Though that sounds like something Archie Bunker would’ve said back in the day, it’s actually the kind of stuff Gingrich people are accusing Republican presidential candidate hopefuls Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich of saying on the campaign trail.

Gingrich was criticized for repeatedly calling President Barack Obama a “food stamp president” and for saying that he’d be happy to teach young black people in economically depressed areas how to have a work ethic, so that they wouldn’t have to grow up to be pimps or prostitutes.

Santorum was criticized for saying that he didn’t want “to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money.”

Republican presidential hopefuls Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have been criticized for saying things that could be perceived as racist on the campaign trail.

Based on what they said, it’s understandable why people are accusing the two of racism and more than 40 leaders in the Catholic Church have told the two to chill out with the race baiting.

Either they are trying to appeal to a racist element in their party or they are ignorant of the facts.

Either way, as seasoned politicians these guys should know better. They should know that when they open their mouths, they shouldn’t be espousing empty rhetoric that relies heavily ill-founded stereotypes.

If Gingrich and Santorum did the research they would know that according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one-third of the 223 million white people in the United States receive food stamps.

If you look at the raw data alone, more white people (about 74 million) receive food stamps than the total black population (38.9 million) of the United States.

I imagine that if they had been armed with this knowledge, they probably wouldn’t have let such racial diatribe come out of their mouths, and had they told the truth they would have ended up alienating their voter base.

As Christians, these guys should know better as well.

The heart of God is pretty clear throughout the Bible on discrimination (See James 2, Galatians 3:28, John 7:24, Romans 10:12) – it’s abhorrent to Him because all people were made in His image (Genesis) and He hates partiality (Leviticus 19:15, Malachi 2, Deuteronomy 16:19, Proverbs 24:23) . In the Bible, partiality is the term most often used for “bias.”

Because we are prone to bias, we have to constantly watch what we say.

In Matthew 15, the scribes and Pharisees confronted Jesus about his practice of eating and drinking with the ritually unclean–sinners.

To explain his position on the issue, Jesus called those around him to come near.

He said, He said to them, “Hear and understand: ¹¹ Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”

The Pharisees were enraged when they heard Jesus take on the matter and they left abruptly.

After the exchange, Jesus explained what he meant to his disciples: ”¹⁷ Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? ¹⁸ But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. ¹⁹ For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”

I don’t know who is going to get the Republican nomination, but if either of these guys do, one of the questions I’ll be asking myself at the polls is, can I really trust a candidate who unabashedly repeats inaccurate information in an attempt to bolster himself, while never really trying to actually address or understand the needs of one group of people he seeks to govern?

Though  Gingrich and Santorum claim they care about “right to life issues,” and the cause of Christ, it’s obvious that they aren’t really trying to love their brothers and sisters in Christ, and the fact that are publicly proclaiming racist stereotypes shows that they are biased. These are serious spiritual deficiencies of which they need to take care.

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The British government’s latest Citizenship Survey reports that in the five years leading up to 2010, the percentage of declared Christians in the region dropped by 7 percent, although they nonetheless held solid at 70 percent.

Meanwhile, the total of those declaring no religion climbed by 6 percent, to 21 percent over the same period, the poll indicated.

It was the sixth such study since the Citizenship Survey was set up in 2001 by the government of then-Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Current Prime Minister David Cameron’s government has ordered an end to the Citizenship Survey project, on financial grounds. Officials say each survey’s 4 million-pound cost (about $6.2 million) was too much as Britain is forced to tighten its belt.

The survey found that Christians where more than half as likely as Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus to actually practice their religion. Religious practice grew among Muslims, from 73 percent in 2005 to 79 percent in 2009-10.

The latest poll was based on questionnaires answered by some 10,000 men and women, including 5,000 Muslims and other minorities.

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Life, however, became a lot less wonderful for Pitman’s mayor, Mike Batten, a week ago when he received an email from Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison, Wis.

Gaylor was writing, she said, on behalf of a “concerned area resident and taxpayer” who was offended by a religious banner long displayed in downtown Pitman. The sign, strung across Broadway, the town’s main thoroughfare, reads, “Keep Christ in Christmas.” And now the town is embroiled in a legal and religious dispute that has made residents resentful.

“I thought it was going to be a quiet year,” said Batten, who added the banner has been put up every year, stretched between a bank building and a utility pole, and is stretched over a county road, so the town doesn’t even have jurisdiction over it.

“We’re middle America here,” he said. “It was never really a big deal for us. It’s a Christian town. It’s sad. I see many times in the country a minority gets to rule the majority, and that’s not fair.”

Andrew Seidel, a constitutional consultant for the Freedom From Religion Foundation , disagrees. He said that the group sent the letter to Pitman after receiving the complaint from a resident who asked to remain anonymous and that when he saw the photos, he contacted the borough and its zoning board.

“In our mind, this was either a violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution, or a sign that needed a permit — and that without a permit, they were showing favoritism to an organization,” he said.

Seidel is awaiting an answer to a public-records request for copies of a permit granted by the zoning board. If there was a permit, the borough must accommodate the request of anyone who wants a different message. The foundation included in its letter the wording of a message it would display: “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. Freedom From Religion Foundation.”

Although he’s leaving office Jan. 7, Batten, who is also one of the town’s barbers, said he wasn’t going to budge just because of a letter.

“It’s something we feel very strongly about,” he said, noting that Pitman’s roots go back more than 140 years, when it was founded as a Methodist camp meeting ground. In fact, according to the town’s history, the 12 avenues that lead out from the center of town represent the 12 apostles.

“We’re a small community,” Batten said, “and we look forward to celebrating the holidays.”

The state League of Municipalities offers this guidance: “Municipal holiday displays that are limited to more secular images, like Santa Claus and Christmas trees, are likely to survive constitutional scrutiny. However, it is still unclear under what circumstances more religious symbols, like creches, menorahs, or in related cases, copies of the Ten Commandments, may be displayed by a municipality or on municipal property.”

Matthew Weng, a staff attorney for the league, said the situation in Pitman was unique.

“They evidentially lack authority to bring down the sign itself,” Weng said. “It’s on a utility pole and a private building. Their position is that there is not a whole lot they can do about it.”

Weng said he gets a lot of questions every year from towns that want to be proactive regarding Christmas and other holiday displays.

“It’s rare any sort of controversy ensues,” he said.

Pitman Councilman Russell Johnson feels it is all much ado about nothing.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” said the councilman. “This is all because one person got tired of looking at the sign every day, who decided to hide nameless behind this Wisconsin group. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

Johnson said the banner in question is one of several that go up in the same spot every year, for different groups. The Knights of Columbus has been putting up the same Christmas message for 45 years.

“It’s a Pitman tradition,” he said.

Now Pitman is a national story.

“It’s polarized the whole town,” said Brian J. Duffield, the borough’s solicitor. “The borough itself did not put up the banner. We have nothing to do with it. … It’s not like we can go out and tear it down.”

Seventy-eight-year-old Martha Abdill, who said she is Methodist, feels it’s a serious matter and can’t imagine anyone from Pitman would have complained. Whoever it was, she said, is just downright “rude.”

Eugene Ritter, who is from nearby Paulsboro, feels even more strongly. He decided two days ago to take matters into his own hands. Standing in the rain on Broadway, he read aloud from the Bible, while holding a sign that read, “2 Corinthians, 3:17: The Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Ritter, 22, said he got the quote from a Bible app he recently downloaded on his Android.

“I’m a soldier for God,” he said. “I’m here because I prayed to God and God spoke to me and said I should come out and do this. This where I need to be.”

Although Ritter said he thinks the complaint and the attempts to take the sign down are “evil,” he said he would have no objection to signs from other religions joining the “Keep Christ in Christmas” banner.

“If they want to put up one of their own, that’s fine,” he said. “This is our holiday. This is Christ’s birthday. Don’t take our holiday away from us.”

(Amy Ellis Nutt and Ted Sherman write for the Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.)

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According to Dawn Hawkins, MIM’s executive director, this year’s WRAP week campaign events will feature testimony from people such as ex-porn stars, doctors, scholars, therapists, Internet safety experts and feminist leaders.

To show their solidarity against pornography, this week thousands of people will wear white ribbons and attend WRAP events across the country.

The major focus of this year’s WRAP week is how pornography harms society.

The campaign runs until Sunday and will feature more than 20 events across the country designed to help people understand the problems that pornography can cause.

“Pornography is bringing harm to all areas of society,” said Patrick Trueman, president of MIM. “It is destroying families and is the main contributor to the exploitation of women and children. Pornography is the gateway to the sex industry and the harm must end.”

Author and radio host Teresa Tomeo said, “The evidence regarding the impact of pornography on children, women, families, and the institution of marriage continues to mount.”

“That’s why the WRAP campaign is so important. Awareness is key in our efforts to make a difference in our media-saturated culture.”

A major feature of this year’s WRAP campaign is the Be Aware: Porn Harms website. The site features online content such as videos and resources related to the WRAP campaign at www.PornHarms.com/beaware.

“We will be streaming documentaries about the links between porn and human trafficking, hosting discussions with past porn performers, providing education on understanding pornography addiction and offering steps to keep children safe,” said Hawkins.

Morality in Media is an organization that focuses on opposing pornography and indecency by educating the public about pornography. It has been the national sponsor of WRAP since 1987.

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Of those surveyed those younger than 40 were most concerned about global poverty.

The study, commissioned by Compassion International was conducted in September. Barna surveyed 1,429 American adults.

Major findings of the study included:
•Ninety-three percent of Christians surveyed are concerned about global poverty and a third are “extremely concerned.”
• Four out of 5 Christians believe they have a special responsibility to help solve global poverty.
• Twenty percent of practicing Protestants and 16 percent of practicing Catholics have traveled outside the U.S. for the purpose of serving the global poor.Christians under 40 years old were more than twice as likely to have taken such a trip.
• Younger Christians give 50 percent more than older Christians toward the cause of global poverty.
• Forty-five percent of younger Christians believe their churches should be more involved in helping the poor.

Scott Todd, the author of Fast Living: How the Church Will End Extreme Poverty, thinks the results of the study signify a growing awareness of poverty in Christian communities.

“What would happen if these millions of Christians began to live out the fundamental teachings of their faith in a new way,” he said.

“What if they began to take seriously the Biblical teachings about the poor and oppressed? What if they formed a new relationship with the global poor? I believe these changes are underway on a massive scale. We are witnessing an awakening.”

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Jeffress made the bold statement before introducing White House hopeful Rick Perry at the Value Voters Summit in Washington D.C. Friday.

Perry distanced himself from Jeffress’ remarks later, saying “No. I don’t think it is,” Perry said when asked by a journalist if he believes the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a cult.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, whose group put on the Values Voter Summit, said that Jeffress’ use of the word “cult”  was unfortunate and that Jeffress’ remarks on Mormonism shouldn’t have been blown out of proportion because the comments were made during a sidebar conversation with the media.

The summit’s purpose is not to discuss theological matters, but rather to unite faith-based voters, Perkins said.

In an interview on CNN after the event, Jeffress clarified his remarks saying, “Historical Christianity has never embraced Mormonism as a part of its faith,” and that Mormonism “doesn’t embrace the historical tenets of evangelical Christianity.”

Romney, a member of the Church of Latter-day Saints, was also a speaker at the event.

He did not respond to Jeffress’ remarks, but he did lash out at fellow speaker, Bryan Fischer, Director of Issues Analysis for the American Family Association, who has said in the past that Mormons have “a completely different definition of who Christ is” than the founding fathers did, and do not deserve First Amendment protections as a consequence.

In response Romney said, “One of the speakers who will follow me today, has crossed that line,” Romney said. “Poisonous language does not advance our cause. It has never softened a single heart nor changed a single mind. The blessings of faith carry the responsibility of civil and respectful debate.”

He added, “The task before us is to focus on the conservative beliefs and the values that unite us – let no agenda  narrow our vision or drive us apart.”

Jeffress is not the only evangelical to make headlines for discussing Romney’s Mormonism.

In an interview published Saturday to mark the 50^th anniversary of the Christian Broadcasting Network, Chairman Pat Robertson said he liked Mitt Romney’s political beliefs and viewed the potential Republican Party nominee as an “outstanding Christian.”

In addition, Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, penned a column for CNN’s Belief blog in which he said he doesn’t think Mormonism is a cult.

In a recent Pew Research Center poll 34 percent of white evangelicals said they would not vote for a Mormon candidate, and a quarter of all Americans said they were less likely to do so.

There are many other doctrinal differences between evangelical Christians and the Latter-day Saints. These differences include views on topics such as the Trinity, the Bible, Satan and the Deity of Christ.

The Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry has a fact sheet on the differences between Mormonism and historical Christianity.

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In the wake of the legalization of gay marriage in the city, the bill is at the center of controversy over family values and the definition of marriage.

Proponents of the bill say that one of the big reasons the bill should pass is that it would stem the tide of divorces that tend to take place there after two years.

The marriage licenses would be renewable if both parties agreed that the marriage was going well. However, if things went South within the two year period, the contract would contain provisions for dividing marital assets.

Leonel Luna, a Mexico City assemblyman who helped author the bill said that the bill is a great idea because people would no longer have to “go through the tortuous process of divorce.”

“Almost 50 percent of couples in Mexico City end up in divorce,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is acknowledge reality and create a mechanism that will allow couples to end their marriage without going through the additional pain and suffering of a legal battle.”

The Catholic Church in Mexico has criticized Luna’s proposal.

“This reform is absurd. It contradicts the nature of marriage,” said Hugo Valdemar, a spokesman for the Mexican archdiocese.

The Rev. Jose de Jesus Aguilar, a spokesman for the Mexican Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Mexico City Archdiocese, has denounced the bill as well.

“Mexico is suffering very serious problems precisely because we’re losing family values. I think that instead of creating all kinds of comfortable rules for political purposes, legislators should focus on promoting strong marriages and family values.”

According to Mexico City vital records, nearly half of the 33,000 couples who wed within the past two years ended up divorcing within two years.

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It’s been ten years since that September morning, and still I can recall the horror and heroics of that day. The pancaking towers, the daring and duty-bound firefighters, the dust-soaked city of New York, and the ash-covered-walking-wounded, stumbling like ghosts through Manhattan.

Each September since 9/11, when the proper and solemn remembrance ceremonies begin, I am tempted to believe the now faded bumper stickers that were so common in the months following the tragedy: The stickers read, “We Will Never Forget.” Not true. We will forget.

No, those who lived in the cities directly attacked will never forget. Those who huddled around television sets as bewildered and confused witnesses will never forget. And of course, those who buried their loved ones murdered in the attacks would easier forget their own names as forget that Tuesday morning.

But those following us will forget. They are not calloused or forgetful. They are simply too young. Most of the students who entered college this fall were in elementary school ten years ago, and many of this generation (including my own children), were even younger or not yet born.

This is more than a generation that thinks Starbucks and cell phones were created shortly after Adam and Eve; that can text eighty words a minute, but can’t write in cursive; that has never known the limitation of having only three network television channels, and can’t imagine life without Google and YouTube. This is a generation that will come to maturity in the shadow of a dreadful event not even in their collective memory.

Yes, I want my children (and the generations to come) to remember and reflect upon these events. I want them to forever hold in their memory the suffering and injustice of that day and the days that have followed. But I do not want them to cloud their memories with the notion that the “world was changed forever on 9/11,” for it was not.

Violence, retaliation, the suffering of the innocent, and the struggle for power have been around for all of human history. 9/11, rather than changing that status quo, was another brutal, heart-rending chapter in the same narrative. To say that 9/11 is the defining, irreversible mark on human history is to give evil and injustice far too much credit; and for followers of Jesus to say such a thing, it is a loss faith.

Consider, that whenever Christians gather, they gather to remember, celebrate, and hopefully integrate into their lives a profound event from the past, an event to which the Eucharist and the Creeds point: “Jesus Christ was crucified, dead, and was buried; but on the third day he rose again.”

Our faith informs us that Jesus took all the hate, evil, retaliation, death, and rejection the world could muster, and when the world had done its worst, he responded with his best. He overcame all of these with resurrected life, goodness, and hope. This is the defining event of our past, the memory we will never forget, and the trajectory for our future.

Yes, I will bow my head and say a prayer for those taken away from us a decade ago. I will give thanks for the rescue workers, the firefighters, and those who tried to save and serve the hurt and dying. I will ask God to assuage the sorrow of the families and friends left to grieve.

But when I am finished praying, I will work for peace; I will seek to overcome evil with good; I will pursue the example of Jesus; and I will teach my children to remember properly. Remember that grace, not hate, will have the final word.

Ronnie McBrayer is a syndicated columnist, speaker, and author. His books include “Leaving Religion, Following Jesus” and “The Jesus Tribe.” Visit his website at www.ronniemcbrayer.net.

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Stumped, I told him to talk directly to God about it. Pausing for just a moment to consider my inadequate answer, he countered, “You know I can’t talk to God; I’m not even dead yet!”

In my son’s literal but complex eight-year-old mind, prayer does not qualify as “talking to God.”

Thus, his many and variegated questions about the mysteries of the universe, the meaning of life, and the purpose of wasps and biting flies, will have to wait.

Truth be told, my son’s conclusion about “talking to God,” and more pertinent, God talking to us, is the conclusion most of us have. God doesn’t really talk to people, does he?

And those mystical types who routinely say things like, “God spoke to me” or “I heard God say,” are we to take them seriously, or should they be scheduled for a mental health examination?

I remember a bizarre story from two decades ago about a Texas pastor who crashed his car while attempting to elude police.

It was a bizarre story, first, because all 20 of the pastor’s parishioners were with him in his vehicle – 15 adults and five children – in a single Pontiac.

Second, and stranger by the details, the congregants were all naked. It seems the devil had cursed their clothing, God had told them, so the voodooed garments were cast off per divine instruction.

And finally, the police were chasing the naked and mobile congregation because they had attempted to forcibly procure a parked RV, an RV that God said now belonged to them.

God gets blamed for a whole lot of the kookiness in this world, and stories like this one make me appreciate my son’s conclusion.

If this is how God speaks, I’ll be happy to wait till I’m dead for such divine instruction.

And let’s be honest; sometimes the stories are more tragic than comical. Some of history’s greatest atrocities have been committed because someone “heard God speak” to them.

Absurdity aside, I still believe God speaks.

Now, I don’t believe God’s instructions ever include harming others, stealing their property, or committing violence. Such voices are patently inconsistent with the way and person of Christ

And no, I don’t think God’s voice arrives in our inboxes as an unalterable blueprint for life. Further, it’s not likely that many of us will find God standing at the foot of our bed some early morning with a heavenly telegram in his hand.

Besides, if God did speak that clearly (and maybe he does), most of us would miss it anyway (maybe we have), for it seems God prefers communicating through quiet and stillness rather than through the pyrotechnics of signs, wonders, and naked-RV-stealing-hijinks.

“God didn’t speak through the whirlwind, the earthquake, or the fire,” the prophet of old tells us. Instead, God spoke “in a still, small voice.”

It’s summed up by Dan Rather’s magnificent interview of Mother Teresa more than twenty years ago.

Paraphrasing, he famously asked her, “What do you say to God when you pray?” She offered him a simple answer, “I don’t say anything. I just listen.”

Rather then asked the obvious follow-up question: “Well, what does God say?” Mother Teresa gave Rather that crooked little smile of hers, and said, “God doesn’t say anything either. He just listens.”

Does such a wordless “conversation” sound as bizarre as a Pontiac filled with naked Pentecostals? Hardly. In a relationship of love and trust, being together is enough, and more is understood in the silence than when using all the words in the world.

A great deal of religion, I fear, is built upon the desire for divine fireworks, megaphoned and crystal clear answers, God showing himself in flamboyant and undeniable style.

Yet, God only requires the quiet and silent heart to quietly and silently speak.

In other words, keep your shirt on. Getting quiet will do more to sharpen one’s perception of God than all the religious gymnastics in the world.

Ronnie McBrayer is a syndicated columnist, speaker, and author. His books include “Leaving Religion, Following Jesus” and “The Jesus Tribe.” Visit his website at www.ronniemcbrayer.net.

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Though the ACLJ had argued that the building linked “two distinct periods in American history” and reflected “the growth and rise of American free enterprise and stands as a symbol of America’s strength and survival in the face of brutal, sadistic terrorism,” in a 9-0 decision, the commission said that the building, according to the Associated Press, was not “special or distinctive enough to meet criteria to qualify as a landmark.”

The building, a 152-year old former Burlington Coat Factory, is owned by the Cordoba Initiative, an Islamic think tank.

To the ire of many, the building is slated to become a 13-story mosque and community center that will include a prayer space as well as cultural and recreational facilities.

Because of the building’s proximity to the site of the former World Trade Center, the future Islamic meeting place has been dubbed the “Ground Zero” mosque.

Future site of the the “Ground Zero” mosque.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission had said previously that even if landmark status was granted, the Cordoba Initiative would still be free to turn the building into a  mosque and community center.

The ACLJ has said that it will challenge the commission’s decision.

“It has been clear from the beginning that the city has engaged in a rush to push this project through – ignoring proper procedure and ignoring a growing number of New Yorkers and Americans who don’t believe this site is the place to build a mosque,” ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow said on the ACLJ website.

“Now, that this vote has occurred, we’re planning to file an Article 78 petition in state court to challenge the city’s actions. We will allege that there’s been an abuse of discretion in the commission’s decision.”

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