Several Items of Interest

Churches Boot Boy Scouts for Lifting Ban on Openly Homosexual Members
Following the Boy Scouts' recent vote to lift its ban on openly homosexual members, a number of churches across America have announced they will be cutting ties with the organization, Christian News Network reports.  The majority of entities that charter with the Boy Scouts are either faith-based organizations or churches; however, some churches have now decided not to allow the Scouts to use their facilities any more as the organization no longer represents their moral values.  Pastor Mike Shaw of the First Baptist Church of Pelham, Ala., is among those ending his alliance with the Scouts.  He recently explained that his church could not in good conscience support the acceptance of sinful behavior. "We don't hate anybody," Shaw told reporters.  "We're not doing it out of hatred.  The teachings of the Scripture are very clear on this. We're doing it because it violates the clear teaching of Scripture."  Pastor Ernest Easley of Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga. said his church woud no longer support the Scouts either.  "It is extremely sad," he stated.  "I'd never dreamed that I'd be standing in front of a group preaching on Sunday, encouraging parents to pull kids out of Boy Scouts of America.  It we're a church that affirms God's word as the inerrant word of God that we're going to live by, that we're going to raise our families by, that we're going to church by, then it may be sad, but it's a simple decision.  We are not going to put our arms around organizations that openly oppose the moral guidelines taught in God's word."  TheSouthern baptist convention plans to vote next month on a resolution in regrd to the Scouting policy, which may result in additional churches distancing themselves from the organization.  A number of Christian organizations are predicting a mass exodus from the Boy Scouts of America following last month's decision.

Obama Administration Defends Massive Phone Record Collection
The Obama administration on Thursday defended its collection of a massive amount of telephone records from at least one carrier as part of U.S. counterterrorism efforts, re-igniting a debate over privacy even as it called the practice "critical" to protecting Americans from attacks, Reuters reports.  The admission came after Britain's Guardian newspaper published in Wednesday a secret court order related to the records of millions of Verizon Communications customers.  A senior White House official said the metadata request included phone numbers and length of calls but not users' personal information or the calls' content. Such information is "a critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats to the United States," the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.  "It allows counter-terrorism personnel to discover whether known or suspected terrorists have been in contact with other persons who may be engaged in terrorist activities, particularly people located inside the United States."  But privacy and free speech advocates say the president has overstepped his bounds, again.  His administration is already under fire for searching Associated Press journalists' calling records and the emails of a Fox News Channel reporter as part of its inquires into leaked government information.  Verizon has declined to comment. It remains unclear whether the practice extends to other carriers, though several security experts and at least one U.S. lawmaker said that was likely.

Nigerian Village Attacked Just Prior to Boko Haram Being Officially Banned
On Tuesday morning, gunmen surrounded the village of Rucuki in Nigerian's Nasarawa State, killing at least 16 people and destroying at least 25 homes, Open Doors USA reports.  The motive for the attack is unknown, but it appears that the perpetrators may have been members of the Islamist group Boko Haram escaping the government clampdown under the state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.  The Nigerian government carries on efforts to bring an end to the Boko Haram insurgnecy; on Wednesday, Boko Haram was officially banned while the U.S. government declared a $7 million bounty for the capture of its leader, Abubakar Shekau.  Boko Haram has killed hundreds of Christians and moderate Muslims and has a goal of establishing sharia law in all of Nigeria.

Pastor Saeed's Wife Pleads With Human Rights Council
The wife of American Christian pastor Saeed Abedini, jailed and tortured in Iran for his faith, pled her case before the U.N. Human Rights Council Monday, CBN News reports.  Naghmeh Abedini joined Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice to urge the panel to defend the persecuted church, specifically asking the member states to take more action on her husband's behalf. Pastor Saeed was sentenced to eight years in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison on account of his Christian faith.  He has been abused physically and suffers from internal bleeding, but prison officials have refused to allow him to be treated for his injuries.  Sekulow wrote on the ACLJ's website: "I implored the nations represented on the Human Rights Council to stand up for the most basic of human rights  -  the right to peaceably assemble in exercise of one's religious beliefs  -  and urge Iran to release Pastor Saeed Abedini."  Despite a call by U.S.Secretary of State John Kerry in March for Saeed's "immediate" release, Neghmeh has said she's been "disappointed that this great country is not doing more to free my husband  -  a U.S.citizen."
 (All of the above articles from Religion Today Daily Headlines, www.religiontoday@crosswalkmail.com)