Monthly Archives: June 2007
Ruth Graham: The Silent Rock Behind a Famous Evangelist
By RNS Blog Editor — June 15, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Throughout the six decades of Billy Graham’s career, his wife, Ruth Bell Graham, served as the only true constant in his life other than his faith. Despite long separations when Graham was on the road preaching, Ruth, who died Thursday (June 14) at age 87, remained his bedrock, often […]
Ruth Graham, Wife of Billy Graham, Dies at 87
By Yonat Shimron — June 15, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Ruth Bell Graham, the independent and strong-willed wife of evangelist Billy Graham, died Thursday (June 14) at 5:05 p.m. at her home in Montreat, N.C., surrounded by her husband and five children, longtime spokesman A. Larry Ross said. Graham, who had been in ill health for several years, was […]
Episcopalians Decline to Stop Gay Unions, Gay Clergy
By Daniel Burke — June 15, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Episcopal leaders on Thursday (June 14) rebuffed demands from overseas Anglicans to roll back their church’s pro-gay policies, arguing that such decisions can only be made at the denomination’s triennial conventions. The church’s 40-member Executive Council, which is headed by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, also declined a proposal […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 15, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Vatican Says Catholics Should Abstain From Amnesty International VATICAN CITY (RNS) A senior Vatican official has said Catholic organizations and individuals should withhold donations from Amnesty International because of the human rights group’s recent decision to support abortion rights in certain cases. “I believe that, if in fact Amnesty International […]
Baptists Wrestle With Limits of Statement of Faith
By RNS Blog Editor — June 15, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service SAN ANTONIO _ The Baptist Faith and Message is a statement of belief that is supposed to tie Baptists together. And while Baptists generally agree with what it does include, they differ on how to deal with matters it does not. That disagreement loomed large at the annual meeting of […]
RELIGION BEST-SELLERS
By RNS Blog Editor — June 15, 2007
RELIGION BEST-SELLERS (Editor’s note: This June list is compiled by Publishers Weekly magazine from data received from general independent bookstores, chain stores and wholesalers within the month of May. Copyright 2007 Publishers Weekly. Distributed by Religion News Service.) HARDCOVER 1. “God Is Not Great,” by Christopher Hitchens. (Twelve, $24.99) 2. “Reposition Yourself,” by T.D. Jakes. […]
COMMENTARY: Just Say No to Celebrity Culture
By Dick Staub — June 15, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) In just a month, the celebrity landscape has shifted dramatically. Paris Hilton went to jail, got an early release for psychological reasons and then one day later was sent back to jail. After a year of ratings-raising irrational rants on “The View,” Rosie O’Donnell “resigned” from as a host. […]
Some Jewish Parents Forgo Circumcision, and Tradition
By RNS Blog Editor — June 15, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service CHICAGO _ Laurie Evans is a proud Jewish mother of two. Her family celebrates religious holidays and lights candles on the Sabbath. But her son is different from most Jewish teenagers: He is, as his mother refers to him, intact. The 17-year-old has never had a Brit Milah, or bris, […]
Community Religion
By RNS Blog Editor — June 14, 2007
‘Emerging’ Jews, Like Christians, Forge a More Accessible Faith RNS’s Catherine O’Donnell looks at the emergence of “small, carefully organized” Jewish spiritual communities, in this week’s full-text article, linked above. Quote: “Religious and community leaders across faiths are witnessing the seeming absence of an entire age cohort from organized religious life,” according to a report […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Christian Reformed Church Votes to Allow Female Clergy GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) The Christian Reformed Church quietly made history Tuesday (June 12) as the CRC Synod voted to remove the word “male” from its requirements for church office. After 37 years of back-and-forth struggle, delegates opened the way for women […]
Ruth Graham in Coma as Family Reveals Burial Plans
By Adelle M. Banks — June 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Ruth Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham, has lapsed into a coma and appears near death, a family spokesman said Wednesday (June 13). Her failing health came just as the evangelist and his wife revealed their decision to be buried together at the newly dedicated Billy Graham Library in […]
Baptists Decry `Heinous’ Abuse of Children
By Adelle M. Banks — June 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service SAN ANTONIO _ Southern Baptists expressed their “moral outrage” about child sexual abuse as they concluded their annual meeting Wednesday (June 13), calling on churches to take steps to help prevent “heinous acts against children.” “We renounce individuals, churches or other religious bodies that cover up, ignore, or otherwise contribute […]
10 Minutes with … Joe Mackall
By Andrea Useem — June 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Few outsiders have ever glimpsed inside the world of the Swartzentruber Amish _ the most insular sect of an already conservative religious group. But Joe Mackall, living just a mile away from Samuel and Mary Shetler and their 10 children in rural Ohio, forged a friendship with his neighbors […]
New Steve Carell movie marketed to Christian audiences
By Sara Shereen Bakhshian — June 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service LOS ANGELES _ Talk about a Second Coming. God has returned to Hollywood, with Morgan Freeman resurrecting his role as God in a natty white suit, this time opposite Steve Carell playing a congressman-turned-modern-day-Noah in “Evan Almighty,” which hits theaters on June 22. The comedy, with its estimated $175 million […]
A Label Is Just a Label … Or Is It?
By Cathleen Falsani — June 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Applying a religious label to anything other than a person has always left me feeling a little squirrelly. Only a being with volition and free will could choose to call himself or herself “Christian” or “Buddhist” or “Jewish.” So the notion of “Christian music” or “Buddhist film” or “Jewish […]
