Two suspects have been identified as being responsible for Monday’s tragic bombing at the Boston Marathon. One of the suspects was killed last evening in a shootout with police. The other, 19-year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, is on the run and being hunted by police. Tsarnaev’s father even has called on his son to give himself up and surrender. The Boston area currently is on lockdown as authorities search for the fugitive bomber.

The two suspects are Chechen brothers and originally are “possibly from Dagestan, a province in Russia that borders Chechnya.” It also has been discovered they are practicing Muslims. Fox News unearths some additional details:

Four months ago, the Boston bombing suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed yesterday in a shootout with police, uploaded to his YouTube Channel an eight-minute lecture by the radical Australian Muslim preacher Sheikh Feiz Mohammed denouncing the Harry Potter movies for glorifying and promoting paganism.

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From Christianity Today:

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a Michigan church may sue its local township over police investigations into the church’s loud music.

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LifeSiteNews reports:

An Argentinean priest who has been an outspoken supporter of homosexual “marriage” and gender ideology has been removed from the clerical state permanently by the Vatican’s Congregation of the Clergy, according to the Archdiocese of Cordoba, where the cleric was stationed.

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Christian News Network reports:

A bill in California that would mandate schools to allow boys to use girls’ restrooms and vice versa if they identified with the opposite gender has been approved by the state’s Assembly Education Committee.

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Fox News reports on the devastating explosion that occurred last evening at a fertilizer plant near Waco, Texas:

Police say between five to fifteen people were killed and more than 160 were injured in a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant near Waco, Texas, late Wednesday.

The explosion at West Fertilizer in downtown West — a community of roughly 2,600 residents about 20 miles north of Waco — happened around 8 p.m. and could be heard as far away as Waxahachie, a town located 45 miles north. It sent flames spiraling high into the evening sky and rained burning embers, shrapnel and debris down on frightened residents.

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Christian rapper Shai Linne’s recently released album, Lyrical Theology, Pt. 1: Theology, has drawn the attention of many, and not just for its catchy beats. While each track appears to be filled with theologically rich lyrics, it was Linne’s bold willingness to “name names” in the song “Fal$e Teacher$” that led to many headlines. Calling out twelve prominent preachers, each known for his or her aberrant teaching, Linne was not afraid to denounce the erroneous and dangerous doctrines of these men and women. As previously reported, the ministry of at least one of those ‘false teachers,’ Paula White, responded to Shai Linne’s claims.

Though he currently is traveling on Clear Sight Music’s Black Out Circuit Tour, Shai Linne took the time to graciously address the open letter that was addressed to him and was penned by Paula White’s son, Bradley Knight. In his response, Linne looks biblically at three of the false teachings that permeate the ministry and preaching of Paula White. Concluding his letter, Linne writes:

This is getting long, so I’ll bring it to a close. I know you love your mother, Brad. I love mine as well. I made Fal$e Teacher$ because there are many other sons out there whose mothers have had their lives greatly damaged by the false teachings of Paula White and the others mentioned in the song. I would love to hear that Paula White has repented and renounced the many false things that she has taught. I am praying to that end. But until she does that, I must soberly maintain that the Biblical category of “False Teacher” does, in fact, apply her. And those who follow her must be warned.

This response of Shai Linne to Paula White Ministries is a letter not to be missed. Christians can learn and grow from the gracious and godly example that Linne has modeled in these few paragraphs. View article →

The Independent reports:

Most people would be happy to see the law changed to allow a radical form of gene therapy on the IVF embryos of women in danger of passing on mitochondrial disease to their babies – a potentially severe and fatal metabolic disorder.

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George Beverly Shea, who served for years as the booming baritone soloist for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, died yesterday following a brief illness. He was 104. View article →

Fox News reports the latest findings from the investigation into yesterday’s bomb explosions at the Boston Marathon:

Pressure cookers – possibly activated remotely by a cellphone – are believed to have been used to make the crude bombs that sent deadly shrapnel hurling into a crowd of onlookers and competitors at Monday’s Boston Marathon, experts told Fox News.

Doctors treating some of the 176 injured victims believe the explosives were packed with deadly shrapnel, including pellets, nails and sharp metallic objects – with some patients having “40 or more” such fragments embedded in their bodies.

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The Illinois Family Institute notes that advocates of traditional marriage have long maintained that the “true agenda” behind those fighting for so-called homosexual marriage is not marriage equality, but rather the complete “unraveling” and eradication of marriage and traditional values from society. Finally, a homosexual activist has bluntly stated this reality:

Even knowing that there are radicals in all movements, doesn’t lessen the startling admission recently by lesbian journalist Masha Gessen. On a radio show she actually admits that homosexual activists are lying about their radical political agenda. She says that they don’t want to access the institution of marriage; they want to radically redefine and eventually eliminate it.

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According to the Christian Post:

Executive Producer of the History Channel’s “The Bible” miniseries Scott Sassa was booted from his $6 million job by conservative heads at media giant Hearst Corporation last month after they got wind of his racy text exchange negotiating a drug-filled $1,000 sexual encounter with a teenage escort last Christmas.

Sources speaking with the Business Insider have since suggested that Sassa, 54, could also have been the victim of a “catfish” scam of Manti Te’o proportions.

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Los Angeles Times reports:

In a statement issued Monday, the Vatican said Francis had “reaffirmed” the doctrinal evaluation and criticism of U.S. nuns carried out last year by the Vatican under his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. The assessment accused the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an umbrella organization that represents most U.S. female Catholic orders, of promoting “radical feminism” and of ignoring the Vatican’s hard line on same-sex marriage and abortion.

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Christian News Network reports:

During a press briefing on Monday, when questioned about the ongoing murder trial of a notorious abortionist who operated a ‘House of Horrors’ in Philadelphia, the White House refused to take a position on the matter — or even post-birth abortion in general.

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The death toll in yesterday’s Boston Marathon bombings has risen to three; among the dead is an eight-year-old boy. Authorities report that at least 133 people were injured when the explosions occurred, “including several children with severe trauma.” View article →

Two people are dead and many more are injured following two bomb explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Police report that a ‘person of interest’ is being treated at a local hospital for severe burns and currently is being guarded by authorities. Fox News shares some of the horrific and shocking details:

The simultaneous explosions just before 3 p.m. and reports of two other unexploded devices found near the scene raised suspicions of a terrorist attack. Authorities shut down cellular service in the area in order to prevent remote detonations. Intelligence officials told The Associated Press two unexploded devices were being dismantled. Competitors and race organizers were crying as they fled the bloody chaos, while some witnesses reported seeing victims with lost limbs.

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CRN extends its prayers to the victims and their families.

The New York Times reports from Istanbul:

A court here handed down a suspended 10-month jail term on Monday for Fazil Say, an internationally acclaimed Turkish pianist and composer convicted of insulting Islam and offending Muslims in postings on Twitter.

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Christian News Network reports the latest update on Saeed Abedini, the American pastor who has been sentenced to eight years in an Iranian prison for planting house churches in the country.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which has been working for the pastor’s release, reports that they have obtained a new letter written by Saeed Abedini, which outlines the pressure that he is facing behind bars.

“‘Deny your faith in Jesus Christ and return to Islam or else you will not be released from prison. We will make sure you are kept here even after your 8 year sentence is finished.’ These are the threats that prison officials throw at me,” the pastor writes. “My response to them is Romans 8:35-39.”

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Religion News Service reports:

Richard Land, the evangelical culture warrior who was set to leave his job with the Southern Baptists after a series of controversies, will step down early to take over as head of a seminary in North Carolina that focuses on defending the faith in the modern world.

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Many are astounded and even outraged at the mainstream media’s silence regarding the trial of former Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell and his ‘house of horrors.’ Even as that trial is ongoing, a Planned Parenthood facility in Delaware is being accused of similar atrocities. View article →

As previously reported, megachurch pastor Rick Warren’s youngest son, Matthew, 27, committed suicide last week following a lifelong battle with mental illness. Today Warren tweeted that “someone on the internet sold Matthew an unregistered gun.” View article →

Baptist Press reports:

Nudity and expletives normally reserved for cable television would be allowed on broadcast TV under a proposal from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

In an announcement that received little attention but could have a major impact on America’s families, the FCC April 1 announced it is considering changes to the current broadcast indecency policies that would permit “isolated expletives” and isolated “non-sexual nudity” on broadcast TV, something that currently could draw a fine.

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CNN Belief Blog reports:

Combing through prayer requests in a Wheaton College chapel in 2010, then-junior Benjamin Matthews decided to do something “absurdly unsafe.”

He posted a letter on a public forum bulletin board near students’ post office boxes. In the letter, he came out as gay and encouraged fellow gay Christian students – some of whom had anonymously expressed suicidal plans in a pile of the prayer requests – to contact him if they needed help.

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Christian News Network reports:

A Senate committee in Florida has voted unanimously to approve a bill that requires abortionists to provide medical care to babies that are born alive after abortion attempts.

The House version of the bill had been strongly opposed by Planned Parenthood, and as previously reported, representative Alisa LaPolt Snow attended a recent legislative hearing to express opposition.

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Seeker-sensitive Celebration Church, pastored by Stovall Weems and located in Jacksonville, Florida, seems to have taken its weekend services to the extreme, making so much noise that at least one neighbor is beginning to complain. First Coast News reports:

The joyful noise coming from a neighboring church is a little heavy on the noise for one Jacksonville homeowner.

“Last Sunday was Easter, which was a time to celebrate. We had our families all here and it was just at a point where you couldn’t even come outside and talk,” said Dave, who’s (sic) property backs Celebration Church.

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LifeNews points out that the media has refused to cover the trial of West Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell, who may have murdered over 100 babies outside the womb by plunging scissors into their spinal cords. Instead, news outlets have chosen to report on “shocking videos” that show Rutgers’ head basketball coach bullying his team. According to LifeNews:

Last week, Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell and 20 other leaders of the conservative movement publicly demanded the networks end their blackout of the Gosnell trial. They haven’t.

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