NEWS STORY
RNS-Jewish-Pride: #JewishandProud campaign asks Jews to stand tall in the face of anti-Semitism
(RNS) — What’s the best way to respond to a rash of violent attacks on Orthodox Jewish communities in New York and New Jersey? One new campaign could be titled “the best defense is a good offense.” The campaign, which will take place Monday Jan. 6, asks Jews around the world to adorn themselves in easily identifiable clothes or jewelry announcing their faith to the world. By Yonat Shimron. 700 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Strike-Response: Faith leaders offer mixed response after missile strike kills Iranian commander
(RNS) — Religious leaders were split along liberal and conservative lines in their responses to a U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani early Friday, although even President Trump’s staunchest evangelical Christian supporters appeared unsettled about the potential blowback from the attack. By Jack Jenkins. 800 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Trump-Evangelicals: Trump launches ‘Evangelicals for Trump’ by visiting megachurch led by a Latino pastor
(RNS) — President Donald Trump launched the “Evangelicals for Trump” initiative on Friday by visiting El Rey Jesús Global, a megachurch in Miami led by a Latino pastor who has visited the White House and publicly praised the president. Latino evangelical leaders and religion experts discuss what it means that the president is visiting a Pentecostal church, which includes undocumented immigrant parishioners, as his first campaign move for the year. By Alejandra Molina. 1012 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Methodist-Split: United Methodist leaders propose plan to split church over LGBTQ ordination, marriage
(RNS) — Bishops and leaders of a number of United Methodist groups have announced a proposed agreement to split the United Methodist Church. The proposal, called the Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation, would create a new conservative “traditionalist” Methodist denomination that would receive $25 million over the next four years. By Emily McFarlan Miller. 1,000 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Pakistan-Gurdwara: Sikh holy site in Pakistan mobbed by locals, trapping worshipers
(RNS) – Hundreds of Muslims have mobbed a prominent Sikh gurdwara in Pakistan after months of tension over a Sikh woman’s alleged forced conversion to Islam. Muslim mobs pelted the gurdwara with stones and shouted that they would destroy the gurdwara and change its name to Ghulam-e-Mustafa, an Arabic term meaning the servant of the Prophet Muhammad, according to video posted on social media. By Aysha Khan. 818 words. (category: i)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Todd-Bentley: Todd Bentley, the ‘punching preacher’ and Lakeland revivalist, deemed not fit for ministry
(RNS) — A group of charismatic ministers announced this week that Todd Bentley, the controversial bearded Canadian revivalist, is no longer fit for ministry. Bentley, known as the punching preacher, rose to fame in 2007 after drawing tens of thousands of worshipers to his weekly revivals in Florida. His ministry was derailed repeatedly by allegations of sexual misconduct. By Bob Smietana. 1000 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Heckman-Resolution: United Methodist #MeToo complaint against Bud Heckman settled
(RNS) — A United Methodist clergyman accused of sexual misconduct has “retired under complaint,” ending the denomination’s judicial process against the Rev. Donald ‘Bud’ Heckman. By Emily McFarlan Miller. 600 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Reparations-Manifesto: 50 years after ‘Black Manifesto,’ religious groups take up reparations again
(RNS) — Five decades after activist James Forman entered Riverside Church and demanded $500 million from white churches and synagogues, reparations have reentered the national spotlight. They remain controversial, but some religious institutions have begun to take action. By Matthew J. Cressler and Adelle M. Banks. 1,888 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Deaf-Worship: At Gallaudet University, deaf culture and faith mix to create something new
WASHINGTON (RNS) — For many, vocalized hymns, homilies, and prayers make up much of the experience of a typical religious service. Yet worshipping silently — in ASL — is standard fare at Gallaudet, the world’s premier college for the deaf and hard of hearing. And religious students say the language shift is but a small window into the subtle ways their communities intertwine deaf culture with the divine to produce uncommon expressions of faith and activism. By Jack Jenkins. 1,531 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Rogers-Oped: Trump’s support for religious freedom looks more like religious privilege
(RNS) — No matter their voting record, evangelical Christians come together in their claim that President Trump has promoted religious freedom in the U.S. But no advocate of religious liberty should hail President Trump as a champion on these issues. By Melissa Rogers. 730 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Singh-Oped: Behind the tensions between Muslims and Sikhs in Punjab
(RNS) — The menacing Muslim mob that surrounded a Sikh house of worship in Pakistan was motivated by a local dispute, but the violent demonstration struck at the collective Sikh psyche: the site in question was the Gurdwara Janam Asthan, marking the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhi. By Simran Jeet Singh. 650 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Arbo-Oped: Trump’s tweets and actions aren’t good fruit — or moral
(RNS) — Until recently, I’d never heard anyone defend President Donald Trump’s tweets on moral grounds. Then I read a piece from theologian Wayne Grudem, which did just that. Having read a wide sample myself, I feel confident in concluding that Grudem’s judgment on this is absolute nonsense. By Matthew Arbo. 867 words (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Salkin-Oped: Stop blaming ‘them’ for antisemitism
(RNS) — This “new” Jew hatred is neither from the left or the right. It’s far more complicated than that. So, what do we call this kind of antisemitism that is lifting its head out of the sewers? I want to call it the antisemitism of the disenfranchised. By Jeffrey Salkin. 821 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Camosy-Oped: Helping the vulnerable at risk for assisted suicide
(RNS) — What does a terminal illness on top of profound social isolation do to a person? What effect does the fear of dying alone do to a person? It is nothing short of diabolical that we would respond to such vulnerable people by making it easier for them to kill themselves. Pope Francis sees this as part of our “throwaway culture” — a slouch toward discarding those whose inherent dignity is inconvenient to acknowledge and accommodate, much less embrace. By Charles C. Camosy. 841 words. (category: k)
