Monthly Archives: March 2008
RNS Weekly Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — March 26, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service Pope marks Easter with nod to Muslims, China VATICAN CITY _ Easter is the most sacred feast in the Christian calendar, when believers of all denominations celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. But for Pope Benedict XVI, this year’s Easter celebrations were fraught with significance for the Catholic Church’s […]
Jim Martin’s Checking His Watch
By Kevin Eckstrom — March 26, 2008
Jim Martin over at America magazine asks the question that’s on every Catholic’s mind but no one is willing to voice. As somone who’s sat through the Vigil myself, I think he might be on to something: Last year I asked one of my relatives if she was going to the Vigil Mass. “Are you […]
Muslim country singer breaks all the stereotypes
By Marcia Z. Nelson — March 26, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) He wears a mighty nice cowboy hat, hails from a small town in Oklahoma, and sings with a twang about wantin’ to hear the ayyyn-gels. He drove a pickup truck in high school and admits he used to take his dog hunting. And did we mention that he’s a […]
Packing Heat in Packed Churches
By Kevin Eckstrom — March 26, 2008
An update on an earlier story we brought you about the rising use of armed guards inside megachurches, prompted by last year’s shooting deaths at New Life Church in Colorado Springs and a missionary training center. The pastor of New Life, Brady Boyd, says all churches should have armed guards -just in case. You may […]
Lieberman Questions IRS Probe into Obama Speech
By Kevin Eckstrom — March 26, 2008
Sen. Joe Lieberman has joined the chorus of people questioning the IRS probe into a speech given by Barack Obama at the United Church of Christ convention last summer. Obama, you’ll recall, is a UCC member, but the IRS thinks his speech may have been improper church politicking. Why Lieberman? Two possible reasons: One, he’s […]
Clinton: I would Have Walked Out
By Kevin Eckstrom — March 26, 2008
Hillary Clinton says that if she had been sitting in the pew when Barack Obama’s pastor made his now-legendary remarks, she would have gotten up and walked out. Some have criticized Clinton-who has largely stayed out of the Obama/Wright flap-of going negative with her answer. But in all fairness, she was responding to a reporter’s […]
The Hitch
By Mark Silk — March 26, 2008
Is it just me, or has Christopher Hitchens turned into a caricature of himself? Once upon a time, he was one of those Shakespearean fools whose license to speak truth to power was exercised in often brilliant puncturings of sacred cows and other pious beasts. Since his ascent to the office of national Atheist-in-Chief, he […]
Interfaith Clinton Smackdown
By Mark Silk — March 26, 2008
This interfaith condemnation of Hillary Clinton’s poke at Barack Obama for sticking with Jeremiah Wright is pretty newsworthy. It reads, in part: Today, you took a new and disquieting step when you decided that it would be to your political benefit to wade into the waters of the issues surrounding Senator Barack Obama and his […]
More from Dean Snyder
By Mark Silk — March 26, 2008
On the jump is an extended passage from Dean Snyder’s Good Friday sermon that makes use of Jeremiah Wright’s “God damn America” line. It softens the application, making it more palatable–and obliquely identifies with the Obama critique. Pretty good use of Moltmann, I’d say. Worth a look.
Hillary’s Church
By Mark Silk — March 26, 2008
A number of readers (nice to hear from you) have written in to say they think Hillary Clinton’s current church is the Fellowship (or “the Family”), the rather secretive organization that for decades has run the National Prayer Breakfast and which sponsors various prayer groups for government officials and their spouses. Clinton joined up when […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — March 26, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service Poll: Clinton leads Obama among most religious groups WASHINGTON (RNS) Sen. Hillary Clinton is leading Sen. Barack Obama among most religious groups, with the exception of black Protestants and those practicing non-Christian religions or no religion, a new Gallup Poll says. Clinton held a 56 percent to 37 percent lead […]
Rest for the weary
By Tom Ehrich — March 26, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) As colleagues and I snapped at each other under the pressure of Holy Week duties, I resonated with how a friend describes herself six months into starting a congregation: “Exhausted, run down and emotional.” I felt that state as we cycled through a full slate of complex liturgies, competing […]
Girl’s death could test faith-healing law
By RNS Blog Editor — March 26, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service PORTLAND, Ore. _ The case of a 15-month-old girl who died for lack of medical treatment could become the first test of a state law that disallows faith healing at the expense of a child’s life. Ava Worthington died March 2 at home in Oregon City from bacterial bronchial pneumonia […]
Girl’s death could test faith-healing law
By Rohan Mascarenhas — March 26, 2008
c. 2008 Religion News Service PALERMO, N.Y. _ Members of the Gobind Sadan USA temple hurried with last-minute chores last Saturday morning (March 22) as they prepared to dedicate their new temple. Adults readied musical instruments and food, while children played with balloons on a floor covered with Oriental carpets and white sheets. And then, […]
Does the Pope keep kosher?
By Francis X. Rocca — March 25, 2008
The Catholic Church has come a long way since members could fall afoul of the Spanish Inquisition by showing an aversion to pork, arousing suspicions that they were “judaizers” or “crypto-Jews.” An Italian Catholic website reports that Pope Benedict’s favorite pastries come from a kosher bakery in Rome’s historic Jewish Ghetto. According to the chef, […]
