Monthly Archives: December 2009
Robby George, marital metaphysician
By Mark Silk — December 21, 2009
David Kirkpatick’s fine profile of Princeton’s Robert George, intellectual guru to the Conservative Catholic Bishops of America, shows a man as captivated by the potential of Reason to move the world as any Enlightenment philosophe. No doubt some will cavil at his elaborate argument for why only a one-man/one-woman, vaginal-intercourse-performing couple meets the Natural Law […]
Abortion and heath care reform: the Medicaid solution
By Mark Silk — December 20, 2009
So far as I can tell (from Wapo’s account), the key to bringing Ben Nelson on board for the health care bill was Medicaid. On the sausage-making front, Nebraska’s senior senator managed carve out a special Medicaid subsidy for…Nebraska. On abortion, the arrangement whereby states can opt out of permitting abortion coverage in the insurance […]
What’s up with Uganda?
By Mark Silk — December 20, 2009
Second reading of Ant-Homosexuality Act maybe delayed to February. Indications that President Musaveni’s administration doesn’t like the bill much and that the president might veto it. Probability that “neo-colonialist” pressure is having the desired effect. To keep up with the news, the place is Box Turtle Bulletin.
Survey: Two-thirds of Protestant pastors consider Islam ‘dangerous’
By Tracy Gordon — December 19, 2009
(RNS) Two out of three Protestant pastors believe Islam is a “dangerous” religion, according to a new survey from a Southern Baptist-affiliated research group. The survey of more than 1,000 Protestant clergy by LifeWay Research, released Monday (Dec. 14) found that 45 percent strongly agree with the statement “I believe Islam is a dangerous religion” […]
Anti-abortion group cites slain activist as `Person of the Year’
By Tracy Gordon — December 19, 2009
OWOSSO, Mich. (RNS) James Pouillon, the anti-abortion activist who was killed in September in Owosso, has been named “person of the year” by the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue. Pouillon and gravel pit owner Mike Fuoss were gunned down Sept. 11 in Owosso. Authorities have charged Owosso resident Harlan Drake, 33, with first-degree murder in the […]
DisciplesWorld magazine to cease publication
By Tracy Gordon — December 19, 2009
(RNS) DisciplesWorld, an award-winning magazine that covered the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as an independent journal, is shutting its doors after eight years of publication. “We made a valiant effort,” publisher and editor Verity A. Jones said in a Dec. 16 statement announcing the closure, citing declining subscription and advertising revenue and a decrease […]
Reports say John Paul II could inch closer to sainthood
By Tracy Gordon — December 19, 2009
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The late Pope John Paul II is expected to take another step toward sainthood on Saturday (Dec. 19). According to Italian media reports, Pope Benedict XVI will sign a decree that recognizes the “heroic virtue” of his predecessor and declares him “venerable,” leaving him eligible for beatification, the rank just below sainthood. […]
SIDEBAR: Can’t choose your religious game? Here are some options
By Tracy Gordon — December 19, 2009
(RNS) “Toying with God” authors Rebecca Sachs Norris and Nikki Bado-Fralick offer a list of recommended religious toys and games. “This is a highly personal evaluation, of course, based on our perspective on religious games and dolls,” Norris said, “and even so this is not a `seal of approval’ on every item.” It is not […]
Friday’s roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — December 18, 2009
Seems to be a lot of stories out there this morning on crime and punishment … On the topic of punishment, the stepfather of a 2-year-old Brazilian boy found with 42 needles in his body (X-ray at left) has confessed to jabbing them into the toddler as part of a religious ritual, Brazilian police said […]
Book finds that religious toys are more than child’s play
By Tracy Gordon — December 18, 2009
(RNS) On the first day of her introductory religion class at Merrimack College just north of Boston, professor Rebecca Sachs Norris put her students to work at having some fun. She assigned teams of three or four students to play some of the many religious board games that fill her office shelves. Weeks later, they […]
Sen. Nelson, hearing from the clergy
By Mark Silk — December 18, 2009
As the last big Democratic holdout, Ben Nelson, negotiates with his leader, progressive religious leaders are weighing in, in response to his request to hear from them. There’s an interfaith group that sent a letter to the Omaha World-Herald as well as a lot of weighing in from Nelson’s co-religionists in the United Methodist Church. […]
Medieval blasphemy, today!
By Mark Silk — December 18, 2009
St Matthew-in-the-City Catholic Church in Auckland, New Zealand, has caused a commotion by erecting the above billboard with the aim of “challenging stereotypes.” But actually, the portrayal of Joseph as a feckless cuckold is pretty stereotypical–or at least it used to be. In Merrye Olde Englande, Christmas plays regularly indulged in such bawdry. Take, for […]
Uganda Bill, up for second reading
By Mark Silk — December 18, 2009
As the Uganda Parliament prepared to take up the proposed anti-homosexuality act for the second time today, Episcopal Cafe has rounded up the latest in the way of opposition, including statements of opposition from the European Union, the Church of Scotland, the Episcopal Church of Brazil, and the Archbishop of Canterbury (kind of). The latter […]
Bell choir cancels concert when mall demands no religious songs
By Tracy Gordon — December 18, 2009
HARRISBURG, Pa. (RNS) Sometimes, the Rev. Phil Cockrell says, people just need to use common sense. Cockrell, minister of music and worship at Country and Town Baptist Church in suburban Mechanicsburg, said that would have brought harmony to the flap over what music his hand-bell choir could play at the Capital City Mall. Mall management […]
Report: Near 70 percent of nations face religious restrictions
By Tracy Gordon — December 18, 2009
WASHINGTON (RNS) About one-third of the countries in the world have high restrictions on religion, exposing almost 70 percent of the globe’s population to limitations on their faith, new research shows. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life based its analysis, released Wednesday (Dec. 16), on 16 sources of information, including reports from the […]
