c. 2005 Religion News Service
Falwell Readmitted to Hospital With Pneumonia
(RNS) The Rev. Jerry Falwell was readmitted to a Virginia hospital Tuesday (March 29) with a recurrence of pneumonia, but his staff spokesman said rumors of a heart attack were “totally false and unfounded.”
Falwell, 71, had difficulty breathing Tuesday morning and checked himself into Lynchburg General Hospital in Lynchburg, Va., said Ron Godwin, president of Jerry Falwell Ministries.
“It’s more an act of prudence and caution than anything else,” Godwin said. “But he is in the hospital and he is resting comfortably and communicating with his family.”
Falwell is on a respirator and his condition is stable, Godwin said. Falwell, the founder of the Moral Majority and chancellor of Liberty University, was released March 5 after spending two weeks in the hospital with the same condition.
Falwell preached Easter Sunday at Thomas Road Baptist Church, but had been on the road following Liberty’s women’s basketball team in the NCAA tournament. The Lady Flames lost 90-48 to Louisiana State University in the “Sweet Sixteen” matchup Saturday.
“Maybe he just pushed it a little too hard too early,” Godwin said.
Godwin dismissed rumors that Falwell suffered a heart attack, calling the theory “totally false and unfounded.” Godwin did not know how long Falwell would remain hospitalized and said statements would made as needed.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Gay Rights Group Declines `Panel Discussion’ With Focus on the Family
(RNS) A gay rights group that plans to protest outside the Colorado Springs, Colo., headquarters of Focus on the Family said it has no interest in a proposed “panel discussion” on the Bible’s view of homosexuality.
“For Soulforce, the debate about the worth, dignity and spirit evident in the lives of gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgendered people is over,” the group said in a statement Friday (March 25).
Soulforce, an interfaith group urging greater acceptance for gays and lesbians, said it still intends to bring hundreds of demonstrators to protest Focus on the Family’s view of homosexuality May 1-2. Soulforce contends that God accepts homosexuals, while Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group, believes homosexuality is a sinful condition that can be changed.
Soulforce urged its members to decline invitations to an April 25 panel discussion hosted by Focus on the Family and instead request one-on-one meetings with founder James Dobson or new president Jim Daly instead.
Focus on the Family officials could not be reached for comment.
Although the two sides have found little agreement, Soulforce has tempered its rhetoric, agreeing to not label Focus “a toxic religion zone” as originally planned.
“While we will continue to confront Dobson’s untruths in a strong manner, we believe that the `toxic religion zone’ does not convey the `spirit’ of Soulforce and nonviolence,” the group said in February.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Colo. Court Says Jurors Were Wrong to Consult Bible in Sentencing
(RNS) Colorado’s highest court Monday (March 28) overturned a death sentence in a rape-and-murder trial after jurors in the case consulted the Bible on whether the defendant deserved to die for his crimes.
The court ruled 3-2 to uphold a lower court ruling and instead sentenced Robert Harlan to life in prison without parole. The court said the jury was wrong to consult the Book of Leviticus and its call for “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.”
“Jurors must deliberate in that atmosphere without the aid or distraction of extraneous texts,” the justices ruled.
Harlan was convicted in 1995 of murdering a Denver cocktail waitress, Rhonda Maloney, and permanently injuring Jaquie Creazzo, who tried to help her, according to The New York Times.
The high court said “at least one juror in this case could have been influenced by these authoritative passages to vote for the death penalty when he or she may otherwise have voted for a life sentence.”
The two dissenting judges, however, said the biblical texts fit within Colorado’s specific law that requires jurors to make an “individual moral assessment” beyond the narrow wording of the law.
“The biblical passages the jurors discussed constituted either a part of the jurors’ moral and religious precepts or their general knowledge, and thus were relevant to their court-sanctioned moral assessment,” Justices Nancy Rice and Rebecca Kourlis wrote in their dissent.
The decision was condemned by Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian organization, as well as Gov. Bill Owens.
“Today’s decision is demeaning to people of faith and prevents justice from being served,” Owens said in a statement. “The death penalty in a heinous crime has been overturned by a highly subjective ruling that truly splits hairs.”
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Court Calls Russian Museum Exhibit `Blasphemous’
(RNS) A Moscow district court has convicted and fined the director and curator of a Russian museum on charges of inciting religious hatred.
The court ruled Monday (March 28) that a 2003 art exhibit, “Caution! Religion,” was insulting to the Russian Orthodox Church and “blasphemous,” according to U.S. news reports.
Director Yuri Samodurov and curator Lyudmila Vasilovskaya of the Sakharov Museum _ named for Andrei Sakharov, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and Soviet opponent _ were fined $3,600 each. An artist in the exhibit was acquitted.
The exhibit, vandalized by Russian Orthodox Church members four days after it opened, featured works by about 40 artists, including a sculpture of a church made out of vodka bottles and an icon with the face cut out to allow visitors to insert their heads.
In the courts, Samodurov and Vasilovskaya received a lighter sentence than what was demanded by the Russian Orthodox Church, which wanted the museum officials thrown in prison.
Religious minorities were concerned by the trial, The Associated Press reported, seeing it as another measure against critics of the Russian Orthodox Church. Russian minority religions have been alarmed by recent laws, such as 1997 legislation allowing liquidation of religious organizations not properly registered with the state.
_ Celeste Kennel-Shank
Bahais Elect Two New Members to International Body
(RNS) Two new members have been elected to the Universal House of Justice, the international governing body of the Bahai religion, based in Haifa, Israel.
The nine-member body, which Bahais believe speaks infallibly, is elected through a unique democratic process with delegates from all 182 countries where the faith is practiced. There are approximately 6 million Bahais worldwide.
The two new members were announced March 21, on the festival of Naw Ruz, which marks the Bahai new year. They are Payman Mohajer of Iran, a homeopathic doctor, and Paul Lample of the United States, an author and educator.
The election was called in January when Ian Semple and Douglas Martin, two long-standing members, announced their resignations due to “age and the related needs of the Faith.” Semple, who was a chartered accountant in England before being named to the body in 1963, has been on the Universal House of Justice since it was created and was the last remaining founding member to serve.
Bahais believe in the unity of the world’s religions and races as revealed by Bahaullah, a prophet in 19th century Iran.
There is no official clergy among Bahais and administrative offices are filled by democratic elections. Voting in elections is incumbent on every Bahai after age 21.
Since there is no nominations process and campaigning for office is forbidden, the Bahai are encouraged to pray before listing the names of nine qualified candidates on a secret ballot.
Qualifications for office on local and national levels include devotion, ability and experience. Members of the international body, the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, must also be male.
_ Jason Anthony
Quote of the Day: Southern Baptist Convention President Bobby Welch
(RNS) “What if (Nashville, Tenn.) became the epicenter for the next Great Awakening _ how many of you would be for that? I’m tellin’ you boys, it could happen. We’re overdue.”
_ Southern Baptist Convention President Bobby Welch addressing the Nashville Baptist Pastors’ Conference ahead of a planned evangelism effort in mid-June just before the annual Southern Baptist Convention meets there. He was quoted by Baptist Press.
MO/PH END RNS
