CP World Report: Mitt Romney, Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street in London, University Studies Bible

By World Report, The Christian Post in partnership with Crossroads, Thursday, November 03, 2011

It's still early... and as we all know, political polls do fluctuate. Some say they favor Republican Herman Cain; others are saying Mitt Romney. But new polls are showing things are looking up for one high-profile Republican presidential hopeful. Take a look…..

Just five weeks after the Pentagon ended the “don’ t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military, gay and lesbian service members are filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act . Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, told our partner--The Christian Post-- that she was not surprised . She added that the Obama Administration has been wanting to eliminate the Defense of Marriage Act and has used the military as a quote “battering ram”. The lawsuit is anticipated to cause problems across State lines, where states differ in marriage definition.

Libyans have won their revolution, but others are still fighting for freedom. Many people either don’t know or have forgotten that the so-called “Arab Spring” all started with one young man in Tunisia—a fruit vendor-- whose anger spread from Northern Africa, across the Arab World. Here’s a look at how groups of young people sparked the “Arab Spring” revolutions.

Meanwhile, ongoing violence has followed Tunisia’s elections . Tunisia imposed a curfew in the central city to control it. Protesters clashed with security forces, who used tear gas to disperse the crowd. The violence erupted after some candidates were disqualified for seats that had been won by the People's Petition. Tunisia's election commission had declared the moderate Islamist Enada party the winner. It took 90 of 217 seats in an assembly that will write a new constitution. The party won 41.5% of the vote while its nearest rival, the secularist Congress for the Republic, won 30 seats,

Protestors in the Occupy Wall Street Movement in London have left their mark on the historic Saint Paul’s Cathedral. They were told to leave the grounds…outside the Cathedral because safety concerns had forced it to close for the first time since World War Two . A senior cleric has since resigned -- citing concerns that violence might be used to break up peaceful protests. Canon chancellor Giles Fraser tweeted that it was with great regret and sadness that he handed in his notice at St Paul's Cathedral.

Pope Benedict called it a great shame that Christianity used force in its history, as he lead a global inter-faith prayer meeting. He hosted 300 religious leaders from around the world to pray for peace in Assissi, the city of St. Francis. Leaders solemnly pledged to promote dialogue and understanding among their communities and with other religions. Some were also from Iran and Saudi Arabia. And for the first time, three atheists joined the prayer meeting.

Researchers have been awarded a grant to study the bible in American life. The private foundation “Lily Endowment Incorporated” gave half a million dollars to the project at the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University . According to the center, the three-year project is one of the first large-scale national studies of its kind. The research group asserts that the Bible has always been the biggest best-seller, which sparked the interest to investigate the ways it’s being used and how often.

A Canadian senator has called for the replacement of the Beaver as the national emblem. Nicole Eaton referred to the beaver as a “dentally defective rat,”. She has now called on Ottawa to replace it with the polar bear, that she feels is more representative of Canada; an animal she hails as strong, majestic and brave. It’s also the world’s largest walking carnivore that thrives in the cold.

Entertainment:

“Paranormal Activity 3" has been a blockbuster, topping the box office charts, and earning $54 million on its opening weekend. It’s also the top debut of all time for a horror film. But it has many parents concerned, not only about that movie, but the explosion in popularity among youth of themes that deal with the occult; like: the Blair Witch Project , Harry Potter Series and Twilight. Marcia Montenegro-- author of “SpellBound: The Paranormal Seduction of Today's Kids” –runs a website: “Christian answers for the new age”, where parents are given guidelines on how to deal with the paranormal with their children. She thinks it’s important for parents to be aware of the influence in our culture of the occult and the paranormal.