Monthly Archives: November 2007
Endorsement Watch: Huckabee Gains Falwell Jr. Endorsement
By Adelle M. Banks — November 29, 2007
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has added a famous name among Christian conservatives to his list of endorsers: Jerry Falwell Jr., the son of the late Jerry Falwell and the president of Liberty University, which his father founded. “I knew Jerry’s dad for more than 30 years and have admired the long tradition of Liberty […]
With a Middle Name Like Hussein …
By Kevin Eckstrom — November 29, 2007
The Washington Post story today about the rumors swirling around Barack Obama that he’s a closeted Muslim raise interesting questions about media responsibility-specifically, where is the line between trafficking in rumors and reporting the news? In a similar but unrelated vein, I’m often wondered where we draw the line in reporting on some of the […]
I like the Jesuits, and I love reading but …
By Daniel Burke — November 29, 2007
…I think I’ll take a pass on this particular tome. If the title don’t put you off “A True and Perfect Relation of the Whole Proceedings Against the Late Most Barbarous Traitors, Garnet a Jesuit and His Confederates” (subtitles anyone?) … …how about thisâÂ?¦ The book is believed to be bound with the skin of […]
A Less Annoying Sudan Story
By Daniel Burke — November 29, 2007
The good folks at United Methodist News Service have word that a Church in Tipp City, Ohio (Good place to be a waitress?) is trying to raise $1.5 million for relief efforts in Darfur. Instead of buying boatloads of Christmas gifts, church leaders are asking for contributions for their “Christmas miracle offering.” Sounds kinda like […]
Father Andrew Greeley on Faithful Citizenship
By Daniel Burke — November 29, 2007
Father Andrew Greeley’s got a cogent analysis of the recent statement by U.S. Catholic Bishops on Faithful Citizenship in the Chicago’s Sun-Times. First off, Greeley says the media got it wrong. The bishops didn’t say the eternal salvation of voters who vote for pro-abortion rights pols is in jeopardy. (The media don’t do nuance very […]
Islam and Aaargh
By Daniel Burke — November 29, 2007
Two stories in this a.m. WasPost combine Islam with a signficant aargh-factor. Numero uno: Obama beating back from conservatives that he’s a Muslim in disguise. The senator, who spent part of his youth in Indonesia, says: “If I were a Muslim, I would let you know, ” he said in Dubuque, Iowa, recently, according to […]
The Golden Compass as Christmas Movie?
By RNS Blog Editor — November 29, 2007
Some worry ‘Compass’ points kids in the wrong direction RNS’ Heather Donckels examines the controversy over the upcoming holiday film The Golden Compass, which is based on books by an avowed atheist, in this week’s full-text article, linked above. Quote: Kiera McCaffery, a spokeswoman for the New York-based Catholic League, says the film is a […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — November 29, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Slim plurality of Anglicans say Episcopalians met demands (RNS) A slim plurality of national churches in the Anglican Communion has given the Episcopal Church passing marks for pledging in September to stop ordaining gay bishops and authorizing rites for same-sex unions. Ten of the 38 Anglican provinces, however, say they […]
10 minutes with … Brad Warner
By Daniel Burke — November 29, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) There aren’t many Zen priests like Brad Warner. Before turning to Buddhism 25 years ago, the 43-year-old Californian hit the hardcore punk scene in Ohio as bassist for the Akron-based band Zero Defects. Now a writer as well as a Buddhist priest, Warner, 43, combines his love of punk […]
COMMENTARY: Reasonable faith, unreasonable fear
By James Martin — November 29, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) In Sean Penn’s recent movie “Into the Wild,” there is a touching scene between an elderly man, played by Hal Holbrook, and a young wanderer, portrayed by newcomer Emile Hirsch. The elderly man, who is depicted as a devout Catholic, teaches the young man, who is on a quest […]
We Three Kings of Orient Are … mostly unknown
By Benedicta Cipolla — November 29, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) They came. They saw. They gifted. That’s about all we know of the foreign visitors who traveled to Bethlehem to see the infant Jesus. The scene ingrained in the public imagination _ a stately procession of three kings in turbans, crowns, elaborate capes and fancy slippers, with an entourage […]
2007 was a quiet harbinger of significant things to come
By Kein Eckstrom — November 29, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) History books are full of dates that mark seminal events: 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door and launched the Protestant Reformation; or 1973, when the Supreme Court legalized abortion. Those boldface dates are preceded by less prominent but nonetheless decisive times: 1516, when […]
British Catholics to Blair: Don’t go changin’
By Francis X. Rocca — November 29, 2007
According to a forthcoming cover story (not yet online) in The Spectator of London, not all British Catholics are happy about former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s expected conversion to the Church of Rome, given his record on such issues as abortion, embryonic stem-cell research and civil unions. “Having Blair as a Catholic is like having […]
“Golden Compass” Author Touted by Humanists
By Adelle M. Banks — November 29, 2007
In the midst of the controversy about “The Golden Compass,” a new movie that’s been criticized for its adaptation from an atheist’s novel, the American Humanist Association has weighed in with its support for author Philip Pullman. The Washington-based group has announced it will honor Pullman with its International Humanist Award next June. “Philip Pullman […]
The Ayatollah and the Pope
By Francis X. Rocca — November 28, 2007
Time‘s Jeff Israely reports that the Vatican may soon act as a key mediator in negotiations between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s nuclear program. Consider the irony of Pope Benedict-supposedly notorious in the Islamic world since his September 2006 speech in Regensburg, Germany-acting as peacemaker between a Muslim power and the West. While the Time […]
