The Mormon Church chided members Tuesday to consider whether their attitudes toward all people — including gays — followed Christian principles, responding to activists' demand that a church leader withdraw anti-gay statements.

The Human Rights Campaign, a national gay rights group, delivered a petition letter carrying 150,000 signatures to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' headquarters, asking church leader Boyd K. Packer to retract statements that same-sex relationships are unnatural and can be overcome.

Church spokesman Michael Otterson responded with an official church statement, saying belittling others for being different is wrong.

The city [Tulsa, OK] Board of Adjustment on Tuesday agreed with a business owner who contended that the end caps he used on several of his mobile homes are not promotional signs and do not require a permit.

Board members voted 3-1 to uphold an appeal by Mike Harrison based on their finding that the coverings were exempt because they were religious in nature and works of art, which are exempted under the city sign code.

Harrison had received notices from the city of Tulsa that the coverings he was using to protect the ends of two mobile homes were considered promotional signs and he must either remove them or get permits for them.

While the campaign by social conservatives against gay marriage has grabbed headlines and consumed millions of lobbying dollars from religious groups, the wider crisis of divorce among straight couples -- especially evangelicals and often their leaders and political icons -- has been largely ignored by Christian conservatives.

That may be changing, however, with the latest evidence coming in a powerful essay published on Sept. 29 titled "Divorce -- The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience," by R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and one of the most prominent conservative Christian voices in America.

From  The Seattle Times:

Even in these days of increased vitriol toward Muslims, and heated rhetoric over whether a mosque should be built near Ground Zero, it's not surprising to find people in the metropolitan Seattle area reaching out to Muslims.

[...]

What's unusual about some of the latest efforts to build relationships with local Muslims is that it's coming from evangelical Christians[.]

From Israel Today:

Hundreds of Christians from a dozen nations joined together with 3,000 Israelis on Sunday evening in the small Samarian Jewish community of Revava to mark the end of the self-imposed Jewish building freeze in the so-called West Bank.

 From the Los Angeles Times:

A study published online Wednesday afternoon in the Journal of Medical Ethics found that doctors with “stronger religious faith” were less likely to talk with patients about treatment options that could shorten their lives, such as prescribing powerful pain medicines. They were also less likely to keep patients in continuous deep sedation or to support legislation allowing doctor-assisted euthanasia.

The reverse was true for the doctors who described themselves as “very or extremely non-religious.” They were almost twice as likely as religious doctors to report that they had pursued treatments that had the potential to hasten a patient’s death, either intentionally or as a side effect.

A new Rice University study based on interviews with 360 American leaders who are evangelical Christians (including CEOs, presidents and chairs of large businesses and their equivalents in government and politics, nonprofits, arts, entertainment, the media and professional athletics) finds enormous variety in how leaders engage their personal faith in workplace decision-making.

The tall crosses memorializing fallen Utah Highway Patrol troopers will not come down anytime soon — even though a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that they violate the U.S. Constitution.

The decision, which holds implications for roadside memorial crosses across the nation, likely will be appealed by the state and the nonprofit group that erected the monuments.

But are [...] gimmicks really going to bring young people back to church? Is this what people really come to church for? Maybe sex sermons and indie- rock worship music do help in getting people in the door, and maybe even in winning new converts. But what sort of Christianity are they being converted to?

"Ted Haggard," Mr. Haggard said, "needs to be leading a church."

He acknowledged grave lapses of judgment in the episode he refers to as "my crisis." But Mr. Haggard also said that in his sorrow and shame, he accepted too much guilt after the scandal broke.

"I over-repented," he said.

In February 2008, Mr. Haggard asked to be released from supervision by other clergy. His former church, New Life, consented, though officials there put out a pointed statement calling Mr. Haggard's recovery incomplete.