Monthly Archives: April 2009
High-level compensation
By Kevin Eckstrom — April 27, 2009
Last week we reported on the spat at Riverside Church in Manhattan over the reported $600,000 compensation package for new senior pastor Brad Braxton. The package was so high that it prompted a lawsuit by Riverside members seeking to stop Braxton’s installation on Sunday. The judge refused. Braxtron responded from Riverside’s pulpit on Sunday, and […]
The Prince and the Pontiff
By Francis X. Rocca — April 27, 2009
Prince Charles and his wife had an audience with Pope Benedict today, and contrary to advance reports in at least one British newspaper, the touchy subject of divorce does not seem to have come up in any form.
Religious dropouts
By Mark Silk — April 27, 2009
In today’s release of the follow-up to its 2007 Landscape Survey, Pew offers an answer to the intriguing question: Which major Christian tradition is most likely to have its members drop out of religion. (Pew calls these folks “unaffiliated,” we at ARIS call them Nones–I won’t argue the point here.) The answer, in the immortal […]
Little Faith-based
By Mark Silk — April 27, 2009
Over at CT Politics, Douglas Koopman is unhappy with the Obama administration’s faith-based initiative so far. A political science prof at Calvin College, Koopman is one of those center-right evangelical types who was disappointed at the politicizing of the Bush effort but nevertheless remains an enthusiast of the approach. His is not the clearest exposition […]
Steven Curtis Chapman’s emotional victory
By Adelle M. Banks — April 25, 2009
Steven Curtis Chapman, the contemporary Christian musician who has won more Gospel Music Association Dove Awards than anyone else, was named artist of the year in Thursday’s Dove Awards ceremony in Nashville, Tenn. During the show, which aired live on the Gospel Music Channel, he performed his hit “Cinderella,” which he wrote in honor of […]
New Orleans archbishop boycotts commencement over abortion issue
By Tracy Gordon — April 25, 2009
NEW ORLEANS (RNS) New Orleans Catholic Archbishop Alfred Hughes has told Xavier University of Louisiana he will not attend its upcoming graduation ceremonies because he objects to the university’s decision to award an honorary degree to Donna Brazile, a veteran Democratic political strategist who supports abortion rights. Hughes told Xavier President Norman Francis of his […]
Joseph’s Tomb vandalism decried by Jewish leaders
By Tracy Gordon — April 25, 2009
JERUSALEM (RNS)Joseph’s Tomb, the traditional burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, has again been vandalized, according to Israeli authorities. A group of 500 Jews who arrived Wednesday (April 22) at the ancient domed tomb, which is located in the Palestinian-ruled city of Nablus in the West Bank, discovered boot marks and swastikas at the […]
Berliners’ votes to decide on option of religion, ethics classes
By Tracy Gordon — April 25, 2009
PARIS (RNS) Once divided by communism, Berliners are now split over faith as they head to the polls Sunday (April 26) to consider whether to offer public school students the choice of taking religion or ethics classes. Until now, ethics courses have been mandatory for students in the German capital, thanks to a 2006 measure […]
Italians, Israelis, Palestinians run together in `peace marathon’
By Tracy Gordon — April 25, 2009
JERUSALEM (RNS/ENI) Former Italian volleyball world champion Andrea Zorzi was one of 50 Italian runners who joined about 100 Israelis and Palestinians in the sixth annual Pope John Paul II Peace Marathon on Thursday (April 23) that concluded in Jerusalem. Some of those watching noted the structure of the run indicated the divided nature of […]
For financial guru Dave Ramsey, sour economy has an upside
By Bobby Ross Jr. — April 24, 2009
(RNS) — The Christian financial guru went on a nationwide tour to give hope during the last recession.
Is the Center the New Left?
By Mark Silk — April 24, 2009
You’ve got to admire the Audacity of Jim. As Ted Olsen over at Christianity Today Politics details in chapter and verse, Wallis of Sojourners has made a career of keeping his distance from the Religious Left–portraying himself, like God, as someone who stands at the radical center. So now to have a minion send around […]
Christians accused of trying to convert Obama’s Muslim grandmother
By Tracy Gordon — April 24, 2009
NAIROBI, Kenya (ENI-RNS)– A row is simmering between Christians and Muslims in Kenya over reported attempts to convert President Obama’s grandmother, Sarah Obama, to Christianity. “We had invited her to grace our meeting in Kisumu which was to mark the end of a three-week convention, but although she had prepared, she did not attend,” Lewis […]
Obama remembers Holocaust, urges action in face of injustice
By Tracy Gordon — April 24, 2009
WASHINGTON (RNS) President Obama used a ceremony recalling the Holocaust on Thursday (April 23) to urge Americans to avoid silence in the face of injustice. “During this season when we celebrate liberation, resurrection and the possibility of redemption, may each of us renew our resolve to do what must be done,” he said in an […]
Blair calls for continued fight against Islamic extremism
By Tracy Gordon — April 24, 2009
(RNS) American diplomacy must be accompanied by a defeat of religious extremism in the Muslim world, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in Chicago on Wednesday (April 22). Speaking at a forum sponsored by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Blair pointed out the shortcomings of peaceful negotiation. “President Obama’s reaching out to the […]
Obama finds Sermon on the Mount elevates speeches
By Tracy Gordon — April 23, 2009
WASHINGTON — In a 2006 speech here, then-Sen. Barack Obama said Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount was so “radical” the Defense Department wouldn’t survive its application. Earlier this month (April), the new president suggested the economy couldn’t get along without it. In the middle of a nuts-and-bolts speech at Georgetown University on economic policy, Obama […]
