Monthly Archives: March 2007
College Teams Bring Chaplains Along to the Big Dance
By RNS Blog Editor — March 15, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Dressed in a sharp black suit, Rob Hagan could pass for an assistant coach at Villanova University. He makes a fist for a made basket and turns away after a questionable foul call. Yet he remains calm amid the commotion from the rest of the bench. The small white […]
`Bong Hits 4 Jesus’ Case Finds Strange Legal Bedfellows
By Daniel Burke — March 15, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ It’s not every legal conflict that brings together the American Civil Liberties Union, a gay rights group and conservative Christian law firms _ on the same side. But Morse v. Frederick, the free speech case to be heard by the Supreme Court next Monday (March 19), is not […]
10 Minutes With … Stephan Jones
By Ron Csillag — March 15, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service TORONTO _ Experts are still picking over the events of Nov. 18, 1978, when more than 900 members of the People’s Temple _ nearly 300 of them children _ died in the jungles of Guyana on orders of their charismatic, messianic, drug-addled leader, Jim Jones. Jonestown disintegrated when U.S. Rep. […]
Canadian Charles Taylor Wins 2007 Templeton Prize
By Christ Herlinger — March 15, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service NEW YORK _ Charles Taylor, a Canadian philosopher whose work has touched on questions of spirituality, violence and culture, was awarded the 2007 Templeton Prize on Wednesday (March 14). Taylor, 75, teaches law and philosophy at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and is a professor emeritus at McGill University in […]
RNS Weekly Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — March 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Church Allows Bird Flu Tests on Body of Dead Politician LONDON (RNS) The Church of England will allow scientists to exhume the body of a British politician and diplomat who died in the Spanish flu pandemic nearly 90 years ago in hopes that it could aid research into bird flu. […]
Mohler Supports Changing Fetus’ Orientation, if Possible: With optional trim to 700 words
By Adelle M. Banks — March 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The president of a prominent Southern Baptist seminary says he would support medical treatment, if it were available, to change the sexual orientation of a fetus inside its mother’s womb from homosexual to heterosexual. The idea of a hormonal patch for pregnant women was discussed by the Rev. R. […]
Mohler Supports Changing Fetus’ Orientation, if Possible
By Adelle M. Banks — March 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The president of a prominent Southern Baptist seminary says he would support medical treatment, if it were available, to change the sexual orientation of a fetus inside its mother’s womb from homosexual to heterosexual. The idea of a hormonal patch for pregnant women was discussed by the Rev. R. […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — March 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Canadian Anglicans Mull Gay Unions As Minister Loses License TORONTO (RNS) An Anglican priest in Saskatchewan who faces the loss of his minister’s license for performing same-sex marriages may have received an unexpected boost _ from his own church. Meeting over the weekend, the Canadian Anglicans’ Council of General Synod, […]
Pope Says Church Social Teachings `Not Negotiable’
By Frances X. Rocca — March 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday (March 13) reaffirmed church teachings on divorce and priestly celibacy, and told Catholic politicians they must follow church doctrine on abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriage. The pope based his letter to Catholic bishops, Sacramentum Caritatis (“The Sacrament of Charity”) on a 2005 […]
`Fair Trade’ Sales Take Off
By RNS Blog Editor — March 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Fair Trade sales are skyrocketing across the nation, with programs selling more coffee, handicrafts and chocolate from Third World countries than ever before. “Fair trade gives people of faith the option of an ethical consumer choice,” said Kattie Sommerfeld, the Fair Trade projects coordinator at Lutheran World Relief, […]
Evangelicals on the environment; Pope on church’s social teachings; Fair trade
By RNS Blog Editor — March 14, 2007
Evangelicals are affirming their stance on the environment, writes Adelle M. Banks in Tuesday’s RNS report: Leaders of the National Association of Evangelicals have affirmed their stance on caring about the environment-indirectly rebuffing complaints that a staffer was too environmentally friendly-and endorsed a statement condemning torture. Focus on the Family Chairman James Dobson and two […]
Comedian Jokes About Christian Doctor
By Tracy Gordon — March 13, 2007
Quote of the Day: Comedian Stephen Colbert of “The Colbert Report“ “This latest case is a real breakthrough. It’s not Christian medical professionals refusing to provide treatment they don’t approve of. It’s Christian medical professionals refusing to provide treatment to people they don’t approve of.” -Comedian Stephen Colbert of “The Colbert Report” on a California […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — March 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service California’s Stark Named First `Nontheistic’ Member of Congress WASHINGTON (RNS) Rep. Fortney “Pete” Stark, D-Calif., is the first openly “nontheistic” member of Congress, the Secular Coalition for America announced Monday (March 12). The coalition said Stark, who has represented San Francisco’s East Bay since 1973, acknowledged his atheism in response […]
Churches Opt for Credit Cards as IRS Demands Receipts
By RNS Blog Editor — March 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Small business owners who have been burned by bad checks have long responded by posting a sign above their registers: “In God we trust. All others pay cash.” Well, now there’s a related message in many churches: “In God we trust. All others can use MasterCard, Visa or American […]
COMMENTARY: Let Roe and Scott Each Stand on Their Own
By John Farmer — March 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) One hundred fifty years ago last week, the United States Supreme Court handed down what virtually all legal scholars agree was its worst decision in history: Dred Scott vs. Sandford. The reason for such widespread condemnation is easy to see; the court held that Scott, a slave, had no […]
