So, since there’s not much real news out there, there’s nothing like an online flame war to heat up the sultry steamy days of July:
It started when Terry Mattingly over at Get Religion chided the United Church of Christ for saying “Adios to God the Father” and “editing the ancient Christian creeds.” In fact, what the UCC did was update its bylaws and change a reference to God “the heavenly Father” to “the triune God” (see page 3 of this PDF). The right-wing Patriot Update, following Tmatt’s lead, made a connection between the UCC and POTUS.
Cathy Grossman over at USAT called Tmatt on the carpet for implying the UCC had just sawed “off one leg of Christianity’s Holy Trinity,” and then Religion Dispatches piled on, and Chuck Currie joined the fray, along with Mark Silk. Enjoy the 4th of July fireworks, a few days late.
Meanwhile, in other news …
The Crystal Cathedral saga just keeps getting better: Now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange (Calif.) is thinking of making a bid since it’s long wanted a cathedral of its own — for Catholics.
A federal appeals court ordered a swift and immediate end to enforcement of Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell. The Atlantic traces the role of evangelical faith in Michelle and Marcus Bachmann’s beliefs on the sin of homosexuality. A group of Christian conservatives in Iowa is asking all GOP candidates to sign a “marriage pledge.”
Episcopal Church leaders say Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori did not err in ordaining a former Catholic priest with an admitted record of sexual abuse. Another breakaway Episcopal congregation has agreed to give up the ghost and give the occupied property back to the diocese.
The American Jewish Committee‘s HQ in NYC has gone totally green — a small and subtle attempt to wean the U.S. off of Arab oil states.
Ahead of Friday’s scheduled last-ever space shuttle launch, CNN traces the brief history of prayer in space, including Alan Shepard‘s wonderfully succinct and pithy petition. Auburn coach Gene Chizik tackles God on the gridiron.
TruTv digs up eight corporate logos (Walt Disney, how could you?) that have been tied to the occult over the years.
Can’t say I totally understand everything going on here, but a popular Catholic priest in Montana (who blew the whistle on fraud at a hospital in California) was put on leave after allegations of romantic liaisons with women, and now his superiors accuse him of living “with a former prostitute, abused alcohol and drugs, lived a lavish lifestyle and did a number of other unpriestly things.”
The Vatican is trying to make sure that its new financial watchdog office is free of conflicts of interest. At the same time, it wishes SSPX would stop ordaining its own priests. Berlin Catholics are a little uncomfortable with their conservative new archbishop.
A majority-Muslim public school in Toronto is under fire from church-state activists for allowing an imam to lead Friday prayers in the cafeteria.
Israel is weighing the pros and cons of joining the rest of us with a two-day weekend, but can’t decide whether (Muslim) Friday or (Christian) Sunday should join the Saturday sabbath as a day off. Peace might come a lot sooner if they went with all three.
— Kevin Eckstrom
