By Christy Barritt

Church Sings in Airport During Layover

When members of Harmony Hill Baptist Church in Lufkin, Texas, were on a three-hour layover in an Atlanta airport, they never expected what they did to pass time would go viral.

The group, part of the music ensemble Classic Worship Praise of East Texas, were talking with the people around them when one woman asked what they did. The group decided to show her and spontaneously broke into an impromptu performance of the popular Chris Tomlin song “Jesus Messiah.”

As the men and women sang, a crowd formed around them. An airline worker at the ticket counter liked their performance so much that she gave her airline microphone to them.

Many in the crowd took pictures and videos, which quickly traveled around the Internet, getting more than 52,000 shares on Facebook.

ACLU Questions School’s Bible Distribution

The American Civil Liberties Union wants to stop the distribution of New Testaments to fifth graders at a school district in South Dakota. The group is urging the district to reverse its recent decision to allow The Gideons International to distribute Bibles on school property, even though district officials voted unanimously to allow it.

The ACLU has called the decision one that steps onto “shaky constitutional ground.”

In their letter to school officials, the organization said that schools couldn’t either intentionally or unintentionally advance religion or become too entangled with religious groups. They also argued that the distribution of Bibles on school grounds could pose a bullying threat to students belonging to other religions.

In the past, the Gideons passively distributed the Bibles by setting up a table when school wasn’t in session, so that students could choose to engage if they wanted to.

One Third of World Believes Holocaust Is a Myth

The Anti-Defamation League took a global poll and found that close to a third of people around the world believe that the Holocaust is either greatly exaggerated or a myth. They also found that over a quarter hold anti-Semitic views.

The purpose of the poll was to research attitudes and opinions toward Jewish people. ADL reported that only 54 percent of total respondents had heard of the Holocaust. The results greatly varied by region, with 94 percent of Western Europe and 77 percent of the Americas saying they were aware of the Holocaust, compared to only 24 percent in places like Sub-Saharan Africa.

ADL also noted that 16 of the countries with the highest scores of anti-Semitic views were in the Middle East and North Africa.

Oprah, Forest Whitaker to Star in The Shack Movie

The bestselling Christian novel The Shack will soon be made into a movie by Summit Entertainment. 

The book by William Paul Young sold more than 18 million copies. It is about a man who grieves the kidnapping and murder of his young daughter and eventually encounters God in the shed where his child died.

Oscar winner Forest Whitaker will direct the movie, as well as play a supporting role. Idris Elba and Oprah Winfrey have reportedly been cast as the leads. The movie is estimated to cost $30 million to make and will be shot in either Atlanta or Vancouver this year.

The novel received criticism from some in the Christian community who argued that the book misrepresented God and was spiritually incorrect.

Christy Barritt is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and speaker living in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband Scott have two sons.
www.christybarritt.com