Monthly Archives: May 2009
The Armageddon that wasn’t
By Kevin Eckstrom — May 21, 2009
Dan Pashman over at Slate ponders the decidedly quiet acceptance of gay marriage as increasing numbers of states move to legalize it. “The lack of outrage is striking,” he writes. “Forget the Armageddon we were promised. There’s hardly even been a press conference.” Why the muted response? Pashman offers a few thoughts: “Evangelicals may be […]
COMMENTARY: Moses was smart to act when he did
By Tracy Gordon — May 21, 2009
(UNDATED) Beginning at sunset next Thursday (May 28) and concluding 48 hours later, the biblical festival of Shavuot (Hebrew for “weeks”) will be celebrated in synagogues with special prayers, intensive study sessions, and distinctive music. Coming seven weeks and one day after Passover, Shavuot recalls the moment about 3,200 years ago when Moses received the […]
Calling all tweeny-boppers
By Kevin Eckstrom — May 21, 2009
Debra Nussbaum Cohen over at The Forward’s new “Sisterhood” blog has an alert for all you parents of tweenage girls: the newest American Girl doll is likely to be Jewish. Better start preparing your pint-sized bat mitzvah parties now. From The Sisterhood: The pre-tween set is abuzz with the rumor that the newest American Girl […]
Shuttered stores find new life as churches
By Tracy Gordon — May 21, 2009
(UNDATED) At Prime Outlets in Huntley, Ill., a former Mikasa fine china store will soon become the home of Christian Life Church. “This provided an opportunity, from moving from being kind of a homeless church, if you will, to find a home,” said Pastor Daryl Merrill, whose church had been renting space weekly at a […]
Who speaks for Rome?
By Mark Silk — May 21, 2009
Amy Sullivan brings us up to date on Obama-friendly words from Osservatore Romano, the latest being an interview with its editor, Gian Maria Vian, in which he expresses the belief that Obama “is not a pro-abortion president.” I presume that Archbishop Burke, the Vatican’s head canonist, would beg to differ. So yes, Rome sometimes speaks […]
Fish stories
By Daniel Burke — May 21, 2009
President Obama gave a particularly Catholic talk at Notre Dame last weekend, says sociologist Michele Dillon over at The Immanent Frame, because he grounded it in stories (think: Father Hesburgh’s fish tale) rather than philosophical abstractions. Dillon says: “During his speech, Obama exemplified the translation that necessarily occurs in everyday lived experience between universal principles […]
Exorcism or child abuse?
By Daniel Burke — May 21, 2009
ABC’s Nightline is running a special on exorcisms of children accused of being witches in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The exorcisms look a lot like child abuse “under the banner of Jesus,” says ABC correspondent Dan Harris. Here’s a preview:
Study: Mainline clergy OK with gay rights, cautious on gay marriage
By Tracy Gordon — May 20, 2009
(RNS) Mainline Protestant clergy are generally more likely than most Americans to endorse gay rights, but only one in three supports same-sex marriage, according to a new study. About one-third of mainline clergy support civil unions and one-third oppose any legal recognition for gay couples, found Public Religion Research, a Washington-based consulting firm, which released […]
Reformed churches celebrate Calvin’s 500th with merger
By Tracy Gordon — May 20, 2009
GENEVA (RNS/ENI) Celebrations around the 500th birthday of 16th century Protestant Reformer John Calvin include plans to merge two global Reformed church organizations into one worldwide communion. “This move towards unity is a fitting tribute to Calvin by his modern day heirs,” said Peter Borgdorff, president of the U.S.-based Reformed Ecumenical Council in a statement. […]
Nun investigated for possible sainthood
By Tracy Gordon — May 20, 2009
METUCHEN, N.J. (RNS) Church officials here are helping oversee a church investigation into whether a nun who’s being considered for sainthood is the cause of a medical miracle. The probe, the first in the 28-year history of the Diocese of Metuchen, involves Mother Mary Angeline Teresa McCrory, who died in 1984 at age 91 and […]
Laid-off religious workers denied jobless benefits
By Tracy Gordon — May 20, 2009
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — God may provide, but the state may not when it comes to unemployment benefits for employees laid off by churches, synagogues and other religious groups. Carol Bronson discovered that a few months ago after she lost her secretarial job at Temple Emanuel synagogue in Virginia Beach. Bronson assumed she could draw […]
Dan Brown’s body
By Daniel Burke — May 20, 2009
Ross Douthat of the NYT says, “You can have Jesus or Dan Brown. But you can’t have both.” Douthat writes: “Piggybacking on the fascination with lost gospels and alternative Christianities, (Brown) serves up a Jesus who’s a thoroughly modern sort of messiah – sexy, worldly, and Goddess-worshiping, with a wife and kids, a house in […]
Cyberpontiff
By Francis X. Rocca — May 20, 2009
Looking ahead to World Communications Day this Sunday, Pope Benedict appealed to “all those who access cyberspace to be careful to maintain and promote a culture of respect, dialogue and authentic friendship where the values of truth, harmony and understanding can flourish.” In other words, no more flame wars. The pope did not, however, mention […]
Boys will be boys—especially in Catholic school
By Kevin Eckstrom — May 20, 2009
Catholic officials in Nebraska have told the parents of a transgender 8-year-old that the boy who dresses like and believes himself to be a girl may not attend Catholic school. From KSBW in Omaha: Therapists and the child’s parents say the second grade student is transgender, a medical condition where a person’s inner sense of […]
The right on moral wrongs
By Kevin Eckstrom — May 20, 2009
Gallup has updated its ongoing “morally acceptable” index on a host of social issues, from abortion and divorce to homosexuality and wearing fur. While most measures remain relatively steady, Gallup detected a rightward shift among Republicans, providing yet another measure of the party’s increasingly conservative bent. The “bottom line” from Gallup: “Americans’ views about what […]
