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"It was a normal, ordinary prayer," Baehr told conservative news website WorldNetDaily. "I was praying for [PTC president] Brent Bozell to be healed. He'd had a heart attack the Friday before. … Whenever I pray, I pray in the name of Jesus. … I would expect people of other faiths to pray in the name of the one they believe in."

"It was like a prayer you pray over the dinner table," Mansfield, former head of the Idaho Focus on the Family affiliate, told the Statesman. "That's nice in Idaho. It's just not nice in Hollywood."

He says the prayer cost the organization several large donations: one donor withdrew a $100,000 gift, and another withdrew $10,000.

"PTC doesn't want to be perceived as a right-wing religious group," Mansfield told WorldNetDaily. "They're trying to pander to non-Christian donors. … I would caution Americans against giving to PTC. There are a lot of organizations people can give to and I'm not sure one that's being more PC than J.C. [Jesus Christ] is the one to choose. You can't play to the Christian community—the mom and pops who give $5 and $10—and at the same time appeal to non-Christian donors. The name of Jesus divides those two groups."

This may not be a flash in the pan. Bozell—the man prayed for and the man who fired Mansfield—also runs CNSNews.com, a conservative news service that has become very popular among many Christian websites like Charles Colson's Breakpoint.org and Salem Communications's Crosswalk.com. Will any of these organizations protest? Stay tuned.

Family:

• Same house, different faiths | For millions of Americans, December is an extended toast to every holiday's highlights (USA Today)

Sexual ethics:

• Presbyterian panel probes gay decision | A regional panel for the Presbyterian Church (USA) is reviewing a decision by Baltimore churches to not discipline an openly homosexual minister for violating a rule that unmarried clergy must be chaste (The Washington Times)
  
  
• Gay rites | The new Archbishop of Canterbury's liberal views on gays and lesbians are going to cause a storm, but his solutions could hold the answer to the Christian faith's prayer (Richard Holloway, Sunday Herald, Scotland)
  
  
• Longtime Orlando pastor resigns | Howard Edington announced his retirement Wednesday in the wake of a controversy sparked by his conservative views on the role of gays in the Presbyterian Church. (The Orlando Sentinel)

Education:

• Seminary program victim of low enrollment | Only 25 students in four-year program (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Bono's welcome at Wheaton College does grad proud | Wheaton was, at least in those moments, the best of what Christianity can be. (Cathleen Falsani, Chicago Sun-Times)
  
  
• Amish, Mennonites eyed for health rules | Four more Amish and Mennonite schools have failed to comply with health codes for refusing to install running water and a septic system for outhouse toilets, a county health official said (Associated Press)

Islam:

• Religion of peace? | Prove it. (Jonah Goldberg, National Review Online)
  
  
• Violence and Islam | From Nigeria to Sudan to Pakistan to Indonesia to the Philippines, some of the worst, most hate-driven violence in the world today is perpetrated by Muslims and in the name of Islam (Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post)
  
  
• Bush praises virtues of Islamic faith | During a visit to a Washington mosque, the president continues his drive to counteract animosity in the Muslim world toward the U.S. (Los Angeles Times)
  
  

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December (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46