Monthly Archives: October 2003
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — October 25, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service Survey: About Three-Fourths of Americans Believe in Heaven, Hell (RNS) About three-fourths of Americans believe in heaven and hell but almost one-fourth say they have “no idea” what will happen after they die, a study by the Barna Research Group shows. Researchers with the Ventura, Calif.-based firm found that 76 […]
NEWS FEATURE: Hindus Celebrate Diwali, New Beginnings at Washington Kali Temple
By RNS Blog Editor — October 24, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service BURTONSVILLE, Md. _ Here, as in India, the annual festival of lights is celebrated with equal parts gaiety and reverence. Festive gatherings follow special pujas, or prayer rituals, throughout the five days of Diwali (also called Deepavali), which this year begins Oct. 25. Different legends surround this holiest of holidays, […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — October 24, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service Bush Distances Himself From Military Official’s Religious Remarks (RNS) President Bush declared Wednesday (Oct. 22) he does not agree with controversial statements made by a defense undersecretary, while Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld says he has no plans to remove the lieutenant general during an investigation of his remarks. Reports […]
NEWS FEATURE: New Rock Opera of Jesus as `!Hero’ Set to Tour
By Adelle M. Banks — October 23, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Veteran Christian musician Eddie DeGarmo has modernized the gospel _ moving Jesus from Nazareth to New York _ in hopes of turning listeners and viewers of his rock opera “!Hero” back to the Bible. “Really, what I want is for them to go back and get involved with the […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — October 23, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service Senate Approves `Partial-Birth’ Abortion Bill, Sends It to Bush WASHINGTON (RNS) President Bush said he will sign a bill passed by the Senate on Tuesday (Oct. 21) that bans so-called partial-birth abortions, a major victory for religious groups who have tried three times to ban the procedure. The 64-34 vote […]
COMMENTARY: Mississippi Muslims
By Qanta Ahmed — October 23, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service (Professor Akbar S. Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington, D.C., is author most recently of “Islam Under Siege: Living Dangerously in a Post-Honor World,” published by Polity Press.) (UNDATED) I would not recommend traveling in the United States on Sept. 11, especially if your […]
NEWS STORY: Military Official Requests Investigation Into His Remarks
By Adelle M. Banks — October 22, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ The defense undersecretary whose recently revealed views on terrorism and religion sparked controversy and charges of religious intolerance has requested that an inspector general investigate the situation, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced Tuesday (Oct. 21). Meanwhile, reaction to Lt. Gen. William G. “Jerry” Boykin’s reported remarks in speeches […]
NEWS FEATURE: Mending Mezuzahs: Rabbis Make a Mission of Checking Doorpost Prayers
By RNS Blog Editor — October 22, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. _ With the care of a jeweler, Rabbi Yossi Hirsch began inspecting the tiny mezuzah parchment, searching for errors in minuscule Hebrew letters that were supposed to spell Judaism’s most important prayer. An error, however small, would mean the mezuzah _ the term for an encased parchment […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — October 22, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service NCC Leader Rebukes Malaysian Prime Minister (RNS) Recent anti-Semitic comments by the Muslim prime minister of Malaysia endanger Islam’s claims to peace and threaten Jews with violence, the head of the National Council of Churches said. The Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the ecumenical body of 36 mainline and […]
COMMENTARY: Competition Corrupts
By Tom Ehrich — October 21, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service (Tom Ehrich is a writer and computer consultant, managing large-scale database implementations. An Episcopal priest, he lives in Durham, N.C.) CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas _ My corner of the world is sleeping when I drive to the airport for my flight to Texas. The airport, by contrast, is bustling at 5:30 […]
NEWS FEATURE: Adventist `Whitecoats,’ Volunteers for Military Experiments, Hold Reunion
By RNS Blog Editor — October 8, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service FREDERICK, Md. _ Ivan Belko still remembers how he willingly inhaled Q fever, a biological agent that was the focus of a military experiment he volunteered for in the 1950s. “I was one of the ones that got pretty sick,” recalled the 69-year-old who participated in “Operation Whitecoat,” a special […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — October 6, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service Griswold’s Comments on Gay Bishop Cause Flap with Florida Catholics (RNS) Episcopalians may not use a Catholic church for a bishop’s installation ceremony if the nation’s top Episcopal bishop intends to preside at the service, a Catholic bishop said Thursday (Oct. 2). Roman Catholic Bishop Victor Galeone of St. Augustine, […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — October 2, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service NCC Financial Health Recovers, Reserve Funds Tripled (RNS) The National Council of Churches has improved its financial health by paying off all debts, doubling its net worth and tripling the amount of reserve funding, its top officer said Wednesday (Oct. 1). The Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the NCC, […]
NEWS FEATURE: Rabbi, Pastor Study Conflict, Reconciliation During Asian Sabbatical
By Greg Garrison — October 1, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service BIRMINGHAM, Ala. _ So this rabbi and this Baptist pastor from Alabama were walking in downtown Hanoi, and they kept seeing motorbikes carrying cages full of dogs on their way to be slaughtered for someone’s supper. No joke. “In Vietnam, they believe it’s good luck to eat dog at the […]
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