventions, all of which the patient had already tried, The New American said.

The patient had requested consultation with other medical professionals, and Scott promised he would follow up those requests, The New American said.

The GMC complaint said Scott “harassed a vulnerable patient.” Scott said, “Absolutely not.  I’ve offered a needy patient a way out of his situation,” according to The New American.

Niall Dickson, chief executive of GMC said doctors must not proselytize or talk about religion with their patients, “unless those beliefs are directly relevant to the patient’s care. They also must not impose their beliefs on patients, or cause distress by the inappropriate or insensitive expression of religious, political or other beliefs or views,” the NY Daily News reported.

Scott decided not to accept the complaint as it would remain on his record for any future employer to see. “What’s happened to me is an injustice and I want to stand up for Christians who have been getting hammered in the workplace.” The Christian Legal Center is taking charge of his case, The New American said.

Andrea Williams of CLC said Scott, “acted within their own guidelines, and his unblemished record should not be tarnished — even by a letter [in] his file,” The New American reported.

Laura Sandys, MP for South Thanet told BBC News, “[M]onitoring and then sanctioning doctors on conversations with patients, that do not relate to their medical condition, must be a matter between the individuals and dealt with locally. The GMC has over-reacted and needs to put an end to misplaced activism that is putting a respected doctor’s profession on the line.”

Other Christian doctors have also rallied behind Scott. Dr. Peter Saunders of Christian Medical Fellowship told NY Daily News, “All good doctors try to treat their patients as whole persons, not just biochemical machines. That does sometimes include spiritual matters, dealing with questions of meaning and purpose.”

EEW Magazine talks about race and spirituality in its cover story on Kim Cash Tate, the first African American author to join the roster of the veteran Christian Publishing group, Thomas Nelson.

Tate is a former attorney turned wife, homeschooling mother, inspirational speaker, blogger and novelist. Her books include More Christian Than African American, and the novels Heavenly Places and her latest fiction piece, Faithful, according to her website.

Tate’s first book, More Christian Than African American, talks about her own personal journey as a woman of color and a Christian. She was raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland, which is the wealthiest African American majority community in the U.S., according to her website.

Tate then earned a law degree at George Washington University, and expected to work in Washington D.C. Instead, she found herself in majority-white Madison, Wisconsin, where she could not avoid the issue of race and delved into her own identity as a Christian woman, the EEW magazine article said.

Tate is interviewed by Dianna Hobbs, founder of EEW Magazine. Hobbs told Christian Newswire, “I was moved by Kim’s poignant and passionate message that strikes at the core of breaking down the racial divide that still exists in some segments of the Christian community.”

Hobbs also told Christian Newswire, “Kim’s transparency and honesty about her early struggles with race and spirituality really drew me in, and I think many of our readers will relate.”

EEW Magazine, is an online publication for African American Christians of faith. It is published exclusively online and is a resource for inspiration and motivation through interviews and resources, according to Christian Newswire.

The publication has 250,000 readers, 90 percent of them African American Christian women. Part of EEW Magazine’s vision is to help fill the dearth of publications dealing with faith and ethnicity and to bridge this gap. The portal’s interview with Tate is viewed as a platform that will interest readers of color, Christian Newswire said.

EEW recognizes that on Sundays, “Blacks and whites, with few exceptions, worship separately,” Christian Newswire said. This raised the dilemma that Tate, and many women of color, are confronted with. The contrast of the love of Jesus through which we all are one, compared to the reality of race in worship and practice.

Tate’s books have dwelled a lot on this. Allen Arnold, senior VP and fiction publisher of Thomas Nelson told EEW, “What first attracted us to this gifted author was the way her stories – and her life story – both address and yet transcend race.”

Arnold told EEW, “Her novels, more than most Christian or African American fiction – features a diverse cast of characters who authentically represent the larger body of Christ. It’s exciting to publish this fresh new voice in Christian Fiction that doesn’t define readership or characters within the novel on the basis of their skin color but rather on the basis of their choices and their faith.”

Even as pro-life groups across the nation are participating in anti-abortion activities to coincide with the 38^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, an abortion doctor in Philadelphia was charged with eight counts of murder.

Kermit Gosnell, 69, was charged in the death of a woman from anesthesia overdose, and seven babies that he killed by slicing the backs of their necks and cutting their spines, according to The New American.

Also arrested were Gosnell’s wife and eight others. District Attorney Seth Williams said Gosnell “induced labor, forced the live birth of viable babies in the sixth, seventh and eighth month of pregnancy, and then killed those babies by cutting into the back of the neck with scissors and severing their spinal cord,” The New American reported.

Gosnell is also indicted for the third-degree murder of Karnamaya Mongar, 41, who died from anesthesia overdose in Nov. 20, 2009. Gosnell, a family practitioner, was never a certified OB/GYN, The New American said. He allowed unlicensed personnel, including a 15-year-old, to administer anesthesia and perform operations, The New American said.

New York Pro life presscon

Meanwhile, pro-lifers across the nation stepped up activities in anticipation of Roe v. Wade (the Supreme Court 1973 decision that legalized abortion), The Wall Street Journal reported.

In New York, the Chiaroscuro Foundation held a press conference with the archbishop of New York, a leader of Agudath Israel of America, an African-American pastor and the spokeswoman for Democrats for Life, The WSJ said.

According to WSJ, 41 percent of pregnancies in New York are aborted. In terms of demographics, the rate is more than twice as much for Hispanics than for whites. Also, the ratio of abortions to live births for African-Americans is 1, 489 abortions to 1,000 live births.

Meanwhile, NY City Council speaker Christine Quinn is advocating a bill that will require Crisis Pregnancy Centers to, among others, advertise that they don’t perform abortions nor refer abortion clinics, WSJ said.

However, WSJ noted that Planned Parenthood 2008 statistics (their most recent) showed that 324,000 abortions were performed nationwide, and 2,405 adoption referrals were made by them.

Washington state prolife rally

In Washington state, thousands marched to the Capitol armed with roses, signs and crosses for the 33^rd annual March For Life rally. Across from the crowd, more than 10 pro-choice advocates, most of them in high school, gathered at the Temple of Justice with signs such as, “Keep your laws off my body,” The Seattle Times reported.

One of them, Phoebe Blanding, 17, told The Seattle Times that she has been protesting the March For Life rally since she was 11 years old.

Up to 50 million abortions were done in America since Roe V. Wade. Under the George W. Bush administration late-term and partial-birth abortions were banned by the U.S. Supreme Court in Gonzalez v. Carhart, The New American reported.

The Born Alive Infant Protection Act, also passed under Bush, protects the right to life of infants who are born alive despite an abortion, The New American said.

A 20ft. cross made from thousands of coat hangers will be the centerpiece of a show of biblical scenes that will be on exhibit at the City Art Center in Edinburgh, U.K. to mark the 400^th anniversary of the King James Bible.

The cross and other biblical artwork are made by Scottish artist David Mach, in preparation for Precious Light, slated for July 30. The cross will also be exhibited in Gloucester Cathedral in Easter, according to The Telegraph.

The art show will also include a coat-hanger depiction of Calvary, and numerous collages, an art form that Mach has become famous for, The Telegraph reported.

The King James Bible was written from 1604 to 1611 when it was published under the reign of King James I of England, The New American said. It is considered the most influential English translation bible, and is a landmark in English language history.

King James was king of Scotland for 36 years before he succeeded Queen Elizabeth I to rule England. He set about not only uniting the two countries, but also uniting all the Protestants under this bible, The New American said.

A number of common-used English phrases today come from the King James Bible including “fire and brimstone,” “at his wit’s end,” “eye to eye,” and “powers that be,” according to The New American.

Phrases from Bob Dylan’s song Highway 61 Revisited, and Martin Luther King’s speech, I Have a Dream, were derived from the King James Bible, The Scotsman reported, adding, “Our culture is permeated by the King James Bible-both the phrases themselves and the morality and civilization they promote.”

Epic stories

Mach, who is not religious, told The Telegraph that the bible is rich in epic stories of struggle, mayhem, sex, pestilence, famine and violence, making it rich in artistic possibilities. He had wanted to do the show long before, but when he approached a number of contemporary galleries that featured his past work, they all turned it down.

Noting the secularism of England Mach told The Telegraph, “It’s like a weird subject they don’t want to touch.” Now, he has five floors of the City Art Centre to fill for Precious Light, thanks to the commission from The King James Bible.

Mach employs 30 people to help him prepare for the 10-week exhibit. The Telegraph said included among the pieces being worked on is a piece showing pairs of animals heading towards Noah’s Ark in front of Table Mountain, and another of hell, boiling up and positioned to burst under the Eiffel Tower.

The split continues to widen in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America over the ordination of gays who are in committed relationships.

According to The Gazette, the ELCA still remains strong, in that out of 10,000 churches in the U.S., only 291 have left as of 2009 to join other, more conservative Lutheran denominations.

However, while the number of those who have left ELCA remain small overall, what is significant is the speed at which groups which leave, manage to reorganize–and their tremendous rate of growth outside of ELCA, according to The Gazette.

Last August, defectors from ELCA formed the North American Lutheran Church, just one year after ELCA decided in a General Assembly to permit homosexuals in committed relationships to become ordained clergy, The Gazette said.

What’s more, the speed of growth of NALC is unprecedented. When it was launched it had 18 churches in its group, including St. Luke’s Lutheran Church. Within four months, the number has more than tripled with a total of 70 churches, and 17 more undergoing the process to join, The Gazette reported.

This is incredibly quick, considering that it took six years for former Episcopalians to create the Anglican Church in North America after a gay Episcopal bishop was elected in 2003, according to The Gazette.

Paull Spring, former bishop of ELCA’s Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod and current head of NALC said the speed of their reorganization was the result of a consultation he had with Episcopal Church dissenters, The Pulpit reported.

Spring told The Pulpit, “They felt they didn’t move as fast and lost lay supporters. So we wanted to move fast.” He added that NALC and ELCA do not communicate saying, “They don’t respond, don’t talk.”

Other churches that have undergone great internal friction over the issue of the ordination of gays are The Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church and the American Baptist Church USA, The Gazette said.

Beyond the issue of sexual orientation

David Wendel, pastor of St. Luke’s Lutheran and one of 17 regional deans of NALC (charged with Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah) said that the issue is beyond that of sexual orientation.

Wendel told The Pulpit, “The sexuality issue is not really the issue. We did not discuss that. The issue is the change in biblical understanding in the ELCA. There are some pastors who don’t believe in the resurrection.”

Wendel said that with NALC, gays can be ordained, however, “A homosexual person who is single could be ordained and is expected to be celibate,” The Pulpit reported.

NALC and other ELCA defectors will be able to keep their property, so long as they remain aligned with a Lutheran denomination. Wendel told The Gazette, “We don’t call this a schism. Lutheranism has a flexibility that allows for this realignment.”

As of now, NALC has no U.S. central location, as it is only four months old and NALC positions will only hold until next August. Spring said he will not likely run for reelection, The Gazette reported.

Spring told The Gazette, “It’s been a very stressful time, personally. There is sorrow over a lost relationship. But what are you supposed to do when the parent body goes against Holy Scripture?”

Now the atheists are targeting Christmas in their latest billboard campaign in New Jersey.

The American Atheists rented a large billboard just outside the Lincoln Tunnel in North Bergen, N.J. with a nativity scene and the words, “You KNOW it’s a myth, this season, celebrate reason,” according to Fox News.

The $20,000 billboard is 14 by 18 feet in size. David Silverman, president of American Atheists told The New York Times that it would be up at least until Dec. 21, and hopefully, even after Christmas.

Silverman told The New York Times the location is perfect because commuters “drive by this sign very slowly every day for a month, right in the Christmas season. And when they go into New York to go shopping, they’re going to see it.”

Atheists defined

According to the website of American Atheists, atheism encompasses terms such as freethinker, humanist or agnostic, essentially encompassing the belief that there is no god.

The website said their goal is total separation of church and state, and equality for atheists. According to New American, the group claimed that the billboard was not designed to convert, so much as to encourage atheists who “go through the motions of celebrating Christmas to stop.”

Silverman said the billboard aims primarily to reach out to “closet atheists,” and secondarily, to “call Christians out on their own history. Christmas is not the first nor the fifth nor the tenth holiday that places a god in the winter solstice. Many religions have placed their gods to be born on the winter solstice. Christianity is not unique in this subject and people need to understand that while Christmas is a Christian holiday, the season belongs to everyone,” the New American said.

According to New American, Silverman said Christians were the main targets because Christians tend to say “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays,” which they say is more harmless.

Silverman told The New York Times, “Every year, atheists get blamed for having a war on Christmas, even if we don’t do anything. This year we decided to give the religious right a taste of what war on Christmas looks like.”

A number of religious groups in the area have decried the controversial billboard. However, it looks like the atheists don’t plan to let go of billboard advertising soon. They have done a number of anti-faith billboards in the past, New American said.

Earlier this year some $100,000 was spent by the United Coalition of Reason to post billboards nationwide saying, “Are you good without God? Millions are.” Last year signs on New York City buses said, “You don’t have to believe in God to be a moral or ethical person,” New American reported.

Historical accuracy

Still, New American noted that while American Atheists contends that the birth of Jesus Christ is a myth, there are many groups that don’t accept Jesus Christ as lord, but still believe he lived, such as Jews and Muslims.

New American also cites the work of Jewish historians and Roman historians, as well as the unearthing of the Nag Hammadi Gnostic materials, and most recently, the discovery of the burial cave of Caiaphas which historically prove that Jesus lived and died at the place and time that was stated in the New Testament.

In light of this, New American contends that atheists should “at the very least view the celebration of His birthday in the same vein as celebrating the birth of Martin Luther King or Abraham Lincoln.”

Jason Castro, the dreadlocked season 7 finalist of American Idol, released his first album geared to a Christian market earlier this week.

The new album, entitled Who I Am, features five Christian songs that he composed and five songs from his previous, self-titled secular album that was released last April, according to The Christian Post.

The five new songs are “What if I Fall,” “You Are,” “Changing Colors,” “Wait (For a Miracle),” and “Who I Really Am.” It will be released by Word Entertainment, The Christian Post reported.

According to USA Today, Who I Am is also being released as a five-song digital EP. Castro said that when he was on tour for his first album, which is secular, he realized that he wanted to have “more God in the music.” He calls his latest work his “love songs to God,” according to The Christian Post.

At the same time, he told USA Today that he wanted to offer more choices to the public saying, “These days in music, you want to leave as many options as possible for people. There are all sorts of music listeners. We really don’t want to miss out on somebody because they’re not a certain type.”

Presently, Castro is promoting his album at various Christian radio stations. On K-Love he said, “It’s kind of weird, because I was doing this exact same thing a year ago, just with all the pop stations,” according to The Christian Post.

He added, “The biggest difference is probably just the topics of conversation. On the pop side, they’re just trying to get something out of you, something bad. They want that one little secret. On the other side, I guess it’s kind of the same: They want that one little secret, but it’s that one little secret about you and God.”

Castro is a 22-year-old Rockwall, Texas native who grew up playing the drums, then took up the guitar in college. Contrary to common belief, he was never a worship leader in church, but has always been a songwriter, The Christian Post said.

On Nov. 9 Castro will also be releasing the digital EP Changing Colors: Live From Studio 1290, which he recorded last May with his band. The songs in the EP are “If I Were You,” “Love Uncompromised,” “Changing Colors,” “It Matters To Me,” and “Learning To Fly” (by Tom Petty), The Christian Post reported.

Castro told USA Today, “We wanted to record while I had the band. It’s real raw and organic. We’ve got five guys in there that are all singing and playing something acoustic.”

A group of Christian leaders came together recently at Washington D.C. to discuss a phenomenon occurring in American life in the 21^st century–America’s distancing itself from its Christian foundation.

At the conference, “Being a Christian in a Post-Christian Culture,” held last Sept. 17-18 by Ligonier Ministries, Christian leaders were able to analyze what others call the “anti-Christian” phenomenon that is taking place, CBN News said.

Author and speaker R.C. Sproul Jr., said at the conference that there is no contradiction in being proud of both your Christianity and of being an American, CBN News reported.

Sproul told CBN News, “It was very easy for Christians to confuse their faith in Christ with what it meant to be an American. But as the American culture sinks deeper and deeper into unbelief, the Christian is much better equipped to say ‘that’s not us.’”

Robert Godfrey, Westminster Seminary California president said that choosing Christ over the current decaying U.S. culture can actually make Christians into better Americans, CBN News said.

Godfrey said, “We have to understand Christ’s call upon us in order to understand how our secondary responsibility to function as faithful American citizens can be fulfilled,” according to CBN News.

Faith leaders also pointed out at the conference that the answer did not lie in educating oneself to the point of being more knowledgeable than most others. Rather, the Christian culture is won back by letting Christ into one’s heart before one can hope to bring Christ to others, CBN News reported.

Sproul noted that the bible never pinpointed stupidity as the main failure of man. Instead, the bible said “that our problem is that we’re wicked.” Sproul said the problem of wickedness in man is not resolved by reading more books, studying more or by establishing programs, CBN News said.

Instead, Sproul said, “We need to be worried and concerned about how our hearts are, and that influences and interacts with how our minds think as well,” CBN News reported.

Pastor Burk Parsons, who chose to become a minister rather than join the world of fame and fortune through an invitation to join the singing group, Backstreet Boys, said that Christians can only win souls and the hearts of society if they first surrender to Jesus Christ, CBN News said.

Parsons said that Jesus never asked Christians to plan “gimmicks and methods” to build his church.  Instead Jesus said, “I will build my church,” CBN News reported.

Parsons pointed out that Jesus promised that he would be the one to draw people to himself, and make them able to withstand anything, even death, that may come against them, CBN News said.

Leaders from over a dozen international human rights organizations joined forces recently in the Pakistan Christian Congress held at Reeves Center, Washington DC to seek the repeal of the much abused blasphemy law, and to fight for the rights of Christians in Pakistan.

A high point in the conference was when Commissioner Nina Shea of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom made an outright call for the law’s repeal. Shea said despite existing legal rights of minorities, the blasphemy law practically renders them meaningless noting, “They are constantly vulnerable to accusations that are likely to be false under the blasphemy laws,” The Pakistan Christian Post said.

She also said it is important that the Pakistan government repeal the law noting, “These kinds of laws are not only repressive, but they also create social turmoil,” The Pakistan Christian Post said.

Noting that the U.S. is one of Pakistan’s largest donors, Shea said it is important that they stress upon Islamabad the importance of repealing the law.

In a joint press conference where several organization leaders were present Shea said, “I expect the US to bilateral and multilateral engagements with Pakistan to press for the repeal of the blasphemy law,” The Pakistan Christian Post said.

Despite the presence of a new regime in Pakistan, the number of Christians arrested under the blasphemy law has doubled. Two Christians were even killed in court during a blasphemy case hearing at the District Court of Faisalabad.

There are some 20 million Christians in Pakistan and although there are seats reserved for minorities these Christians cannot elect them. Instead, minority representatives are chosen by Muslims, and these minority seats seem to be mere window dressing for the international community.

Also noted during the congress was the first year anniversary of Gorja Town Christian colony, when thousands of Muslims set over 50 homes on fire and burned to death seven Christian children and women. No one was punished for the crimes.

As the local police watched, the Muslims also destroyed hundreds of homes in Korjan and Bahminwala villages in Punjab. Recalling this, Pakistan Christian Congress Chief Dr. Nazir S Bhatti said the pending “Minority Day” which the Pakistan government created should instead be called “Black Day” to honor the dead.

Bhatti said, “How we can celebrate Minority Day in Pakistan when our innocent brothers are being killed by Islamic militants and our women are being gang raped and enforcedly converted to Islam.”

Ahmar Mustikhan, who founded American Friends of Baluchistan, said minorities have no rights at all adding, “I have not seen any case so far where the perpetrators of crimes against Christians, Hindus and Kadiayanis are brought to justice.”

Jeffery Imm of REAL called for an online campaign for the Pakistan government to respect diverse religious views and protect their freedoms, which are inherent universal rights.

Bhatti said Wedenesday that rallies will be held in all cities in Pakistan to mark “Black Day” instead of Minority Day as announced by the government, The Pakistan Christian Post said.

Others who attended the conference were Andrew Eiva (Director, Freedom for Sudan Committee), Ashraf Ramelah (Voice of the Copts), Manzoor Alam (Chairman, Pakistani American Christian Coalition), Mujeeb Ijaz (Ahamdayya Muslims in USA), Shaharyar Gill (International Center of Justice and Law),  Ahmar Mustikhan (founder, American Friends of Balochistan), Senge H. Sering, (director, Gilgit Baltistan National Congress), and a representative of ICC, The Pakistan Christian Post said.

Read more about the Pakistan’s blasphemy law here.