Douglas Todd

Douglas Todd is an author at Religion News Service.

All Stories by Douglas Todd

Authors say church got it wrong by emphasizing crucifixion

By Douglas Todd — October 23, 2008

c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) “It took Jesus a thousand years to die. Images of his corpse did not appear in churches until the tenth century.” Those are the provocative opening sentences of the new book, “Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire” (Beacon Press), by Protestant scholars […]

Canadian Leader’s Evangelical Faith Remains Under Wraps

By Douglas Todd — October 4, 2007

c. 2007 Religion News Service CALGARY, Alberta _ Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has rarely talked publicly about his evangelical Christian beliefs. And Lloyd Mackey, author of “The Pilgrimage of Stephen Harper,” says he understands why Harper stays quiet, even to sympathetic biographers such as himself. Harper is one of many conservative Christians in Canadian […]

In Yoga, Author Says, Ethical Positions Are Important, Too

By Douglas Todd — July 27, 2007

c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Yoga has lost its moral compass as a result of its rapid rise in popularity in North America, says a book by one of the world’s leading yoga scholars. Georg Feuerstein, author of “Yoga Morality: Ancient Teachings at a Time of Global Crisis,” is worried that, in the process […]

Canadian Anglicans Narrowly Defeat Same-Sex Blessings

By Douglas Todd — June 26, 2007

c. 2007 Religion News Service WINNIPEG, Manitoba _ The national governing body of the Anglican Church of Canada on Sunday (June 24) defeated by the tightest of margins a motion to forge ahead with same-sex blessings across the country. The church’s lay and clergy delegates voted to allow same-sex blessings, but church bishops defeated the […]

Ministry Hopes to Make Fishers of Men _ Literally

By Douglas Todd — June 5, 2007

c. 2007 Religion News Service SURREY, British Columbia _ Ed Trainer serves his Lord by taking men and boys out fishing on the waters of British Columbia, Alaska and beyond. His group, International Fishing Ministries, rose up out of Trainer’s own passion for fishing, his frustration with traditional worship and statistics suggesting most church pews […]

Canadian Church Leader Is Looking for a Few Good Men

By Douglas Todd — May 31, 2007

c. 2007 Religion News Service VICTORIA, British Columbia _ The new moderator of Canada’s largest Protestant denomination wonders why there are so few men in his church. David Giuliano, elected last year as head of the 600,000-member United Church of Canada, believes liberal religious institutions aren’t as welcoming of males as they think they are. […]

Book Traces McPherson’s Impact on Religious Right

By Douglas Todd — April 4, 2007

c. 2007 Religion News Service VANCOUVER, British Columbia _ A female Canadian evangelist was a seminal figure in the creation of today’s American religious right, says a new book that traces the life of the legendary Aimee Semple McPherson. McPherson was the first major leader in the U.S. to promote the mix of apocalyptic theology, […]

Bishop Battles Depression _ and Its Stigma

By Douglas Todd — March 16, 2007

c. 2007 Religion News Service VANCOUVER, British Columbia _ Archbishop Raymond Roussin remembers the shame he felt when he first admitted to himself and others he was clinically depressed. “It was humiliating,” said Roussin, who three years ago was appointed head of the sprawling Greater Vancouver archdiocese. “I thought, `How could I possibly be mentally […]

Will Canadian Secularism Spread South of the Border?

By Douglas Todd — January 19, 2007

c. 2007 Religion News Service VANCOUVER, British Columbia _ In Denys Arcand’s Oscar-winning 2003 film, “The Barbarian Invasions,” an aging priest laments the decline of Christianity in heavily Catholic Quebec. “In 1966,” the priest says, “all the churches emptied out in a few weeks. No one can figure out why.” That scene, said American religious […]

NEWS FEATURE: Ashland, the Left Coast’s Secular Yet Spiritual Haven

By Douglas Todd — September 24, 2004

c. 2004 Religion News Service ASHLAND, Ore. _ In North America’s newest spiritual mecca, the well-off, highly educated residents who fill the coffee bars, boutiques and healing centers do not see themselves as mere Americans. They see themselves as citizens of a sacred cosmos. In this idyllic town of 20,000 in the isolated south of […]

NEWS FEATURE: “Minister’’ Vanishes After Allegedly Hoodwinking Investors