Just links today. Commentary will return tomorrow.
Sudan:
- Powell says Sudanese hope to reach a peace accord this year | Secretary of State Colin L. Powell won a commitment from Sudanese negotiators to reach agreement by the end of December to end the civil war in Sudan (The New York Times)
- Powell: Sudan accord on track | Official disputes December goal (The Washington Post)
- Powell optimistic on Sudan | Secretary of State sits in on peace talks. He says he sees a final agreement within reach and urges the two sides to sign an accord by the year’s end (Los Angeles Times)
- Powell: U.S. could end sanctions against Sudan | Steps to stop civil war, curb anti-Israeli militants would have proceed U.S. actions (The Washington Post)
- Powell tries to nudge Sudan toward peace | Secretary of State Colin L. Powell suggested that the U.S. would lift sanctions if Sudan reached a peace accord and acted further against terrorism (The New York Times)
Religious freedom:
- China Christian church activist detained | Liu Fenggang, 43, was detained on Oct. 13 in the city of Hangzhou while visiting with leaders of the destroyed churches who had just been released from almost two months in detention (Associated Press)
- Congress concerned over religious freedoms in Iraq | Conservative Republican lawmakers in Congress worry that the Muslim-dominated country will shed its secular history and officially turn into an Islamic state, complete with a constitution that says Islam is its national religion (Knight Ridder)
- All they wanted was a simple cross | The structure occupies a portion of St Anthony’s Street and is on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s hitlist of illegal religious shrines to be demolished following a recent Bombay High Court order. (New Indian Press)
Pledge of Allegiance:
- Case involving pledge should be easy for justices to decide | Scalia’s recusal likely means that the court’s interest in the standing question will wane and that the justices will reach the substantive question of whether having students recite the pledge is unconstitutional (Terry Eastland, The Dallas Morning News)
- “Under God” | The history of a phrase (James Piereson, The Weekly Standard)
- One atheist, underwhelmed | Overturning the pledge seems certain to make atheists even less popular than they already are, while distracting attention from the far more troubling entanglements of church and state that have emerged under the Bush administration. (by Chris Mooney, Washington Post)
- High court must not be pressured | The Supreme Court should affirm the 9th Circuit’s decision and hold that it is not for the government to encourage students to express a religious belief. (Erwin Chemerinsky, Hampshire Gazette, Mass.)
- Being forced to recite the pledge as an outsider | Growing up Jewish, I always felt like an outsider as a religious minority. (Larry Atkins, Chicago Tribune)
Courts:
- Judge: Amish can skip orange safety tape | Swartzentruber Amish prefer gray reflective tape and a lantern (Associated Press)
- High court refuses to hear Iowa ‘spirit of Satan’ case | Justices also turn away dispute over campaign ad in North Carolina (Associated Press)
- Ethicists don’t see Scalia sitting out most church-state cases | But remarks about pledge dispute were specific enough to keep him out of that case, experts say (Associated Press)
Lt. Gen. Boykin:
- General won’t be moved for remarks flap | Pentagon brushes aside congressional calls to reassign the general during an investigation (Associated Press)
- Senator: Reprimand for general’s comments | Joe Lieberman calls comments the “mirror opposite” of Osama bin Laden (Associated Press)
- Hysteria and the general | Boykin has a right to his faith, and he has a right to testify to that faith in a way dictated by his own conscience (Editorial, The Washington Times)
- Bush distances self from general | Boykin’s opinion “just doesn’t reflect what the government thinks,” president tells reporters (The Washington Times)
- Also: Bush says he disagrees with general’s remarks on religion (The New York Times)
- Top Saudi adviser outraged by Boykin’s words on Islam | “If you switched the religions around,” Abdel al-Jubeir told reporters at the Saudi Embassy, “the words could have been said by Osama bin Laden.” (UPI)
Politics:
- GOP should terminate the Christian right | The Christian right has so alienated women that it has opened up a gender gap that often swells to more than 20 points, crippling Republican candidates. (Dick Morris, The Hill, D.C.)
- Dean gets standing ovation from Arab-Americans | By attacking religious conservatives (Reuters)
- Democrats and Republicans trade accusations at confirmation hearing | Accuse each other of racial and religious McCarthyism (The New York Times)
- Foes of idle hands, Amish contest a child labor law | The Amish just want to be let alone, he said, but the federal government is meddling in their lives and livelihoods by fining Amish sawmills and woodworking shops that employ teenagers, in violation of child labor law (The New York Times)
- Bible battle | East Lansing endorsement of ‘Bible Week’ unneccessary, blurs separation of government, religion (Editorial, The State News, Mich.)
- Virtue is its own drawback | One pops pills. Another gambles. Another lets her mother die alone. Yet these are Bush’s virtue-mongers (John Sutherland, The Guardian, London)
- Prayer must go because it’s exclusive | Parliament is not acting constitutionally (Matt Robson, New Zealand Herald)
Life ethics:
- Content of abortion information debated | Law requires offering data before procedure (Houston Chronicle)
- Abortion vote leaves many in the Senate conflicted | Some Democratic senators, many of them strong advocates of abortion rights, voted for the first federal ban on a specific abortion procedure with some misgivings (The New York Times)
- The battle for Terri | Even after Terri’s Law was passed, Michael Schiavo fought to secure his wife’s death. Now that she’s still alive, he won’t allow her parents to visit her (Wesley J. Smith, The Weekly Standard)
- Scorning the courts in Florida | The actions of Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida State Legislature in the Terry Schiavo case mock the courts’ careful deliberations over her right to die (Editorial, The New York Times)
Education:
- Bill seeks neutral politics at colleges | U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston plans to file a bill that would put Congress on record as encouraging colleges and universities to be neutral when it comes to politics (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
- Also: Bill backs academic freedom | But doesn’t apply to religious colleges (The Washington Times)
- Outfitted with placards and prayer | Students from Patrick Henry College planting political seeds (The Washington Post)
- Private Christian school sued after gay student expelled | School isn’t commenting (South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Fla.)
- Religion degree? Can’t get one here | But situation is changing slowly at Utah colleges (Deseret Morning News)
- Dress codes vs. religious practice: What kind of nation are we? | Student whose religion requires her to wear head scarf should not be subjected to rules designed to curb gang activity (Charles Haynes, First Amendment Center)
- A troubled school’s TV milestone | On Friday, in the first high school football game broadcast live on national television, Evangel Christian Academy is stepping out at a time when it might prefer to lay low (The New York Times)
- Tangipahoa school’s “pray-in” protests ACLU lawsuit | A “pray in” before the latest Loranger High School football game drew enough people to surround the football field in what amounted to a protest against the American Civil Liberties Union. (Associated Press)
Land use:
- Council threatening to block cathedral’s landmark status | Many Council members are objecting to an agreement between officials of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and the Landmarks Preservation Commission that would allow for the large new buildings to be erected on the 11.3-acre grounds that flank the cathedral (The New York Times)
- Planning commission votes to allow playground | A neighborhood organization had contended the Redwood Christian School, which is owned by a church, violated the conditions of its original 1980 conditional use permit by installing a playground (The Times-Standard, Eureka, Calif.)
- Neighbors fight to save church | Developer wants to build condos on Friendship Baptist site (The Washington Post)
Church life:
- Fire, brimstone for Halloween | Thornton minister turns Hell House’s scenes of carnage and ‘sin’ into a stage play (The Denver Post)
- Church offers alternative to typical haunted house | Hallowed House doesn’t pull any punches when dealing with young people about Christianity. (Odessa American, Tex.)
- Masons must choose lodge or church: synod | The Sydney Anglican Synod has called on all Christian members of Masonic lodges to withdraw their membership and for church facilities not to be used for activities linked with Freemasonry. (Sydney Morning Herald, Australia)
- When church feels like home | Two county congregations with deep community roots celebrate histories (The Washington Post)
- Churches spruce up services, dress down in effort to boost attendance at Sunday night services (Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Oh.)
- Church ministers to a congregation’s financial life | Classes help members learn how to handle credit cards, manage investments and save money toward homeownership (Los Angeles Times)
- Congregation still split over priest | St. Joachim’s pastor earns support from members of his church, while some Latinos still have concerns about his leadership (Daily Pilot, Huntington Beach, Calif.)
- A place of peace | Downtown Jersey City building has been a church, synagogue and mosque (New Jersey Journal)
- Gone from the pews: Different views | The story of Fairfax Presbyterian echoes a broader, troubling change in denominations across the nation. It is a change that could lead to the disappearance of churches that strive for balance in religious practice and belief, that seek moderation and a way to combine respect for tradition with an understanding of the need for innovation. (Henry G. Brinton, Washington Post)
Crime:
- Priest robber pleads guilty | Edison man faces 20 years for attack on 2 clergymen at Cherry Hill rectory (Courier-Post, Cherry Hill, N.J.)
- Minister is given prison term for student aid fraud | The founder of an L.A. outreach program also must pay $716,000 in restitution for leading college-bound youths to file false claims (Los Angeles Times)
- Investigation continues into ‘Brother Stephen’ | West Chester Police say sex solicitation likely not isolated incident (The Daily Pennsylvanian, U. Penn.)
- Fr Kaiser inquiry put off | Magistrate hearing the inquest was implicated in a report detailing the corruption in the Kenyan judiciary (Catholic Information Service for Africa)
Money and business:
- Study tracks donations to Christian churches | Giving by church members increased in 2001 for both internal operations and activities beyond the local church level, a new study by the Christian organization empty tomb has found. (Religion News Service)
- Plan to ban Christmas Day opening | Supermarkets will be banned from opening on Christmas Day under plans being drawn up by ministers, it has emerged (BBC)
- Disciples delegates vote to join boycott of Taco Bell | Denomination backs effort to force better treatment for workers (Associated Press)
- EU to act on religion in the workplace | Under new EU laws which will come into force in December, a workplace must provide space for religious workers to pray, whether they are Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Sikh or any other religion (EU Observer)
Theology:
- This is our heaven – or hell | For the great religions, this world matters more than the next (Karen Armstrong, The Guardian, London)
- Also: Postmodern gods | Karen Armstrong misrepresents me (Tom Wright, The Guardian)
- Evangelical society will decide whether to oust two members | Several hundred evangelical scholars will decide whether to expel two members of the Evangelical Theological Society as heretics for their embrace of open theism. (ChurchCentral.com)
Missions and ministry:
- Christians seek conversions | As cup fever takes hold, some top Christian players are hoping the event can be used to attract new recruits from that other New Zealand religion, rugby (The New Zealand Herald)
- Revival breaking forth in devastated Kashmir | In places like Doda, a remote village in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains, Hindus and Muslims are seeking out Christians for prayer (CBN)
Homosexuality and the church:
- Bishop condemns anti-gay lobby | Publicly defending the choice of Canon Jeffrey John for the first time yesterday, Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford, criticized nine diocesan bishops who publicly opposed the decision (The Guardian, London)
- Also: Bishop almost resigned over gay canon row (The Daily Telegraph, London)
- Also: Bishop’s anguish over gay priest (BBC)
- New Zealand Presbyterian Church allows gay woman to train for ministry | Lesbian woman was turned down for training last year (The New Zealand Herald)
- Also: Lesbian cleared to train as Presbyterian minister | Lesbian lay preacher Deborah Gordon is overjoyed at a Presbyterian Church ruling (The Dominion Post, New Zealand)
- Also: Lesbian gets okay to be minister (AAP, Australia)
- What does the Bible actually say about being gay? | Confused how two groups of church-goers can have such conflicting views about whether it’s OK to be gay? (BBC)
- Religious leaders stage LaSalle rally to protest against same-sex marriages | 500 gather outside Paul Martin’s office (Montreal Gazette)
Sex and marriage:
- Marriage protection week | Marriage, as the union between a man and a woman, has been and remains the bedrock of civilization from the beginning of time. We support the president and his administration’s efforts to ensure that it remains so, both for the health of society and for future generations (Editorial, The Washington Times)
- U.S. marriage trends stabilize in 1990s | More than 54 percent of adult Americans said they were married and less than 10 percent said they were divorced (The Washington Times)
- Sexual identity hard-wired by genetics, study says | Study discounts the concept that homosexuality and transgender sexuality are a choice, California researchers reported on Monday (Reuters)
Mel Gibson’s The Passion of Christ:
- Gibson to market ‘Christ’ on his own, sources say | The film, rejected by Fox, has been praised and condemned by religious leaders (Los Angeles Times)
- Reports: Gibson’s ‘Passion’ film finds distributor (Reuters)
- Gibson talks with U.S. film distributor (Associated Press)
Music:
- Amazing Grace | Christian quartet Point of Grace brings conference for teen girls to Louisville (The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.)
- Beyoncé’s dad colors her words | The father of pop songstress Beyoncé Knowles is mulling a lawsuit against a British newspaper for what he says is a “cut-and-paste job” that paints his daughter as a homophobe (Newsday)
Other religions:
- Witch gets state grant | A witch has won subsidies from the Norwegian state to run a business of potions, fortune-telling and magic (Reuters)
- Bush’s “spirit” cursed with black magic, tossed into Thai river (AFP)
- If it sounds like anti-Semitism, maybe it is | What we have here — to gloss a phrase from the Gospels — is old wine of a particularly bitter vintage in glitzy new skins (Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times)
- Christianity, Islam on collision course | There’s bad news for secularists, agnostics, and atheists who lust for — and have for ages predicted — an end to all religion. Ever since the 19th and throughout the 20th century there were thinkers who prophesied that humanity was about to enter a golden age without a trace of gods or any need to worship. (Toronto Star, Canada)
Books:
- Thomas Nelson finding success with inspirational line for teens | Thomas Nelson continues to find success with targeted publishing through its Transit line. (MSNBC)
- Former Mafia boss embarks on new life as Christian youth worker | Tells story in new book, Blood Covenant (Voice of America)
Catholicism:
- Next archbishop of Hartford cites a need for new priests | Bishop Henry J. Mansell, the next archbishop of Hartford, said that the church needs to attract new priests and deal with fallout from the sexual abuse scandals (The New York Times)
- Casting an online net for priests and nuns | Harnessing the Internet is one strategy church officials are trying to reverse the sharp decline in the number of Catholics committing themselves to lives as priests or nuns over the last four decades (The New York Times)
- New cardinal sets out vision | The “re-Christianisation” of Scotland is one of his goals (BBC)
- What kind of pope next? | Fanatics, discipline, and youth will be defining issues (Uwe Siemon-Netto, UPI)
- A sacred symbol arrives | The faithful carry an image of the Black Christ into church (Los Angeles Times)
Other stories of interest:
- Virgin Mary appears in New Jersey tree | The piece of wood, whose shape believers say resembles a veiled Virgin Mary with a bowed head, was noticed by passers-by over the weekend on state-owned land alongside a street that residents say is a hangout for illegal drug users (Reuters)
- Victim’s son is given award for forgiving father’s murderer | A striking act of forgiveness for a gruesome murder earned Brandon Biggs a $10,000 college scholarship on Wednesday from an equally unlikely group of donors: prisoners on death row (The New York Times)
Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere
Suggest links and stories by sending e-mail to weblog@christianitytoday.com
Check out Books & Culture‘s weblog, Content & Context.
See our past Weblog updates:
and more, back to November 1999
