c. 2008 Religion News Service
Judge lowers judgment against Phelps’ church
(RNS) A federal judge in Baltimore on Monday (Feb. 4) cut the $10.9 million judgment against an anti-gay church and three of its members who protested outside a fallen Marine’s funeral.
U.S District Judge Richard D. Bennett awarded $5 million to Albert Snyder, “for acts of intentional infliction of mental and emotional distress (and) invasion of privacy” by the protesters outside his son’s 2006 funeral.
Members of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., carried signs with such slogans as “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “God hates America” at the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, who was killed in Iraq.
Bennett maintained the $2.9 million awarded to Albert Snyder for compensatory damages, but reduced the punitive damage award from $8 million to $2.1 million.
The Westboro Baptist Church Web site, http://www.godhatesfags.com, reflects the church’s belief that God hates America and is allowing U.S. soldiers to die because of America’s tolerance of homosexuality.
“Now, God is America’s enemy, dashing your soldiers to pieces,” the front page of their Web site reads.
The church is currently awaiting a decision on their appeal to overturn the verdict.
_ Brittani Hamm
Orthodox Jews unveil `kosher’ phone service
JERUSALEM (RNS) In a move designed to increase its market share of religious customers, Israel’s leading telephone company has introduced a “kosher” phone service that will prohibit outgoing calls to unsavory businesses, including ones that promote pornography.
Although the country’s cell phone companies already provide such a service, those using land lines have never had this option.
Avi Gabbay, CEO of Bezeq Israel Telecom, which held a telecommunications monopoly until 2006, said the free “kosher line” was introduced in consultation with prominent rabbis, who have long warned of the risks of uncensored phone use and prohibit surfing the Internet.
“Obviously our main customer is the ultra-Orthodox, but a lot of parents don’t want their children to be exposed to these kinds of numbers,” said Itamar Harel, vice president of Bezeq’s residential customers division.
Presumably, such a service will also appeal to many members of Israel’s Muslim and Christian minorities, which constitute roughly 20 percent of the population.
Though they make up less than 10 percent of Israel’s Jews, the ultra-Orthodox represent an important and growing niche market. Their insular lifestyle, based on strict Torah law, has spurred an entire industry _ ultra-kosher food, modest clothing, Sabbath-friendly technology _ geared toward their unique needs.
Jonathan Rosenblum, director of the Am Echad, a Jerusalem-based information center about ultra-Orthodox Jewry, predicted the kosher phone service “won’t be just for religious Jews. I think a lot of secular and (moderately religious) people will find it useful as well.”
_ Michele Chabin
Ohio Christian leaders quiet so far in ’08 race
CLEVELAND (RNS) Ohio’s conservative Christian leaders, credited with shaping state and national politics in recent elections, are largely saving their energy until Republicans and Democrats have chosen their presidential candidates.
Three weeks after the Iowa caucuses, no Republican candidate has won over enough of the conservative base to lock up the nomination. And the front-runners _ John McCain and Mitt Romney _ are not viewed as perfect candidates for conservatives of faith.
In Ohio, conservative evangelicals are “waiting for clear direction,” said the Rev. Russell Johnson, chairman of the Ohio Restoration Project, a nonpartisan Christian-based organization that works to rally and educate voters about issues and candidates.
President Bush’s two successful bids for the presidency were attributed in part to his embrace by Christian conservatives. Those voters also were active in the passage of an anti-gay marriage state constitutional amendment here in 2004.
In the 2006 governor’s race, Johnson and the Rev. Rod Parsley, senior pastor of World Harvest Church near Columbus, whipped up conservative voters throughout the state with packed, prayer-filled rallies, calls to bring morality back to government and voter-registration drives.
Though both McCain and Romney have what might be considered drawbacks, Johnson said, in the end either will be fine with most conservative Christians. “They’ll stand behind McCain or Romney,” he said.
They also would support Mike Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, though Johnson regards him as less likely to win the nomination. In part, he blames news coverage he says is preoccupied with Huckabee’s evangelical faith to the exclusion of other issues.
Johnson said he expects Ohio’s Christian leadership to become more active once the primaries are over, with varying emphasis on social issues, economics and national security from a conservative point of view.
That’s not to say all is quiet among the politically minded faithful. The Ohio Christian Alliance, a nonprofit education and advocacy group based in Akron, is preparing voter guides _ both for Ohio’s March 4 primary and the general election in November _ that list candidates’ positions on a variety of issues, including abortion, immigration and national security.
But Chris Long, the alliance’s president, said evangelicals have been hanging back.
“I think opinion is still forming, and without having clear nominees from either party, it’s still evolving,” Long said.
_ Karen Sandstrom
UpDATE: Penn State alum settles suit over brick
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (RNS) James Pursley, a self-described “proud alumnus of Penn State University” and a “devout Christian,” will get a memorial brick on campus inscribed the way he wants.
The university has settled Pursley’s federal lawsuit by admitting “one of our 40,000 employees made a mistake,” university spokesman Bill Mahon said.
A brick with the message “Joshua 24:15” is to be placed in the walk outside the Penn State Alumni Association’s headquarters on the State College campus when the next batch of bricks are bought, Mahon said.
Pursley’s desired inscription was rejected because of a misinterpretation of the nondiscrimination policy that is part of the Alumni Walk fundraising initiative, and not an intentional act, Mahon said.
Pursley, a 2001 graduate, sued in U.S. Middle District Court after the university rejected the inscription and offered the former football player a full refund of $250.
“As the university has allowed many other personal messages on the bricks, this is a blatant case of content viewpoint discrimination against religious speech in a public forum,” Pursley said in his suit.
The court complaint cited inscriptions on bricks already in the walk including: “May God Bless Penn State,” “Merry Christmas” and “PSU Proud.”
Pursley claimed in his suit he was told his inscription was rejected because policy prevented acceptance of religious messages.
The alumni association has sold about 2,600 bricks, most of them containing the names, year of graduation, and major of members, said Roger Williams, association executive director.
_ John Beauge
Quote of the Day: Mormon expert Jan Shipps
(RNS) “This is not just the head of the Lutheran Church or a Methodist bishop. It’s something different. He is a prophet. … He can speak for God.”
_ Jan Shipps, an expert on Mormon history and culture, about the selection of Thomas Monson as the new president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). She was quoted by The Washington Post (Feb. 5)
KRE/RB END RNS