legislation
Muslim men convicted of advocating death for gays
By Tracy Gordon — January 23, 2012
LONDON (RNS) In the first case of its kind, a British court has convicted three Muslim men -- who claimed they were acting under teachings of their religion -- of openly advocating the execution of gays. By Al Webb. 250.
Wednesday Godbytes: SOPA; Tea Party Jesus; Scholarship for Atheists
By Jack Jenkins — January 19, 2012
While sections of the internet have “gone dark” today in protest of SOPA, or the Stop Online Piracy Act. Internet companies such as Google (which is has a special logo today) and Wikipedia (which has taken itself down for the day in protest) think the legislation goes too far, and are taking action against it. […]
Wednesday Godbytes: Iowa God-Talk; Wintery Worship; More Zen of Steve Jobs
By Jack Jenkins — January 5, 2012
The Republican Iowa caucuses finished up last night, and while Mitt Romney technically won by 8(!) votes, there wasn’t a real “clear” winnerâÂ?¦except for God: There was a LOT of God-talk last night in the candidate’s concession speeches. Mitt Romney, a Mormon, made sure to state that “Freedom is a gift from God,” while barely […]
COMMENTARY: Lessons worth learning the hard way
By Tracy Gordon — January 3, 2012
(RNS) Instead of year-end analyses and new-year resolutions, I prefer to share important lessons I have learned. Most came the hard way. That’s the first lesson: The easy way rarely leads anywhere worth going. Here are others as we begin a new year: — Make your bed and wash the dishes. Take pride in doing […]
Monday Godbytes: Cee Lo Re-Imagines “Imagine”; Downloadable Forgiveness; Priestly Broom
By Jack Jenkins — January 2, 2012
Ah, New Years Eve. A time for revelry, resolutions, and twitter controversies involving John Lennon, Cee Lo Green and atheists. Long story short: several folks are miffed at singer Cee Lo Green for changing a lyric in John Lennon’s “Imagine” while performing on New Year’s Eve in Times Square. He reportedly tweaked the line “nothing […]
Magi would have a tough time finding frankincense
By Tracy Gordon — December 22, 2011
(RNS) The world may still have gold and myrrh, but it's quite possible that frankincense could become a thing of the past, given ecological pressures on the arid lands where it grows in Ethiopia. The storied resin — known to millions as one of the three gifts of the Magi, the wise men who visited […]
Christmas symbols are in the eye of the beholder
By Tracy Gordon — December 14, 2011
(RNS) When is a candy cane not just a candy cane? For some people, its red and white stripes might signify the sacrifice and purity of Jesus, or maybe just a 19th-century candy-maker’s twist intended to dazzle his grandchildren. Both stories are alive and well on the Internet. Is Santa Claus the imagined incarnation of […]
Tuesday Godbytes: Salvation for Cyborgs; Sharia and the Simpsons; “untrustworthy” atheis
By Jack Jenkins — December 13, 2011
I know it’s the question that’s been keeping you up at night, keeping you from counting electric sheep: is there salvation for cyborgs? Techie blog iO9 highlights a recent interview with a Christian seminary professor on this very topic (i.e. – transhumanism, which I’m sure you’ve heard of), and also notes the existence of a […]
Monday Godbytes: Lowe’s blows; Jon Stewart in hell; holiday books
By Jack Jenkins — December 13, 2011
The department store chain Lowe’s recently pulled advertisements they were running during TLC’s new “All-American Muslim” reality TV show, reacting to protests from conservative Christian advocacy groups. The move, however, sparked a blacklash from several groups. The Crescent Post was not happy, and Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, a state senator from Southern California, is calling for […]
Thursday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — November 18, 2011
As Occupy Wall Street protestors cope with being evicted from the from Zuccotti Park in New York City, Daniel Sieradski of the Jewish Daily Forward thinks the demonstrators could learn a thing or two from the Jewish Diaspora. (thanks for the tip, David!) Also, apparently the Occupy Wall Street encampments are home to more than […]
D.C. cardinal, nun mired in rare public dispute
By Tracy Gordon — November 1, 2011
(RNS) An unusual public dispute is brewing between Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl and a feminist theologian who essentially accused Wuerl of lying about the hierarchy’s review of her work. The feud between Sister Elizabeth Johnson and the doctrine committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops — which Wuerl heads — escalated over the weekend […]
ThursdayâÂ?Â?s Religion News Roundup
By David Gibson — October 27, 2011
Pope Benedict XVI told representatives of the world’s religions – as well as non-believers – gathered today in Assisi that all faiths must continue to “purify” themselves of any tendency to violence and terrorism, and that goes for his own Catholic Church as well: “It is the task of all who bear responsibility for the […]
Muslim mortgages in limbo after bank collapse
By Tracy Gordon — October 24, 2011
TORONTO (RNS) The collapse of a lender that offered Shariah-compliant mortgages has left Muslim homeowners in the Toronto area with many questions and so far, few answers. Founded in 2004, Toronto’s UM Financial partnered with an Ontario credit union to offer mortgages and other financial products that promised to circumvent Islam’s ban on interest and […]
Tuesday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — October 11, 2011
Did you know that Presidential candidate Ron Paul used to be an Episcopalian? No? Me neither, but you can learn about that and a lot more (like why Paul left the church) in Christianity Today‘s interview with the congressman from Texas. The Associated Press (via the Wall Street Journal) reports that folks in New York […]
Thursday Godbytes
By Jack Jenkins — September 30, 2011
So some of you asked yesterday if we here at RNS “forgot” about Rosh Hashanah… Oh ye of little faith. The twitterverse certainly didn’t forget, what with President Obama tweeting well-wishes to all his Jewish followers. Not to be left out, Republican Presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Herman Cain also extended new year greetings. Looks […]
