Monthly Archives: October 2011
Friday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — October 21, 2011
Woke up this morning, normal day. Checked the weather, the in-box, the Rapture Index. Muammar Gaddafi’s death seems to have had no effect on the pending apocalypse. For those with short memories, today is Take 2 of radio preacher Harold Camping’s Judgment Day prophecy. Reached at his California home this morning, Camping simply said, “There’s […]
Church wrestles with growth of Wisconsin shrine to Mary
By Tracy Gordon — October 21, 2011
CHAMPION, Wis. (RNS) Philip and Barbara Hesselbein came to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help to pray for a grandson who has an inoperable brain tumor. Darlene Searcy prayed for her family and for herself; she has cancer. Mary Spakowicz, who also has cancer, came “because God will hear me here.” The afflicted […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: Southern Baptists, change thy name
By Tracy Gordon — October 21, 2011
CHAMPION, Wis. (RNS) Philip and Barbara Hesselbein came to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help to pray for a grandson who has an inoperable brain tumor. Darlene Searcy prayed for her family and for herself; she has cancer. Mary Spakowicz, who also has cancer, came “because God will hear me here.” The afflicted […]
Who says Mormons are Christians
By Mark Silk — October 21, 2011
According to the Public Religion Research Institute, a majority (57 percent) of white evangelicals and a plurality of black Protestants (43 percent) do not think that Mormons are Christians. Majorities and pluralities of all other groups (PRRI doesn’t break them out) are prepared to accept Mormons’ own self-identification as Christians. I assume this includes Jews, […]
Thursday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — October 21, 2011
So apparently there are actually a lot of atheists in foxholes, the Atlantic reports. In other atheist news, author and “New Atheist” Richard Dawkins has some harsh words for philosopher and Christian apologist William Lane Craig. Craig reportedly challenged Dawkins to a debate about religion, but Dawkins isn’t interested, calling Craig “an apologist for genocide.” […]
What would Jesus laugh at? Quite a bit, says Colbert’s chaplain
By Tracy Gordon — October 20, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) Three priests — a Dominican, a Franciscan and a Jesuit — walk into a bar. According to the Rev. James Martin, it’s not only the opening to a good joke, but quite possibly the saving grace of religion. Martin’s new book, “Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the […]
D.C. pastor to lead Democrats’ faith outreach
By Tracy Gordon — October 20, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) As President Obama gears up his re-election campaign, the Democratic National Committee has tapped a well-connected Washington pastor to lead the party’s religious outreach. The Rev. Derrick Harkins is senior pastor of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church, one of Washington’s oldest historically black churches, where Obama and his family worshipped right before his inauguration. […]
Thursday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — October 20, 2011
Tired of hearing talk of a “shariah creep,” Muslim-American leaders have issued a fatwa declaring that there is no “contradiction between being faithful Muslims committed to God (Allah) and being loyal American citizens.” The Fiqh Council of North America’s ruling, a “Resolution On Being Faithful Muslims and Loyal Americans,” responds to what its authors call […]
Family behind ‘Big Love’ comes out from the shadows
By Tracy Gordon — October 20, 2011
(RNS) Joe Darger sees his unconventional marriage as a loving commitment to family, one that makes him a better man and brings him closer to God. Utah law, however, sees it as a crime. That’s because Darger, a 42-year-old construction management consultant who lives outside Salt Lake City, is married to three women — Alina, […]
COMMENTARY: New insights into a landmark trial
By Tracy Gordon — October 20, 2011
(RNS) When asked to name two famous trials that took place in Jerusalem, most people quickly mention the trial of Jesus nearly 2,000 years ago. They typically get tripped up, though, on the second one. Enter Emory University professor Deborah Lipstadt’s recent book, “The Eichmann Trial,” an analysis of the lasting legacy of the trial […]
Jeffress on religious tests
By Mark Silk — October 20, 2011
Obviously smarting from the slings and arrows of outraged pundits, Rev. Robert Jeffress took to WaPo’s op-ed page yesterday to defend himself. And his defense is worth a careful look, because rarely (I’m tempted to say never) has a leader of the religious right argued so directly and publicly that Americans should use religious identity […]
Pope appoints new ambassador to U.S.
By Tracy Gordon — October 20, 2011
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI has named Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano as the Vatican’s next ambassador to the United States. The widely expected appointment was announced on Wednesday (Oct. 19). Vigano, 70, has served since July 2009 as the No. 2 official at the Governorate of Vatican City State, which oversees the 108-acre […]
Wednesday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — October 20, 2011
Actor Robert Downey Jr. – who has publicly struggled with bouts of substance abuse – took some time away from flying around in an Iron suit to ask Hollywood to “forgive” his controversy-ridden friend Mel Gibson. Downey, a self-described “Jewish-Buddhist,” claimed that Gibson had once recommended he find a faith “rooted in forgiveness,” a process […]
WednesdayâÂ?Â?s Religion News Roundup
By David Gibson — October 19, 2011
After a day’s hiatus for some routine website maintenance, we are back – and so were the Republican presidential hopefuls, who seem to debate as often as we write the roundup. Also back was the “religion question,” which is shorthand for the controversy over Rick Perry’s pastor-pal calling Mitt Romney‘s Mormonism a “cult.” “I’ve heard […]
What happened in Vegas last night
By Mark Silk — October 19, 2011
Won’t stay in Vegas. Rick Perry was either surprisingly (to me, at least) unprepared for the Jeffress question, or (more likely) couldn’t manage a coherent delivery of the answer he’d prepared. By contrast, Mitt Romney came totally prepared, and hit the ball out of the park. The colloquy (reprinted after the jump) went down like […]
