Monthly Archives: July 2004
Religion in Canada
By Ron Csillag — July 15, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Jews May Erect Sukkahs on Condo Balconies, Court Rules OTTAWA (RNS) Freedom of religion includes the right of Orthodox Jews to erect religious ceremonial huts on the balconies of their condominiums even if the structures violate ownership agreements, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled late last month. In a 5-4 […]
COMMENTARY: Our Cross to Bear?
By RNS Blog Editor — July 15, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (Judy Gruen’s latest book is “Till We Eat Again: Confessions of a Diet Dropout,” published by Champion Press. Visit her Web site at http://www.judygruen.com.) (UNDATED) One might wonder why a number of Orthodox Jews, including me, felt compelled to attend a recent demonstration in downtown Los Angeles to protest the […]
RNS Weekly Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — July 15, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Bush Administration Asks Appeals Court Rehearing on Assisted Suicide Law (RNS) The Bush administration asked a federal appellate court on Monday (July 12) to reconsider its spring decision to uphold Oregon’s assisted suicide law. It would like the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to set aside its May ruling […]
NEWS FEATURE: Episcopalians in New York Go Hip-hop
By Benedicta Cipolla — July 14, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service NEW YORK _ In New York’s inner city, an Episcopal priest is taking the word of God to the streets _ literally. This summer, Friday evenings on Trinity Avenue in the South Bronx have been filled with the sound of psalms and prayers, over beats by Tupac, NAS and other […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — July 14, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Supporters Rally as Gay Marriage Amendment Appears Doomed WASHINGTON (RNS) Supporters of a constitutional amendment against gay marriage launched a last-ditch effort to rally support for the proposal, which increasingly appears to be headed to defeat in the Senate. A final vote on the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, which would […]
NEWS STORY: Parliament of the World’s Religions Ends With Renewed Commitments
By Jason Anthony — July 14, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service BARCELONA, Spain _ Anglican Bishop Benjamin Ojwang came to this city for the Parliament of the World’s Religions on a mission for his country. “Put international pressure on our government to accept peace talks,” he pleaded, telling the story of his capture and torture at the hands of Uganda’s rebel […]
COMMENTARY: Doing What’s Normal
By Tom Ehrich — July 14, 2004
c. 2004 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. Visit his Web site at http://www.onajourney.org.) CHAPEL HILL, N.C. _ The University of North Carolina’s aquatic center is hot and sticky when we arrive at 7 a.m. Add piercing noise […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — July 13, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod President Re-Elected (RNS) The Rev. Gerald B. Kieschnick was re-elected Sunday (July 11) to a second term as president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, perhaps ending a long debate over his support for a New York pastor who participated in a controversial post-Sept. 11 event. Some members […]
NEWS STORY: Rules Are Unclear for Nonprofit Bankruptcies
By RNS Blog Editor — July 13, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The nonprofit status of the Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., may provide the Catholic organization more bankruptcy protection than businesses receive, according to legal experts. Last Tuesday’s (July 6) filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection temporarily shields the archdiocese from claims by lenders and more than 60 plaintiffs in clergy […]
COMMENTARY: Caring for God’s Creation
By David P. Gushee — July 13, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (David P. Gushee is the Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.) (UNDATED) It is becoming increasingly clear that human beings are doing significant damage to God’s good creation and to the creatures who inhabit it, including ourselves. We know what to do about the problems […]
NEWS FEATURE: Science May Yield Longer Lives, But With What Consequences?
By RNS Blog Editor — July 13, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The shades of old age span a spectrum of frailty and strength, of depression and cheer, of confusion and clarity. When President Reagan died in June at age 93, eulogies lamented that he had spent his last decade in the haze of Alzheimer’s disease. Yet Verona Johnston, 113, of […]
NEWS STORY: Church Bankruptcy Puts Courts in Uncharted Area
By Ashbel S. (Tony) Green — July 10, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service PORTLAND, Ore. _ In becoming the first Roman Catholic diocese to file for bankruptcy, the Archdiocese of Portland is gambling that U.S. courts will be loath to interfere with the intimate workings of church operations. Judges hearing bankruptcy cases routinely take intrusive steps to protect creditors. Sometimes they appoint trustees […]
NEWS STORY: Southern Baptists Tussle Over Seminary’s Ties to Denomination
By Bruce Nolan — July 10, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service NEW ORLEANS _ New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary continues to be locked in a quiet but determined battle of wills with denominational leaders about how to tie the 3,700-student school to the Southern Baptist Convention. For more than a year, leaders in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination have been urging […]
COMMENTARY: Needed: Pro-life Democrats and Social Justice Republicans
By RNS Blog Editor — July 10, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (The Rev. James L. Heft, a Catholic priest, is professor of faith and culture and chancellor at the University of Dayton. He is also president of the Institute of Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California.) (UNDATED) When it comes to presidential elections these days, any thoughtful Catholic […]
COMMENTARY: Bush Campaign’s `Outreach’ Is More Like Overreach
By James Rudin — July 9, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (Rabbi Rudin, the American Jewish Committee’s Senior Interreligious Adviser, is Distinguished Visiting Professor at Saint Leo University.) (UNDATED) Try to guess who wrote these words: “Be wary, be on your guard, regarding the government because it does not come near to a person except for its own needs. The government […]
