Monthly Archives: January 2009
Buddhist books
By Daniel Burke — January 27, 2009
The Buddhist magazine asked eight prominent teachers and writers about the most influential Buddhist book in their lives. Click here to see them all.
Evangelicals & Catholics post-Neuhaus
By Daniel Burke — January 27, 2009
When Richard John Neuhaus died January 8, Prison Fellowship’s Charles Colson didn’t just lose a friend of 25 years. He also lost his partner in convening Evangelicals and Catholics Together. Can the movement continue without its chief Roman Catholic architect? Christianity Today international editor Susan Wunderink asked Colson, a Christianity Today columnist, what lies ahead.
Auschwitz survivors mark anniversary
By Daniel Burke — January 27, 2009
OSWIECIM, Poland (AP) – In the depths of the Polish winter, Auschwitz survivors and government officials marked the 64th anniversary of the Nazi death camp’s liberation Tuesday as part of worldwide Holocaust remembrance ceremonies.
Bush’s Vatican ambassador reflects
By Daniel Burke — January 27, 2009
Mary Ann Glendon, United States ambassador to the Vatican, resigned her post this past week. Now Glendon reflects on her year in Rome in an interview with our correspondent, Roman journalist Alberto Carosa.
New (again) sex allegations against Haggard
By Daniel Burke — January 27, 2009
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) – A young man who formerly attended New Life Church says that then-pastor Ted Haggard performed a sex act in front of him in a hotel room in 2006 and sent him explicit text messages.
Obama signals new tone in Muslim relations
By Daniel Burke — January 27, 2009
In one of his first interviews since taking office, President Barack Obama struck a conciliatory tone toward the Islamic world, saying he wanted to persuade Muslims that “the Americans are not your enemy” and adding that “the moment is ripe for both sides” to negotiate in the Middle East.
COMMENTARY: Hubris and chutzpah
By Tom Ehrich — January 27, 2009
(UNDATED) What a hard week for hubris! You couldn’t make up this stuff. Last week, a square-jawed financier who bears an eerie resemblance to Superman was shown the door at Merrill Lynch. It seems that John Thain, the financial giant’s toppled head, downplayed material information while hawking his firm to Bank of America last fall. […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: What the Ted Haggard scandal is really about
By Christa Brown — January 27, 2009
(UNDATED) The headline was an eye-catcher: “Pastor Ted Haggard faces more gay sex accusations.” But the more I delved into the recent Associated Press story, the more I knew it wasn’t really about “gay sex.” It was about pastoral abuse and exploitation. It was about a megachurch cover-up. This story was different from the one […]
Vatican: Holocaust denial is “unacceptable”
By Francis X. Rocca — January 27, 2009
A front-page editorial in the Monday-Tuesday issue of the official Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano insists that Pope Benedict is committed to ecumenism and Vatican II’s reupdiation of anti-Semitism, and calls the Holocaust denial of traditionalist Bishop Richard Williamson (at left) “unacceptable.”
Rice appears at church piano
By Adelle M. Banks — January 27, 2009
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an appearance at a Washington congregation’s piano on Sunday , reports The Washington Post’s Reliable Source. Rice played at the keyboard at National Presbyterian Church, accompanying choir director Michael Denham and friend Mary Bush. The column’s writers suspect it was one of her last Sundays in the nation’s […]
Muslim Outreach
By Mark Silk — January 27, 2009
There’s plenty of commentary in the offing on Obama’s interview with Al-Arabiya–here’s Klein’s early guide to it–but I want to call attention to just this exchange on President Bush’s War on Terror. Q President Bush framed the war on terror conceptually in a way that was very broad, “war on terror,” and used sometimes certain […]
The Unexcommunicated
By Mark Silk — January 27, 2009
David Gibson’s post on Benedict’s welcoming the Lefebvrists back into the fold is a must-read. Tiniest of quibbles: David ends with the famous tag, “Roma locuta, causa finita.” To which I’d respond with the famous Yogi’s, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
Sorry, Lourdes
By Daniel Burke — January 27, 2009
Mexico City is the top spot for religious pilgrims, according to this report from the LA Times. The article says Mexico City’s basilica, which marks the spot where the Virgin of Guadalupe reportedly appeared in 1531, draws millions each year. Though the article doesn’t say, I suspect they limited the site to Christian destinations, since […]
Hunter and the wolves
By Daniel Burke — January 27, 2009
The Rev. Joel Hunter, a conservative megachurch pastor from Florida who’s become friendly with Obama tells Christianity Today that concerns about the Freedom of Choice Act are unwarranted. Moneyquote: “Every source I have in Washington says to me that FOCA is not something we need to worry about. It’ll never get to his desk. And […]
Pastor admits church knew of new allegations against Haggard
By RNS Blog Editor — January 27, 2009
(RNS) The pastor of a Colorado Springs megachurch at the center of yet another sex scandal involving former pastor Ted Haggard told his congregation Sunday (Jan. 25) that he knew of the lurid allegations 18 months ago but “there’s nothing being held secret here.” Pastor Brady Boyd of New Life Church acknowledged that the church’s […]
