Monthly Archives: September 2006
Evangelicals Take Political Uneasiness Public
By Kimberly Winston — September 22, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) A new crop of books features a small but vocal group of evangelicals with a warning for members of their faith: Unless they sever political alliances and forgo blind adherence on hot-button issues, they run the risk of displeasing God and undermining their Christian convictions. The authors, who range […]
Different strokes for different folks
By Tracy Gordon — September 21, 2006
Quote of the Day: Willow Creek Community Church Pastor Bill Hybels “I’m not an arm waver and a clapper and a dancer. Music doesn’t do that to me, although it stirs me inside.” -The Rev. Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, a South Barrington, Ill.-based megachurch, speaking about how he chooses to […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — September 21, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Forum Concludes: Action on Hunger Issue Could Overcome Partisan Divisions WASHINGTON (RNS) A ranking official of the U.N. food program urged Americans on Tuesday (Sept. 19) to unite behind the transcendant issue of world hunger. “Why is it that when there is so much need, when we are called upon […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: God Cannot _ And Must Not _ Be Held Hostage By One Political Party
By RNS Blog Editor — September 21, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) This weekend in Washington, partisan preachers are gathering with religious Republicans for what they call a “Values Voter Summit.” The elected officials speaking are all, without exception, Republican. Do these political preachers from across the country move in such small circles that their slate of speakers is devoid of […]
10 Minutes With … Sam Harris
By Benedicta Cipolla — September 21, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) In a country where a recent study showed that nine out of 10 Americans are affiliated with some sort of religious group, a book that takes an uncompromising stance against religion _ all of them _ has a good chance of getting relegated to the remainder pile. Sam Harris’ […]
Some Americans See an Unwavering Ally in God
By Jeff Diamant — September 21, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) One out of five Americans believe in a God who favors the United States in worldly affairs. Among those believers, Republicans are four times as numerous as Democrats. These findings in a sweeping new survey of American religious beliefs conducted for Baylor University underscore the relationship between religion and […]
`Jesus Camp’ is More Camp Than Jesus
By Stephen Whitty — September 21, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Parents want their children to think for themselves. Just not yet. Before their offspring come to that stage, most mothers and fathers lay down some no-nonsense, no-argument essentials. They raise their sons and daughters according to their own beliefs. They try to instill specific moral values. They try to […]
Pope Defends Use of Quote That Angered Muslims
By RNS Blog Editor — September 21, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday (Sept. 20) defended his use of a 14th-century quote that described the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as “evil and inhuman,” rebuffing calls from Muslim leaders to issue a direct apology for using the quotation. In his first weekly audience since returning […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: Christianity _ and Islam _ For the Rest of Us
By Diana Butler Bass — September 21, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) As if we could forget, Pope Benedict XVI’s comments about Islam have reminded us that religion enflames passion. His brief remarks quoting a 14th-century emperor who criticized Islam as fundamentally violent set off a series of protests in the Muslim world _ including church burnings and, perhaps, the murder […]
RNS Weekly Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — September 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Chaplain Says Porn Forced Him Out of the British Navy LONDON (RNS) A trainee chaplain has told an employment tribunal that he was driven out of Britain’s Royal Navy by pornography being shown at all hours aboard warships on which he was serving. The Rev. Mark Sharpe said he quit […]
Kerry, No Longer Reticent, Offers a `Third Way’ on Faith and Politics
By Bridget MacDonald — September 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) One of America’s best-known politicians captivated a crowd at an evangelical college this week with his intimate tale of being spiritually lost as a young adult _ and then having a dramatic awakening. “Suddenly and movingly, I had a revelation about the connection between the work I was doing […]
Black Churches Slow to Warm to Faith-Based Initiative, Survey Finds
By Jonathan Tilove — September 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Only a tiny fraction of black churches have received money to help the poor as a result of the Bush administration’s federal Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and most of those tend to be liberal in their theology and located in the Northeast. These are among the findings of […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — September 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Clerics Accuse Parsley of Twisting Religion CLEVELAND (RNS) An Ohio religious alliance opposed to mixing politics and faith has called on conservative evangelist Rod Parsley to stop “manipulating religion for political gain.” The Columbus, Ohio, pastor, an ally of Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Blackwell, has told other clergy that he […]
Pope’s Push for `Frank’ Dialogue With Muslims Meets Resistance
By RNS Blog Editor — September 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Pope Benedict XVI’s push for “frank and sincere dialogue” in the wake of his remarks on Islam and his subsequent apology to Muslims ran aground Tuesday (Sept. 19) as a number of top Muslim clerics questioned the sincerity of the pontiff’s apology. As Vatican officials scrambled to […]
With Election Looming, `Values Voters’ Are Back in the Spotlight
By Adelle M. Banks — September 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ With the primaries concluded and the general election looming, the question in Washington seems to be: Will the real values voter please stand up? As conservative Christian groups gear up for their “Values Voters Summit” in the nation’s capital this weekend (Sept. 22-24), critics on the liberal end […]
