Monthly Archives: May 2007
It’s the End of the World As We Know It …
By Kevin Eckstrom — May 10, 2007
Katherine Boyle’s recent story about a Florida man who (for as little as $4.99) will send your handwritten letters to your family if they’re left behind after the Rapture is creating some buzz over at Richard Dawkins’ atheist meet-and-greet. Turns out the man behind the Post-Rapture Post, Joshua Witter, isn’t the only one trying to […]
For $4,500, a Flight With the Pope …
By Kevin Eckstrom — May 10, 2007
Our friend John Allen, the widely respected Vatican reporter for the National Catholic Reporter, offers a behind-the-scenes sneak peek at travelling on the papal plane, this time from Rome to Brazil: In reality, there is no “papal plane,” in the sense of a jet owned by the Vatican and used exclusively for papal travel. Instead, […]
Neither Rain, Nor Snow, Nor Rapture…
By RNS Blog Editor — May 10, 2007
Web Site Will Deliver Letters to Those Left Behind RNS’s Katherine Boyle profiles Post-Rapture Post, a web site that promises to send letters to loved ones who didn’t make it to heaven after the Rapture, in this week’s full text article, linked above. Quotes: “Do you want to take the chance that your loved ones […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — May 10, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Methodist Bishops Table Policy Change on Homosexuality (RNS) United Methodist bishops have tabled a proposal that would have loosened restrictions in the church’s mostly conservative policies on homosexuality. The bishops, meeting outside Myrtle Beach, S.C., April 29-May 4, decided to keep the church’s current policy _ adopted in 1972 _ […]
Colleges Lure Big-Name Speakers _ and Controversy
By Daniel Burke — May 10, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) When Brigham Young University senior Ashley Sanders looked around at her commencement ceremony on April 25, she felt a surge of pride so great it brought her to tears. It wasn’t the completion of her degree in English and philosophy that moved her. It was pulling off an “alternative” […]
Author’s Daughters Turn The Tables on Their Own Jewish Mom
By Nicole Neroulias — May 10, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) In her new book, “You Never Call! You Never Write! A History of the Jewish Mother,” Joyce Antler examines the American Jewish mother stereotype throughout the 20th century. Her own daughters, 30-year-old Lauren, a comedian living in New York City, and 23-year-old Rachel, a paralegal in Los Angeles, recently […]
JDate Members Rate Their Own Jewish Moms
By RNS Blog Editor — May 10, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) JDate, an online Jewish dating service, recently polled 300 members about their mothers. Following are excerpted results: Q: What TV mom best typifies your Jewish mother? Marie Barone _ “Everyone Loves Raymond” _ the nagging mom: 33 percent Lois Griffin _ “Family Guy” _ fun and a bit wacky: […]
Case of Murdered U.S. Nun Heads to Trial in Brazil
By RNS Blog Editor — May 10, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ A Brazilian landowner will stand trial Monday (May 14) for allegedly orchestrating the murder of an American nun in February 2005. Sister Dorothy Stang, a native of Dayton, Ohio, was member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur who devoted decades of her life to supporting the […]
10 Minutes With … Jay Swartzendruber
By RNS Blog Editor — May 10, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) CCM Magazine, the publication known for its coverage of Christian music, recently decided to expand its reach to include independent and general-market artists who are Christians. The monthly magazine, published since 1978, also has changed the meaning of its CCM acronym, from “contemporary Christian music” to “Christ. Community. Music.” […]
COMMENTARY: The Should-be Saint From Brazil
By Phyllis Zagano — May 10, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) What makes a saint? Whose history moves through the Vatican bureaucracy and comes out the story of a saint? Brazil gets a new one on Friday (May 11), Antonio de Sant’Anna Galvao (1739-1822), the first native-born Brazilian canonized and a gift from Pope Benedict XVI on his first visit […]
Pushy? Perhaps, but Jewish Moms Say the Meddling Pays Off
By Nicole Neroulias — May 10, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service NEW YORK _ When Rebekah Feen turned 21, her mother, Vivian, began “freaking out” about her single status and signed her up on JDate.com, a dating Web site for Jews. “I guess that’s what Jewish mothers do. They’re set to ignite, they have a timer _ when their child is […]
RNS Weekly Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — May 9, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Watchdog Panel Urges Monitoring Iraq on Religious Freedom WASHINGTON (RNS) For the first time since the fall of Saddam Hussein, ongoing sectarian violence has earned Iraq a place among the world’s worst violators of religious freedoms, a federal watchdog panel said on May 2. Iraq was included with seven other […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — May 9, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Nigerian Archbishop Calls U.S. Response `Insulting and Condescending’ (RNS) Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, who defied the top bishops of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion by installing his own bishop on U.S. soil Saturday (May 5), said “insulting and condescending” American bishops were to blame for the controversy. “We […]
Evangelical Scholar Turns Catholic, Stuns Colleagues
By Adelle M. Banks — May 9, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) A respected Baylor University scholar and president of the Evangelical Theological Society has shocked colleagues by returning to the Catholic faith of his youth. Francis Beckwith, an associate professor at Baylor, announced Saturday (May 5) on his blog that he was resigning as president of the 4,300-member Evangelical Theological […]
Commentary: Trickle-Down Corruption
By Tom Ehrich — May 9, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) On Tuesday of last week, just before the semester’s orchestra concert, someone went behind stage at my son’s school, found the bows used by cellists, and cut each bow in half. This took place at an arts magnet school where, in theory, every student has a passion for the […]
