Not to be all self-pitying and such, but it’s 100 degrees today in Baltimore, which makes me seriously question Rob Bell’s theology of universal reconciliation and the absence of a fiery, punishing hell.
Speaking of sinfully hot places, what happens in Vegas may stay there – but the people don’t, which means lots of empty pews thanks to the Great Recession, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.
Good news for Mitt Romney: A new national polls shows him to be the clear front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination. Bad news for Mitt Romney: Only 60 percent of the people polled said they were comfortable voting for a Mormon president. That discomfort rises to 54% among African American voters.
GOP candidate and pizza magnate Herman Cain, who placed third in the poll with 9 percent, told Glenn Beck yesterday that any Muslim serving in his administration would have to take a loyalty oath. Newt Gingrich, who has advocated for a national ban on Sharia law, was quite nice to Muslims while he was House Speaker, says Salon.
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is looking to become a major player in the post-revolution government, after a decades-long official ban on political participation. Tensions between Sunnis and Shi’ites have boiled over in Bahrain after the Sunni government crushed protests with martial law and foreign military forces, according to Reuters.
Osama bin Laden’s longtime lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahri, said the U.S. will face retribution from Muslims for killing the al Qaeda leader, according to a YouTube video posted yesterday. OBL hogged the air conditioner at his Pakistani compound, according to the AP.
The Dalai Lama says he considers himself a Marxist, but not a Leninist.
A top Catholic blogger sounds pretty exasperated about a bishop’s failure to read a warning letter about a pedophile priest. “If he doesn’t get it by now, when will he?” asks the Anchoress about KC Bishop Robert Finn.
The Root says prosperity preacher Creflo Dollar deserves “the gas face” for criticizing Christians who have left Bishop Eddie Long’s church. A Canadian man wants to designate his zoo a “house of parsons.” The ass and lamb will keep time, no doubt.
Special Happy Birthday shout out to CNN’s Belief Blog, which turns one year old today. Let’s hope they avoid the Terrible Twos. In all seriousness, Dan Gilgoff, Eric Marrapodi, John Blake and the rest of the crew do a great job staying on top of the news and have quickly made their blog a must-read. Hats off, guys.
Yr hmbl aggregator,
Daniel Burke
*I managed to get through this roundup without mentioning Anthony Weiner. You are welcome.
