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South Korea-born Canadian pastor Hyeon Soo Lim stands during his trial at a North Korean court in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang on Dec. 16, 2015. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)
Need to know: Thursday, August 10, 2017
North Korea releases Canadian pastor sentenced to life in prison
The Rev. Rim Hyon Su, also known as Hyeon Soo Lim, was accused by North Korea of using religion as a ruse to overthrow the Kim Jong Un regime, but was freed on humanitarian grounds.
New Jersey town approves mosque after $3.25M settlement
A committee in Bernards Township, New Jersey, has approved construction of a mosque after years of debate and a $3.25 million settlement in a lawsuit.
The moral history of air conditioning
The idea that a machine could control the weather was deemed sinful before the 20th century made air conditioning nearly ubiquitous.
Muslims set to become largest faith group by 2075
An April report from the Pew Research Center updates the estimate of the global Muslim population to 1.75 billion (as of 2015) and projects that, if current demographic trends continue, it will reach 2.99 billion by 2060.
Meet Voice of Baceprot, the all-girl metal band making waves in Indonesia
Voice of Baceprot (noise in the language of the Sundanese people of West Java) is an all-girl metal band whose members were introduced to the genre by a teacher in their madrassa.
Latest news from RNS
Texas pastor: ‘God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong-Un’
The Rev. Robert Jeffress, one of the key conservative evangelicals the president has been meeting with recently, said Romans 13 “gives the government the authority to do whatever, whether it’s assassination, capital punishment or evil punishment to quell the actions of evildoers like Kim Jong Un.”
Mormon church leader excommunicated for 1st time in decades
A member of the Mormon “First Quorum of Seventy” has been quietly removed from the LDS church’s mid-level leadership council for the first time in decades. RNS columnist Jana Reiss wonders if the excommunication should have been done publicly.
Clergy preach peace during Kenyan national elections
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — Thousands had camped in churches to pray for a peaceful election. Pastors and priests had stressed in sermons that it was the people's right to vote, and urged them to choose leaders who would please God.
More views from RNS
A letter to Jerry Falwell, Jr.
Surely on the question of Donald Trump’s fitness to serve as our president we can agree that he falls far short of the minimal standards for appropriate leadership.
Trump’s evangelical support is slipping
But he should beware non-evangelical Christians.
Universities should be preparing to respond to anti-Semitism this fall
(RNS) — Anti-Semitic incidents on campus are part of the long history of discrimination against Jews.
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