NEWS STORY
RNS-Settlement-MacArthur: California, LA County both to pay $400,000 settlement to John MacArthur’s church
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — The legal court battle between Los Angeles County and Grace Community Church over Pastor John MacArthur’s defiance of COVID-19 restrictions could soon come to an end. On Tuesday, Aug. 31, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will vote on a settlement agreement that would pay Grace Community Church $400,000 for legal fees. By Alejandra Molina. 600 words.
NEWS STORY
RNS-Kanye-Donda: On Kanye West’s ‘Donda,’ faith is the message — or a metaphor
(RNS) — The album, “Donda,” is named after Donda West, the singer’s late mother, who died in 2007. It chronicles his struggles with mental illness, his presumably failing but not yet ended marriage with Kardashian and, of course, his Christian faith. Some critics have called “Donda” unfocused and rambling. Fans, though, are raving about the album and some streaming data suggests it will score the biggest release week numbers of 2021. But when it comes to faith, the album represents an interesting lyrical dichotomy. By Jillian Cheney. 812 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Iqrit-Birim: Christian residents of two northern Israeli ghost towns renew bid to go home
IQRIT, Israel (RNS) — In July, with a new coalition government in power in Israel, the local Melkite and Maronite bishops met in Haifa with parish priests and representatives of Iqrit’s and Biram’s community action committees to make a push to allow their people to go home at last. By Botrus Mansour. 889 words. (category: i)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Native-Bible: First Nations Version translates the New Testament for Native American readers
(RNS) — Terry Wildman, who is Ojibwe and Yaqui, has been working on translating the Bible into words and concepts familiar to many Native Americans for the past 20 years. InterVarsity Press will publish the culmination of that work, “First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament,” on Tuesday (Aug. 31). By Emily McFarlan Miller. 1,400 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Rademacher-Oped: As kids return to school, we must protect their right to rest. Sabbath practices can help.
(RNS) — Some of the responsibility lies with educators, many of whom are proactively thinking about if and how we can apply pandemic era lessons to the way we approach classroom-based instruction — including for students with disabilities. But parents and churches also have a responsibility. We must provide support and make space for kids to rest. In my family, this has involved recommitting to a weekly Sabbath observance. By Kate H. Rademacher. 628 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Reese-Oped: A moral post-Afghanistan foreign policy: more diplomacy, less corruption
(RNS) — What we and our allies should learn from Afghanistan, and what we should have learned from Vietnam, is that the United States military cannot save countries from themselves. If their leadership is corrupt, if their government does not have popular support, if the country is divided by waring ethnic or religious factions, if there is civil war, the American military cannot solve their problems. By Thomas Reese. 612 words. (category: k)
