Monthly Archives: May 2011
Ryan Shrugged
By Mark Silk — May 26, 2011
If true greatness lies in the ability to think two contradictory things at the same time and not be destroyed, then I guess we’ll have to wait and see how things turn out for Rep. Paul Ryan. But over the past couple of days, the news for him out of New York has been less […]
Katrina volunteers still coming, even if they have to pay
By Tracy Gordon — May 26, 2011
NEW ORLEANS (RNS) A Methodist hurricane-recovery ministry that funneled nearly 68,000 hammer-wielding volunteers into metro New Orleans until it essentially ran out of money has reinvented itself — by asking volunteers to pitch in $225 to spend a week repairing houses. And the volunteers are still coming. Some were in Covington, La., recently, putting up […]
Same-sex relations, marriage receive record approval
By Tracy Gordon — May 26, 2011
(RNS) Nearly two-thirds of Americans say gay or lesbian relations between consenting adults should be legal, the highest percentage ever recorded by Gallup. Researchers found that 64 percent of American adults supported legal gay relations, which Gallup has included in surveys since 1977. In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Lawrence v. Texas decision struck down […]
Wednesday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — May 25, 2011
Lots O’ talk on the InterWebs today about a woman who was no mean schmoozer herself. I speak, of course, about Oprah, the O, the goddess of gab, the avatar of aspiration, the bishop of the boob tube, the … well, you get it. Her last live show broadcasts today. “I am the messenger to […]
Christians shatter taboos in talking about money
By Tracy Gordon — May 25, 2011
Small groups at churches are gathering to share their most guarded secret: How people spend their money.
What’s wrong with Jay Report
By Mark Silk — May 25, 2011
Misrepresented numbers, misdirected crisis. My take, over at the Guardian.
Couple faces trial as Ore. cracks down on faith-healing church
By Tracy Gordon — May 24, 2011
OREGON CITY, Ore. (RNS) A couple whose reliance on faith healing threatened their daughter’s eyesight will go on trial this week, one day after state lawmakers moved to strip legal protection for parents who rely on faith healing. The case returns the spotlight on Followers of Christ church, an Oregon City congregation that rejects medical […]
Messiah alumni rally around gay student
By Tracy Gordon — May 24, 2011
GRANTHAM, Pa. (RNS) Alumni at evangelical Messiah College have launched an online petition urging the conservative Christian school to change its policies toward gay and lesbian students. The petition has collected hundreds of alumni signatures, with some indicating that they would withhold donations as long as the college continued to foster “an unsafe and noninclusive […]
Muhammad Ali pleads for prisoners’ release
By Tracy Gordon — May 24, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali joined other prominent Muslim Americans on Tuesday (May 24) to plead for the release of two American hikers who have been imprisoned in Iran for nearly two years. Ali, who attained heroic status among Muslims worldwide when he converted to Islam in 1975, sat speechless behind dark glasses during […]
Evangelist says Rapture date was off by five months
By Tracy Gordon — May 24, 2011
(RNS) Radio evangelist Harold Camping, who predicted the Rapture would occur on May 21, now says his calculations were off by five months. The 89-year-old president of the Family Radio network in Oakland, Calif., said life on Earth will continue until October 21. “At that time the whole world will be destroyed,” Camping said Monday […]
Tuesday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — May 24, 2011
It’s deja vu all over again, as Yogi Berra would say. Taking to the airwaves on Monday, Doomsday Prophet Harold Camping said May 21 was an “invisible Judgment Day,” rather than, you know, the fire-and-brimstone, earthquakes-and-tsunamis type Judgment Day. The real destruction of the world will be October 21, saith Camping. The fringy, 89-year-old radio […]
Guilt by Ayn Rand Association
By Mark Silk — May 24, 2011
I confess to feeling a little bit queasy about the American Values Network’s new video hoisting Rep. Paul Ryan, Sen. Rand Paul, Rush Limbaugh, and other GOP luminaries on the petard of Ayn Rand and her atheistic philosophy of objectivism. Take a look. Yes, it’s delicious. But what’s the precise point? In his email announcement, […]
Study suggests `born-again’ believers have smaller brains
By Tracy Gordon — May 24, 2011
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) For decades, mainline Protestants have been beset by bad news: declining numbers, aging membership, waning cultural influence. A new study from Duke University Medical Center, however, gives these Protestants one reason for cheer: they seem to have larger brains than born-again Christians, Roman Catholics and the religiously unaffiliated. The study, which examined […]
Vatican to weigh condoms in fighting AIDS
By Tracy Gordon — May 24, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The morality and effectiveness of using condoms to prevent HIV/AIDS will be on the agenda at a Vatican conference this weekend (May 27-28), six months after comments by Pope Benedict XVI again touched off worldwide controversy. The conference, which will focus on “the centrality of care” in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS, is […]
COMMENTARY: The (real) coming Judgment Day
By Tracy Gordon — May 24, 2011
(RNS) If you are reading this, then you apparently didn’t qualify for the Rapture on May 21. Or Judgment Day predictors need better math. Either way, last Saturday belonged to God, not to fundamentalist cranks who peddle absolute certainty encased in right-wing theology. If religion is correct in positing the victory of righteousness and the […]
