Getting the Godcast

From: The Sun
www.sbsun.com

Some Sundays, Steffani Warns is tempted to sleep in and skip church.

With the sermon of her choice only a click away, Warns could opt out of going to church, and instead sit on her couch in her pajamas and listen to biblical teaching on her laptop.

Piggybacking on the popularity of MP3 players and the convenience of TiVo, more people are listening to downloadable talk shows on their computers and portable music players. An increasingly popular genre is that of so-called Godcasts.

This begs the question: Will podcasts eventually make church services obsolete?

"There is a big difference between listening to something on TV and the radio and being there, where you can actually be involved in the worship and fellowship with other believers," said Warns, 25, of Rancho Cucamonga.

Most Sundays, she attends Community Baptist Church in her hometown. Godcasts are a way for her to unwind from work on weekday evenings.

That is something Godcast providers like to hear.

"We are very careful when we talk about podcasting to mention this does not replace church attendance or being part of a community," said Paul Eaton, administrative pastor for media at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, which uploads daily digests to its Web site from Pastor Greg Laurie. "This is merely supplemental."

Podcasting is widely referred to as "TiVo for radio" because it allows consumers to save a program and listen to it later. Don't like the music at the gym? Take your iPod and lift weights while you listen to the words of God.

Though iPods are the namesake, podcasts can be listened to on any MP3 player and on a computer. Programs are usually free. Whenever a new episode is uploaded, software such as iTunes automatically downloads it to the computer hard drive.

Steve Webb, webmaster for Lifespring Assembly of God in Riverside, and Laurie are two of the most widely listened to Christian Godcasters.

About 2,300 people a day have downloaded Laurie's daily radio program and a two-minute message, "Time for Harvest," since the church added the talks to its Web site in July. The Internet has given Laurie, founder of the Harvest Crusade, an even larger audience.

For Webb, the Internet enables him to spread Christianity to listeners in England, Iran and China without having to be a missionary. He does it from the safety of his home.

"In a lot of ways, God is using me to speak to the world," Webb said. "It is a very humbling thing."

While the most prominent Godcasts are Christian-based, the religion directory on ipodder.org links to podcasts by Mormons, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and pagans.

On Fridays, Eiman Abdelmoneim delivers sermons at his mosque in suburban Chicago. He records the sermons and later uploads them onto the Internet. At the hedge fund he works for, Abdelmoneim has heard his colleagues listening to his podcasts.

"I don't think they would ever have the opportunity to sit inside a mosque," he said. "It definitely opens their eyes."

The programs evolved in 2004 as podcasts gained popularity. The term was coined by Carlsbad resident Craig Patchett, founder of The GodCast Network, which runs godcast.org. In podcasts, Patchett discovered a cheap and easy way for religious people to share their faiths with the world.

Godcasts are not yet being produced in San Bernardino County. But it seems only a matter of time.

There is a long history of religious people using technology to disseminate their messages from Italian frescoes to the Gutenberg printing press to television.

Podcasting, like other media, is "a little bit like the Wild West," said Craig Detweiler, chairman of the communications department at Biola University, a Christian college in La Mirada.

The listener, Detweiler said, doesn't know if a program is being produced by a minister or a cult leader.

"It's very hard for the average consumer to sort out what is authoritative, what is important and what is absurd," he said.

Patchett agreed that podcasts are "buyer beware" just like picking a church, a Thanksgiving turkey or a minivan.

To that end, Patchett said, listeners should compare what they hear with what their holy book says.

"The risks are greatly outweighed by the benefits," said Rob Acker, pastor of Community Baptist Church, which is converting his sermons into MP3s for the Web.

Set Free liberating for 'outlaw' believers

From: The Sun

About 25 men, most with leather vests, shaved heads and prominently displayed tattoos, gathered on the sidewalk to wash each others' feet.

They held Bibles and smoked cigarettes while singing praises to Jesus Christ.

"I see nothing here but the same disciples you see in the Bible,' said Bryan "Spike' McGeo, who roared up on his fully loaded, $50,000 Harley-Davidson.

Maybe he's right. Jesus' closest followers were a far cry from today's model Christians. And Jesus did wash the apostles' feet to set an example of humility.

But most of the people who meet on Mondays in front of Rialto's Heroes and Madmen tattoo shop on Riverside Avenue would turn heads walking into church.

"We're reaching out to the outlaw bikers, the people on the streets, the punks those who nobody else wants to deal with,' said Johnny Neuneker, an unpaid associate pastor for Set Free Rialto and owner of the tattoo shop.

Neuneker joined Set Free last year after starting a Bible study in his parlor's lobby. He uses his shop to sow the seed of the Gospel on seemingly rocky soil.

Neuneker and others involved with Set Free seem like the kinds of guys and gals you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. But it's difficult to hold a conversation with them without being asked, "Are you saved?'

They are bent on sharing Christianity with people like Mario Chavez.

When the 36-year-old Colton resident met Neuneker six months ago in a dark alley behind a San Bernardino bar, he wasn't a resident anywhere.

Chavez was homeless, gangbanging and using drugs. Neuneker handed him a pocket Bible and told him he would become a Christian within three months.

He did.

"They keep it real,' Chavez said. "All they try to do is show you the way, the truth and the life.'

A test of faith

From: The Sun in San Bernardino
www.sbsun.com

Bruce Nelson's day begins with a cocktail of prescription drugs, the Bible and his wife asking God to take from him the pain sown on a mission trip to India.

"Lord, I pray you will bring Bruce peace today,' pleads Cassie, sitting on the edge of their bed. "I pray you will heal his ailing body.'

Once finished, Bruce reaches for an empty urine jug on the nightstand. It's easier than getting to the toilet.

"And I don't stand. I sit when I pee – like a woman.'

This Wednesday is like most days since the San Bernardino resident contracted dengue fever on a church-sponsored trip two years ago.

His body's unusual reaction to the virus has cost him the use of his legs and his job as an assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel Rialto.

The church later offered him a position washing walls and scrubbing stalls. Because he uses a motorized wheelchair for mobility – and feeling humiliated – he declined the janitor job.

For the 54-year-old, every day is physically painful and emotionally exhausting.

"My physical and mental condition is nothing what it was like before I went on that mission. I was an athlete. I was a chaplain at the Rialto Fire Department. I did a lot of charity.

"Now I'm a cripple.'

His former boss, Senior Pastor Terry Hlebo, said Calvary could not afford to pay him for a job he couldn't do.

He accused Bruce of "trying to split the church.'

The dispute depicts one difficulty of running a place where finite wealth and infinite needs collide.

The church's personnel policy provides five days pay and medical expenses for an on-the-job injury – Bruce received his full salary and health benefits for almost three months. After that, he received the workers' compensation insurance to which his employer had contributed.

"Calvary Chapel did go above and beyond what was required,' said its attorney, Geniene Stillwell.

Still, dozens of families left Calvary because they believed the church's response was un-Christian.

Bruce became depressed.

Angry with God? At times. But not disillusioned.

Amid Bruce's darkness, he has found light – an outpouring of love and support, church members and elders lobbying that his $52,000-per-year position be held and his bills paid until his health returns.

"This is a black eye on the church. And somebody has got to speak to it and correct it. Because as long as they don't, this poor guy is in the same situation,' said Leonard Larson, who resigned as a church elder and left Calvary because of the way Bruce was treated.

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For 11 years, Calvary Chapel Rialto was at the center of Bruce's life. There this prodigal son had found purpose after a decade using drugs and another recovering.

Hlebo hired him in 1992 to lead children's ministries, a role he seemed born for.

"The true test is if you're walking into a Wal-Mart and a kid yells, 'Hey, Pastor Bruce!'' Hlebo told The Sun's sister paper, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, in a 1998 profile of Bruce Nelson. "He loves the kids, and they know it. They feel they can talk to him.'

Bruce ran Sunday School. He planned summer and winter getaways. And, always the adventurer, he organized beach socials, ski retreats and mountain hikes.

On March 17, 2003, Bruce flew into Madras, India. It was a two-week mission trip that would change his life.

He and the team from Calvary took a train into the country, where Bruce said he ministered to children in rural villages. As far as furthering Christendom, he said, it was his "best trip.'

When Bruce returned to San Bernardino on April 2, he assumed his exhaustion was jet lag.

Three weeks later, he was hospitalized. He didn't work during the following five weeks.

On May 30, Bruce received an e-mail from Hlebo titled "Coming back to work.' It was four sentences long and appeared to have been written quickly:

"Bruce as of Today May 30 we will no longer be paying your salary. You need to contact disability or workman comp to find out what steps you need to take collect. We have been covering for two months. So if you have any questions give me a call.'

Bruce was shocked. He had no warning.

Hlebo's decision was fought by Larson, then treasurer of the church's board of directors.

"It's way beyond the law, it's how a Christian should behave, setting an example for others. How can you have a ministry if you don't set an example for others?' Larson said. "Compassion is the heart of the Gospel.'

Hlebo agreed to keep Bruce on the payroll until he began receiving checks from workers' compensation in early July, according to a letter Hlebo sent Bruce.

At that point, Larson left the church.

The relationship between Bruce and Calvary was already souring. It completely spoiled when Hlebo suspected Bruce was going to sue.

After the church stopped Bruce's salary, he asked that they keep his lights on and his water running.

The church denied his request because of Bruce's "apparent preparation of a civil suit,' according to a July 24, 2003, letter from Assistant Pastor Fred Ruiz, written on behalf of Hlebo.

The Bible states in 1 Corinthians Chapter 6 that Christians should not take their disputes to "court before the unrighteous.'

But Bruce has not sued and said he does not intend to.

Hlebo, however, said he believes Bruce is responding to his sickness with sin.

"He is bitter. He is angry. And he doesn't want God in his life,' Hlebo said in a brief phone conversation.

Hlebo declined requests for an extended interview.

The church's attorney, Stillwell, claimed Bruce was hostile and made unreasonable demands – and said Calvary had provided him with more than the law requires.

In November 2003, the Nelsons contacted Don McClure, then director of Calvary Chapel Outreach Fellowship, which oversees pastoral issues for the 1,100 Calvary Chapels worldwide, including about 200 in Southern California. The office has little authority, though, because Calvary Chapel is a nondenominational network of churches, and each has its own articles of incorporation and bylaws.

"They seemed pretty angry and bitter, but at the same time, it seemed like the church was doing everything it could to help,' said McClure, now senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Laguna Beach.

He said Hlebo has a "great' reputation.

"Of all the people to accuse of not being compassionate, he's the least likely one,' McClure said.

Five months later, in April 2004, a workers' compensation doctor cleared Bruce to return to work. Restrictions included "preclusion from heavy work,' according to a letter from GuideOne Insurance.

Bruce's doctor, Michael Ing at Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Medical Center in Loma Linda, insisted his patient was incapable of working then and remains unable to today. But after receiving $27,864 from workers' comp – about half Bruce's salary – the checks stopped May 19, 2004.

Under California labor law, Calvary was required to offer Bruce a job within 15percent of his previous pay.

Hlebo, however, said he had decided Bruce was no longer spiritually fit to be a pastor. To avoid having to pay him severance, Hlebo said, the church offered Bruce a job as a janitor.

Bruce filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It was dismissed last May because of a lack of jurisdiction. Mediation was held this spring at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. The outcome is confidential.

For the mediation, Carey F. Baird wrote in a letter of reference that Bruce "was one of the most diligent, reliable and hard working employees on staff' and "has exemplified the description given by Christ of a servant.'

Baird, a church janitor for 10 years, believed Bruce's heart would lead him to do whatever the church needed. But custodial work, he wrote, was something Bruce couldn't do.

"It is not a position that could be carried out to the satisfaction of the pastor by a man that is dependent upon a walker, much less a wheelchair,' Baird wrote. "The job requires physical agility and stamina, it involves bending, kneeling and even crawling.'

During the past two years, Bruce said, he has followed a biblical model in appealing his termination, going from Hlebo to members of the church board, to McClure, to the government. Unhappy with the results, he spoke this month with The Sun.

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The way the Nelsons see it, a single mosquito – something most Westerners considered little more than a nuisance until the emergence of West Nile virus – has turned their lives upside down.

The family income has been more than halved.

Medical bills continue to fill the mailbox.

Rebekah and Katie, Bruce's 21- and 22-year-old daughters, moved into a room together and share a full-sized bed so Bruce can have a home office to continue counseling Christians and ministering.

Katie took leave from college to care for her dad.

Bruce sold two of his cars and his custom Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

He and Cassie, 52, have discussed selling the house they bought in 1983 and buying a cheaper condo.

"It's tough when you had a dad who would do everything and, all of a sudden, it's four girls who don't know what to do,' says Katie, whose 26-year-old sister, Jenny, lives six blocks away.

If a friend hadn't built ramps at the kitchen door and the side door of the master bedroom, Bruce would be trapped in his home.

His doctors are baffled by why a previously healthy man who loved to walk local mountains and surf the Pacific hasn't bounced back from an illness most recover from within weeks.

"We don't know completely what is going on. We know that he went to India and came back very sick,' said Ing, chief of infectious diseases at the veterans hospital.

Bruce is not paralyzed. He can stand, but the pain is excruciating and his muscles are weak.

"When I stand up,' Bruce said, "it feels like someone is drilling a hole into my kneecap.'

He takes a pain killer, a nerve blocker and an anti-depressant four times a day. Ambien keeps him from waking up screaming in pain.

Dengue fever is rare in the United States. It is endemic in tropical regions such as Puerto Rico, southern Africa and India. Common symptoms include high fever, headache, joint pains, vomiting and rashes. Less than 1percent of infected people die from dengue fever, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ing said other viruses may have taken a toll on Bruce's body. In March 2004, the CDC's vector-borne infectious diseases lab found tick-borne encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis and West Nile virus in Bruce's blood. The lab could not conclude when he was infected.

Bruce continues to have eight to 10 doctor appointments each month.

"We've tried everything and every medication. We've done everything we know medically to try to turn him around, and we've just not been able to improve his situation,' Ing said.

"As far as trying to come up with a magic bullet to solve his problems, we kind of struck out and it's not from lack of trying.'

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Water of Life Community Church in Fontana has a smaller crowd on Saturday nights than Sunday mornings. Still, Bruce and Cassie arrived early to secure an end seat.

Bruce sits while others stand and sing.

"You are God and you can take my pain away,' the worship leader sings softly.

Bruce nods. Cassie rubs his back and nestles her head against his shoulder.

The sermon is part of a series titled "How You Can Know God's Will for Your Life.' The focus tonight is prayer.

Bruce prays "all the time.' For his family. For his health. For resolution in his dispute with Calvary.

Pastor Danny Carroll warns his congregation that God does not always immediately answer prayers or remove suffering. God uses these trials to build character, Carroll says.

At the end of the sermon he leads the congregation in prayer and asks for a show of hands from those with special requests.

Cassie raises her right hand.

"It's been 2 years,' she says after the service. "And after a while, you don't stop praying but you don't have the faith you had for healing in the beginning.'

Bruce is intercepted by old friends as he rolls his wheelchair toward the exit.

"We've always loved Bruce, before his illness and after his illness,' says Rick Savage, whose three daughters were part of Bruce's ministry.

The Savages left Calvary earlier this year, in part because of what happened to Bruce.

Carroll is perplexed by Calvary's treatment of a stricken missionary. He has written letters on Bruce's behalf to Calvary Chapel Rialto and the flagship, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. He counsels Bruce and prays with him, especially when money is lacking.

"Imagine if it were you and me, how you'd feel if your family was going hungry and you couldn't work?' Carroll says, standing in his church parking lot.

Bruce spends most days reading, sleeping, baby-sitting, writing his autobiography and battling depression.

At times, he has felt distant from God and asked the question most do when they suffer: Why?

But, he says, his faith has remained firmly rooted. He leads a weekly Bible study for six couples in his home and occasionally officiates at weddings and funerals. He's been encouraged by the support so many have given his family.

Friends and relatives deliver dinners, help maintain the house, even pay some bills. In June, his father's uncle gave them $2,000, which almost covered two months' mortgage payments.

"That kind of stuff really increases my faith,' Bruce says, sitting in his living room.

Moments later, Jenny drops off her 9- and 6-year-old daughters, a clear source of joy in his life.

Bruce reads his granddaughters a story from a picture Bible.

"So the lesson of that story is God can turn bad things around for the good,' Bruce says. "You just have to trust him.'

UCC deems gay marriages equal before God

From: The Sun

ATLANTA - The United Church of Christ on Monday overwhelmingly declared gay marriages equal to those between a man and a woman.

The statement of the church's voting body was the boldest and broadest a Christian denomination has given in support of allowing gays to marry. It may spur other mainline Prot denominations to advance their acceptance of homosexuality, theologians have said.

Leaders of the liberal denomination hope it catches the attention of Washington, where some politicians, including President Bush promoted a constitutional amendment that would prevent states from legalizing gay marriage.

"On this July Fourth, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ has acted courageously to declare freedom, affirming marriage equality, affirming the civil rights of same-gender couples to have their relationships recognized by the state and encouraging our local churches to celebrate and bless those marriages,' said the Rev. John H. Thomas, the 1.3 million-member church's president and general minister, at a news conference after the high-noon vote.

The marriage-equality resolution passed with the support of what appeared to be 80 percent to 90 percent of the 884 delegates at the church's biennial national gathering.

But it was not without a few voices of strong opposition and harsh criticism.

"This now begins a period of disorder, chaos and confusion in the United Church of Christ,' said David Runnion-Bareford, executive director of Biblical Witness Fellowship, a movement within the church that strongly opposes gay marriage as unbiblical.

"It's a tragic day for the church,' he said.

Congregations are not required to agree with the Synod's decision or change their policies based on it. But it is widely expected of the United Church of Christ's 6,000 congregations will break away.

"There will be a cost as well as a joy,' the Rev. Stephen Gray, who leads the Indiana-Kentucky Conference, said during the discussion that precipitated the vote. "The cost will be members and churches and income.'

It is unknown how many congregations will leave. The church's headquarters in Cleveland had not studied the matter.

No congregations left the Southern California-Nevada Conference after it adopted a similar resolution in June 2004, said the Rev. Jane Heckels, conference minister.

The conference, which includes 17 congregations from San Bernardino and eastern Los Angeles counties, sponsored the resolution "In Support of Equal Marriage Rights for All.'

The resolution asks congregations to adopt wedding policies that don't discriminate against homosexuals and to support legislation that would legalize gay marriage, not only civil unions.

"I'm hopeful that someday I will be able to be married,' said Heckles, a Claremont resident. "My partner and I have been together for 25 years and we would love to be married.'

The church's statement is expected to resonate with other mainline Protestant denominations struggling with whether gays should be allowed to marry or serve as priests.

"I learned a long time ago not to try to predict mainline churches, but it might well be a signal to other churches that they ne at this,' said Philip A. Amerson, president of Claremont School of Theology, a United Methodist seminary.

Next month, the Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will vote on a recommendation to allow into the priesthood those "in lifelong, committed and faithful same-sex relationships.'

The Lutheran Church's requirement that gay ministers be celibate caused the Central City Lutheran Mission in San Bernardino to be pulled from the roster of churches after the mission installed a lesbian pastor. The Rev. Jenny Mason resigned in April after one year on the job.

Homosexuality has created a growing divide between the U.S. Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, which is upset with its American church for installing an openly gay man as bishop of New Hampshire.

And every summer since 1978 excusing this year because of a schedule change the Presbyterian Church USA has discussed its policy that "self-affirming, practicing homosexuals are not eligible for election as church officers.'

United Church of Christ leadership argues the Bible says little about marriage and does not forbid homosexuality. However, those who interpret the Scriptures literally believe it is plain as day that God limits marriage to one man and one woman.

They point to Genesis 2:24. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh,' it states. The passage is quoted three times in the New Testament.

"We follow the intent of the Scriptures: What has it said for the last 2,000 years not what has it said for the last 20 years,' said Koloman Ludwig, a member of the Calvin Synod, an orthodox sect within the church.

Ludwig's comment took a dig at the church's yearlong campaign, "God is still speaking.' Its message has been that God speaks in new ways every day, underlying the church's belief that doctrine and the intent of the Bible are affected by culture and context.

Over time, the church's understanding of how gays and lesbians should be treated has changed, said Thomas, United Church of Christ's president and general minister.

Monday was another marker in the United Church of Christ's long history of crusading for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

In 1972, it was the first Christian denomination to ordain an openly gay man. Thirteen years later the church declared it is "open and affirming' of gays and lesbians. And long before there were discussions about amending the U.S. Constitution to prevent states from allowing gays to marry as they can in Massachusetts many United Church of Christ pastors performed ceremonies for gay couples who wanted to enter into a covenant relationship.

Today, openly gay ministers lead more than 200 congregations.

One of those pastors is the Rev. Lisa Stedman of Danvers, Mass. In 1987, she and her partner dedicated their relationship in a ceremony before friends and family. Last year, after Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriages, they were married officially.

Holding a marriage license has dramatically improved their relationship, Stedman said.

"Separate but equal has never worked, and equal but different can never be truly equal,' she said. What is the United Church of Christ?

The 1.3-million-member denomination formed in 1957 with the merger of the Christian Congregational Churches and the Evangelical and Reformed Church.

It is a "covenant' church that allows each of its 6,000 congregations to govern independently. The national body General Synod "speaks to the church, not for it,' says the Rev. Robert Chase, executive director of the Office of Communications.

Because of the synod's direction, the United Church of Christ has a reputation for being among the most liberal Christian churches, though leaders prefer the term "progressive.'

The Biblical Witness Fellowship formed in 1978 as an alternative to the church's liberal leanings. The movement claims the Unite Church of Christ's declining membership is a result of "radical social positions.'

During the past 48 years, the church has rallied behind social and racial causes, working in the South during the Civil Rights Movement. It has since shifted its attention to equal rights for homosexuals.

The national body declared in 1985 the United Church of Christ "open and affirming' to people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. It called on local churches to do the same. About 600 churches, including those in Claremont, Redlands and San Bernardino, have followed.

Mosque fire threatens legacy of High Desert Muslim leader

From: The Sun

ADELANTO - It's a wonder Shaikh Zaid Assfy chose this undeveloped High Desert plot for the sole Muslim cemetery in Southern California.

But, two decades ago, he did. On 35 acres, 3.8 miles north of where the town's main road turns to dirt, Assfy built the High Desert's first mosque and a sacred burial ground. Around it, an Islamic community grew to hundreds of families.

After the shaikh died in 2000, though, a mosque opened in Victorville. Without Assfy, many Muslims relocated their religious activities.

"That man was the cornerstone,' said John Bridges, 33, a Muslim convert and Assfy's last student.

A June 3 fire at the mosque, which mourners used for prayer and meditation, further threatens to diffuse the Muslim community here.

"The Muslims may start feeling safer to bury their dead in a multi-faith cemetery rather than an all-Islamic cemetery until things quiet down,' said Dany Doueiri, an Arabic studies professor at Cal State San Bernardino who plans to be buried there.

Authorities continue to investigate what caused the first fire at a Southern California mosque. But they lack evidence and they don't expect to find much.

"It is unlikely if we haven't found it by now,' said Chip Patterson, spokesman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

The FBI, sheriff's and fire officials have found no evidence to indicate a hate crime.

"Really, no one with certainty can say it is or is not, unless someone comes forward and says, 'I did it because I don't like Muslims,'' said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Southern California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"Unfortunately, it doesn't matter what it is anymore,' he continued. "What matters is what it is perceived to be by the victims.'

The cemetery's caretakers, Ali and Michelle Khawaja, said they don't want to "jump to conclusions.'

"People ask you, 'Oh, do you think it was hatred?' It's hard to think that when you feel so much love and support,' said Bridges, a gravedigger who said some residents visited this week to offer their condolences.

Before the blaze became international news, it flew under the radar of many Adelanto denizens.

"People here never even knew it was there. I've been here since '60 and the first time I heard of it was on TV,' Chuck Cawthorne, 67, said as he enjoyed an afternoon beer at the Amvets Restaurant on Adelanto Road.

The cemetery is at the northernmost end of Adelanto. Three miles to the south is Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville. Silver Lakes is five or more miles north, Highway 395 a ways west.

The only thing nearby to the east is an impromptu junkyard stacked with cars and single-wide trailers going nowhere fast; a worn yacht is sunk in the sand.

Assfy found and bought the land in the mid-1980s. On it Muslim families erected tents and set up camp.

They were separated from their neighbors by miles of rocks, sand and Joshua trees.

"We were all learning how to live in the desert,' said Barbara Howard, 68, whose small home three miles north of the cemetery is powered by solar panels, gas and propane.

Even after the Muslim campers left, the shaikh lived in the mosque. Since Assfy died, Ali Khawaja, the current caretaker, stayed occasionally. In recent years, the cemetery and mosque were repeatedly vandalized.

Authorities said the blaze may have been caused accidentally by a transient or transients. The fire was reported at 4:24 a.m. June 3. No traces of accelerants were found, Patterson said.

Insurance will cover the damage to the mosque, about $225,000, said Michelle Khawaja. A night-time security guard likely will be hired, she said.

About 500 people are buried at the cemetery. Another 2,000 plots are reserved, many by people who live hundreds of miles away.

The cemetery follows Islamic tradition. The dead are tipped on their side, facing east, toward Mecca. Bodies are cleaned but not embalmed. Shrouded in white, they are laid in the ground without a coffin.

Several cemeteries in Southern California have sections reserved for Muslims, but burial at those sites are forbidden by the state without a coffin, said Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council, which overseas Southern California mosques.

"The only reason this particular one is allowed, at least right now, is because it is out in the boonies ... and it does not affect running water,' he said.

Assfy's grave stands alone. While most are 500 feet from the mosque, Assfy, the shepherd even in death, lies near the former sanctuary, the blackened rubble filled with burned pages of the Quran.

"Whoever may have done this, God help them,' Syed said.

Home school: a largely Christian endeavor

As long as home room is their living room, the Keatings know their children will be safe from school violence and receive an education consistent with their Christian beliefs.

The Hesperia family could have sent their 10 children to a private school, but it would have cost several thousand dollars per child per year.

Besides, Joellen Keating often wondered how a teacher could care more than her about her children's education.

"There was so much more I wanted to teach my children than they would learn at school, the Lord, and family ... so many things that wouldn't be under reading, writing and arithmetic that were such an important part of life,' Joellen said.

Between 80,000 and 100,000 children are schooled at home in California. The National Home Education Research Institute estimates that between 1.7 million and 2.1 million children are schooled at home nationwide.

And those numbers are increasing by 7 percent to 15 percent annually, advocates say.

This comes as several school districts across the nation wrestle with teaching an alternative to evolution and parents' worries about violence on campus grow.

Little research has been done by the federal and state governments on the benefits and consequences of schooling at home. California does not regulate home-school curriculum.

About 75 percent of parents who choose to school their children at home are evangelical Christians, advocates say. They want to be able to teach their children the origin of life, human sexuality and history from a Christian perspective.

Both religious and nonreligious parents can teach what they believe without complaints from other parents.

"In order to raise our children in our faith and our values, it is best to have them home with us, rather than having the public school system undo our teaching,' said Susan Beatty, co-founder of Christian Home Educators Association of California.

"The whole foundation of the content of public education is not only godless, but in a lot of cases anti-God,' Beatty said.

Avoiding evolution

This year, school boards in Kansas and Pennsylvania have been challenged for requiring that an alternative to evolution be taught in public schools. These officials want intelligent design the theory that the universe is so complex that there must be a creator to be taught alongside or in place of Darwinism.

School districts in other states also have forced the questioning of evolution.

Critics nationwide claim intelligent design is a smoke-and-mirrors attempt to introduce the Creation story into classrooms. But the scientific groups that have led the intelligent design campaign argue the theory is not linked to a religion or God. It is based on science, they say.

California schools have not launched curriculum that challenges evolution.

Few parents school their children at home solely to avoid the topic of evolution, parents and advocates say. But for Christians, it is one of several aversions to public education.

Joellen Keating teaches her children evolution with a twist. After they learn what it is, they learn why they shouldn't believe it.

"We avoided it some, but then we actually found books that showed why some of Darwin's things ... are not even true.'

Equipped to educate?

The California Department of Education does not know how many children are schooled at home. (Technically, "home schooling' is illegal in California. The state classifies legal home education situations as: private tutoring, private schooling and independent study.)

"Because it is not public, we are not able to evaluate it,' said Hilary McLean, spokesman for State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell.

"Jack is a great believer in public education, but it is a parent's choice about how they would best provide education for their children,' McLean said.

Some public educators, however, caution that schooling at home does not work in every situation.

Children need to be taught more than just math and reading, said Mikki Cichocki, a member of the board of directors for the California Teachers Association, representing San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

She added that few parents are equipped to teach every subject their children need to learn.

"Even for credentialed teachers in public schools, kindergarten teachers are not able to teach chemistry,' said Cichocki, a teacher on assignment with Youth Services in the San Bernardino City Unified School District.

System of socialization

The best school-at-home programs are those where numerous families are linked together.

The Keatings are one of 50 High Desert families, known to the state as Berean Christian School, who attend field trips together and maintain student transcripts. It is an independent study program.

The biggest challenge to a well-rounded education, Cichocki said, is socialization.

"You have to learn how to deal with people that are different than you, people you don't like. Sometimes that is difficult to do in a sheltered situation, which is what some home school situations are.'

Despite growing up in a rural part of Hesperia that is now booming with new $700,000 homes, Jacob Keating was rarely short a social setting. With two older brothers, friends from church and others from city sports leagues, "almost every day we would have kids our age to play with,' he said.

Jacob, 18, completed his sophomore year at University of La Verne last month. The transition was easy, he said.

"The hardest thing was having scheduled classes.'

Since schooling at home took root in the early 1980s, its popularity and its acceptance has grown.

Most colleges and universities now have a system for admitting these students, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association, which formed in 1983 and led the campaign that legalized home education in all 50 states.

In 2000, Michael Farris, the same person who founded the legal defense association, opened Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Va., 50 miles northwest of Washington. More than 80 percent of its students were schooled at home at some point.

The college has already proven to be a fertile ground for young politicians. It's first class graduated 60 students in April 2004. According to school records, six are employed in congressional offices, and two work in the White House. Eight work for other federal agencies, including domestic and foreign intelligence, two are in state government, two in county government, and eight have nonprofit public policy positions.

"That is pretty successful,' said Michael Kiser, the college's director of communications.

Kiser schools his 8-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son at home. His son recently completed algebra, a subject typically taught to high school freshman.

"Academically it's better, spiritually it is certainly better, morally it's better,' Kiser said of schooling at home. "It's all those things together that makes it a no-brainer for us."

Funny thing happened on the way to church

From: The Sun

Comedian Mark Fitter's greeting is also his opening joke.

"Hi, my name's Mark, and I am a pastor of a church.'

Audience members and bar patrons laugh and clap. Someone shouts, "Amen!' Another, "Hallelujah!'

Performing on the same bill as comics whose repertoire revolves around lewd innuendos and blatant bawdiness, the Victorville resident cracks clean jokes.

"You know, the tough thing about being a pastor is most people only see you work on Sundays,' Fitter said as he performed at Tuesday at Omaha Jack's Grillhouse and Brewery in Rancho Cucamonga.

"And most give you a hard time about it. 'Hey Mark, it must be great having a job where you only have to work one day a week.' That really ticks me off because I don't work one day a week I only work an hour per week.'

Fitter, pastor of Desert Winds Community Church in Adelanto, is part of a growing alternative to blue humor.

Christian comedy has exploded during the past decade, said Dan Rupple, president of the Southern California-based Christian Comedy Association. Since the group began with 35 comedians in 2002, its nationwide membership has swelled to 350.

But as a full-time pastor who recently took his act outside the church walls, Fitter is an anomaly, Rupple said. Most Christian comedians stay away from bars and clubs unless its Christian comedy night and those who work at churches only do so part time.

Fitter's moonlighting may seem unusual, but the 43-year-old doesn't think so.

"Everybody wants to laugh. Everybody has problems,' Fitter said in an interview.

Also, he said, being a comedian helps supplement his pastor's salary.

In fact, at a monthly meeting of American Baptist pastors in San Bernardino and Riverside and counties, Fitter teaches others how to fling zingers during their sermons.

"He's very funny,' said Dane Aaker, senior pastor of Colton First Baptist. "He catches you off guard and makes you laugh when you are not expecting it.'

Randy Barnes, who attends Fitter's church, said the pastor "makes sure we are still awake by throwing in a joke.'

But the sermons don't turn into stand-up acts, Barnes said.

Fitter has performed comedy at churches in the Inland Empire and High Desert for a few years. Three months ago, he branched into the unknown world of nightclubs, bars and comedy clubs.

Christians and non-Christians alike can relate to his "observations' of being married, living in suburbia and raising kids. And his jokes about religion don't demand the audience share his beliefs.

"When you turn 40, you start to see God's sense of humor because God starts repositioning your hair,' says Fitter, who still has most of his salt-and-pepper mane. "It's like Chia Pet meets Mr. Potato Head.'

As could be expected, not all of Fitter's jokes were a hit at Omaha Jack's.

On this night, though, Fitter entertains as well as any of the other amateur comics.

"If it's funny, it's funny,' said Rosemary Gore, a Rancho Cucamonga comedian whose jokes probably shouldn't be delivered from the pulpit.

Gay SB pastor to leave Lutheran mission

SAN BERNARDINO - The Rev. Jenny Mason ends her one-year stint as an openly gay associate pastor at Central City Lutheran Mission today.

It was her hiring 365 days ago that caused the mission to be removed from the official roster of Lutheran churches. Its pastor, the Rev. David Kalke, also was pulled.

Mason said she is departing for personal reasons. Her partner lives in St. Paul, Minn., and the distance has been draining.

Her resignation comes at a time when the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is torn over the issue of ordaining gay men and women.

Church rules say only celibate homosexuals may be part of the priesthood. But the Church Council on Monday recommended that non-celibate gay ministers be allowed in ministry as long as they are "in life-long, committed and faithful same-sex relationships.'

"It's amazing that this tiny place called San Bernardino, and the even smaller mission, has become the focus for what has become a national debate, which is: What are the rights of gay and lesbian ministers?' Kalke said.

Kalke said the mission still supports the ordination of gays. But he is in talks with the Orange County-based Pacifica Synod which has authority over churches from the San Gabriel Valley to San Diego and in Hawaii and would like Central City to again be listed as a Lutheran congregation.

In late March, the synod reinstated the mission as a site to train seminarians for urban ministry.

Bishop Murray D. Finck of the Pacifica Synod did not return repeated calls for comment.

Central City Lutheran Mission, at 1354 N. G St., provides shelter, food and clothing to the poor and people who are HIV-positive or living with AIDS. The mission is owned by its board of directors, not the synod.

Mason was popular with the men and women who stayed there. Some knew she was gay.

"We've got to start learning to live with each other,' said Gary Ryan, a 55-year-old homeless man from Tillamook, Ore. "I don't care if you are gray, pink, purple or black. She does her job well.'

Mason doesn't like the scrutiny. In 2001, 10 years after she was ordained, her name was pulled from the Lutheran roster while she was working in Chile. Someone outed her.

Mason disagrees with the Lutheran Church's requirement that gay ministers remain celibate. She argues the Bible says very little about homosexuality.

She has been in the same relationship for a year. The six-year relationship she had in Chile dissolved when she moved back to the United States.

"There are a lot of fabulous pastors out there who are gay and lesbian, and they are being wiped out,' Mason said.

Homosexuality has become one of the most divisive, and certainly the most public, debates in U.S. Protestant churches.

Each summer at its general assembly, the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. considers its opinion that sexual relationships must only be between a married man and woman.

The United States Episcopal Church was asked this week by the international Anglican Communion not to send a voting representative to its June meeting because of the 2003 consecration of a gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

In December, Irene Elizabeth Stroud was expelled from the clergy by a jury of United Methodist ministers who found that her lesbian relationship violated church policy.

"The mainline churches are really struggling with this. It is a real rift, and it threatens to tear denominations apart,' said Philip A. Amerson, president of Claremont School of Theology, a United Methodist seminary.

The Lutheran Church has been more "graceful,' Amerson said.

In May, the Rev. Dan Hooper was installed as pastor of Hollywood Lutheran Church, where about a quarter of the 100 members are gay. About 82percent of the congregation voted to hire Hooper. The church was not punished.

Hooper attributes this to the more liberal Southwest California Synod, which oversees churches in Los Angeles and along California's Central Coast. A letter of reprimand was sent from the synod's Bishop Dean Nelson.

"The letter was quite amusing,' Hooper said. "It said, 'You shouldn't have done this ... blah, blah, blah.' But it went on to say, 'We fully support you in your outreach to the gay and lesbian community.''

Nelson did not return calls for comment.

Frank Imhoff, a spokesman for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, would not comment on why bishops Finck and Nelson responded to the gay ministers differently.

Standing outside the San Bernardino mission, Todd Davis was dismayed when he learned Mason is leaving.

"She's a good pastor,' the 38-year-old man said. "I believe she will be missed by all of us not just me but all the homies. And I've got guys who will back me up.'

Two guys nodded their heads and muttered affirmations.

Religion imprisoned

From: The Sun

Rarely do Christians and Satanists play on the same team.

But politics make for unlikely alliances.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Monday that challenge governments' ability to limit religious freedoms in prisons and other institutions.

In one corner the state of Ohio, which claims prisoners use religious services to organize violent gangs. The state will argue that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, gives preferential treatment to religious prisoners, violating the First Amendment.

In the other corner a group of inmates supported by unexpected allies: civil libertarians and social conservatives, Jews and neo-Nazis, President Bush and former President Clinton.

"The most important religious liberty case before the Supreme Court this term is Cutter v. Wilkinson,' said Jared Leland, media and legal counsel for the Washington-based Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of 50 civil liberties and religious organizations that include Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and American Indians.

The court's ruling is expected in June.

If the law is struck down, Jews and Muslims could be forced to handle pork, Catholics could be prevented from wearing the crucifix, American Indians could be required to cut their hair and any religion deemed dangerous could be blacklisted, Leland said.

Constitutional scholars do not believe the court will rule against the law because it benefits all religions: The more obscure the belief, the greater the law's need.

"Chances are this will be seen as a constitutionally permissible accommodation for religious liberty and not a cracking in the wall of the separation of church and state,' said Jesse H. Choper, a UC Berkeley law professor who specializes in church-state issues.

It is unclear how the law has improved religious practices at local prisons and jails and if they would be affected by the high court's ruling. Safety first

At San Bernardino County's Central Detention Center, which boards an average of 550 federal inmates daily, sheriff's Capt. Larry Brown said the jail lacks the staff and facilities to offer much more than chaplain prayer and chow-hall chapel services.

"Safety always has to come first. That is usually our problem here,' said Brown, who runs the jail in downtown San Bernardino. "The more you move them around, the more you have problems.'

The jail is bound by the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act's requirements because the U.S. government pays the county to house federal inmates, who make up more than half the jail's population.

At the California Institution for Men in Chino, the law has not improved religious services, said Michael Nichols, a staff chaplain.

The Sun was unable to speak with inmates at the Chino prison because it was on lockdown when a reporter was allowed to visit. Brown declined access to inmates at the Central Detention Center.

In Ohio, several inmates claim the state has infringed on their religious rights. They are of various religions, including Wicca, Satanism and the Christian Identity Church, which advocates violence against nonwhites and Jews.

"Ohio is not opposed to religion in prisons,' said Douglas R. Cole, Ohio's state solicitor and lead attorney in Cutter v. Wilkinson. "But Ohio thinks that religious practice needs to be appropriately balanced with safety needs in prisons. State prisons officials are best able to decide, and they shouldn't have their hands tied by Congress.'

In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the current law's predecessor, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. The high court said the 1993 law overstepped Congress' authority and infringed on states' rights to manage their own prisons.

The 1993 law still applies, however, to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Unlikely allies

After three years of work, Congress drafted the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Sponsored by two senators of very different political beliefs Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, and Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. the law skirted its predecessor's downfall by making it a requirement on states and counties that take federal money for their prisons and jails.

"If you don't want to comply with the federal act, don't accept federal funds,' said Leland. "It's as simple as that.'

The tactic has been used by Congress before. In 1984, it passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which told every state to set its drinking age at 21 or else lose federal transportation dollars.

The Supreme Court upheld this law in a 1987 case, South Dakota v. Dole.

When the court struck down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, only Justice John Paul Stevens said the law unconstitutionally endorsed religion.

The composition of the court has not changed since, which encourages supporters of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

The law has been upheld by four federal courts of appeals, including the 9th Circuit in San Francisco. But the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati sided in 2003 with the state of Ohio.

"If (the law) is overturned, it makes it much easier for all religious practices to be obstructed. It doesn't matter what it is,' said Chaplain Gary Friedman, spokesman for the American Correctional Chaplains Association.

"If you prevent one faith from its religious practices, it can domino and often does.'

In general, the California Department of Corrections allows more religious freedom than other state prison systems, Friedman said.

But the men's prison in Chino "is one of the worst in the state,' said Nichols, the chaplains' representative to the Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees.

The prison is so often on lockdown, most inmates can't speak with chaplains, let alone attend religious services, Nichols said.

"You have to have consistency of the program,' he said, "and we do not have any consistency. So we are doomed to failure.'

The minimum-security portion of the prison, which houses the least violent criminals and allows for more religious exercise than other parts, was on lockdown during a tour by a reporter last week. An inmate had been slashed in the yard shortly after breakfast.

"We try to afford all those that want religious services,' said corrections Sgt. Ari Sams, prison spokesman. "Based on the situation of a particular day, that dictates whether or not an inmate will be able to continue that daily schedule.' Divided chapel

The minimum-security portion has a chapel divided into two rooms. In one there are Islamic prayer mats and Catholic decorations. The other has walls that bear both the Christian cross and the Jewish Star of David.

The prison also has a sweat lodge for American Indian purification ceremonies, which are held weekly for about 35 inmates.

"There are only two things they have left when they come to prison: their identity and their religion,' said Chaplain Al Davis, a Protestant minister on staff.

When the five staff chaplains two Protestants, one Muslim, one Jewish and one American Indian are thrown a religious curveball, such as Wicca witchcraft they seek literature and community members who can better minister to the inmate.

Inmates in the prison's maximum-security central facility are not allowed to go to chapel. Chaplains walk the tiers and talk to them.

But even that practice often is limited, as it was in the weeks leading up to the Jan. 10 killing of corrections Officer Manuel Gonzalez.

Nichols has cited the death as a tragic example of what prisoners are driven to when they can't practice religion. Inmate Jon Christopher Blaylock is the suspected killer. Women's prison

It's a different world at the California Institution for Women near Chino. The prison has about 1,900 inmates. Though it houses everyone from minimum-security inmates to Manson Family members, the women mingle freely in a collegiate-like grassy quad.

"They don't have to utilize the chapel to communicate,' Warden Dawn Davison said during a tour last week. "When they go to religious services, it is because they want to have God in their life.

"For many of them, it has saved them.'

Little research has been done on religion's ability to rehabilitate the 2 million incarcerated American men and women.

"It's very difficult to measure religiousness,' said Harry R. Dammer, chairman of the sociology and criminal justice department at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. "How am I going to measure how religious you are compared to me?'

Anecdotally, though, everyone has heard stories about a person who went to jail for murder and found religion.

"People who commit crimes are broken people, wounded people, people who have pain. Religion gives you comfort,' said Romarilyn Baker, a 40-year-old Catholic who is serving 17 years to life at the women's prison.

"Committing the crime of murder was devastating to me,' she said. "I didn't only break my heart; my soul ached. I had to seek God.'

Baker wears a crucifix on a chain around her neck that she constantly clutches for comfort.

Prison officials, and especially chaplains, say stories like hers show "jailhouse religion' is often a good thing. Creating a religion

Seen as a threat to the exercise of religion are faiths that inmates draft for special treatment. Friedman, the chaplain association spokesman, mentioned an inmate who created a religion that included as sacraments sirloin steak and Baileys Irish Cream.

This is indicative, he said, of the single flaw in the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act: It is too broad in what it defines as a legitimate religion.

But prisons do have the authority to investigate the sincerity of an inmate's faith.

"The concern raised by Ohio about gang activity and sham religious beliefs espoused for other reasons that sometimes exists. But the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act was drafted to address that,' said David Fathi, director of the National Prison Project at the American Civil Liberties Union.

The law's broadness is the reason it likely will survive the constitutional test, supporters said. They hope the Supreme Court agrees.

"Inmates are on the bottom of the totem pole. It is hard for them to get anything,' said Rabbi Menachem Katz, director of prison and military programs at a Surfside, Fla.,-based Jewish organization, The Aleph Institute.

"It is not like (the law) is this magical thing that opens all the doors. But at least it keeps the door cracked.'

Hindu temple? Not in Apple Valley

From: The Sun

Most 15-year-old girls drift into thoughts about cute boys, but Megha Nayyar daydreams about a Hindu temple rising from the High Desert sand.

"For the past 15 years, I was not able to go every Sunday to a church or place to worship because we didn't have one up here,' said Megha, a sophomore at Granite Hills High School in Apple Valley. "There are so many children. You can just see it on their face. They are confused. They need a temple now.'

When Megha's father, a neurologist, told her he would buy a 2.35-acre lot in Apple Valley if she raised $1,500, she did. Then Mammohan Nayyar upped the challenges: Raise another $3,000 and we'll build it. Megha petitioned peers and adults and collected the money in two weeks.

But in January the Apple Valley Planning Commission denied the temple proposed for 13356 Apple Valley Road because of the traffic it would generate.

"They deserve a place to worship,' Commissioner Peter Allan said. "But you also have to take into account people who drive on Apple Valley Road and who live in the neighborhood.'

The commission's denial is not uncommon for Hindu temples, also called mandirs. Last year, Chino Hills didn't fully give the go-ahead to a group that wants to build a massive mandir in a residential neighborhood. The city said "yes' to the proposed temple but "no' to its design.

As Hindus have populated new communities across the country, neighbors have resisted their Eastern culture and ornate architecture, Hindus say.

"There is a racial component to it. We look different,' said Vardhan Nadadur, head of the Hindu Temple Society of California in Calabasas. That temple, too, was opposed before it was built more than two decades ago, he said.

"I don't understand why they have a problem approving temples when you have churches at every street corner. Just as Christian needs a church, Jewish needs a synagogue and Hindus need temples,' Nadadur said.

The perceived paradox challenges religious pluralism a characteristic of the United States that minority religions often reference and majority religions often overlook.

"Imagine how Christians would feel if they could not build their church in town,' said Alison Dundes Renteln, a professor of political science at USC.

Cities often use zoning codes to keep minority religions out, said Dundes Renteln, author of "The Cultural Defense,' which argues the legal system fails to protect against such discrimination. She is not familiar with the proposed Apple Valley temple.

But plenty of people around town thought the Planning Commission's denial was based in bigotry.

"I believe your decision, if not against the U.S. Constitution, is against its spirit,' wrote resident Anne Pyle, a Catholic. "Your arguments are farfetched and seem racist if not down right prejudice.'

After receiving letters like Pyle's and impassioned appeals from local Hindus, the commission agreed to rehear the project tonight.

Temple vs. traffic

The 7,950-square-foot temple and 7,415-square-foot cultural center would centralize a Hindu community that is accustomed to moving religious meetings from house to house. It would be the only mandir house of God between Riverside and Las Vegas. The Riverside mandir is 58 miles southwest of Apple Valley; Las Vegas is 202 miles northeast.

The temple would be built across the street from Sonlife Community Church, which the city has prevented from accessing Apple Valley Road a traffic treasure the temple wants.

Sonlife pastor Mark Allen Mikels said the temple would congest the road and could establish it as a strip mall of religious centers.

"When there is already something else there (Sonlife), why put something else balled up on the same corner?' said Mikels, who recommended the temple be built elsewhere. "If it was a Baptist church, we still would have said we didn't want it there.'

Deputy Town Engineer Richard Pedersen told the Planning Commission that during peak commuting times, the temple would add about four cars to Apple Valley Road. On Saturdays and Sundays about 100 vehicles would visit, architect Robert Martinez said. There would be 148 parking spaces. Hindus do not hold services on a specific day of the week.

"I'm not convinced the traffic impact is as small as it appears,' Commissioner Allan said in an interview.

Commissioners Brian Hawley, David Hernandez, Bob Tinsley and Chairman Elliotte Fajardo did not respond to numerous requests for comment.

A pointed problem

Traffic also has been an issue in Chino Hills, where a group of Hindus wants to build a temple it once billed the next "Wonder of the World.'

"We are not a tourist attraction, nor do we want to be,' said Councilwoman Gwenn Norton-Perry, who voted in September against the project's size and location, when the City Council overruled the Planning Commission. "We are a quiet community, and that is the way we want to keep it.'

The group no longer wants to build the largest temple west of London, said Paresh Patel, the chief developer for the group, Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swarminarayan Sanstha, commonly known as BAPS.

He said about 38,000 people would visit annually a 90 percent reduction from traffic numbers once filed with Chino Hills that said 380,000 would visit each year.

"That was an error and no one was willing to accept it,' he said.

After a year of heated public debate, Chino Hills temple talk had been dormant since September.

Patel met with city staff Feb. 14 to discuss plans for the 164,372-square-foot development that stalled when the council denied a request to build five spires two at 52 feet, two at 67 feet and one at 73 feet.

The group has been waiting to see if religious leaders in India will allow them to build the temple without the spires, which have religious significance. In India, many temples are built in the center of town or atop hills. The spires, which point to the heavens, are like God's calling card.

"I do not have a definite thing right now, but I know that 42 feet doesn't work for us and 80 feet doesn't work for the city,' Patel said. "So we have to find a compromise.'

Structured faith

Architecture is a fundamental part of the Hindu religion.

"Temples are typically a whole philosophy in stone,' said Vasudha Narayan, a religion professor at the University of Florida.

Temples in the United States, she said, are built with visions of India but "are more of a creamy white instead of the loud colors from India.'

There are 29 temples in California, according to the Council of Hindu Temples of North America. It is unknown how many Hindus live in the state. (The U.S. census does not track religion.)

Most Hindus are of Indian descent. There were 4,370 Asian Indians in San Bernardino County in 1990, the census shows. That number grew to 7,368 in 2000. That year, there were 5,526 in Riverside County, 60,268 in Los Angeles County and 314,819 statewide.

As the home-building boom continues in the High Desert, more and more Indians are moving to the sun-baked region.

Hinduism is unlike most Western religions. It has no documented origin, founder or central authority. And believers worship various gods that are different representations of "The God.'

One place to go

The Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Riverside is the only temple in the Inland Empire.

At 9292 Magnolia Ave., the mandir does not stand out from the cityscape. It sits nondescript between a thrift store and an office building that looks like a motel.

Ten years ago the temple was a bank. Its walls are white. There are no commanding colors. It is unlabeled and the tallest spire is only 35 feet.

"Those really should be much higher, but you have to compromise,' said Shukavak Dasa, head priest of the temple and a part-time Yucca Valley dweller.

About 500 people each week worship at the mandir, run by the Hindu Society of the Inland Empire. They come at their convenience. Unlike other religious gatherings, there isn't a big once-a-week meeting; Hindu worship, called puja, occurs at home and in the temple.

Though the temple's edifice is uninspiring, its interior is flush with Hindu carvings and decorations. Beautifully painted sacred images sit atop marble flats.

The smells of incense waft in the air. Indian music plays quietly. Shoes are piled outside the front door.

"When you come in here, it should look like a temple. It should smell like a temple. ... And it should put you in a state of mind,' Dasa said.

His temple is preparing to grow into bigger clothes a 35,000-square-foot temple and cultural center will be built nearby at a cost of $5 million.

"They've been really good neighbors and good people and we are glad to have them in Riverside,' Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge said.

The Hindu Society was born 21 years ago when Hindu doctors met in San Bernardino. The temple draws people from Anaheim to Apple Valley and beyond.

The base is building and "the seeds are going out,' Dasa said.

True believer

Nayyar is one of those seeds. The Apple Valley neurologist visits the Riverside mandir once or twice a month.

Nayyar estimates there are 200 to 300 Hindu families in the High Desert who choose between a long drive and worshipping at home.

"Indian population has grown and our children don't have much exposure to our scriptures as we had in India. The children are urging us to build a place where they can learn about the scriptures,' Nayyar said.

He believes local temples will stabilize the Indian community and will encourage their children who leave for college to return.

"If my children have somewhere to educate their children (about Hinduism), they will come back. Otherwise, they will settle somewhere else,' Nayyar said.

That could prevent a group of highly educated adults from living in the area, where more than 50 Hindus, of several hundred, are physicians most in specialized fields. Last month, Nayyar and 33 others formed Physician Hospital Management and took over the administration of Victor Valley Community Hospital in Victorville. The doctors lent the troubled hospital $6 million out of their own pockets.

"There is no doubt they are a tremendous asset to Apple Valley and to Victor Valley as a whole,' Apple Valley Mayor Scott Nassif said.

He is glad the commission will reconsider the temple proposal and hopes traffic solutions will be found. "I'm fairly certain some amicable solution will be coming forward.'

Megha, the 15-year-old visionary, and her friends will pack Town Hall tonight.

"We are looking forward to the reconsideration,' she said. "All the kids are so anxious right now. We are all going to be there.'

'The spiritual backbone of the unit'

Source: The Sun in San Bernardino
www.sbsun.com

TWENTYNINE PALMS - Navy Lt. Robert Grove awoke before the sun rose and prayed.

During the next 12 hours, Grove chaplain for the 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines welcomed 40 Marines and sailors to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center here; he prayed over 103 men leaving for Iraq; and he celebrated with 139 returning home.

It was a typical whirlwind. Grove's workload has been heavy since he joined the Navy after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

It intensified two years ago when the United States attacked Iraq, where 150,000 American troops remain. There are another 17,000 in Afghanistan. California has sent more troops to the Middle East than any other state; thousands have been from Twentynine Palms, Fort Irwin and the California Army National Guard.

Peppered throughout the nation's military are about 4,000 chaplains with a daunting task: Win the emotional wars waging within troops.

"I am responsible for the spiritual fitness of this battalion,' Grove told the new Marines and sailors during a breakfast address.

On the battlefield

That day, newspaper headlines announced the death toll for American troops in Iraq topped 1,500.

The number didn't phase Grove, a two-tour veteran of Iraq.

Death is sad, he said without a hint of emotion, but it is part of war. It's the reason the military employs chaplains.

"There are no atheists in foxholes,' the axiom says. And so military ministers are there to prepare troops to meet their maker whatever they believe it may or may not be.

"They are the spiritual backbone of the unit. ...' said Gunnery Sgt. Frank Patterson, Twentynine Palms base spokesman. "Chaplains provide an invaluable service.'

Almost all are Christian. Of the 1,400 active-duty Army chaplains, nine are Jewish and six are Muslim, according to the Office of the Chief of Chaplains. Six are Orthodox Christian. The rest are Protestant or Catholic.

"In a time of war, all chaplains are trained to minister to soldiers of all faith groups,' said Col. Ron Huggler, the chief chaplain at Fort Irwin near Barstow. "We know how to deal with death and dying issues, whether it is a Jewish soldier or a Christian soldier or a Muslim soldier.'

Chaplains themselves become masterful bullet dodgers. They don't carry firearms, even in combat zones where warriors are dressed like civilians and crude bombs, known as improvised explosive devices, erupt around them.

"From a sniper's point of view, or, obviously from an IED's point of view, we are a soldier just like anybody else,' Huggler said.

No chaplains have been killed in Iraq since Operation Iraqi Freedom began; three were seriously wounded.

Terms of service


Chaplains have been a part of the U.S. military since before the United States existed. At the urging of Gen. George Washington, the Continental Congress hired the first chaplain in 1775.

There are about 2,500 chaplains in the Army, with 1,100 in the Reserves and National Guard. The Air Force has 600 chaplains. The Navy, which provides the chaplains for the Coast Guard and Marines, has 871.

Job requisites are strict: a masters of divinity degree, two years of pastoral experience, a church sponsor and good health.

During peacetime, chaplains are involved in the daily spiritual struggles of base service members and their families.

They take their shepherding on the road during war.

Grove found in Iraq that planning was restricted by the volatility of the region and the possibility the battalion would be moved at any moment.

So he developed an informal system of combat visits: He traveled throughout southern Baghdad in American convoys, stopping to meet with troops where they were stationed and then moving to the next spot.

"It can be emotionally draining at times,' Grove said. "Being only one chaplain for roughly 1,000 sailors and Marines, the workload can be overwhelming.'

That would be a lot of people for any person to care for under ideal circumstances.

"Here we have about seven assistant pastors to help take care of the flock,' said Raul Ries, senior pastor of a 15,000-member church in Diamond Bar, Calvary Chapel Golden Springs.

But chaplains do it thousands of miles from comfort, in an environment saturated with death and loss.

Chaplains do more counseling than they do preaching and teaching. Leading worship services and religious devotions are part of the job. But often, chaplains say, they are approached for their impartial ears.

Overseas and at home, they are available around the clock.

"All the time, Marines walk into this office and say, 'I need to talk. Now,'' Grove said, sitting in the comfort of his sparsely decorated office on the base.

Conversations are confidential. Like communication with attorneys, the content is protected by law.

"Whatever happens with the chaplain, stays with the chaplain,' Grove said.

Easter without the resurrection

Grove spent last Easter in Fallujah with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines. On Resurrection Sunday he listened on a military radio to the ambush of a close friend.

Two other Marines died that day.

"It was probably the worst day of my life,' Grove said of April 11, when Christians celebrated the resurrection of Jesus in 2004.

But Grove didn't mourn for 1st Lt. Oscar Jimenez of San Diego.

"There really is no time to grieve when you are in combat,' the chaplain said. "You've got to move on. You grieve later.'

The next day the chaplain gave a memorial service under the hot desert sun. It was a brief break for bereaved Marines before they returned to fighting in the then-insurgent dominated city in Al-Anbar Province.

"I wish I would not have to do any memorial services,' Grove said. "But that is a fact of war.'

In Iraq, chaplains also counsel troops who feel guilty about the death that surrounds them, maybe even follows them.

"It is very important for a chaplain to help each soldier be able to draw on his faith so he believes what he is doing is morally and ethically and spiritually right,' said Huggler, the Fort Irwin chaplain.

"Especially when they see the horrors of war. Without that, you have a soldier who becomes hesitant ... and all the sort of things that can get him or his fellow soldiers killed.'

Evil as war may seem, chaplains say, it has its time and place. They point to the third chapter of Ecclesiastes, a sacred book for Jews and Christians:

"There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the sun: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, ... a time for war and a time for peace ...'

A fallen soldier lives on

Spc. Daniel Unger was the first member of the California Army National Guard killed in combat since the Korean War. Unger was attached to the 1-185 Task Force, headquartered in San Bernardino. He died last May in a rocket attack on an American camp.

When his body was returned to Exeter, Calif., his father spoke at the funeral. By his side was the adjutant general of the California Army National Guard, Maj. Gen. Thomas Eres.

Eres was so impressed that three months later he had an assistant offer Marc Unger a chaplain job.

The 53-year-old pastor of Exeter Baptist Church signed up for 11 years of service.

Throughout the week, Unger counsels soldiers via telephone. He drives from his Central Valley home to the Central Coast to the Bay Area. Sundays he preaches in Exeter, a 9,500-person farm town southeast of Fresno.

"Our son's ministry to his country lives on as his family continues to minister to our country as a chaplain family,' Unger said.

Help on the home front

Unger and other chaplains who remain in the states assist families while a mother or father, husband or wife is thousands of miles away.

Whether the need is spiritual guidance, money or a babysitter, "we are going to find a way to meet it,' Huggler said.

This is most pronounced in the Army Reserves and National Guard, where families do not live on military bases and don't have the geographical support network.

When the 1-185 Task Force deployed for Iraq last March, few soldiers had prepared their families for the long separation, unit Chaplain (Maj.) Steve Harrell said.

"Midway through the deployment some of the spouses experienced extreme burnout, stresses on their home life that were just beyond them,' Harrell said. "The results were not good.'

There are also problems long after combat ends that require the chaplains' attention.

About 15percent of Iraqi veterans are returning with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the National Center for PTSD, a branch of the Department of Veterans Affairs. In these people, the stresses of war cause intense flashbacks and nightmares, impairs sleeping and estranges a person from their surroundings.

"When soldiers come home, we realize he is not the same and she is not the same. No matter what,' Huggler said. "Just being apart for the year, there are going to be all kinds of changes.'

Chaplains at Fort Irwin spend weeks weaning soldiers back into civilian life. Through Reunion and Reintegration Training, they explain to couples the hurdles that will soon present themselves. They train spouses to look for signs of post-traumatic stress and, if needed, seek help.

Praying for protection

The skies were bright and brilliant as the Marines and sailors of Mike Battery, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines prepared to deploy for Iraq. Black clouds that had dumped hail on the San Bernardino Valley and spun a twister in Fontana were moving north over Big Bear Lake. But the air of Twentynine Palms was clear and quiet except for 'hurrahs' and sobs.

Before the troops boarded buses to March Air Reserve Base near Riverside, an officer announced the chaplain would pray with those interested. About 60 men surrounded Grove.

"It's important we get spiritually right before we go on a deployment,' the chaplain told the men, many of whom looked like boys.

They were talkative and anxious while waiting in the parking lot. Around the chaplain they were respectful and reflective.

"Lord God, we give thanks to you for this day. We thank you for the blessings of this life. For our health, for our family and friends ...' Grove said.

"We ask your blessing to be upon the Marines and sailors of Mike Battery as they deploy for Iraq. They have been given the tremendous responsibility to serve our country, to be peacemakers ...

"Keep them strong and resolute. ... Protect them and bless them. ... And by your grace and mercy, bring each one of these Marines and sailors back home safe and sound. And we pray this in your most holy and precious name, our Lord and our God. Amen."

Split decision on Ten Commandments

From: Me and AP

WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court justices struggled Wednesday to clearly define whether monuments to the Ten Commandments on government property establish an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

Rulings in the two Ten Commandments cases before the court from Texas and Kentucky could decide the shape of church-state relations for decades to come.

The cases are being watched closely in Southern California, where, on Wednesday, Redlands City Clerk Lorrie Poyzer said residents had gathered enough signatures to put before city voters whether to reinstall a Christian cross on the city logo.

Also Wednesday, supporters of a similar effort to return a cross to the Los Angeles County logo conceded defeat.

If the high court rules governments can display the Ten Commandments, Redlands voters would support the cross initiative because they won't fear the city being sued, said Scott Siegel, the resident who led the petition drive.

"I see the Supreme Court ... making it very clear this nation is allowed to have religious symbols on display,' said Siegel, noting the country's founding as a religious refuge.

A decision probably issued by the end of June could significantly raise or lower the wall separating government and religion. In doing so, the justices could clarify decades of confusing, muddled jurisprudence on what constitutes government endorsement of religion.

"What the court will probably say is: 'Context is everything,'' said Rob Boston, spokesman for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State in Washington, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief challenging the constitutionality of the cases.

In the Texas case, a homeless man filed suit challenging the constitutionality of a 6-foot by 3-foot monument in the shape of two tablets, inscribed with the Ten Commandments, two Stars of David and other symbols.

The 43-year-old granite monument one of 38 on the Texas Capitol grounds in Austin was donated by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The tablets are located roughly 75 feet from the Capitol building and 123 feet from the state Supreme Court.

Opponents say that because the monument is on the Capitol grounds under the authority of the Texas Legislature, it constitutes government endorsement of Christianity and in particular Protestant faiths, from which the display's Ten Commandments text is derived.

"Here you have a monument that claims not only is there a God, but God has dictated 10 rules for behavior,' said former USC law professor Erwin Chemerinsky, an attorney for the Texas man who wants the tablet removed. "Imagine the Buddhist or Muslim who walks into the Supreme Court. He will realize this is not his government.'

But lawyers supporting the monument and other similar displays argued that the Ten Commandments are a historically recognized symbol of law. And they noted that in a 1983 case, the Supreme Court found it was constitutional for a state legislature to begin its session with prayer.

"I don't see why one is good and the other is bad,' said Justice Antonin Scalia.

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, often a swing vote when the justices are closely divided, questioned how appropriate it would be if "the legislature itself wants to have the Ten Commandments displayed in its legislative halls.'

When Chemerinsky said that would be unconstitutional, O'Connor complained "it's so hard to draw that line.'

If legislatures can open their sessions with prayers, O'Connor wondered how displaying the Ten Commandments in the same hall could be unconstitutional.

The Kentucky case involves the constitutionality of Ten Commandments displays in two county courthouses. The displays have been modified twice in response to lower court rulings against the exhibits.

The first ones consisted of a framed copy of the Ten Commandments. In its current version, the Ten Commandments are surrounded by historic American and British political and patriotic documents. A description in the final displays asserts the exhibits are of "documents that played a significant role in the foundation of our system of law and government.'

Opponents of the Kentucky exhibits argue county officials clearly had a religious purpose in posting the Ten Commandments and that the subsequent modifications were little more than a "sham' designed to insulate the displays from scrutiny.

Justice David Souter said it seemed clear the displays were religious in nature.

"There's no reason the intent of this display has changed as the context has changed,' Souter said.

But supporters argue the court should not give too much weight to the original intent of county officials in erecting the displays.

Kentucky authorities were only trying "to do the best they could' to follow previous court decisions, said Mathew Staver, who represented the Kentucky counties. "They have got to be able to adjust their missteps whenever they step on a constitutional land mine that is blurry and confusing.'

Acting Solicitor General Paul Clement, who represented the Bush administration in defending the Texas and Kentucky displays, said "municipalities should be rewarded, not punished, for trying to change the context to try and get it right.'

During the arguments Wednesday, justices appeared to struggle with how to judge the Texas and Kentucky displays and whether a single test could be constructed to decide when government-sponsored religious exhibits or actions run afoul of the Constitution.

Justice Stephen Breyer doubted the high court could fashion a one-size-fits-all solution.

"We are a religious nation,' Breyer said. "I think the only way to do it is to look at the divisive quality of the display on a case-by-case basis.'

Even as justices weighed the issue, they noted that religious symbols are displayed throughout the Supreme Court building. Above the dais, a large frieze depicts Moses holding the Ten Commandments without text displayed. Other historic lawgivers including Chinese philosopher Confucius, Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus and former Chief Justice John Marshall also are depicted on the panel.

Supreme Court sessions also open with a clerk proclaiming: 'God save the United States and this honorable court.'

Moral values spin back forward

By Brad A. Greenberg
Staff Writer
The Sun
www.sbsun.com

Morality in 2004 moved from a bit part to a leading role at least in the public consciousness.

Moral values were a drum constantly beat by pundits and politicians. Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction' at the Super Bowl kicked off the discussion that continued through the November election, in which, many say, moral values helped give President Bush four more years.

Political observers argue how significant an impact moral values, a vast and vague category of issues that range from profanity to abortion, had on the Nov. 2 election. Some see it as a simplified explanation for his re-election amid a controversial war, a questionable economy and a soaring budget deficit.

But values clearly were constant fodder for dinner conversations, campaign speeches, newspaper columns and 24-hour news channels.

"Janet Jackson had a hugely disproportionate impact on people, and it became a token for cleaning up culture,' said Shaun Bowler, a UC Riverside professor of political science.

Moral values, he said, have been hyped "by people who have a vested interest in doing that.'

Experts said Republicans and Christian advocacy groups were brilliant at focusing the presidential campaign on a trifecta of political trouble for candidates: stem-cell research, gay marriage and abortion.

Conservative groups framed Bush, who opposed all three, as "pro-family' and Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry, his Democratic challenger, as "anti-morals' because he supported stem-cell research and a woman's right to choose.

Conservatives mobilized in early February when the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that gay couples deserved the same rights as straight, married couples. A week later, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom violated California law, the state Supreme Court later ruled, by telling the city clerk to start issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. Several cities and counties across the country followed suit.

The president and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared Newsom's activism a sign that liberal judges and city officials needed to be reigned in.

Moral values became a political hot button "because advocates of the more liberal stance on these issues overreached,' said Jack Pitney, a Claremont McKenna College political science professor.

Eleven states responded in November by passing constitutional amendments banning gay marriage.

"This year, the kinds of conversations that have been happening in America finally spilled out into the open,' said Kristi Hamrick, a spokeswoman for the Arlington, Va.,-based conservative gro Values.

It is important to discuss whether Bush has a plan to get the American military out of Iraq, she said, "but when you ask people concerning them, and what is keeping them up at night, it is first and foremost the country and the environment in which their children are being raised.'

"I've got four kids,' she continued. "I care about what's on TV. It bothers me if Janet Jackson does a peep show.'

America's fascination with its own morality is nothing new, said Pitney, a former staffer for the Republican National Committee.

"People have always been concerned about moral values,' he said, "but it was a subject of a good deal of discussion because of President Bush's use of moral language and his outward religious fervor, and also by Sen. Kerry's attempt to recapture some of the moral issues for Democrats.'

Kerry struck a moral chord with people who felt Bush had lied about why the United States invaded Iraq.

Kerry voters who felt moral values were "very important' were more likely to mention honesty and integrity than Bush supporters who also lauded moral values, a Harris Poll released last week shows.

But voters who backed Bush were nearly twice as likely to say moral values were "very important' 59percent of Bush voters compared with 30percent of Kerry supporters.

"There was a stronger tendency in this election for many people to believe that the candidates they supported were more moral than the other candidate,' said Humphrey Taylor, chairman of the Harris But that's not unusual in elections, he said.

People voted based on moral values more than any other issue the economy, education, taxes, Social Security, health care in 1996 and 2000, Los Angeles Times exit polls show.

Many observers said moral values have been perceived as more decisive in 2004 because of how they were portrayed, likening it to the "scary world' Americans perceived during the 1990s.

Violent crime fell throughout the country, but newspapers and television stations carried regular stories about murder and rape. Studies have shown that most people thought violent crimes had increased.

"In a year when the war is such a big problem and the economy is such a big problem, moral values are important,' said Diane Winston media and religion professor at USC. "But the media blew it out of proportion.

"It's sensational and it is easy to make headlines out of it. It is tremendously over-hyped.'

There was also the hoopla that followed the exposure of Janet Jackson's breast at the Super Bowl halftime show. In a case against shock jock Howard Stern, Viacom settled with the Federal Communi Commission for $3.5million. Later, a number of ABC affiliates refused to air the 1998 Academy Award-nominated World War II film, " Ryan,' because they feared the previously broadcast movie's gore and profanity would draw FCC fines.

The outspoken were split between those who believed civil liberties were being stolen and those who thought popular culture and American morals had swirled down the drain. Most Americans didn't think the situation was so dire, media scholars said.

"I see these pop cultural debates as being between people who thought the '50s were the greatest of times and the people who th weiler, chairman of the Department of Mass Communications at the Christian-affiliated Biola University in La Mirada.

"To (the younger) generation, they view Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl ... as a yawn,' said Detweiler, author of "The Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture.' "It is really much ado about nothing.'

At the same time, he said, studies have shown "that we are looking at one of the best-behaved generations ever.'

For example: The number of teenagers who are sexually active dropped from 55 percent in 1995 to 46 percent in 2002, according to the National Survey for Family Growth released last month.

"On one side, we hear people warning about a decline in moral values,' said Ptiney. "On the other side, we see people warning about theocracy.

"Issues of moral conduct have always been a part of American life and will continue to be.'

Faith, body, art

From: The Sun

RIALTO - Disciple Johnny prays for those he tattoos.

Johnny Neuneker prays as he scars arms, legs, backs and necks. He doesn't know what the person believes in or if he'll change their life. But he prays.

And while he does, his customers absorb the Christian images that surround them and ask questions.

"Wow, is this a Christian tattoo shop?' Neuneker hears often. "I didn't know you could be Christian and have a tattoo.'

The debate over that very question rages on. But, largely popularized by the emergence of God-praising punk and hard-core music during the past decade, more and more Christians have taken to tattoos.

The 30-year-old owner of Heroes and Madmen on Riverside Avenue has found his spiritual niche. Through tattooing and piercing, the ngly rough crowd.

"The churches of today need to be on the front lines. I see this ministry on the front lines of everything,' said Neuneker, who started a Bible study in his shop's lobby.

As unusual as it sounds, he is part of a growing movement. About 500 Christian tattoo shops exist throughout the nation and in Britain and Australia, according to the Christian Tattoo Association.

"We represent a positive aspect of tattooing. We don't get into drugs or drinking or anything like that,' said Steve "Pastor Freak' Bensinger, association director and pastor of the Come As You Are church in Kalamazoo, Mich.

"People tell me I can't be Christian because I have tattoos,' Bensinger said. "That is completely crazy.'

Christians who think ill of tattoos cite Leviticus 19:28: "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves.'

Proponents counter that Christians are not bound by this verse, which is part of the Levitical Code. Some even believe, based on Revelation 19:16, that Jesus will have a tattoo when he returns: "On his robe and on his thigh this name written: King of kings and lord of lords.'

"To argue one way or the other is really to misuse the Bible,' said Philip Amerson, president of Claremont School of Theology. "It's what is called proof-texting starting with the answer you want and using the Scripture to prove it.'

A tattoo ministry, Amerson said, follows Jesus' tradition of serving society's fringe.

"I suspect there won't be any churches that would set this up in the sanctuary,' Amerson said, "but this kind of outreach ... goes back through Christian history.'

Some of the people who enter Heroes and Madmen want nothing to do with Christianity. Neuneker takes a passive approach to sharing his faith and only does when asked. He doesn't know how effective his efforts are.

"That's not my job,' he said. "I'm a sower not a reaper. God does the harvesting.'

In the year since Heroes and Madmen opened, Neuneker's brothers and sisters have taken a particular liking to his shop.

Take Redlands resident Ben Dooley, who got his first tattoo four years ago and suddenly stopped.

"I wanted to get stuff done by a Christian tattoo artist,' said Dooley, 26.

While driving up Riverside Avenue one day, he spotted a Jesus sign in the window of Heroes and Madmen and popped inside.

Christian images surrounded him music, pictures, drawings, shirts, stickers and TV programs.

"People don't just have the hobby of collecting Jesus stuff,' Dooley said. "They have a reason behind it.'

Before long, he was leading worship in the lobby and helping Neuneker arrange services with alternative Jesus machines such as musical group Gospel is a Grenade and heavily tattooed-speaker Jay Bakker, son of Jim Bakker of notorious televangelism fame.

From motorcycle ministries to amateur wrestling night, Christians constantly use the unexpected to attract the distracted.

"God has called us to reach out to people in the gutter, not just wait for them to come to us, whether they have tattoos or piercings or they are rockers or into porn,' said Craig Gross, co-founder of the XXX Church in Corona, which helps Christians who struggle with pornography.

Heroes and Madmen doesn't stand out of the Rialto landscape in the same way the XXX Church's Porn Mobile does in a conservative church parking lot. Neuneker takes a softer approach to spreading the Gospel even though hard-core music screaming "Jesus is Lord' blares in his store.

Kent Anderson Butler does the same. The Azusa Pacific University art professor usually wears shorts while teaching students how to integrate art into their Christian faith. On his calf is a tattoo of the Celtic symbol for the Trinity with the sun behind it.

"I get all kinds of different reactions. A lot of times, my students will be a little surprised,' Anderson Butler said. "I'm not afraid to talk about it, or whatever. Every once in a while I'll get in some conversations (about it) out on the street.'

And that gives strangers a window into his faith.

"To me, that is pretty cool,' he said.