Monday’s Religion News Roundup: Baby Messiah * Islam Nation * Phone Heaven

A Tennessee judge changed a 7-month-old boy’s name to Martin from Messiah, saying the name Messiah was earned by one person and “that one person is Jesus Christ.” An ex-gay gospel singer says the mayor of D.C., under pressure from gay rights activists, asked him to cancel a commemoration ceremony concert. An Australian politician being dubbed the […]

Breaking Bad came back Sunday night.
Breaking Bad came back Sunday night. (http://bit.ly/13uNlok)

Breaking Bad came back Sunday night.

A Tennessee judge changed a 7-month-old boy’s name to Martin from Messiah, saying the name Messiah was earned by one person and “that one person is Jesus Christ.”

An ex-gay gospel singer says the mayor of D.C., under pressure from gay rights activists, asked him to cancel a commemoration ceremony concert.


An Australian politician being dubbed the “Australian Sarah Palin” mistook Islam for a country.

Lady Gaga has leaked some lyrics of her new song “Burqa,” but Omid Safi finds her provocative attempt to be boring.

Methodists who once supported health care reform are now finding that the new law could create problems for church insurance plans, and partisan fighting spells trouble for any possible fix.

A possible breakthrough is creating some soul-searching in the disability community after scientists announced they might have found a way to silence the chromosome that causes Down syndrome.

A wild story from the “Are you sure that wasn’t a movie?” file: An Arizona family set sail after they became sick of America (abortion, homosexuality, government interference in religion), deciding “to take a leap of faith and see where God led us.” In their 91 days at sea, they ran out of food hitting storm after storm. Canadians offered supplies. Venezuelans rescued them. A Japanese cargo ship took them to Chile. They returned to the U.S. on Sunday.

Denominations may be on the decline, but the Assemblies of God defies the trend. And a new study reveals seven ways congregations are attracting young adults.

People of various religions are asking if the new test-tube burgers allow them to keep the faith.

From Buzzfeed with a very Buzzfeed-ish headline: 26 Incredibly Powerful Images Of Eid Al-Fitr 2013, And What They Say About The World Today.


Muslims celebrated the end of Ramadan, but violence over the weekend overshadowed holiday joy in places like Egypt, Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan.

A new TV series “Burka Avenger” portrays a female Muslim teacher fighting men who oppose education for girls.

There’s a shortage of priests in the Army chaplaincy.

Seeking a wider audience, Ken Ham’s Creation Museum in Kentucky is adding displays with no religious messages.

Here comes the DJ-ed church service.

Not much was left at a tornado-ruined Wisconsin Lutheran church, but three crosses remained.

The app “Send Me to Heaven” allows you to throw your phone into the air and score points.

The Danish Muslim leader who fueled outrage over a Danish cartoonist’s portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad now regrets inciting violence.
Kenneth Bae, an American Christian missionary imprisoned in North Korea, has been moved from a prison work camp to a hospital due to declining health, his sister said.

“Breaking Bad” is back, and writers are making those religion connections, including Christianity Today and Rachel Held Evans. Post others in the comments, but please, no spoilers.

Finally, some tweets from the weekend:

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