NEWS STORY
RNS-Biden-Bible: Biden quotes Bible at Black church meeting, while Trump says his rival is against God
(RNS) – The same day President Trump insisted that former Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was “against God,” the onetime Delaware senator invoked scripture while making an appeal for Black Protestant votes. By Jack Jenkins. 696 words. (category: a)
NEWS BRIEF
RNS-DENVER-FIRE: Muslim leaders call for hate crime investigation into deadly Denver house fire
(RNS) – Denver police have opened a homicide investigation into the deadly house fire that killed Djibril Diol and his wife and toddler daughter, as well as two other family members. By Aysha Khan. 443 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Religious-Freedom: ‘We’re not a theocracy.’ Constitutional law experts disagree with pastors citing Bible to break COVID-19 rules
(RNS) — Five months into COVID-19, some clergy are losing patience with pandemic restrictions. They’re citing First Amendment and biblical text as reasons to continue meeting despite government restrictions in place as the virus surges across the United States. Constitutional law experts say the government can ban practices impacting religion through laws that don’t specifically target religion. It also has the authority to do so during a public health emergency like the global COVID-19 pandemic. By Alejandra Molina. 1,560 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Salkin-Oped: Seth Rogen’s arguments about Israel actually have a long history
(RNS) — Classical Reform Judaism was non-Zionist for some of the same reasons Rogen raises: Jews must be a “light to the nations”; how can you achieve that goal if you are all in one corner of the Middle East? By Jeffrey Salkin. 1,050 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Smith-Oped: What white evangelical Christians can’t see when they see racism
(RNS) — White evangelicals must look to the other historic streams of Christianity, both Catholic and Protestant, for more resources to recognize the spiritual significance of habit. We need a repertoire of disciplines and practices, such as confession, that are meant to rehabituate the habits of the heart. By James K.A. Smith. 815 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Silk-Oped: Mike Pompeo claims the Judeo-Christian tradition for his agenda — a tradition in itself
(RNS) — The Secretary of State’s recent reference to the concept recapitulated conservative Christian’s 40-year-old alignment with a biblical social order. But the phrase “Judeo-Christian tradition” is older yet, and has been used strategically by the left and right alike. By Mark Silk. 780 words. (category: k)
