Faith-based initiatives possibly challenged; 10 minutes with James Hudnut-Beumler; Jesus’ tomb

The Supreme Court is weighing a challenge to faith-based initiatives, reports Adelle M. Banks in Wednesday’s RNS report: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday on a technical aspect of church-state law that is being closely watched for its potential implications on how government and religious organizations relate to one another. The arguments mark […]

The Supreme Court is weighing a challenge to faith-based initiatives, reports Adelle M. Banks in Wednesday’s RNS report: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday on a technical aspect of church-state law that is being closely watched for its potential implications on how government and religious organizations relate to one another. The arguments mark the first time the high court will consider a case challenging the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives. But the justices’ task is to determine whether the taxpayers bringing that challenge-staffers of the Freedom From Religion Foundation-have the right to file the suit, not the merits of the program itself.

G. Jeffrey MacDonald spent 10 minutes withâÂ?¦James Hudnut-Beumler, dean of Vanderbilt University Divinity School, about his new book, “In Pursuit of the Almighty’s Dollar: A History of Money and American Protestantism,” and churches’ intimate and often uncomfortable relationship with money.

James Martin asks, “Does Jesus’ `Tomb’ Mean the End of Faith?”: For many years I’ve wondered about the following scenario: What if an archeologist turned up the bones of Jesus and had some decent proof? And what if they were found in such a way that it was hard to deny the claims? That would really shake things up in the Christian world. After all, Christian faith is based on the belief that Jesus rose from the dead. As St. Paul says in his First Letter to the Corinthians, “If Christ is not risen … then your faith is in vain.” So, to be honest, the news of the new book, “The Jesus Family Tomb,” startled me. It contains several such tantalizing discoveries, including an ossuary marked “Jesus, son of Joseph.” But, in the end, the Discovery Channel’s discovery may not be that much of a revelation.


Orthodox Jews confront alcohol abuse during Purim, writes Michele Chabin from Jerusalem: As the director of an organization that helps teens at high risk for self-destructive behavior, Caryn Green never has a stress-free day. Still, some are harder than others, and Green is expecting the daylong holiday of Purim-which begins Saturday (March 3) night in the U.S. and Sunday night in Jerusalem-to be one of them. “Purim is a time when, according to Jewish tradition, it’s OK to drink till you’re oblivious,” said Green, a transplanted Texan. She isn’t the only one concerned with the general surge of drug and alcohol use among Orthodox Jews, a community that once saw itself as almost immune to these problems. “There has always been the belief that Jews drink less than members of other communities, and although historically this may be true, we still have a problem,” said Rabbi Tzvi Weinreb, executive vice president of the New York-based Orthodox Union.

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