Monthly Archives: June 2005
Geeks for God
By RNS Blog Editor — June 22, 2005
Sociologist and ‘Bowling Alone’ Author Robert Putnam “The mountain bikers for God, the geeks for God, the small group for people who have breast cancer or whose spouses have breast cancer,” Putnam says. “In the context of a very big organization, everybody feels connected to some very small group. If someone is sick, they’ll bring […]
Geeks for God
By RNS Blog Editor — June 22, 2005
Sociologist and ‘Bowling Alone’ Author Robert Putnam “The mountain bikers for God, the geeks for God, the small group for people who have breast cancer or whose spouses have breast cancer,” Putnam says. “In the context of a very big organization, everybody feels connected to some very small group. If someone is sick, they’ll bring […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 21, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Vatican Official Visits Moscow in a Sign of Thaw With Orthodox VATICAN CITY (RNS) Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican official in charge of ecumenical relations, flew to Moscow on Monday (June 20) amid signs that the new papacy has opened a new climate of dialogue between the Catholic and Russian […]
Ohio Pastor Illustrates Christian Right’s Political Push
By RNS Blog Editor — June 21, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service COLUMBUS, Ohio _ It’s 10:30 a.m. on a Sunday, and the 5,200-seat sanctuary at the World Harvest Church is pulsating with Christian energy. Worshippers are jumping for Jesus like teenagers at a rock concert as Pastor Rod Parsley, central Ohio’s raging prophet of prosperity, appears in an explosion of sound […]
Minister Who Presided at Daughter’s Gay Wedding Defrocked
By Matt VandeBunte — June 21, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) After a former seminary president was defrocked for presiding at his daughter’s gay wedding, the top official of the Reformed Church in America said the denomination must not be paralyzed by disagreements over homosexuality. On Friday (June 17), church leaders defrocked the Rev. Norman Kansfield, the former president of […]
Are the Mentally Ill Morally Good?
By Richard Allen — June 21, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Mental illness is disturbingly common. No one is immune. Children, adolescents and young adults are its most likely victims. Recent findings about the high prevalence of mental illness may require us to revise the way we think about moral responsibility. Generally speaking, people with mental illness are not a […]
Never say never
By RNS Blog Editor — June 20, 2005
Evangelist Billy Graham “In my mind, it is. I wouldn’t like to say `never.’ Never is a bad word.” -Evangelist Billy Graham in an interview with the Associated Press, stating that he thinks his last crusade may be the one he will lead June 24-26 in New York.
Never say never
By RNS Blog Editor — June 20, 2005
Evangelist Billy Graham “In my mind, it is. I wouldn’t like to say `never.’ Never is a bad word.” -Evangelist Billy Graham in an interview with the Associated Press, stating that he thinks his last crusade may be the one he will lead June 24-26 in New York.
Bishops Reject Dropping Familiar “Christ Has Died, Christ Has Risen … ‘’
By Kein Eckstrom — June 18, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service CHICAGO _ Catholic bishops on Friday (June 17) voted to retain 10 familiar words in the Catholic Mass _ “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again” _ but the phrase could eventually disappear if Vatican officials have their way. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops defeated an […]
Despite Concern of `Zero Tolerance,’ Catholic Bishops Renew Sex Abuse Policies
By Kein Eckstrom — June 18, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service CHICAGO _ The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops voted Friday (June 17) to renew policies to combat clergy sexual abuse, maintaining a three-year “zero tolerance” pledge to root out abusive priests. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a revised package of policies that removes any predatory priest who is found […]
Film Festival Explores Religion, Other Rights Issues
By RNS Blog Editor — June 18, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service NEW YORK _ At a time of year when summer blockbusters have a virtual stranglehold on the local cineplex, an annual film festival exploring issues of human rights, war, reconciliation and religion has come to be an enduring New York institution. In fact, sold-out screenings at the Human Rights Watch […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 18, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service New England Methodists Join Push to Divest From Israel (RNS) The mainline Protestant movement to divest from companies that do business in Israel has gained more momentum with a vote by the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church to join the effort. At the group’s annual conference June […]
COMMENTARY: Planned Parenthood Has Long History of Clergy Support
By RNS Blog Editor — June 18, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) In 1966, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America gave its highest honor _ the Margaret Sanger Award _ to a minister active in civil rights. This minister had served on a Planned Parenthood committee a decade earlier in his Southern city. In his acceptance speech, he directed his remarks […]
Gitmo = gulag?
By RNS Blog Editor — June 17, 2005
Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin “If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime-Pol Pot or […]
Gitmo = gulag?
By RNS Blog Editor — June 17, 2005
Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin “If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime-Pol Pot or […]
