The Slingshot: Terror in Kabul; Trumping Jerusalem; Black Elk vision

[slingshot_ad name=”Slingshot Banner Ad”]

An Afghan man, center, cries as he’s pulled away from the scene of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)


Need to know: Thursday, December 28, 2017

Islamic State claims attack on Shiite center, 41 dead

It’s the latest in a wave of attacks in Kabul and Herat since ISIS vowed earlier this year to target Afghanistan’s Shiites.

Israel minister proposes a train station named for Trump at Western Wall

He would extend a rail line to Jerusalem’s sacred sites and name that stop for the U.S president, who recognized the city as Israel’s capital.

Another vision of Black Elk

The Oglala Sioux holy man, famed for his vision of earth and sky as unified, is now being considered for Catholic sainthood.

China silences even mildest critics of policies on Uighur Muslims

A Han Chinese salesman in Xinjiang drew a 20-year sentence for questioning treatment toward his Uighur Muslim neighbors.

Jews are skeptical about inclusion in new Bible museum

Some see the museum, created by evangelicals, as a marketing message for Christianity that uses Jews as props.

Latest news from RNS

RNS Best of 2017: No other artist mixed religion and sex like Prince

(RNS) For Prince, who died in April 2016, 'every song was either a prayer or foreplay.'

Construction halted at church destroyed in Sept. 11 attacks

The costs to build a new St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church have ballooned and the source of funding is under investigation.

Are you a good person? How can you tell?

Social psychologists, ethicists, and religious leaders suggest ways to take a moral measure of yourself.

[slingshot_ad name=”Slingshot Middle Cube Ad”]

More views from RNS

RNS Best of 2017: After 30 years, a farewell column

“Perhaps voices will emerge that will enable us to find new ways forward together, past the screaming and the litigation, through a return to deeper theological and ecclesial wellsprings. I pray that this is so,’” writes RNS columnist David Gushee.

Hey, Mormons — leave dead Jews alone!

(RNS) — If the Mormons baptize my dead grandparents, I will go totally postal.

Bernard Law, a cardinal of scandal and disgrace

(RNS) — Cardinal Law’s life is a cautionary tale of what can happen to an ambitious cleric who loses sight of his duty to serve the people of God.

[slingshot_ad name=”Slingshot Bottom Cube Ad”]