Scientologists awarded half a million dollars in suit against critic
The Church of Scientology sued former church official Gerry Armstrong for $10 million, saying he had violated a 1986 legal settlement by repeatedly speaking out against the group and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. (Armstrong got $800,000 from the religious group in that settlement after he claimed he was being bullied by Scientology officials.)

Marin Superior Court Judge Lynn Duryee didn't award punitive damages, but ordered Armstrong to give back the settlement money.

"Because a previous judgment had already awarded the church $300,000 from Armstrong—who cited bankruptcy and did not pay it—Duryee ordered the defendant to pay the church another $500,000, or equal the amount the church had paid him," the Marin Independent Journal reports.

Armstrong says he still won't pay. "Never," he said. "I will outlast them." He also promises to keep criticizing Scientology. "When you can silence someone about a religion, just imagine," he said.

Armstrong's lawyer says Judge Duryee "made a deal with the devil," and said the case isn't really about Armstrong's 1986 settlement. "This suit is really directed at other people who might be inclined to speak out," he told the San Francisco Chronicle. "It's a PR ploy to keep other people silent."

Scientology officials want Armstrong imprisoned.

"This wasn't contempt of the church, this was contempt of the court," lawyer Andrew Wilson told the paper. "He needs to be put in jail not because he spoke out but because he thumbed his nose at the court."

More articles

Religious freedom:

• Police make door-to-door searches for weapons in restive Poso | Hundreds of police were Wednesday searching door-to-door for weapons in their hunt for attackers targeting Christians in the religiously-mixed Poso district of Central Sulawesi (AFP)
  
  
• Uganda: Crackdown over murder of two missionaries | Five people have been arrested in connection with the recent killings of two American missionaries in northern Uganda, bringing the total number taken into custody to 12. District officials said police were on the lookout for more suspects (IRIN)
  
  
• Three dead in Nigerian religious feud, total 226 | Muslim militia killed three Christians in central Nigeria bringing the unofficial death toll from two months of tit-for-tat violence to 226 (Reuters)
  
  
• Nepal cracks down on Easter celebrants | Nepal cracked down on Christians celebrating Easter in a public area here by detaining two of the organizers for questioning (IANS, India)
  
  
• It's Christian bells vs. Muslim prayer calls | Hamtramck Muslim community members' request to amend the city noise ordinance so mosques can use loudspeakers for a call to prayer has divided some residents along religious lines (Detroit Free Press)
  
  

Vietnam Christians protest oppression:

• Vietnam accused of rights abuses | The New York-based group Human Rights Watch has accused Vietnam of repressing a minority Christian community in the Central Highlands (BBC)
  
  
• Vietnam beefs up checkpoints in restive highlands | Police and soldiers increased road checkpoints in two central Vietnam highland provinces where ethnic minority protests erupted at the weekend, and officials said on Wednesday no one had been killed in the unrest (Reuters)
  
  

Crime:

• Two injured in fight over religion | Christian family members reportedly demanded conversion, but police doubt story (Daily Times, Pakistan)
  
  
• Fundamentalist Christian tries SOS on Muslim | A middle-aged man bundled 17-year old Muslim girl into a white van and drove off to a local park where the fundamentalist Christian tried to "save her soul" by demanding at knifepoint that she convert to Christianity (Saturday Star, South Africa)
  
  
• Man, wife robbed at gunpoint in Mequon church | Incident might be linked to similar ones on North Shore (News Graphic, Cedarburg, Wi.)
  
  

War and terrorism:

• Hard-line chaplain saves soft side for troops | The Islamic extremists waging war on America think they are going to heaven to make love to dozens of virgins after they die. Lt. Col. Mike Tarvin, the 2nd Infantry Division chaplain, believes they will burn in hell for their sins. It's a typically forthright statement from the chaplain who gave up preaching at the Christian Church of the Disciples of Christ in Hutchins, Texas, three years ago to serve his country in South Korea (Stars and Stripes)
  
  
• Mission defends Fr Carlos | Guido Oliana, the head of the Comboni Missionaries in Uganda, has advised security agencies to follow the law if they want to deport Carlos Roderiguez (New Vision, Kampala, Uganda)
  
  
• Bali bomber says he has no regrets over deadly attack | Bali bombing mastermind Imam Samudra boasted he was a winner from his death row cell Wednesday and said he was looking forward to entering a virgin-filled paradise as a reward for killing Christians (AFP)
  
  
• Grim vigil as Mississippi town awaits word | Churchgoers from Calvary Baptist Church, where Iraq hostage Thomas Hamill is a member, were taking shifts in a round-the-clock prayer chain (The New York Times)
  
  

Crusaders' sack of Constantinople, 800 years later:

• Vartholomaios deplores fanaticism | Meanwhile, Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop of Lyons, took the opportunity of today's 800th anniversary since the sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders to write to Vartholomaios apologising for this «affront to all Christians seeking unity (Kathimerini, Athens, Greece)
  
  
• Vartholomaios forgives Catholics for sack of Constantinople in 1204 | "We cannot forget that tragic day for Constantinople and for our Patriarchate but we forgive … and we accept with satisfaction the expression of their regret and the reassurance that the West will never again undertake such an abomination against the Christians of the East," Vartholomaios said (Kathimerini, Athens, Greece)
  
  

Missions & ministry:

• Catching an Alpha wave | Basic course in Christianity takes churches by storm (The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C.)
  
  
• Family finds its way past tragic error | These parents have learned how life goes on (The Charlotte Observer, N.C.)
  
  
• Back from 'the edge of death,' teen is reborn | An inspiring story (The Grand Rapids Press, Mi.)
  
  
• Cambodians mix heritage, Christianity | In his adopted country, Steve Cheung retains the traditions of his Cambodian heritage while practicing his new Christian faith (The Grand Rapids Press, Mi.)
  
  
• Risking death in the best of causes | I've used the term martyr as it was long intended to be used. A martyr is one who "witnesses" for the truth unto death—a person who testifies that faith in and love for Jesus Christ result in salvation and eternal life (Gregory Tomlin, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Tex.)
  
  
• South Korean missionaries no strangers to danger | The seven missionaries who ignored warnings against travel to Iraq and were kidnapped briefly by local gunmen are part of a wave of South Korean evangelists spreading their faith in dangerous corners of the world (Reuters)
  
  
• Local missionary rescued once, now headed for Iraq | Heather Mercer is helping Antioch Community Church in Waco scout for potential church sites in the northern part of Iraq (KXXV, Waco, Tex.)
  
  

"Cheap" Christianity in Africa:

• Kobia faults Christians in Kenya | Kenya's and Africa's first secretary general of the World Council of Churches Rev Samuel Kobia has faulted what he says is a cheap brand of Christianity fast taking root in the country (The East African Standard, Nairobi, Kenya)
  
  
• Cleric flays attitude to Christianity | Recent claims that Nigerians were the most religious people in the world last week received knocks from a man of God, who argued that there were more fans of Christ than followers in the country (This Day, Lagos, Nigeria)
  
  

Spirituality:

• Are black people more religious? | Don't jump to conclusions (Jabari Asim, The Washington Post)
  
  
• Enriched by a change of faith | With signature American pragmatism, at least one-third of U.S. Christians now leave the faiths of their childhood to strike out for greener pastures (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
  
  
• Choosing a faith | Converts drawn to Christianity, Judaism (The Ann Arbor News, Mi.)
  
  
• Oh, and happy, uh, holiday | Religion as a social phenomenon is a trip through the looking glass. Nothing seems to exist without its contradiction (Dan Carpenter, The Indianapolis Star)
  
  
• In a way, Michigan is next to heaven, survey concludes | Seven of 10 Michiganders think their ultimate destination is heaven, according to a poll (Detroit Free Press)
  
  
• In all honesty … a culture of lies | It is one of the few points all world religions agree on: Lying is wrong. So how is it that in the United States, the most religiously observant of industrialized nations, lying is so pervasive some scholars have called America's a "culture of dishonesty"? (ReligionLink)
  
  

Controversial Colorado legislature prayer:

• Politically charged prayer criticized | A Catholic priest mixed politics with prayer in the Colorado legislature Tuesday, asking God to make lawmakers "the antithesis of John Kennedy" and use their faith in public office (Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
  
  
• Colo. lawmakers urged not to emulate JFK | A Roman Catholic priest caused a stir on the House floor Tuesday when he urged lawmakers to let religious faith guide their votes and "be the antithesis of John Kennedy" (Associated Press)
  
  
• The Rev. Bill Carmody's prayer | The full text of what the priest really said (Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
  
  

Religion & politics:

• Both sides in abortion debate view election as critical to cause | Same-sex marriage issues seem to have edged abortion out of the election spotlight, but don't be fooled. Both opponents and advocates say the future of abortion rights in this country may hinge on the presidential election (ReligionLink)
  
  
• Draft Moore: The Web Site | A Draft Moore movement emerges. But who's behind it? (Timothy Noah, Slate)
  
  
• The rise of new Christianity | This will come to be seen as the century in which religion replaced ideology (Angela Shanahan, The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
  
  
• Partisan preachers may break tax code | But experts say IRS standard not sacred (The Times-Picayune, New Orleans)
  
  

Education:

• Westminster awaiting a high-stakes verdict | Three school trustees passed compromise language on discrimination to fit their Christian beliefs, and if it doesn't fly with the state, funding's in jeopardy (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Also: School gender bias fight taken to the brink | A board majority in a small Orange County school district on Monday risked millions of dollars in funding and a possible state takeover by voting to hold firm to its view that a California antidiscrimination policy violates Christian principles (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Bible class backer has second thoughts | Audrey Bassett told the Board of Education on Monday that she's changed her mind after taking time to dissect the proposed "Bible in History and Literature" elective class (The Saginaw News, Mi.)
  
  
• Religious education concerns parent | Children should not have to choose a religious preference in front of school mates. Let's not use religion as a way of dividing our children (Mollie Bryan, The News Leader, Staunton, Va.)
  
  

Books:

• Baker turns page | Authors flying into Grand Rapids to meet with Baker Book House Co. executives often were shuttled to its retail store in Kentwood rather than the company headquarters six miles away, in Ada (The Grand Rapids Press)
  
  
• Growing with God | In his best-selling book, "The Purpose-Driven Life," author Rick Warren looks at human existence and asks the big question. Why are we here? (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
  
  

Easter:

• Resurrection is the Easter miracle, not a bunny laying chocolate eggs | We are bombarded with advertisements trying to brainwash us into buying things and confusing the historical reason for Easter (Tony Belarmino, Modesto Bee, Ca.)
  
  
• Season of hope must turn to actions | As Christians recall the resurrection of the Prince of Peace, we are confronted with wars throughout the globe, of daily images of death and destruction, of fears and uncertainties (Editorial, The Tribune, Fort Pierce, Florida)
  
  
• Easter and the new believer | In keeping with tradition, churches welcome converts (The Birmingham News, Ala.)
  
  
• An amazing—and challenging—story | Easter isn't easy (Kristen Campbell, Mobile Register, Ala.)
  
  
• An Orthodox Easter | Expressive extravagance, dramaturgical splendor (David B. Hart, The Wall Street Journal)
  
  

Jesus:

• Jesus' image goes from meek to mighty | Hard times are spurring faithful to redefine Christ, experts say (Chicago Tribune)
  
  
• No easy answers | It's useful to think about not only the various Christian understandings of Jesus but also how other religious traditions view him (Bill Tammeus, The Kansas City Star)
  
  
• Did Jesus really exist? | A respected theologian says New Testament history was lifted from paganism (Canadian Press)
  
  
• Jesus Christ | Choose your own savior (Chris Suellentrop, Slate)
  
  

The Passion:

• 'Passion' soundtrack certified gold | The album sold 500,000 copies in February, says Integrity Media (Associated Press)
  
  
• Is Mel Gibson changing his tune? | 'Songs Inspired by The Passion' CD a tender contrast to film (SF Gate)
  
  
• Pirated 'Passion' videos sold at Holy Week | Street peddlers who traditionally hawk palm-thatch holy crosses, incense and ceramic religious statuettes outside churches during Holy Week had a new item that was outselling all others this year: pirated videos of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" (Associated Press)
  
  
• The greatest story never told | Why Mel Gibson's next film project has to be The End (Alex Heard, Slate)
  
  
• Critics fail to crucify Jesus again | Despite attacks on its sincerity, Mel Gibson's movie has renewed the faith for many (Miranda Devine, The Sydney Morning Herald)
  
  
• Area pastors hope 'Passion's' message continues past Easter | One hopes Jesus' message of tolerance, acceptance and love, not division, "we're right, you're wrong" condemnation and the scapegoating of those who are different, that will linger long after the lilies wilt (Susan Paynter, Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
  
  
• 'The Passion' fuels debate over the violence of the crucifixion | An inventory of symbols associated with three of the world's great religions would list objects of beauty and light. For Judaism, a star. For Islam, the crescent moon. For Buddhism, the lotus flower. The symbol of Christianity is an instrument of torture and death (The Ledger, Lakeland, Fla.)
  
  
• Also: Theories try to explain reasons for Jesus' death | Jesus' death has been understood by Christians principally as an act of reconciliation between God and humanity. How it affects this reconciliation has been articulated in various ways through the centuries (The Ledger, Lakeland, Fla.)
  
  
• Christ the movie: A passion for cash? | Whatever the arguments about the artistic merit or the theology of "The Passion of the Christ" there's no doubt that the film's been very good business indeed (BBC)
  
  
• Teens put 'Passion' into radio show | They say real men don't cry, but Valley Christian High School sophomore Chris McElhatton isn't ashamed that that's what he wanted to do when he saw Jesus on the cross in "The Passion of the Christ," Mel Gibson's film about the crucifixion (San Jose Mercury News, Ca.)
  
  
• Visual depictions fix Christ's story in minds, pastors say | For many Protestants, The Passion's visual focus on suffering is a very different aesthetic
  
  

Church life:

• Officials clear way for razing of Ross Avenue Baptist | Burned church is putting faith in the future (The Dallas Morning News)
  
  
• What worshippers want from a church is changing | Services adding contemporary feel to bring people in (Visalia Times-Delta, Ca.)
  
  
• Starting a new church can be simple | Sometimes, though, it requires lawyers, permits, licenses (Visalia Times-Delta, Ca.)
  
  
• When churches split | At church, not everyone welcomes change (Visalia Times-Delta, Ca.)
  
  
• What Americans think about religion (Visalia Times-Delta, Ca.)
  
  
• St. James begins to heal | Service to world, community keeps members focused amid Episcopal turmoil (Manitowoc Herald Times, Wis.)
  
  
• Charismatic leaders discuss ethical 'crisis' in the church | Citing transgressions and indiscretions among a growing number of church leaders, a who's who of prominent charismatic ministers decried what they called an ethical "crisis" in the body of Christ (Charisma News Service)
  
  
• 'Born again' church group seeks approval for facility | Local Church wants to move out of homes (Iowa City Press-Citizen)
  
  

Catholicism:

• Mass. diocesan worker quits in complaint | Michael Graziano, head of communications for the Springfield Diocese and a former diocesan spokesman who often fielded questions about priests accused of sexual abuse, has resigned after being accused of sexual misconduct (Associated Press)
  
  
• Archbishop says young people need mentors | Young Roman Catholics need mentors at a time when their faith is being challenged in the wake of the church's sex abuse scandal, Boston Archbishop Sean O'Malley said Tuesday (Associated Press)
  
  
• Plummer submits to 'Fathers' for Showtime | Veteran actor Christopher Plummer is set to star as Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law in "Our Fathers," Showtime's adaptation of David France's book about the sexual abuse scandal in the U.S. Roman Catholic Church (Reuters)
  
  

Poll on evangelicals:

• Evangelicals prefer that states outlaw gay 'marriage' | Evangelical Christians oppose homosexual "marriages," but prefer the practice be outlawed through state laws rather than a constitutional amendment, according to a poll released yesterday (The Washington Times)
  
  
• Many evangelicals oppose U.S. ban on gay marriage | Poll shows about half prefer that state laws address the issue (The Baltimore Sun)
  
  
• Poll: Evangelicals See themselves as part of mainstream, still beleaguered (Religion News Service)
  
  
• Yesterday: Survey Gets Specific on Evangelical Attitudes—and Finds We Like the Pope Better than Robertson or Falwell (Weblog)
  
  

Gay marriage & homosexuality:

• Law exceeds city's power, lawyer says | He told the Pa. high court that Phila.'s same-sex benefits are an illegal attempt to redefine marriage (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
  
  
• Earlier: Pa. high court hears arguments on city same-sex partner benefits | The Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard arguments today in a case that challenges a key city gay-rights ordinance (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
  
  
• A firm voice against gay marriage | For Colo. lawmaker, it's an article of faith (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Rogue billboards cause a stir | A flap over a series of signs that condemn homosexuality is the talk of a town that's home to gay people and conservative Christians alike (The Baltimore Sun)
  
  
• State Senate okays putting proposal to ban gay marriage on ballot | The Senate gave final approval to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, putting the issue on the November ballot for voters to decide (The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.)
  
  
• Finding a compromise: Friendship Covenants | This would allow two friends, " regardless of whether or not they are involved in a sexual relationship with one another" to enter into a contractual relationship that would carry with it a package of kin-like and spouse-like privileges and benefits: the right to be involved in medical decisions and funeral arrangements, the right to inherit if the partner dies intestate, etc (David R. Carlin, Narragansett Times, R.I.)
  
  
• Marriage amendment is needed | Someone suggested we "celebrate commitment wherever we find it." That high-sounding statement ignores religious directives about homosexuality and flies in the face of human history (Steve Crain, The Pilot, Pinehurst, N.C.)
  
  
• Oklahoma abides by out-of-state adoptions by gays | Oklahoma's attorney general recently decided that when a child is born in that state and adopted in another state by a same-sex couple, Oklahoma must recognize the adoption and issue a birth certificate listing both homosexual partners as parents (The Washington Times)
  
  

Israel:

• Israel accused of confiscating church land | In a letter to President Bush, leaders of the Holy Land Christian Society accused Israel Tuesday of confiscating land from religious groups to make room for a barrier Israel is building into the West Bank (Associated Press)
  
  
• What the good book says: anti-Semitism, loosely defined | Merriam-Webster found itself on the defensive recently over a 40-year-old definition of "anti-Semitism" in its Third New International Dictionary (The New York Times)
  
  
• David Samuels interview | The inscription on the side of the James ossuary was widely translated as "James son of Joseph brother of Jesus." Now the ossuary is being called a fake. David Samuels' article "Written in Stone" is in the April 12, 2004 issue of the New Yorker magazine (The Leonard Lopate Show, WNYC)
  
  
• In Israel, a new highway leads to an ancient Christian past | A Christian community from the Byzantine era, dating from either the fifth or sixth century, presented itself just to the west of bustling Highway 2, and right in the middle of the planned interchange on the southern edge of Netanya (The New York Times)
  
  

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