Hollywood Prayer Network answers the question, "Why pray for Hollywood?" in this video. The group, which is an incredible ministry that many people can vouch for experiencing in tangible ways, says it is "a movement of prayer for the people, the projects, and the powerful impact of Hollywood: the world's most influential mission field."

HPN continues, "We are a nonprofit ministry led by industry Christians. HPN believes that by mobilizing people around the world to pray for entertainment professionals, we can be part of God's work in changing the spiritual climate of Hollywood, from the inside out. Whether you're an industry professional who wants prayer and support or a Christian who has a heart to pray for Hollywood, you can join the movement!"

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A veterans organization has called for a congressional hearing on certain activities at the Department of Veterans Affairs, alleging that the government entity is violating religious freedom.

The Louisiana-based group Military-Veterans Advocacy, Inc. sent a letter last week to Congressman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), who chairs the Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Written by retired Navy Commander and Executive Director of Military-Veterans Advocacy J. B. Wells, the letter says that "the curtailment of religious freedom is widespread within the Department." more >>

Asia Noreen Bibi, the first Pakistani woman sentenced to death for blasphemy in November 2010, thanked Pope Francis and all the churches praying for her and credited them with her survival after four-and-a-half years in prison.

"I am very grateful to all the churches that are praying for me and fighting for my freedom. If I am still alive, it is thanks to the strength that your prayers give me," Bibi wrote in a Christmas letter to Pope Francis. While Bibi was sentenced to death in 2010, the verdict must be upheld by a superior court, and many petitions have protested her imprisonment.

Bibi lamented the fact that, while many people have spoken and fought for her, it is "to no avail." Even though she is still in prison, she said, "I just want to trust the mercy of God, who can do everything, that all is possible." Bibi wrote that in her dire situation, "Only God will be able to free me." more >>

In a recent post, Baylor University professor and founder of the popular blog "Christ and Pop Culture," Alan Noble, accused Fox News' Todd Starnes of effectively lying to his viewers by withholding important information in two stories the columnist recently covered, falsely giving an exaggerated "impression that the government is at war with Christians."

In the Dec. 25 story "VA hospital bans Christmas cards," Starnes wrote that "bedridden veterans at the VA hospital" had been denied receiving Christmas cards written by elementary school students because the letters "violated VA policy."

In Starnes' story, the VA explained its policy in this statement: more >>

A California church has received threats and criticism after placing a figure of a bloody Trayvon Martin in its nativity scene.

Since it hired artist John Zachary, 58, in 2007, Claremont United Methodist Church in Claremont, Calif., has used its nativity scene to intentionally spark what the church sees as challenging, and at times, uncomfortable conversations.

Zachary pointed to the second chapter of Matthew's description of King Herod calling for all boys younger than 2 to be killed, when discussing what inspired him to include the 17-year-old African American teenager in his setting. more >>

President Barack Obama did celebrate Christmas while vacationing with his family in Hawaii, but he didn't go to church yet another time. An unofficial White House historian says the president has attended church only 18 times during his nearly five years of presidency.

Obama sang carols, opened presents with his family, and visited a nearby military base in Hawaii, but he didn't attend Christmas church service – "something they have rarely done since he entered the White House," says The New York Times.

The Christian Post noted on Dec. 26 that a brief description of the president's Christmas Eve and Christmas Day activities, as provided by a White House press pool report, didn't mention churchgoing at all. more >>