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 First lady Michelle Obama visits Northpoint Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, on Wednesday.
February 9th, 2011
07:23 PM ET
First lady visits Atlanta church, encourages healthy livingBy John Murgatroyd, CNN The faith community surrounding Atlanta played host to first lady Michelle Obama for a speech marking the first anniversary of her Let’s Move initiative. Let’s Move is a program to get children to live more active lifestyles and eat healthier. Co-hosts were Northpoint Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, and Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, Georgia. She spoke in Alpharetta. “No matter your religious persuasion or political persuasion, we all believe as our children go, so does the nation and as our children’s health goes, so does the nation,” said Andy Stanley, Northpoint’s senior pastor.  The Vatican says the app is not meant to replace Confession.
February 9th, 2011
04:38 PM ET
Vatican issues warning for new Confession appBy Hada Messia and Dan Gilgoff, CNN Rome, Italy (CNN) - Yes, the Roman Catholic Church still supports the new app designed to help Catholics make confession. To a point. The Vatican qualified its support for "Confession: A Roman Catholic App,” on Wednesday, a day after the program’s developer announced it was the first app to have official church sanction. “It is essential to understand well the sacrament of penitence requires the personal dialogue between the penitent and the confessor and the absolution by the confessor,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told reporters on Wednesday. “This cannot in any way be substituted by a technology application.” “One cannot talk in any way about a ‘confession via iPhone,’ ” Lombardi said. 
February 9th, 2011
10:31 AM ET
My Take: The Bible’s surprisingly mixed messages on sexuality
By Jennifer Wright Knust, Special to CNN We often hears that Christians have no choice but to regard homosexuality as a sin - that Scripture simply demands it. As a Bible scholar and pastor myself, I say that Scripture does no such thing. "I love gay people, but the Bible forces me to condemn them" is a poor excuse that attempts to avoid accountability by wrapping a very particular and narrow interpretation of a few biblical passages in a cloak of divinely inspired respectability. Truth is, Scripture can be interpreted in any number of ways. And biblical writers held a much more complicated view of human sexuality than contemporary debates have acknowledged. In Genesis, for example, it would seem that God’s original intention for humanity was androgyny, not sexual differentiation and heterosexuality.
February 9th, 2011
10:26 AM ET
Muslim group awaits decision on Willowbrook, Illinois mosque
The Muslim Educational Cultural Center of America, or MECCA, wants to build the new prayer center, school and recreation center in a residential neighborhood. Members currently hold their prayer services in cramped quarters near a K-Mart store on Plainfield Road. Read the full story on WGNTV.com
February 9th, 2011
10:15 AM ET
Man aided by church helps save sanctuary from flames
Only an outbuilding on the property of Miracle Baptist Church on Murfreesboro Road in LaVergne, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville, was scorched by flames, thanks, in part, to a man who was down-on-his-luck and reached out to the church for help just days earlier. Ronald Kehl placed the critical call to the 911 just before 5 a.m. after he woke up, looked out his window and saw smoke turn to flames. Read the full story on WKRN.com
February 9th, 2011
07:55 AM ET
Brandon Heath finds trust at the top of the hillYou'd think that Christian music singer Brandon Heath hardly ever has a bad day at work. Especially with the No. 1 song (Your Love) and No. 2 album (Leaving Eden) in Christian music. Especially when you consider in the past three years he's been named newcomer of the year and twice been selected male artist of the year. But that's not necessarily true. Making "Leaving Eden," his third album with Reunion Records, tested Heath. He didn't always see eye-to-eye with executives at the label and with noted producer Dan Muckala during the early production days. Not that's a bad thing. |
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Editor's Note: Jennifer Wright Knust is author of 
The DuPage County Board has put off today's scheduled vote on a controversial proposal to build a new mosque near Willowbrook, Illinois. The issue has been sent back to a Development Committee, which will take it up next Tuesday.
A portion of a Rutherford County, Tennessee church was destroyed by fire early Tuesday morning but it could have been much worse.
