Religion/ Spirituality

DMX asked Jesus for a huge favor right before a recent concert in Detroit ... PLEASE DON'T LET ANYONE GET STABBED OR SHOT!!!!

X was doing his customary pre-show prayer with members of his team when he got "real" with his Lord and Savior about their safety in what Forbes calls, "The Most Dangerous City in America."

"We pray that there are no fightings, no stabbings, no shootings, no arrests, no drunk drivings, no altercations or incidents whatsoever," X said.

Hey, doesn't hurt to ask.

For the record, X's prayers were answered that night ... no violent incidents were reported at the show.

Amen.

A self-proclaimed member of Phil Robertson's church is literally making a federal case over Phil's suspension ... he's suing A&E and others because he feels the network is chilling his right to hate homosexuals.

Chris Sevier, who claims to be a lawyer, has previously sued pretty much everyone under the sun, including Bill O'Reilly, CBS, Facebook and Apple.

This time around, Sevier has put together 91 pages of law and religious propaganda, quoting scriptures about the evils of homosexuality. Sevier claims the fact that A&E has indefinitely suspended Phil is going to have a chilling effect on other churchgoers -- himself included -- when it comes to preaching what he believes is the word of God.

As for what that word is ... Sevier thinks it's rooted in sin. He says, if gay marriage is allowed, "citizens in that state should be able to marry their pets" -- he sees no difference.

In addition to suing A&E ... Sevier is suing President Obama, claiming the Prez is in cahoots with A&E to further the pro-gay agenda.

At one point in the rambling lawsuit, which Sevier says will be filed today, he says, "We live in a Christian nation 'Jack.'"

One final thing ... take a look at some of the pictures Sevier sprinkled in the suit. We don't know the rhetorical point he's making, but they're hilarious.

Phil Robertson says he is not without sexual sin, but has put it in check by getting hitched.

Phil got up in front of his bible study group Sunday and said, "Sexual sins are numerous and many. I have a few myself." But his solution was plain ... "If you're a man, find yourself a woman, marry them and keep your sex right there."

Phil -- who sees the world in black and white -- is defiant about the torrent of criticism -- "I will not give or back off my path," adding, "All I did was quote from the scriptures."

Phil gave the Daily Mail access to the study group, and they heard an earful. He said, "Common sense says we are not going to procreate the human race unless we have a man and a woman."

And the strident "Duck Dynasty" star goes on, "If you're a homosexual, He'll take it away. If you're an adulterer, if you're a liar, what's the difference? If you break one sin you may as well break them all ... if we lose our morality, we will lose our country. It will happen."

And in a not-so-subtle way ... Phil calls out A&E, which acted shocked by his comments: "This week I have been asked, 'Is this the first time you have brought up sin? ... Are you kidding? I have been traveling to and fro spreading this message ... I have made hundreds of speeches ..."

And finally, there's this ... Phil railed on people who claim he's an idiot, conceding, "We are a bunch of rednecks from Louisiana, but I am not uneducated. I have a degree from Louisiana Tech."

Check out the video below with Phil's son, Alan, cracking jokes at Sunday's church service about the controversy.

The Rhett Walker Band is worried a full blown riot may break out this weekend at their concert in Ohio ... and it's all because one of the guys from "Duck Dynasty" will be there.

John Godwin from "DD" is scheduled to make an appearance Sunday at the Rhett Neck Xmas show in Lima -- and Rhett says they've been getting blasted on social media for it ... with some threatening to cause major ruckus.

However, Rhett makes it clear -- he's not gonna let some haters ruin his concert ... especially since the singer agrees with everything Phil said ... and he's vowing to make sure it goes off without a hitch to support the suspended reality star.

Walker adds, "We do support Duck Commander and 'Duck Dynasty' ... if that blows us into an area where people think we hate the gay community that would sadden me -- but we 100% support Phil and what he said."

The band says they are beefing up security at the event ... just to be safe.

Phil Robertson turned to the Lord after getting benched from "Duck Dynasty."

The pastor at White's Ferry Road Church tells TMZ ... while everyone went crazy last night over Phil's suspension, Phil was in the pews with his prayer group, praying for a woman who had been diagnosed with cancer.

Pastor Mike Kellett tells us ... Robertson didn't even MENTION the TV show or the suspension
-- it was all about the sick woman.

Pastor Mike dodged our question -- whether Phil's a homophobe -- saying, "Phil is doing his best to follow God's word. He always treats people with love and respect."

Pastor Mike says the church is solidly behind Robertson: "Television shows come and go. His faith is forever."

If "Duck Dynasty" network A&E feared advertisers would scatter like waterfowl after a shotgun blast because of Phil Robertson's anti-gay comments ... it's not happening.

A company called Skyjacker -- which builds truck suspensions -- tells us it stands solidly behind Phil and the show ... saying it's a matter of God and country -- it's a free country and Phil has a right to his opinions.

Company brass tells us it goes beyond the Constitution ... to the Creator: "We are a Christian- based company and actively share our faith so standing with Phil Robertson is an easy choice for us."

Robertson opened up a can of worms when he said homosexuality and bestiality were the same sin ... his church seems to back Phil up on that.

Officials at White's Ferry Road Church just told us, "We love him and support him."

4:55 PM PT -- A&E just dropped the hammer on Phil ... putting him on indefinite hiatus. The network says its disappointed by his anti-gay comments -- which are his own personal beliefs and not reflective of "Duck Dynasty" or the network. A&E says it supports the LGBT community.

8:15 AM PT -- Phil's trying to backpedal by releasing a statement through A&E in which he says, "I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me."

But he's still doing some thumping ... adding that the Bible teaches "women and men are meant to be together."

"Duck Dynasty" patriarch Phil Robertson is blasting gays ... and not in the usual Bible-thumping way -- instead he's going off about the benefits of vagina as compared to a man's a**hole.

Robertson went on a rant about religion, homosexuality, and a bunch of other things in an interview with GQ -- saying, "It seems like to me, a vagina -- as a man -- would be more desirable than a man's anus. That's just me."

He adds, "There's more there! She's got more to offer. I mean, come on dudes! But hey, sin: It's not logical, my man."

Phil continued his verbal attack by claiming society's become too accepting of sin. He says, "Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and those men ... they won't inherit the kingdom of God. It's not right."

Ex-Scientologist Leah Remini's taking the high road after Kirstie Alley called her a repulsive "bigot" on the radio -- telling TMZ, she only wishes the best for people ... even if they hate her back.

Leah was out in L.A. last night when we asked about Kirstie's recent Howard Stern interview ... when Kirstie bashed Leah for criticizing Scientology after leaving the Church.

Kirstie called Leah an anti-faith "bigot" who picks on Scientologists for no reason ... then said Leah was her "enemy."

The leading Catholic rights group in America wants to organize their own hate campaign -- because they hate the anti-religious hatred they claim Bill Maher spews on his show ... and now it's calling for network execs to kill Bill's show for good.

The Catholic League -- which has had issues with Maher for years -- now say "Real Time with Bill Maher" finally crossed the line after a recent guest went nuts bashing Catholicism.

The guest -- author Dan Savage -- was ragging against a bishop who claimed kids adopted by gay parents have a higher chance of suicide. Savage's retort: "He's confusing children of gay parents with children who are raped by Catholic priests." Dan referred to them as "kiddie-f***ing Catholic priests."

Chris Brown hit up a fancy restaurant Thursday night to celebrate his exit from anger management rehab ... and he made it clear -- he was not in search of God.

Brown was leaving Aventine in Hollywood at around midnight when a guy with an awesome beard ran interference for him.

Chris was mum on selling his house and moving West to the 'Bu.

Tom Cruise admitted that Katie Holmes left him partly because of his ties to Scientology.

Cruise sat for a deposition in his $50 million libel suit against a magazine company that claimed he abandoned his daughter Suri.

In the deposition ... Cruise squirmed in his chair as the lawyer for the magazine repeatedly asked if Katie fled their marriage because of the Church. Cruise hemmed and hawed, suggesting it wasn't true, and then the lawyer asked whether "Katie Holmes left you in part to protect Suri from Scientology."

Cruise answered: "Did she say that? That was one of the assertions, yes."

Cruise also admitted that Suri is NOT a member of Scientology anymore.

The story that triggered the lawsuit claimed Tom abandoned his daughter. In his depo, Cruise says for the period between June 18, 2012 and Thanksgiving, 2012, he estimates he only saw Suri 10 days. During one stretch ... Tom admits he didn't see his daughter for more than 100 days.

The lawyer for the magazine grilled Tom about his desire to see Suri. The lawyer pulled out aviation documents showing Tom flew from Pittsburgh to London on Oct. 15 for the International Association of Scientology convention. Tom returned to Pittsburgh the next day. Tom said it was very important to attend, and then the lawyer made it clear Tom never took such quick trips to see Suri.

And in another part of the deposition, the magazine's lawyer brought up the part of the story in which they claimed Suri was "upset and crying a lot" when Tom was absent. In the depo, Tom admits being absent, but adamantly denied Suri was upset.

Clint Eastwood's wife Dina still loves her estranged husband ... but hopes a little new age voodoo -- the use of crystals -- will rid her home of Clint's negative energy ... TMZ has learned.

Dina tweeted a pic from the Crystal Fantasy in Palm Springs ... where she dropped a couple of hundred dollars on crystals, incense, sage ... and other stuff believed to have metaphysical powers of healing and cleansing.

While in the store, Dina was overheard dumping on Clint and his new squeeze ... because they had shacked up at a home the Eastwoods own in Palm Springs.

Now Dina apparently plans to do some heavy duty house cleaning ... using the crystals and incense to remove all of the bad energy left behind by Clint's visit.

NEWS FLASH: Pope Francis is a badass who owns not one, but TWO Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

BIGGER NEWS FLASH: He's auctioning them off for charity.

To get you up to speed, the Holy Father was gifted the two bikes by Harley-Davidson during a biker rally in Rome this summer, when 35,000 Harley enthusiasts rode into town to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the motorcycle company.

Roughly 800 of the riders went to the Vatican for a special blessing from the Pope, and during the event, Pope Frank was gifted two new hogs -- a 2013 Heritage Softail Classic (valued at $20,799) and a 2013 Dyna Super Glide Custom ($16,000).

Now Pope Francis has announced he's auctioning off the first bike to benefit a local homeless shelter. The second bike will also be auctioned off, but a charity hasn't been chosen for that one yet.

As for when the first auction takes place, that hasn't been announced yet either.

Amen.

Blake Shelton exercised his oral skills on his way out of a West Hollywood nightclub, urging the Westboro Baptist Church to wrap its head around his.

Blake was clearly tipsy as he left Usher's birthday bash at Bootsy Bellows nightclub ... but he was lucid enough to go after the hateful group that has urged a boycott of his concerts -- repeatedly saying the "Church" could "BLOW ME."

Members of the cretin org have beef with Blake, because he supports gay rights -- tweeting about his recent song, "Ya the boys 'round here think it's ok to be queer." They're also attacking Blake for having an affair with Miranda Lambert while he was still married.

Good thing to know Blake practices safe sex ... hate is not an STD.

(Harvey wrote that last line ... we don't get it either.)

Famed gospel singer Andrae Crouch was rushed to the hospital Sunday after falling ill in the shower at his L.A. home ... TMZ has learned.

The 71-year-old Grammy winner behind "Let the Church Say Amen" tells us he was "overcome by heat" during his shower ... and shouted for his assistant and his twin sister to call for help.

An ambulance arrived to the scene -- and Crouch was transported to a nearby hospital. A few hours later, doctors determined Crouch was OK, and he was cleared to go home.

We spoke to Crouch ... who tells us he suffers from diabetes and suspects his condition contributed to the incident in the shower.

The singer tells us he feels better now, but adds, "Diabetes is no fun."

He adds, "Thanks to all my fans for all your prayers and support."

Amen.

Wanna hear bible verses on the street corner? X gon' give it to ya ... and we've got the video proof.

DMX got downright religious outside of the Wi Jammin' Restaurant in L.A. recently ... and we're told it all started when X ran into a fan who told him she was going through hard times.

The rapper instantly sprang into action to help out -- and whipped out his bible to read her some passages. We'd tell you which ones ... but we're not really sure.