" THE MOST FAMOUS MAN IN AMERICA: THE BIOGRAPHY OF HENRY WARD BEECHER ," by Debby Applegate, Doubleday, 527 pages, $27.95 The sex scandal in which Henry Ward Beecher was the protagonist involved Elizabeth Tilton, a member of the congregation Beecher preached to each Sunday. According to Tilton, the sex did not come "out of low or vulgar thoughts either on her part or his, but always from pure affection and a high religious love." She felt "justified before God in her intimacy with him." That is according to the magnificent new book, " The Most Famous Man in America ," by Debby Applegate. And while a significant portion of the book is devoted to this 1872 scandal involving a minister and one of his flock, it's far from the only thing of interest. Henry Ward Beecher , who is not well known to contemporary Americans, was bigger than life. He was surely charismatic and he got his kicks mainly from delivering emotional, powerful...

In a trial outcome Friday that apparently stunned members of an Athens, Ohio, church congregation, a Hocking County jury convicted the church's pastor of committing public indecency in a state park lavatory on May 15. "Oh, no," blurted out one audience member in the packed courtroom, as the jury foreman in Hocking County Municipal Court read out the guilty verdict against 57-year-old H. Willard Love, senior minister of the Athens Church of Christ . One young woman in the audience burst into tears, and could be seen outside the courtroom later, sobbing inconsolably. Love was arrested after he allegedly masturbated in front of an undercover park ranger in the restroom at the spillway of Lake Logan State Park, off U.S. Rt. 33. After deliberating more than an hour and a half Friday, a four-man, four-woman jury found him guilty despite Love's having put on a vigorous defense in which he portrayed his arrest as the result of a misunderstanding by the arresting officer. Judg...

Former Peace Lutheran Church Associate Pastor, Gregory Briehl , faced two judges. A General District Court judge set a $2,500 bond for 52-year-old Briehl on two counts of videotaping non-consenting adults and a Juvenile Relations Court judge set the bond at $100,000 for another charge, 20 counts of possession of child pornography. "I'm in total shock, this is a small neighborhood and all the kids play together," said Ava Kessler. Kessler is a mother of two who just found out her neighbor, Gregory Briehl is in police custody for possessing child porn on his computer. Prosecutors charged him with 20 counts. "Definitely 20 charges are a lot of charges for possession of child pornography," said Lt. John Teixeira, of the Albemarle County Police Department. Albemarle County Police said Briehl also placed video cameras around his home, taping women and possibly children without them even knowing it. Court documents show Briehl's wife found out and tipped off polic...

A Pensacola evangelist who owns the defunct Dinosaur Adventure Land in Pensacola was arrested Thursday on 58 federal charges, including failing to pay $473,818 in employee-related taxes and making threats against investigators. Of the 58 charges, 44 were filed against Kent Hovind and his wife, Jo, for evading bank reporting requirements as they withdrew $430,500 from AmSouth Bank between July 20, 2001, and Aug. 9, 2002. At the couple's first court appearance Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Miles Davis, Kent Hovind professed not to understand why he is being prosecuted. Some 20 supporters were in the courtroom. "I still don't understand what I'm being charged for and who is charging me," he said. Kent Hovind, who often calls himself "Dr. Dino," has been sparring with the IRS for at least 17 years on his claims that he is employed by God, receives no income, has no expenses and owns no property. "The debtor apparently maintains that as a minis...

WEST MEMPHIS, AR -- A community is shocked to learn that one of their religious leaders is facing criminal charges, but it's not just any charges he's facing. The West Memphis man is accused of secretly videotaping an underage girl and not only is the suspect a pastor, but he also is a newly-elected member of the Crittenden County Quorum Court . It all started on Friday, July 7th when Charlotte Moten made a complaint that she had found a video camera in her 14-year-old daughter's bedroom. The accused suspect, 61 year old Jack Moten, also lives in the home on South 12th Street in West Memphis. After using a search warrant at his home Tuesday, police arrested Moten and charged him with a Class D Felony of voyeurism and video voyeurism against a girl. While reading the charges to the judge at Moten's court arraignment, the court official said Moten did not deny the charges to police. "Upon interview, the defendant admitted to placing it there," read the court off...

The senior pastor of Bloomington Illinois' Second Presbyterian Church has been put on medical leave following his arrest during a domestic dispute with his estranged wife, church officials said Monday. The Rev. Ted Pierce has been charged with aggravated battery, criminal trespass to a residence and domestic battery after a June 29 incident. Prosecutors say he choked his wife, from whom he is separated, and threatened to kill her. Pierce has been active in the community during his five years at the helm of Second Presbyterian, helping to create the Compassion Center, a day center for homeless people in downtown Bloomington, and ShareFest, an annual countywide volunteerism program. The Rev. Roane Deckert, who has served as minister of pastoral care under Ted Pierce and has assumed Pierce's pastoral duties, said many were shocked and saddened to hear about the incident and continue to support Pierce. "Do we approve of what happened? Of course not. Nobody in their right mind...