...The IRS is looking into the tax-exempt status of a church in California because of a sermon delivered there on the eve of the 2004 presidential election. Since 1954, there has been a federal law on the books prohibiting any tax-exempt organization from endorsing any political candidate, though they can speak for or against social and political issues (including Supreme Court nominees). In this case, it is a liberal church. Former rector George Regas delivered a message titled "If Jesus Debated Senator Kerry and President Bush".
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...A Coptic Christian TV station is going on the air in Egypt. "Our aim is to get Christians and Muslims closer together. God is love, and we will show them our God and our love," said the station's executive director, Father Bishoy Al-Antony. You can image how well that's going over in Egypt. Tensions have been running particularly high lately, as the Muslim Brotherhood party is making a surprising showing in parts of the country.
...From what I understand, Coptic Christians differ in their beliefs from other more traditional Christians in that they adhere to monophysitism, that is the belief that instead of the divine and human natures joining to form one person in Jesus, he had just one nature in which the divine and human were indistinguishable. But anyway, in Egypt, although the nation's constitution guarantees religious freedom, a presidential permit is required to build, renovate or make even minor repairs to churches. And Copts are apparently discriminated against all throughout the society, and rarely hold important offices. U.S. lawmakers are warning that they intend to increasingly tie their funding efforts to Egypt on how well the Egyptian government protects the Copts.