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Representatives from Iowa, Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Utah, Alabama, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Texas were recommended today (May 18) as potential replacements for Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court by GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump. Scalia, 79, died in his sleep in February.

Pro-LGBTQ businesses are a greater threat to religious freedom in the United States than the Islamic State, said Robert Jeffress, a conservative evangelical minister of the 12,000-member First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. He reportedly was speaking out about the federal government's reaction to anti-transgender legislation in states, such as North Carolina.

"It's time to stand up and have a voice, instead of bowing to the homosexual, perverted agenda that's taken over this nation," an unidentified woman walking through a Target store with what is assumed her family says in a video posted by YouTube user Loredana Camelia, which has gone viral since the video was posted Saturday. It received more than 390,890 views at the time this article was published.

Creationist Ken Ham took to social media platforms within the last 24 hours to bash organizers of a national, secular event and accuse atheists of having crazed beliefs based purely on blind faith: "Atheists believe universe & life arose by natural processes -- that's their religion -- it's a blind faith religion, it's an anti-God religion."

Docu-web actress and vlogger "Shameless Maya" launched a YouTube channel for which she pondered what would happen if she shamelessly promoted herself for 365 days. What she started as a social media experiment became her lifestyle and job, and now her most recent video from Sunday poses questions about beliefs in God.

"I've thought about this a lot, and I think the best way to go with 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' would have been to make the religious themes and questions of the movie the real subject of the film," said movie critic Alyssa Rosenberg. The movie was released March 25.

Multi-media personality, author and "truth-speaking" Glenn Beck decided this week's social media attacks on Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly by presidential candidate Donald Trump were more than enough bullying, so he posted the following open letter that classifies Trump as "a 14-year-old boy trapped in a 70-year-old body." The 52-year-old CEO of Mercury Radio Arts went on to indicate Trump has created a "new meaning of domestic abuse."

America desperately needs a truthful standard bearer as our next president. We really are at a very serious and dangerous time for our divided nation. Will 'We the People' make the right decision? Our only hope of not going off the cliff is to find the unity that always gives God's blessing. Our great strength has been our unity for truth founded in our Christian world view. It includes God's standard of truth for moral clarity and righteousness. It is the only way we can escape the Lord's righteous judgments. Ted Cruz has raised this standard and without doubt he is the most viable candidate to do it. He is a true statesman with a proven record of standing for the Word of God, our constitution and the freedoms we enjoy.

"What is the future of traditional religion in this country," asked Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute in a public policy blog Monday. He said he believes this question is now discussed constantly across America, from dinner tables to graduate seminars to think-tank conference centers.

Last week's blog struck a nerve. I wrote a piece entitled "Decency for President." The premise was a simple one. Shouldn't a presidential candidate who claims to be Christian talk like one? When a candidate waves a Bible in one speech and calls a reporter "bimbo" in the next, isn't something awry? Specifically, when Donald Trump insists that he is a Christian ("a good Christian" to use his descriptor) and then blasts, belittles, and denigrates everyone from Barbara Bush to John McCain to Megyn Kelly, shouldn't we speak up?

As the father of three daughters, I reserved the right to interview their dates. Seemed only fair to me. After all, my wife and I'd spent 16 or 17 years feeding them, dressing them, funding braces, and driving them to volleyball tournaments and piano recitals. A five-minute face-to-face with the guy was a fair expectation. I was entrusting the love of my life to him. For the next few hours, she would be dependent upon his ability to drive a car, avoid the bad crowds, and stay sober. I wanted to know if he could do it. I wanted to know if he was decent.

Many American Christians believe that a new movement in the U.S. is emerging that could change traditional moral values. And, in line with this, many of them are starting to feel that those pushing for this new morality are targeting to suppress religious beliefs and practices.

Politics divide Christians, and "this isn't funny anymore," states Anglican priest Thomas McKenzie, in his recent blog about why he will not be voting for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump. Further, he shared that he believes the election of Trump "would be dangerous to our country, and to the Church."

Last week's blog entitled "Decency for President" from best-selling Christian author and preacher at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, Max Lucado struck a nerve because he dared to suggest that Americans should hold people who say they are Evangelical accountable for their actions. He specifically called into question GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump's unChristian antics. Lucado said more than 3 million people read his piece in the first 36 hours on his posting it.

One of the recurring reasons associated with voters who indicate they intend to vote for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is that he "wants what's best for the United States." No matter if that "bestness" is politically incorrect or has the appearance of being greedy. More and more voters are voicing they want a future leader who is also a protector in chief, someone who can "get things done," apparently even if that chief doesn't truly embody the same goals or beliefs.

In a strongly worded and critical opinion piece on Huffington Post, blogger Matthew Taylor took GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump to task and asked why Christians are "supporting the heathen." However, the self-professed Christian also threw conceptual darts at the true state of religion in America, while claiming Trump exposes how the "genius of the American religious experiment is also its Achilles heel."

British scientists this month received permission to alter the DNA of human embryos within the overall mission of correcting devastating diseases in the womb. The work of one authorized stem cell scientist, using embryos donated by couples with a surplus after IVF treatment, will look at the fertilized eggs' development from a single cell to about 250 cells. The research could help scientists understand why some women lose their babies before term, and provide better clinical treatments for infertility, using conventional medical methods.

Last night I was at church watching the Super Bowl with a bunch of young adults in the student ministry. We had a concert planned for the halftime show and I was in the sound booth watching hundreds of young people enjoy contemporary music that glorified Jesus. My phone started to buzz over and over with friends of mine asking If I saw the Super Bowl half-time show. I knew instantly that it had to do with gay awareness and homosexuality.

Joel C. Rosenberg, author of the popular "Last Jihad" book series, "Epicenter" and "The First Hostage," says all of the current presidential candidates, except maybe three, are not prepared to deal with the threat of what he calls "apocalyptic Islam." He said front-runners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton "do not have the skill set needed to deal with Iran's mullahs or the growing threat of the Islamic State."

Born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr., basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar changed his name upon converting to Islam, putting him at an interesting intersection of the issues majorly affecting the United States. As a self-made black American Muslim, among multiple racial clashes and divisive rants of certain presidential candidates, he's had plenty to say lately.

As one who has taken the path of prayer over endorsements, I encourage you to keep your hearts and minds clear to avoid personality bias. Let's try hard not to allow zeal for our favorites to cloud the goal of having God redirect our nation from looming disaster. Pray for America.

General Jerry Boykin is a retired US Army General who served in intelligence and as a Green Beret. He was recently interviewed on the Prophetic Perspectives program on MorningStarTV.com. Boykin offered the sobering warning during the show, "If America does not stand with Israel, it will pay a price." Below are few highlights from that interview.

As a leading American evangelical reverend to Washington, D.C., officials and president of the Faith and Action Christian outreach ministry, Rob Schenck took on the controversial topic of choices about guns and morality in a special opinion piece this week. He said he now believes his "family of faith is wrong on guns."

With the question of whether or not a nation or state should house Middle-Eastern refugees, we must exercise wisdom with our compassion.

Glenn Beck demonstrates the true spirit of Christmas as he and his supporters raise over 12 million dollars to bring Iraqi Christians to safety in Slovakia.