Some Christian conservative groups say they are planning to challenge a Supreme Court ruling that ended a federal ban on sports gambling outside of Nevada.

The Supreme Court’s ruling came this week, reversing a 1992 law that banned sports betting in every state except Nevada.

Jake Grassel, the executive director of Citizens Against Gambling Expansion, said the group is planning a “vigorous challenge” to the bill.

Just a few weeks ago, Grassel’s organization joined with the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition and the Catholic Conference and Minnesota Family Council to help defeat a fantasy sports bill on the House floor.

Grassel says expanding sports gambling could lead to more gambling addictions and a negative influence on youth.

“You’re going to normalize gambling for kids because they’ll be inundated with advertising during sports games,” he said.

Many states have already been pushing for legalized sports gambling. Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, had been working to bring legislation to legalize sports gambling in Minnesota. With the ruling, he says it’s a chance for the state to provide a “safe, fair and regulated sports gambling experience.”

“This is like Sunday liquor sales on cocaine,” he said. “That’s how excited people are going to be.

 “It’s highly unlikely we’ll be able to pass legislation in five days, but what we can do is…

Days after the United Methodist Church voted down an amendment to its Book of Discipline that would have said God is not “male or female,” the denomination says there will be a revote as the text had an error.

The amendment that failed to pass on Monday was centered on gender equality, but a sentence “that should not have been included in the amendment was removed by a vote of 746–56” was “inadvertently included in the version that was distributed,” the denomination said in a statement.

That sentence reads as follows: “The United Methodist Church recognizes it is contrary to Scripture and to logic to say that God is male or female, as maleness and femaleness are characteristics of human bodies and cultures, not characteristics of the divine.”

The text, as approved by the General…

A pastor in East Jordan, Michigan has posted photos that appear to show a guardian angel above a vehicle. The pastor says the wispy outline in the photo is evidence of God’s protection.

The pastor’s church, Jordan Rivers, posted the photos to Facebook with the caption:

“Last night at the Thorman’s house, the security camera recorded this snapshot. Glen Thorman is the fire chief for East Jordan …( they attend Jordan Rivers) Yep folks… It’s an angel. I guess there is no question who is watching over their residence while they sleep, and yes, they pray that The Angels of the Lord will surround them and their property….These photo’s [sic] have not been altered in anyway. The second photo, the security camera also shot because the angel was moving away. The camera is designed to photograph anything in motion or unusual…. lots of tears today when they opened the security on their camera …WOW!”

Some believe the object captured by the security camera was only a moth, but the pastor and his church are convinced it is a sign from God, and that the temperature at the time the photo was taken was too cold for a moth to be out.

“We have studied the photo from all possibilities. This ‘Being’ is behind the truck with translucent wings. We checked the temp at 12:49 am for this location. 46* was predicted in town, 39* degrees at the Thorman’s perhaps lower, but the average…

Christianity is a faith with a long and detailed history, with numerous events of lasting significance occurring throughout the ages.

Each week brings the anniversaries of great milestones, horrid tragedies, amazing triumphs, telling tribulations, inspirational progress, and everything in between.

Here are just a few things that happened this week, May 13-19, in Church history. They include the first showing of the musical Godspell, the birth of Pope John Paul II, and the first reported sighting of Our Lady of Fatima.

The First ‘Our Lady of Fatima’ Sighting Reported – May 13, 1917

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This week marks the anniversary of when three children in Portugal claimed to have had their first encounter with an apparition of the Virgin Mary.

Lucia Santos, Francisco Marto, and Jacinta Marto explained that they were playing on a property located near Fatima named Cova da…

A Colorado Mesa University student has succeeded in her fight to be allowed to mention Jesus and the Bible in her graduation speech.

Relevant Magazine reports that student Karissa Erickson gave the speech last Friday at her school’s graduation ceremony. Although the university has a rule prohibiting religious content in school-related speeches, Erickson, with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, appealed this rule and won.

The university had initially told Erickson that “speeches should be free of any one religious slant.” However, upon hearing of Erickson’s case, the ADF sent a letter to university officials, seeking to appeal the rule.

The school decided to grant Erickson’s request, as expressed through ADF’s letter, although some school officials still said Erickson could face “repercussion” if she chose to keep the references to Jesus and the Bible in her speech.

ADF lawyer Travis Barham commented on the school’s decision:

“We applaud the university for quickly recognizing that the First Amendment protects a graduating student’s right to mention her faith in her own speech and has never required universities to purge ceremonies of all things religious. America’s Founding Fathers regularly opened public ceremonies with prayer, and federal appeals courts have consistently ruled that universities can do the same at their…

Megachurch pastor Andy Stanley’s recent message in which he urged Christians to “unhitch” their faith from the Old Testament continues to draw flak, with some calling it heresy.

Both Kevin DeYoung of Christ Covenant Church and Wesley Hill of Trinity School for Ministry are calling Stanley out for what they contend is heretical teaching — namely, Marcionism — that stems from the early church days.

“[Mo]st of the 39-minute talk can really only be described as an elaborate and educated flirtation with the old Christian heresy of Marcionism—the belief that the Old Testament is not authoritative in matters of Christian doctrine and morals,” Hill stated, referring to Stanley’s sermon from April.

DeYoung, a Reformed pastor in North Carolina, called Marcionism “the evergreen heresy” that still resonates with people today largely because it cuts out “a God full of wrath and justice” and leaves “a God of goodness and nothing else.”

Stanley, who leads North Point Community Church in Georgia, preached a sermon series called “Aftermath” last month. The series was aimed at appealing to individuals who left Christianity over something they…