>> christians may not have churches. it is illegal for christians to worship. sometimes they'll turn a blind eye if it is done privately in the ghettos established, sometimes nice, sometimes not for foreigners, you can be arrested for it. if a saudi citizen wanted to convert to christianity, that would be a capital offense and easily sentenced to death. there are no churches in what is some what new is the grand muffti, part of the government in saudi arabia is saying there can't be churches not just in saudi arabia but anywhere on the arabian peninsula, a deep saying of the prophet mohammed. the peninsula with large, they probably shouldn't be there, should never have been allowed in the first place, yes, they should be demolished. to not demolish is to approve and approve is to approve blasphemy. >> what can be done to allow more religious freedom? >> not a whole lot. there can be pressure and attempts at persuasion. saudis are much more afraid of being accused of being too friendly with the infadel world that is a sin. they are much more afraid of the terror

>> today on "christian world news" becoming a christian in a muslim country, how the church is rep responding to muslim converts and how they are worshipping in their own way. >> plus christianity in cuba. the country has long tried to suppress the church, that could be changing. >> the amazing journey of baby adam, born deformed and abandoned by his family. we have the story of this special little boy and the couple that fell in love with him. >> a growing number of muslim converts in the middle east pose new challenges for the church. hello everyone i am wendy griffith. >> and i am efrem graham, george thomas is on assignment. satellite and tv create others to hear the gospel. >> it is forcing many former muslims to start their fellowships. gary lane has the story. >> reporter: what happens to a muslim seeking to discover more about christianity? by stepping out of the mosque and into a church. >> there is so much risk, so much danger. >> some people are afraid to accept you. >> they are concerned about what is the government going to say if we are converting muslims. that puts a target on

and he was able to separate out christianity from jesus, say no to christianity and say yes to yeast. >> how many of the colonists, what percentage were religiously affiliated or had had religious beliefs in some specific denomination? >> i'm not sure the percentage. but much smaller percentage of churchgoers than we have now. something more on the order of, i don't know, one out of five rather than the vast majority. and those who were christians and who did go to crunch typically didn't think a lot about jesus either. >> how much did jefferson take out of the bible? >> took out about 9/10 of the saying of jesus, tenth survived. >> took out the miracles? >> miracles, anything that sounded to him like calvinist theology, to jesus like god or healing and he took out the rest your ration, ends the story with the crucifix. >> did the early founders view the united states as a christian organization? >> nasa a good question. some of them did and many did not but i think it's fair to say that most of them had a more deistic view, a view that yes, god, yes, afterlife and rewards and punish

nation, and it's christian only in culture in some sense, and that as christians we need to understand what that means if -- we're going to live well and effectively with faith. >> host: give an example what you mean. >> guest: it's a historical command theme that this country was founded by pilgrims, by christians who came with a certain religious orientation, and that's the story we learned in elementary school, and growing up. i'm not sure that's the case anymore. but in that case our institutions, our frame ofwork, it's not terribly controversial to say that our institutions were framed by christian values, and the judeo^- christian ethick and that's a kind of cultural argument to make. but at the end of the day what are the then defending if we say this is a christian country? as a christian i have been called to defend more than that. i i've been called to speak with conviction to more than that. and to speak to something that transcendses any given culture, and speaking as a christian, i am a christian who happens to be an american, and i travel widely throughout the world, and

>> shavit: israel is not persecuting christians as christians.tians in the holy land suffer from israeli policies that are a result of the overall tragic situation. and this, of course, has... has consequences for everybody. >> simon: for israel, there could be serious economic consequences. according to israeli government figures, tourism is a multi- billion dollar business there. most tourists are christian. many of them are american. that's one reason why israelis are very sensitive about their image in the united states. and that could be why ambassador oren phoned jeff fager, the head of cbs news and executive producer of "60 minutes," while we were still reporting the story, long before tonight's broadcast. he said he had information our story was "a hatchet job." >> oren: it seemed to me outrageous, completely incomprehensible that at a time when these communities... christian communities throughout the middle east are being oppressed and massacred, when churches are being burnt, when one of the great stories in history is unfolding? i thi

>> there was a christian -- that there was a christian center, yes. >> and heresies can be even more robust, can they not? institutions of which they split off? >> absolutely. the book is very critical of a lot of the religious -- >> religion -- >> but it's also what i do try and do as well is take them, i think, more seriously. theologically seriously. you're right thp pe were be deeply robust and the prosperity of preaching. a lot of people, especially fellow journalists, turn on a prosperity preacher whether it's somebody smooth like olestein or the more ridiculous figgers in garish suits and say, this is absurd, something to be made fun of, but the point i make in the book is, no, there's actually a real core here toological appeal to that idea, and the same is true, same is true when i talk about sort of what i call the god within and sort of therapeutic religion and "eat, pray love." these are, these theologists have an appeal for a reason. they answer people's questions about god and the universe. >> they're writering theology irrespective of what the faith of our fathers and

we explore christianity's holyiest places. from ancient to rome. and performance artist david garibaldi has a special easter presentation. the search for biblical history in the holy land, hello everyone, i am wendy griffith. in jerusalem's old city, two sites claim to be the place where jesus was buried and rose again. which is authentic. chris mitchell has the story. >> reporter: the garden tomb, the garden of joseph of arimathea some believe. some believe jesus died, buried and rose from the dead. the garden is a two-acre oasis in jerusalem. british christians bought the garden 125 years ago and formed the garden tomb associaton. for years they have allowed visitors free of charge. richard is the director of the garden tomb. >> we have the perfect representation of the biblical account of the four gospels. everything matches what we show people. >> today nearly a quarter of a million visitors pour into the garden tomb each year. this is the tour visitors get when they come to the garden. jesus was crucified outside the city walls, and there was

turkish-christians pray. thap continue their search for a brighter future. >> we need jobs and peace. we need a solution to our problem. >> gary lane, cbn news, istanbul. >>> uganda war load kony -- covering every block of every city with stickers, signs and posters about kony. he is accused of killing thousands and building army by kidnapping and mutilating children. freelance journalist interviewed the war lord at a camp in the ugandaian bush. >> what was your impression of kony? >> joseph kony was very nice. he called me by my first name. he invited me to sunday breakfast. we had doughnuts together in the jungle. help didn't come across as the dangerous war lord he is. >> describe his army, who are they and why do they follow him? >> his army is made up of abducted children and young adults. the army is less strong than ten years old. might be 500-300 troops. these are very vicious troops well armed with modern arms and famous for going into villages, burning down houses, abducting children and sending tho

for the story of how christianity spread, and how christians suffered terribly for their faith. ♪ ah,e looking for a place to get together, you came to the right place. because here at hotels.com, we're only about hotels. finding you the perfect place is all we do. welcome to hotels.com. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ flapping continues ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] at nissan, our ideal is innovation. 5 all-new models over the next 15 months, including a completely reimagined altima. welcome to our most innovative year ever. nissan. innovation for all. ♪ ♪ spread a little love my way [ female announcer ] philadelphia cooking creme. a simple way to make dinner fresh and new again. creamy philadelphia along with savory herbs and spices. just stir it in. ♪ now it only takes a moment to make the moment. ♪ spread a little joy and see ♪ need a little happiness to be ♪ ♪ living the life with me ♪ >> reporter: live from america's news headquarters, i'm anita vogel. syria's government refusing to withdraw troops without a written guarantee opposition force will also lay down their weapons, despite an agreed-upon ce

reverend noor is a christian. he is challenged in his conception and his quest for the christian life by a role that limits his possibilities, but he struggles against it. but what of a muslim? what of a muslim in cairo? is there ethical struggles? is there ethical dilemmas that a young muslim has to go through in trying to realize- in this case his- his own proper patterns of action? what's the good life for him? now, to some extent, this happens in all cultures, because he's a young person trying to make sense of life. but what akmad- who we interviewed- what he brings out is that even within islam- i mean, you may be well familiar with this- but even within islam in egypt, there is major conflicts. and to put a little bit of a background on it, when we were in egypt, there were very, very few tourists there because not shortly before, the tourists in luxor had been mowed down by machine guns. and what's fueling this, of course, is the quest by fundamentalist, traditionalist muslims to overthrew what they percei

nation, and malae end up with is it is christian only in cultures sometimes as christians we need to understand what that means if we are going to live effectively. it's a historical commonplace that this country was founded by and religious orientation and that's the story the we learn in elementary school. i'm not sure anymore but that's our framework i think it's not controversial to say to the judeo-christian ethic and that is a kind of cultural argument to make. but at the end of today what are we defending if we say this is a christian country? is the cultural values and as a question i've been called to defend more than that, to speak to something that transcends any culture and i traveled widely throughout the world and by speaking churches there, and i'm working with christians who haven't to be indian in the that is important. when you hear america is unexceptional nation, do you agree, disagree? there's a doubt that is tricky and controversial to engage in and usually that's bound up in the ideas and we are a condemned people and i want to challenge the berkeley because th

the other is within the ethiopian community, within the christian community, who rejected christianity>> reporter: through the ages, he says, some ethiopian kings enforced a rigid conformance to the predominant orthodox christianity. those outside this system, called falasha or foreigners, have been marginalized. >> they are considered outcasts, and i have no doubt that they have been treated like that within the ethiopian christians. >> reporter: thanks in large part to this persecution, the so-called "falasha" became ethiopia's poorest people, and this has complicated the transition for many who went to israel from medieval poverty to a first-world economy. still, for the ethiopians it is a huge improvement in the standard of living. mengistu kebede, who returned to addis ababa on vacation recently to visit family, gave us some perspective. it was a difficult adjustment to life in israel, he says, but well worth it. >> it's significantly better. everybody wears shoes, they get enough pay for work, their clothes there are nice. everything is much better. >> reporter: as part of earlie

a christian and a non-christian. >> i am delighted to say that dr.obert jeffers who just endorsed mitt romney joins us now. good afternoon, sir. >> good afternoon, martin. good to be with you. >> before we come to the specifics of your endorsement, i want to focus for a moment on some fundamental doctrinal differences between christianity and mormonism. first, mormonism denies the deity of christ and rejects the trinity and says it is found by faith in christ plus good works to the lds church and mormons believe there is a second chance to find faith in the after life. is this why you regard mormonism as a consult and not part of orthodox christianity. >> yes, it is, martin. by the way, are you available to come preach for me this sunday in you're a good theologian. i said from the beginning i felt it is not christianity and 75% of protestant pastors agree with me on that so i have not changed at all in my view of mormonism. i would say that even though christians and mormons share vastly different theologies, we do embrace some of the same social va

christians. and then 10 years later muslims begin to come because basically some these arab christians would go back, they would have money, they would build these houses with red tiled roads and able to see they made money in america. so they were reluctant at first coming. we know of one record, one guy was getting on the ship and he asked if there were mosques in america and they said no, so he got out. so the others came and they were basically migrant labor. they came in to make money and go back to they didn't come to settle. >> went with the other times in u.s. history when waves of muslims came to the state's? >> well, some came after world war i, there's a short period of time, but by 1924 the united states, only 100 people from the middle east could come to the united states per year. and they had to be relatives of people who were already here. so between 1924 and the second world war we have a period in which very few muslims came. after the second world war, you have muslims in east

what's important is what light do these finds shed on the origins of christianity? >> there! >> where? >> you're right. the cross. >> oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. >> these finds take us back into the time of jesus and put it back into historical context of judea, jerusalem, where he lived. >> reporter: what it all means could be debated for the next 2,000 years. >> separating historical fact friction, see for yourself the resurrection dum mitomb mystery april 12th on discovery. >>> just ahead, one candidate bowed out after nearly stealing the show. why he thinks mitt romney is the worst republican in the country to run against president obama. could you please taste car insurance y? this one is much more expensive. ugh. it's really bad. let's see what you picked. oh, geico! over their competitor. you are a magician right? no., oh. you're not?, no., oh, well, give it a shot. i am so, so sorry. it was this close. .. economically, it seems like a good choice now. we need environmental protection. we've got more than 100 years worth of energy, right here. [announcer:] who's right? they

the key one, the key challenge for christianity- and we're in christianity in this class- is if god is all good, and god is all powerful, where does evil suffering or death suffering and change come from? well, an apocalyptic theodicy is what we find in revelation. a religious apocalyptic theodicy is an explanation which- you know, revelation is the book of revelation- of a great cosmic conflict. and what this does- you've got to take it in this context. it's written around the year '90 or '92 of the common era in the first century- the christian community is brand new and it's in turmoil. it's just beginning to break the umbilical cord with judaism. roman persecution is intense. anger by the jews, who haven't accepted christianity- tensions within that community. a very difficult time. competition, still, with the roman mystery cults. so what is this religion meant to do? it's meant to bolster christian spirit in the face of martyrdom. so an apocalyptic theodicy- a religious one- says, "yes, you're suffering. yes, it hurts. yes, change is a bummer. but on the cosmic level, this is won

. >> that is a symbol of christian resurrection. >> i met up with him in new york city.showed me a replica of the art work they saw on their latest treasure. >> what we're understanding, is the jonah image, the tale, the body of the fish and this funny human stick figure coming out with the seaweed wroopd around its head -- >> reporter: for many christians, the story of jonah and the whale has come to symbolize the resurrection of jesus. >> if that's the case, this is the earliest christian symbol of resurrection ever found. >> you're looking at it right here. >> or maybe you're not. many scholars don't see that as well. >> when is a fish not a fish? the answer is when it has handles. >> reporter: mark says there are other far more likely explanations of what that image is. it's a thesel, a vase, that looks like many of the ones that you'll find in this period in the early roman period. >> wow. >> reporter: good acre says there could be the power of suggestion. take a look. do you see a vase, or do you see the fish? then there's this. >> whoa, stop. that's an inscription

christians have been praying here for more than 16 hundred years. the small congregation of syrian orthodox christians in southeastern turkey are not alone in considering this unimposing place a second jerusalem. the monastery lies on a high plateau. every year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims come here, but most of the syrian orthodox population has left the region over the last 50 years, driven away b discrimination and the violence between kurdish rebels and the turkish state. only the monks have remained behind the monastery walls. but now the monastery is in danger. the surrounding kurdish villages and state forestry authorities have filed several legal suits, accusing the order of illegally occupying the land. the monks say the conflict could be politically motivated. >> the monastery has no income of its own. they live from donations and agriculture on the surrounding land. i of the monastery loses that, too, then it will have dire consuences for the monastery [applause] existence. without these lands, the monastery will not be able to surv

the film was written and produced by christians and is about christianity.'t want this to be labeled a christian film. why is that? >> well, i don't know about that so much. i just know in the last five years christian film has gotten a reputation for being too sentimental, cheesy, the production quality isn't good even though it's successful at the box office and i think some of the stories coming out of christian films are very intriguing. we want to differentiate ourselves from that. there are people who are christians who don't go to christian films because they don't think the quality of art is enough. we wanted to up that quality of art enough without being too over the top. >> tell me more about the film which is based on your best selling book by the same name and loosely on yourself. why you think some in the christian film world find it offensive? >> well i grew up in texas. i'm in portland, oregon now where i live. i grew up in texas in a very southern conservative southern baptist household. i went to school in portland in reed college which is o

people say if you are not a christian, look at all the wars that have happened over christianity, look at the way people feel about islam. i am not an islamic, i am a christian. but the bible teaches us to love and tells you to forgive seven times 70,000. that's continuously. we do not do that. we stand in judgment on everything. i've sat with christians in churches who have said, they're not saved. it's up to god whether you are saved or not. if you accept christ as your savior and ask god to forgive your sins, that's salvation, period. it's as simple as that. and yet, the things we go through and think, sometimes being with christians is like being in an exclusive, you know, there are some christians, not all, but i still do not want to -- i still believe in god. i believe in the goodness of god and i believe what it can bring to men and i believe that i also believe that people have a right to enjoy whatever religious freedoms they have. for sharing your thoughts, sheila. a comment on twitter. monte says, "when politicians inject religion into speeches, they're impinging on religiou

we know that the virgin birth was not a part of the earliest christian preaching. the earliest generation, the earliest decades of christian preaching had to do with the resurrection, the fact that this man who is crucified is our messiah and god raised him from the dead. that was the systems of the early preaching. it was in the succeeding decades as more questions began to arise as the notion of jesus' did i have vicinity began to really take hold that questions were to arise that well, if he was divine how did that happen? and then questions of his birth became very important questions. it's very clear that, for example, luke went back and had to do research. he had to investigate. he tells us that at the start of his gospel. in order to find out what he calls the exact truth. and the fact that he concluded that jesus was born of a virgin may well be because that was a part of the tradition that he discovered as he went back and did his research. >> do you have thoughts on what you're hearing? >> of course i do. this is my business. >> what are your thoughts? >>

. >> coming up, a wholly weekend for millions of christians and jews. the significance of easter and passover landing on the same day. , pete gilbert live at camden yards. the orioles played the game today well. we will talk about the winners a straight ahead. >> a beautiful day today, breezy and cooler. will the stick around for the holiday weekend? outside, 60 at >> today is a holy day for millions of people, good friday for christians and passover for jews. what is rare that the two are celebrated on the same day. tim tooten has more. >> that is how it was in the beginning, so to speak, when jesus was crucified. that was the passover season. he was in jerusalem with hundreds of thousands of people and was crucified at passover. christians believe he raise raised three days later. >> the dean of the ecumenical institute of theology at st. mary's university. >> it would be wonderful if it happened every year. >> what is the importance of having both of these holy days at the same time? >> it's important for christians and important to remind us that we

macarius monastery out in the deserts of egypt a good christian.ging out at that particular church. but both places really do maintain an authentic christianity for them, and that's all that we are saying here, it's balancing those dilemmas of institutionalization within that ecological mix it. >> i have a couple of questions. that one that you taped was that a sunday sermon or was that an extra? >> saturday evening. >> saturday evening. >> that's the hot one. >> so what they repeated that sunday morning? >> i should add that there are several other ministries and this is the one, saturday night one is where they bring in a lot of new comers. that's where it's most entertaining. now there's other services and the people who are part of the church they are much more typically i don't want to say benevolent, but more low key, something along those lines. >> so, what ever it is it's working? >> oh yes. >> seeing the number of people that are there who might not otherwise attend but - and if it saves a troubled marriage, god bless them. >> yes, it is s

of the 100 million call themselves christian believers and did not vote. and the margin was 10 million. if those 65 million had voted, the election would have been turned. >> you can look forward and say that we have our finger on the pulse of what is happening today if we will grab hold. >> mike: why don't people vote? >> two reasons. they think that their vote doesn't matter. if you look at statistics and if you look back to germany and what happened and understand that that was a population of 80 million people and the nazi party never had more than 8.5 million people . literally 10 percent of that country dragged those people in the nightmare. 10 percent can do that. 10 percent of us can get together and pull our place -- country in place that founding fathers intended. they may not identify any of them. but we have to understand right now. if you look at us like a ship and we are headed for an iceburg. maybe you don't have the captain thal turn around. but maybe it happens in four years or eight years. but right now, if we don't change the direction,

to me the idea of a christian nation is odd, as an evangelical christian because a country can't be redeemed, i think we are a country that was founded on judeo christian values in an attempt to meld those with enlightened ideas of self-government and gentleman does. >> it shouldn't be a christian nation and concerning what andrew said, you know, most of the involvement of evangelicals in the public realm has been defensive, it wasn't offensive, we didn't make a bush on demand abortion and strike down the laws against abortion in all 50 states. we didn't seek to erode the expression of the public square by people of faith, and the republican party is not the only party that tries to claim god for themselves i was at the national prayer breakfast when president obama said god was for universal healthcare, and was for his program, and nancy pelosi said jesus supported her program in the house, and bill clinton mentions god and jesus christ more every year he was president than george w. bush did any year he was president, a and his references to god and jesus went up three times during electio

that's where christian hiss' corporation comes in.regionalwert" offers ordinary consumers like you and me the chance to literally put our money where our mouth is. the award-winning concept has already found some 500 shareholders worth around 2 million euros. funds that are making a real difference. it's been a while since christian hiß worked his farm. but right now he's needed. the cows can't wait -- when it's milking time, everyone pitches in. taking care of the livestock, getting up early, hard work and little or no vacation are not popular working conditions these days. christian hiß has seen many farms close down here in the breisgau area. that gave him an idea: he found a way to bring idle farms together with young farmers just starting out. >> a very strong motivation for me was the element of offering young people an opportunity and advising and supporting them while they get started, and then providing the means of financing them. whether they're in the city or the country -- it doesn't matter. nowadays, rural areas are in u