O Christmas Tree

FYI, this is the second Weblog posting of the day. If you missed the earlier posting, which included links to 89 other articles, click here.

Religious expression at the holidays:

Mom sues school to allow nativity scene | If a Christmas tree can stand in a school’s halls during the holidays, then a model of baby Jesus and his manger should also be welcomed, contends a Queens, N.Y., mother who is going to court to prove her point (Fox News)
Xmas cheer makes Austrians sour | Workers are demanding stores limit the hours they play carols (BBC)
Tree display vexes law school | Changing evergreen to winter scene fails to quiet IU controversy (The Indianapolis Star)
Also: Holiday icon removed at law school | Student complaints lead to Christmas tree ban in building atrium (Indiana Daily Student, Indiana U.)
Pray that Thanksgiving won’t become a legal battle | Look for a lawsuit any day now challenging the president’s authority to declare a national day of thanksgiving and prayer. If people take offense at the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, they surely won’t stand for a holiday created to thank the Almighty for blessings bestowed on America. (Andrea Neal, Indianapolis Star)
Christianity debate divides as much as ever | EU foreign ministers were once again unable to agree following a debate on the issue in Naples as part of a wider meeting to discuss the EU Constitution (EU Observer)
Defending Christmas | The December holiday season used to be simple — when Americans could call it Christmas without offending anyone (The Washington Times)
Library stands by decision on artwork | But a national Catholic organization blasted the library for prejudice, and the American Library Association said that the local library’s policy for exhibits contradicts the very association bill of rights to which it refers (Record-Journal, Meriden, Conn.)
Earlier: Officials say local artist’s artwork would cause too much upset, outcry (Record-Journal, Meriden, Conn.)
Appeal to keep the Christ in Christmas | Political correctness is killing Christmas – at least, that’s what the Howard Government reckons (Townsville Bulletin, Australia)
Nativity scene figures erected by Madison Heights man stolen | In the spirit of giving, Wayne Reif isn’t holding a grudge, though he’s trying to make the figures harder to swipe (Associated Press)
Earlier: Troy rejects nativity display | Many cities rule out such scenes (The Detroit News)
Schools warned on festive ban | The Federal Government has warned three West Australia schools that have curtailed Christmas celebrations that they risked causing resentment against minority groups (The West Australian)
Store owner fights display ban | To Christopher James, Christmas inspires too much joy to be celebrated only one or two months of the year. But because of two 5-foot-tall Santa Claus figures outside his store, he so far owes $47,000 in fines, and the meter is still running (Palm Beach Post)
Jesus figurine stolen from Libertyville Nativity scene | The theft of a plastic baby Jesus from a Nativity scene in Libertyville’s Cook Park has upset local religious leaders (Daily Herald, Chicago suburbs)
Nativity scene goes up in Daley Plaza | “Christians feel it’s the only thing representing the true meaning of Christmas up in Chicago,” Jim Finnegan said. (Daily Herald, Chicago suburbs)
We should flag up Scotland’s Christian side | Despite being an agnostic, I was angered by reports that the Scottish Parliament had abolished any reference to Christianity on its Christmas cards, and delighted to hear MSPs would in fact be given a choice of card, with or without religious message (Jim Sillars, Evening News, The Scotsman)

Advent and Christmas:

The season of Advent invites quiet reflection | For some Christians, the days between Thanksgiving and Dec. 25 are a time for spiritual contemplation, not shopping (Los Angeles Times)
Spirit of Advent | Christians prepare for Christ’s birth and Second Coming with books, ceremonies and personal reflection during the season of Advent (The Wichita Eagle)
Counting the days | 19th-century Advent tradition kept alive today (Courier & Press, Ky.)
Keeping Christmas | Why participate any longer in this charade where the focal point of worship has shifted from a babe in a manger to a babe in the Victoria’s Secret window? (Cal Thomas, The Washington Times)
The steel meaning of Christmas | What does a mill town do when it loses its mill? In Bethlehem, Pa., they just turn up the tinsel (The Washington Post)
Christmas is more than religion | Those who bemoan the holiday’s commercialization should take a historical view (Clarke Thomas, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Shopping center puts price tag on Jesus | The Oslo City shopping mall has started a campaign to spur Christmas buying that they say reminds consumers of what the holiday meant, and what it has become. But plenty of people find the promotion – a large banner depicting Jesus Christ with a CD as a halo and a price tag over his head—tasteless (Aftenposten, Oslo, Norway)
Tips on balancing sacredness of season with holiday chaos | How to balance the sacred meaning of the holiday with the secular headaches of long lines, searching for parking spaces and sold-out gifts is never easy (The Tennessean, Nashville)

Thanksgiving:

Are churches too skittish to address gluttony? | The disconnect between food and spirituality, some people of faith say, is never more poignant than at Thanksgiving—America’s gorge-fest. Families gobble, gobble, gobble to their heart’s desire, treating their bodies as objects for overindulgence rather than sacred temples. (Dallas Morning News)
Pilgrims, No thanks in Mohawk Country | Pilgrims? Mrs. King’s first graders looked blank when asked by a visitor. Pilgrims? (The New York Times)
The un-Pilgrims | This is the region that historians now see as the birthplace of religious pluralism in America: as the origin of the melting pot (Russell Shorto, The New York Times)
A case of hit and myth | The Pilgrims were not warm and loving freedom seekers. They were intolerant people (Margaret Finnegan, Los Angeles Times)
Forgiving can add to joy of holiday dinner | The best offering for the Thanksgiving table doesn’t come from the oven (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Praise heaven, religion’s still free | Because they risked danger and death in a faraway land for the chance to worship as they saw fit, freed of government interference, the Pilgrims have become symbols of our commitment to religious liberty (Editorial, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Bible:

Bible says no to gay unions, but it says a lot of things | Many old laws have lost their force – we don’t kill smart-alecky kids (The Dallas Morning News)
Bible gets girly makeover | To some, Revolve is innovative, awesome and valuable. To others is it vapid, reactionary and abhorrent. In reality it is both (Eleanor J. Bader, In These Times)
Also: God, for girls | A new Bible comes on like a teen ‘zine (Newsday)

Jesus:

How would Jesus be? | 13 questions about the man, his teachings and the way the world celebrates him (The State, Columbia, S.C.)
‘Roadside’ queries for Jesus show pain and hunger | Five weeks ago, I asked the 5,000 readers of my daily e-mail meditations: If Jesus walked by, as in Mark’s story of blind Bartimaeus, and they could ask a question from the roadside, what would they ask? I have received 233 responses and more than 300 “roadside questions” (Tom Ehrich, The Indianapolis Star)

Education:

God on the Quad | New England’s liberal college campuses have become fertile ground for the evangelical movement, which is attracting students in record numbers. But after they graduate, will they keep the faith? (The Boston Globe)
Should educators offer more lessons on spirituality? | Religious leaders respond (Los Angeles Times)
Divinity and diversity | Religion professor Paul Metzger brings theology to bear on racism, urging fellow evangelicals to change society (The Oregonian)

Life ethics:

Block on EU cash for stem cell research | Italy failed to overcome disagreements between governments which have highlighted religious and ethical differences in regards to using human embryos for medical purposes (The Guardian, London)
Also: EU split over stem cell research funding (The Independent, London)
When abortion is the choice over deformity | By all means, let’s clarify the law on what constitutes serious handicap, after due consideration. But let’s not demonize one woman, one doctor and one set of police without any details – which are confidential – whatsoever of the test-case (Margaret Cook, The Scotsman)
French row over rights for unborn | French feminists, doctors and the leftwing opposition reacted furiously after the conservative majority in parliament passed a bill making it a crime to cause a pregnant woman to miscarry against her will (The Guardian, London)

Religious speech of General Boykin and President Bush:

The deadly history of religion | The ensuing six decades since WWII, as noted, have seen scant easing of religious animosities—which explains the “Boykin problem” dogging President Bush. (Lionel Van Deerlin, San Diego Union Tribune)
Do all religious paths lead to the same God? | Bush remark renews old debate (Newhouse News Service)
A little God talk from the chief | It’s not easy being the theologian-in-chief. George W. Bush often gives lectures in Islam as “the religion of peace” between denunciations of suicide bombers in Israel and terrorist slayers of American soldiers in Iraq, and last week in London he had to pause in the midst of a state visit to instruct an inquiring British mind in the nature of God. (Wesley Pruden, The Washington Times)
President Bush, faith convictions, and media cynicism | Christians and Muslims do not worship the ‘same God’ (Richard Land, Beliefnet.com)
Muslim God and Christian God | President George W Bush has come in for some stick this week for saying that the God he worships is the same God that Muslims worship (Christopher Howse, The Daily Telegraph, London)
Mr. Bush and the Almighty | If that seems like a great deal to read into such a brief remark—”I believe we worship the same God”—just consider if the U.S. president had said the opposite (Editorial, The Japan Times)
Bush’s religious language | Politically, Bush’s discourse has been very effective, but theologically the results have been more problematic (The Nation)
Book paints portrait of the spiritual Bush | The book shows the political tightrope the president sometimes walks (Religion News Service)

Islam:

Stickers produce unique battle in Egypt | Muslims use shark bumper stickers to counter Christian fish (Associated Press)
Christianity and Islam battle fervently for African souls | “Battle for Souls” leads viewers into the riotous troubles with a focus on unrest in Nigeria (The New York Times)
Islam for Catholics | Catholics — as well as other Christians — need to know a lot more about Islam, say two authors of a book of 100 questions and answers on the topic. However, the outlook on Muslims from “Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics” is hardly favorable (The Washington Times)
Christian mullahs message of hate | In reality US desire to enforce “freedom of opinion”, “human rights” are a pretext to facilitate the permeation of western culture and values, whilst marginalizing the Islamic values and traditions, hoping this will reduce the antagonism in the Arab/Islamic world (Yamin Zakria, PakNews.com)

Interfaith relations:

Interfaith group to admit Muslims | Representatives of 11 denominations and faith groups that oversee the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee have voted to admit the city’s Islamic Society to full membership, the first addition in three decades, conference officials said Tuesday. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Corrie ten Boom celebrated | Holocaust Memorial Museum to feature one-woman play spotlighting the woman who rescued hundreds of Jews from the Nazis (Family News in Focus)
Sending season’s greetings to friends of different faiths is getting easier | For those who wish to avoid the generic route, a multicultural array of choices awaits (The Dallas Morning News)
Christians will work but not worship with other faiths | While they will remain tolerant of other faiths, local evangelicals are adamant that they will not be worshipping with non-Christians (The Barbados Advocate)
Scouts take a journey for faith | A hike in Moorestown drew a crowd and focused on religious tolerance (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
A time for bridging | Author addresses clash of Christian worldviews, sees religious pluralism as a friend, not enemy (Toronto Star)
Christians cause chaos at psychic show | Fundamentalist Christian demonstrators caused chaos at the Baxter Theatre on Tuesday night as they hurled threats and anti-Semitic abuse at psychic Belinda Silbert (Cape Argus, Cape Town, South Africa)

Other religions:

Interest surges in Voodoo | New Orleans is the center of what scholars and others say is a surging revival of interest in voodoo, a centuries-old belief system rooted in Africa (The New York Times)
Living the religious life of a none | Growing numbers shed organized church for loose spiritual sensibility (San Francisco Chronicle)
Bishop warns on satanic practices | Lugazi Catholic Diocese Bishop Mathias Sekamanya said it was unfortunate that some parents were killing the future of their children by allowing them to take part in harmful cultural practices by traditional seers (New Vision, Kampala, Uganda)
Number of ‘nones,’ those who claim no religion, swells in U.S. | Their numbers have more than doubled in a decade, to nearly 30 million. Organized as a religious denomination, they would trail only Catholics and Baptists in members (Newhouse News Service)

Persecution:

Conversion law is not stinging enough: VHP | The Vishwa Hindu Parishad today alleged that forcible religious conversions were on the rise in Tamilnadu and said the law against such conversions was not being implemented effectively (News Today, South India)
Related: Hindu nationalists win in Indian polls | In a huge upset, India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party wrested control of three of four state legislatures in elections seen as a bellwether for the country’s upcoming parliamentary ballot (Associated Press)
PRC Christians allegedly sent to labor camps | Villagers in southern China’s Guangxi area accused local police yesterday of arresting Bible owners and sentencing them to labor camps as part of a campaign to weed out “illegal religious organizations.” (Agence France-Presse)
For missionaries with children, the calling vs. the danger | Aside from the spiritual benefits of life abroad, many parents welcome the exposure their children gain to other languages and cultures (The New York Times)
Gospel for Asia missionary shot dead | Yesterday a church celebration in Assam, India, turned deadly as Kuki militants barged in and fired bullets (Press release)
Religion spreads in North Korea despite suppression | Defector formerly monitored cultural activities for Party (Radio Free Asia)
Protestantism spreads in Cuba | The arrival of Pope John Paul II in Cuba in 1997 drew attention to the island’s Catholics, but many analysts estimate that attendance at Protestant churches has long exceeded that at Catholic Masses (Associated Press)
Iran making room for its spiritual minorities | But Judaism still faces unapologetic persecution (San Francisco Chronicle)

Missions & Ministry:

Bible school ‘Rickshaw’ insensitive, pastor says | The Rev. Soong-Chan Rah of Massachusetts said he is stunned that a Nashville-based Christian publisher would produce a vacation Bible school curriculum about Japan that he believes is full of offensive stereotypes (The Tennessean, Nashville)
Mission accomplished, briefly | Some Christians evangelize for a few weeks at a time (Dale Buss, The Wall Street Journal)
Franklin Graham to visit leaders in Sudan | Evangelist says he hopes to promote peace in African nation (Associated Press)
Stickers proclaim their faith loud and clear | Evangelist Thomas Schultz is on a mission to pass out oversized car decals with Christian slogans. He estimates he’s given out 5,000 (Los Angeles Times)
Church publication questions validity of Alpha | A new study by the Church of England has criticised one of the most successful “features of the Decade of Evangelism”, Alpha (The Church of England Newspaper)
Also: Alpha’s a giant leap backward | While it may bloom for a while, it is destined to be rejected ultimately. It proclaims an inerrant view of the Bible and its authority that cannot stand up to scholarly scrutiny or even basic reason once quiet reflection checks in. (Tom Harpur, Toronto Star)
Charity helps churches in need | International organization funds struggle against poverty, persecution (Montreal Gazette)
500 policemen, 200 soldiers, others mobilized for Bonnke crusade | 10,000 trained ushers, close to 25,000 security men from churches and medical awaryements, the city of Warri in Delta State is set and capable of absorbing any eventuality during the Reinhard Bonnke gospel crusade (The Daily Times, Nigeria)
Cardinal in bid to revive Christianity | The leader of Scotland’s Catholics today said he wanted to use his position to “re-Christianise Scotland” (PA, U.K.)
Missionary’s new work is taking off | For Carl Mortenson, doing God’s work means building twin-engine airplanes that can safely swoop in and out of remote landing strips carrying missionaries (The News Journal, Delaware)
Shelter with open arms faces city with firm hand | The Catholic Worker home in Santa Ana has taken in 120 people but has no permits. It has until Jan. 20 to comply (Los Angeles Times)
Evangelical fest coming to Twin Cities | Luis Palau will bring his high-energy, youth-driven Christian megafestival to the State Capitol grounds for two days in August to win souls for Jesus (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
Offering troubled lives a fresh start | Men learn building trades in a program aimed at steering them away from crime (Los Angeles Times)
When the safety net fails, they’re there | Dozens of people work long days, outside the official structure of food banks, feeding as many as 3,000 area families a week (The Oregonian)
‘I believe the Red Cross needs an alternative emblem’ | The Red Cross has toyed with the idea of renaming itself the Red Crystal, because the word for crystal in most languages is similar and organisations would not have to change their initials and stationary (Scotland on Sunday)
Also: Flying the flag for unconditional aid | The red cross is much more than a logo, a brand or a corporate identity dreamed up by a marketing expert (Michael A Mayer, Evening News, Scotland)
Hospital helping churches minister to bodies as well | Good Samaritan, foundation expand health ministry (Chicago Tribune)
Vicar gives out porn videos | A German vicar has given his flock hardcore porn videos instead of a video about God’s message at Christmas after a mix-up at a copying factory (Ananova)

AIDS:

Let Africans decide how to fight AIDS | This historic opportunity—not to mention billions of dollars and the lives of countless men, women and children—will be wasted if ideology trumps proven public health policy (Edward C. Green and Wilfred Mlay, The Washington Post)
Researchers fake AIDS study data | Three Maryland researchers have admitted fabricating interviews with teenagers for a study on AIDS prevention that received more than $1 million in federal funds (The Washington Times)
Bono credits church for leading AIDS fight | The 43-year-old lead singer of the Irish band U2 revealed that the greatest spiritual insight he’s acquired lately was how he had underestimated churchfolk (Chicago Sun-Times)
Christian pop acts cover U2 to fight AIDS | When Bono speaks, Christian musicians listen (Los Angeles Times)

Music:

Johnny of the Cross | The only word that seems to suffice for Johnny Cash is magnanimity. (Peter M. Candler, Jr, First Things)
Gospel’s rising star downplays fame and reflects on purpose | ‘This will always be for God, and not Smokie’ (Dallas Morning News)

Pop culture:

Sunday dilemma in U.S.: Sports vs. church | With weekend sports leagues growing in popularity, schedules have stretched further into those Sunday morning hours that were once the exclusive domain of churches (Associated Press)
Pro athletes bring faith to game plan | More players openly pray, praise God on field (The Detroit News)
PETA billboard depicts Virgin Mary cradling chicken carcass | Group picks R.I. to launch vegetarianism campaign (WJAR, Providence, R.I.)
From the G-spot to a God slot: Cosmo discovers religion | The British edition of Cosmopolitan, the magazine that introduced women to the multiple orgasm, has appointed its first spirituality editor (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Also: Sexy Cosmo sees need for higher things | My hunch is that its spirituality will be market-led, consumer-orientated designer religion-lite (Ron Ferguson, The Herald, Glasgow)
‘Angels’ in a strange new world | The Pulitzer Prize-winning play arrives on HBO with an all-star cast but a new set of issues under its halo (Chicago Tribune)
When fish fluoresce, can teenagers be far behind? | Many groups and government agencies stand poised to confront abuses in medicine, to protect the food supply and the environment from big agriculture. Meanwhile, who is watching the pet stores? Or the beauty parlors? (The New York Times)

Art:

Holy art | Local artisans look to Christian symbols for inspiration (The Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.)
Power of prayer | Pictorial showcases how African Americans have relied on faith to stay strong (Sacramento Bee, Calif.)

Money & business:

Big bucks in Christian country | Bob Bender thinks he’s on to something. The way he figures it—and he’s done the research—there are more than 10,000 churches in the United States with memberships of 1,000 or more. Those 10 million people, he said, represent a strong marketing opportunity (UPI)
Philanthropist named Australian Entrepreneur of the Year 2003 | David Bussau is co-founder of Opportunity International (Press release)
Man who turned porn shop into Bible bookstore having lean holiday | Michael Braithwaite says money woes are forcing him to switch from turkey to chicken this Thanksgiving, a year after a religious awakening prompted him to switch his porn shop to a Christian bookstore (Associated Press)

Politics:

Democrats losing the faithful | A poll released last week by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press — exploring attitudes toward homosexuality and same-sex marriages — illustrates how Democrats’ irreligious and value-free views open doors for Republican candidates. (The Hill)
A spiritual struggle for Democrats | Silence on religion could hurt candidates (The Washington Post)
Bush presses funding for faith groups | Through executive orders, an aggressive wooing of religious groups, and his unflagging commitment to use the bully pulpit, President Bush has bypassed a reluctant Congress and is fulfilling his inaugural promise to bridge the historic separation of church and state and make his administration the most faith-friendly in memory (The Boston Globe)
Don’t cross church-state line | Church-state issues should not be decided unilaterally by the president. Congress must be assertive in crafting a program that does not run roughshod over the principle of maintaining a healthy distance between religion and government (Editorial, The Hartford Courant, Conn.)
Clergy urge more active White House effort for Mideast peace | Thirty-two religious leaders representing many of the nation’s largest Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups are jointly urging the Bush administration to make more “active and determined” efforts to forge peace between Israel and the Palestinians (The Washington Post)
Also: Religious leaders press Bush on Mideast | Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders announced plans Tuesday to use speeches from the pulpit, church bulletins and a march on Washington to push President Bush and Congress to move forward on the “road map” plan for Middle East peace (Associated Press)
Canada’s view on social issues is opening rifts with the U.S. | But from gay marriage to drug use to church attendance, a chasm has opened up on social issues that go to the heart of fundamental values (The New York Times)
AP: NIH may petition Bush on stem cells | If it turns out White House restrictions are slowing federally funded studies of embryonic stem cells, the head of the National Institutes of Health says he will ask President Bush to revisit the issue (Associated Press)
Black clergy begin vote drive | Black religious leaders disgruntled with the Bush administration have teamed with People for the American Way to conduct a national voter-registration drive in states where the president won by slim margins in 2000 (The Washington Times)
A house divided | Apparently, the future of politics in America is intertwined with the future of religion. (Mike North, The Chattanoogan, Tenn.)
Faith emerging as new fault line in U.S. politics | Want to know how Americans will vote next Election Day? Watch what they do the weekend before (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.)
Pompano officials reopens commission meetings to religion | Pressured by about two dozen ministers who attended this week’s commission meeting to protest a new religion-neutral city plan, a majority of commissioners say they will accept references to specific religions and deities in invocations before commission meetings (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

International politics:

Greek archbishop brands Turks ‘barbarians’ | The head of the Orthodox Christian Church in Greece, Archbishop Christodoulos, has provoked a diplomatic storm with neighbouring Turkey by describing Turks as barbarians who should not be allowed to join the EU (BBC)
Also: Preaching division | Archbishop calls Turks ‘barbarians,’ wants them kept out of EU (Kathimerini, Greece)
God meets the lawyers | Arguments about God and the preamble to the European constitution (The Economist, subscription required)
Alliance future at risk with anti-gay comments | Civic activists are campaigning door to door to repeal Article 12 of the city’s charter — the article that forbids the city from passing anti-discrimination legislation that would apply to gays and lesbians (Toronto Star)
Minister resigns from Orange Order in protest | Dennis Bannerman said the Bible orders Christians to submit themselves to the legally-appointed authorities without disregarding the law, or those who enforce it (Online.ie, Ireland)

Immigration and asylum:

Australia ‘might deny Jesus entry’ | The Archbishop of Sydney has suggested that if Jesus tried to gain entry to Australia now, it is possible he would be denied asylum (BBC)
‘God’s Own Country’ would turn away Jesus—Archbishop (PA, U.K.)
Why do we not care more than we do for children? | The full text of Archbishop Peter Jensen’s address delivered at the Anglican Christmas dinner (Anglican Media Sydney)

Britain’s religious equal employment law:

Alert over religious belief law | The West Midlands will bear the full brunt of new employment laws which govern religious beliefs due to the region’s ethnic diversity, say legal experts (Evening Mail, Birmingham, England)
Religion: a guide to new anti-discrimination legislation | The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 come into force (The Guardian, London)
Religious rights | New legislation will allow workers to take time off for spiritual observance (The Guardian, London)

Locke v. Davey:

Theology-studies case gains in complexity | Justices hearing Locke v. Davey raise doubts on allowing or disallowing clergy-training scholarships (First Amendment Center)
Absurdity, taken to highest power | A divinity student in Washington should be eligible for state scholarship funds on a par with everyone else (Editorial, The Oregonian)
Ministers need not apply | The court should protect Mr. Davey from religious discrimination for his choice of major, without forcing the states to throw open their treasuries to church schools (Editorial, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Rock of ages and a hard space | The Supreme Court searches for breathing room in its religion cases. (Slate)

Pledge and Commandments:

An allegiance to dissent | Man’s challenge to ‘under God’ is one of many—including a pivotal custody battle over daughter (The Washington Post)
Boise rally backs Commandments marker, Alabama judge | coalition of people from various local churches voiced their support Friday for both a Ten Commandments monument in Julia Davis Park and an Alabama judge who was removed from office for defending the public display of the stone tablets (Associated Press)
Ten Commandments judge to appeal loss of job | Alabama’s former chief justice said on Thursday he would ask the state’s highest court to overturn a decision to strip him of his job for refusing a federal order to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from a courthouse (Associated Press)

More legal issues:

Medicine man, clergy confidentiality same | So says a federal judge (Associated Press)
Establishing free exercise | If conservative and liberal church-state scholars agree on one thing, it is that the Supreme Court’s religious liberty jurisprudence is a disaster (Vincent Phillip Muñoz, First Things)
The ‘offensiveness’ of Christianity | It amazes me that people can still, with a straight face, deny that Christians are the subjects of systematic discrimination in this country (David Limbaugh)

War and terrorism:

Bible’s words a ‘Shield of Strength’ for soldiers | The 1-by-2-inch shield, which Capt. Rippetoe wore along with his military dog tags and a Christian cross, displayed a U.S. flag on one side and a quote from Joshua 1:9 on the other: “I will be strong and courageous. I will not be terrified, or discouraged, for the Lord my God is with me wherever I go.” (The Washington Times)
Indictment in abortion clinic bomb plot | Federal prosecutors have said 35-year-old Stephen John Jordi was plotting to firebomb abortion clinics, as well as churches and gay bars across the eastern United States (Associated Press)
Pa. priest is found guilty of assault | A Serbian Orthodox priest accused of pulling a gun on the council president of the church where he had presided for 15 years has been convicted of assault and reckless endangerment (Associated Press)
Palestinian baby born in Bethlehem draws crowds | The boy has gained attention for being born with a large birthmark across his cheek that roughly forms in Arabic letters the name of his uncle, Ala, a Hamas militant killed by Israeli troops after he was alleged to have planned a suicide bombing (Reuters)
Christians march for peace | Hundreds of Christians from the Punjab marched from St Andrew’s Church to Naulakha Church for peace on Monday (Daily Times, Pakistan)

Archaeology:

Looted obelisk remains pillar of debate | Rome’s move to return Ethiopia’s spire, and its dismantlement, has sparked controversy (Los Angeles Times)
Biblical scrolls on show in Ottawa | Materials in exhibit a coup for museum; foot bone provides first physical link to crucifixion (Toronto Star)
Dead Sea Scrolls ‘belong to all civilizations’ | Ottawa exhibition of more than 100 artifacts from Jerusalem’s Israel Museum goes to the roots of Western history (The Globe and Mail, Toronto)

Church life:

Nations come together to worship | Members of Metis, Cree, Sioux, Dakota and Ojibway nations came together to worship in Brandon yesterday, during the area’s first aboriginal mass (Brandon Sun, Manitoba)
Heating and healthcare strain small churches | To bridge financial gaps, some congregations are closing churches on alternate months, while others share staff and use ‘lay’ ministers (The Christian Science Monitor)
Arena of worship | Church brings Compaq Center into `a new era’ (Houston Chronicle)
Preaching abundant living | The Rev. Della Reese Lett, best known for her Touched by an Angel work, teaches lessons of material success and personal empowerment in her own church (Los Angeles Times)
Congregation finds a home at the inn for Christmas | Fairmont Hotel Vancouver opened its doors when the preacher came knocking (Vancouver Sun)
Church organist is back, minus an arm but very thankful | A car accident nearly took his life. He says prayers and an angel saw him through (Los Angeles Times)
Save planet as well as your souls, says bishop | Christians should be rescuing the planet from ecological disaster rather than simply trying to save souls for the next life, says James Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Church draws Hispanic converts | Growing number of worshippers like charismatic style of Pentecostalism (The News Journal, Del.)
Churches using book as spiritual guide | ‘Purpose-Driven Life’ campaigns aim to help many find deeper purpose in life (The State, Columbia, S.C.)

Anglican woes:

S.E. Asian Anglicans break ties with U.S. | The Anglican Church in Southeast Asia said Friday that it has severed ties with its U.S. counterpart for elevating an openly gay man to the rank of bishop — another sign of growing disapproval for the move around the world (Associated Press)
Also: SE Asia’s Anglicans split from U.S. over gay bishop (Reuters)
Also: SE Asian Anglicans end US ties (BBC, video)
Religion Today: Africa’s Anglican leader | Anyone hoping that Anglicans can heal the worldwide rift over an openly gay bishop in America’s Episcopal Church would be disheartened after a talk with Archbishop Peter Jasper Akinola (Associated Press)
Anglican Church still has ties in US | The Church of Uganda has said it did not cut ties with the entire Episcopal Church of the United States (The Monitor, Kampala, Uganda)
Episcopal bishop reaffirms beliefs in New Ken visit | At the center of a controversy about the place of gay clergy in the Episcopal Church, Bishop Robert W. Duncan Jr. spoke Sunday about the battle that is the Christian faith (Valley News Dispatch, Pa.)
Naming of gay bishop the result of manipulation of laity by clergy | A major reason that a man such as Robinson can be elected bishop has to do with subtle and not-so-subtle manipulation of the laity by clergy who often are far more liberal than the people they are commissioned to serve (R. James Tasker, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
Gay bishop divide has parishes worried about survival | At St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in suburban Pittsburgh, Sunday attendance is down by 100, annual pledges are off by $125,000 and the rector, the Rev. Bob Banse, is worried about his parish’s survival (Associated Press)
Who decides who’s a Christian? | Anyone who saw Peter Jensen, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, on Channel 9’s Sunday program last weekend must have been astonished by the archbishop’s assumption of the right to interfere in the affairs of other churches (James Murray, The Australian)
Gay issue derails Catholic-Anglican talks | A February meeting between Catholics and Anglicans in Seattle has been put on hold because of concerns raised by the consecration of an openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, the Vatican said (Associated Press)
Also: Vatican cancels Anglican talks over gay bishop | Top-level talks between the Roman Catholic Church and Anglicans collapsed due to the U.S. Episcopal Church’s consecration of the world’s first openly homosexual bishop last month (The Washington Times)
Gay rites movement | Conservative Episcopalians huffing over the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson are standing on the wrong side of history—their own church’s (Sarah Wildman, The American Prospect)
Traditionalists preparing for Catholic conversion | American and Australian traditionalists are preparing to submit to papal authority should Archbishop Rowan Williams and the Primates fail to restore order to the wayward American Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion (The Church of England Newspaper)
Archbishop pleads for Anglican truce | The Archbishop of Canterbury rebuked the warring factions in the Anglican Church yesterday for being too preoccupied with their neighbors’ failings (The Daily Telegraph, London)

Homosexuality:

The biological basis of homosexuality | Is there a biological basis for homosexuality? With gay marriage now supported by the state’s highest court and homosexuality likely to be a hot-button issue in the presidential campaign, the question of whether sexual orientation is an innate or acquired trait is an increasingly urgent one (The Boston Globe)
Support for gay marriage at 31% | Poll shows opposition softening if separate category is created for same-sex unions (National Post, Canada)
Mass. conservatives late to action on gay rights | Conservatives in Massachusetts say they failed to match intensity and focus of the gay lobby there, and blame themselves, in part, for finding their state on the brink of legalizing homosexual marriage (Fox News)
Culture and what courts can’t do | Because the public meaning of marriage—the reason there are laws about it—is procreation and child rearing, what would be the consequences of altering the public meaning of marriage by including same-sex unions? (George F. Will, The Washington Post)

Discipling pols:

Church may penalize politicians | Bishops are exploring requiring officeholders who are Catholic to back official doctrine (Los Angeles Times)
Bishops to pressure Catholic politicians | As the 2004 election season heats up, certain candidates might be looking over their shoulders at an unlikely special-interest group: the U.S. Catholic bishops (The Washington Times)
JFK and the ‘religious question’ | Every time a politician says that he is “personally opposed” to something, but votes for it anyway, it is JFK talking (Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, Canada)

Covering contraception:

Challenge to contraception law turned back | A court has rejected a challenge by Roman Catholic groups to a state law requiring employers who offer prescription drug plans to include coverage for contraceptives (Associated Press)
Legal battles over ‘contraceptive equity’ | This week, courts in New York and California wrestled with the question of whether religious organizations opposed to contraceptive use on moral grounds should be exempt from those requirements when insuring their employees (The Christian Science Monitor)
Catholic Church seeks exemption from law | The Catholic Church asked California’s high court Tuesday to be exempted from a law requiring employers who offer prescription drug plans to include coverage for contraceptives (Associated Press)
Prescription law challenge hits court | Catholic agency objects to having to cover contraception (San Francisco Chronicle)

Catholicism:

Vatican not quite ready to rock | The pope praised the role of modern music in the Catholic church in a document issued today but said it must be carefully chosen to avoid “violating the spirit and the rules” of religious ceremonies (PA, U.K.)
Catholics to see changes in leadership and liturgy | Christians around the world will mark the first Sunday of Advent tomorrow, and this year the season of reflection brings changes for Toledo Catholics (Toledo Blade, Oh.)
As Pope’s health ebbs, church enters a season of uncertainty | Depending on the moment, on whether he has rested and how his medicine is working, he can remain attentive and engaged. Or he can seem worryingly frail (Los Angeles Times)
Don’t tell the Pope | The Vatican is increasingly out of touch and exerts a reactionary — even, in this world of AIDS, deadly — influence on health policy in the developing world (Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times)
Journal defends Pius XII during WWII | The Vatican’s wartime pope, Pius XII, learned of the Nazi roundup of Jews in Rome only after it had occurred and tried to gain their release and prevent further arrests, a Catholic journal reported Thursday, citing newly unearthed World War II-era documents (Associated Press)
Catholics install Toledo bishop | The new leader of the 325,000-member diocese made several references to his Toledo ties (The Toledo Blade)
Miracle claimed as village’s statue of saint oozes blood | Blood oozed from the eyes of a life-size statue of Padre Pio, Italy’s charismatic modern-day saint, according to the deputy mayor of a village in Calabria (The Independent, London)

Clergy abuse scandals:

Parish of pain sees millstone as a monument | Over the next few days, Father Lasch will share with parishioners at this church so deeply affected by the scandal a design for a memorial by a member of the church who was abused as a boy (The New York Times)
In death, Geoghan triggers another crisis | In death, something new had been added to Geoghan’s epitaph: The cruel, rapacious abuser, the centerpiece of the clergy sexual abuse crisis in Boston, had become a kind of victim. An inmate with a bull’s-eye on his back, he was failed by an institution that bungled its basic duty to keep him safe (The Boston Globe)
Also: A priest by turns demanding and timid trod prison’s path | Geoghan was, from the start, a strange sort of inmate, a man with remarkably little self-awareness of what had landed him behind bars (The Boston Globe)
Also: Behind walls, trouble built to a brutal end | One inmate said correction officers would sometimes use the gym’s public address system to assail the former priest. (The Boston Globe)
Child sex abuse foe says L.I. bishop should resign | Laura Ahearn, who has been featured in the national news media as the founder of the Parents for Megan’s Law group, led several abuse victims and their relatives in a protest in front of St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre (The New York Times)
L.I. bishop will meet 400 priests in effort to heal rift over abuse scandal | Some Roman Catholics on Long Island are hailing it as one of the first positive moves the bishop has made to deal with the church sex-abuse scandal. (The New York Times)
Leader of Lutheran panel ignored abuse, suit says | Advocates for sex abuse victims are calling on the Chicago-based Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to remove the chairman of a study on sexuality, saying that as a former seminary dean he knowingly ordained a child sex abuser six years ago (Chicago Tribune)
Also: Corrections and clarifications | An article in some Metro sections Wednesday misrepresented Rev. James M. Childs’ role in the ordination of a seminarian who allegedly posed a threat to children (Chicago Tribune)
Boston archdiocese to settle abuse case | Boston Archdiocese has agreed to settle a clergy sex abuse claim that had been dropped after the plaintiff’s account was questioned (Associated Press)
Boston archbishop will sell residence for abuse payout | The Boston archdiocese will sell the quarters that have housed the city’s Catholic Church leaders for 75 years to help pay an $85 million sex abuse settlement (The New York Times)
Also: Humbling move marks a new era | The announcement by the archdiocese that it plans to sell the mansion, as well as 28 acres of surrounding property, marks a new era for the archdiocese, which is trying to reestablish its credibility after acknowledging that scores of priests allegedly sexually abused minors over five decades (Editorial, The Boston Globe)
Teacher at private elementary charged with molesting 4 girls | School is associated with Bethany Evangelical Covenant Church (The Miami Herald)
Boston archbishop will sell residence for payout | The Boston archdiocese will sell the quarters that have housed the city’s Catholic Church leaders for 75 years to help pay an $85 million sex abuse settlement (The New York Times)
Boston archdiocese puts mansion on market (Associated Press)
Priest scandals reason enough to questions one’s faith | The real tragedy of the seemingly never-ending scandal of the Catholic priesthood is the body blow it deals to Christianity itself—all denominations and dimensions (Dan Thomasson, Scripps Howard News Service)
Bishop criticized for letting suspended monsignor say masses | Last year, Bishop William F. Murphy suspended Monsignor Placa, pending a review of accusations that he molested boys decades ago, a charge he vehemently denied (The New York Times)
To volunteer at church, first be fingerprinted | The scrutiny is part of efforts by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to repair the damage from the clerical sexual abuse scandal and to reassure members that children are safe in the hands of the church (The New York Times)
Poll finds Irish mistrust Church | More than 75% of people questioned in a survey in the Irish Republic said they felt the Catholic Church did not deal properly with the issue of sex abuse (BBC, audio)
Ireland church releases sex abuse study | Roman Catholic bishops, releasing a damning report on their handling of child sex-abuse scandals, apologized Thursday and promised to improve systems for protecting children (Associated Press)
Also: Ireland’s Catholic Church apologizes for years of abuse (The Independent, London)
Also: Church says sorry to sex abuse victims (The Belfast Telegraph)

Crime:

Authorities seize yacht, aircraft in alleged scheme targeting ministries | Luxury items are valued at $4.5 million. SEC also seizes bank accounts and freezes other assets (Los Angeles Times)
Suit accuses N.J. man of investment fraud | In 2000 and 2001, Joel Sofia, son of the pastor of the large Gloucester County Community Church in Washington Township, approached relatives and fellow congregants with an intriguing investment proposal (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
When the church becomes a den of thieves | With recent call on church leaders to declare their wealth, any doubts that corruption thrives in Church should be gone by now (Francis Ayieko, The Nation, Kenya)
64 die in Congo from anti-sorcery potion | Congo health officials on Thursday were investigating the poison deaths of 64 people, allegedly from a potion used to ward off evil spirits (Associated Press)
Also: Brew promising salvation kills 64 in Congo (Reuters)
Also: Churchgoers poisoned in DR Congo | Health officials in Kinshasa, say they are looking for a Catholic priest who allegedly administered the drink to his followers during a cleansing ceremony (BBC)
Two on trial in Bible studies beating | 12-year-old testified Wednesday that he was severely beaten with a tree branch by a church pastor and the pastor’s twin brother to “get the devil out” of him because he had misbehaved during Bible class (Associated Press)

Deaths:

Bishop R. L. DeWitt, 87, who brought women to Episcopal priesthood, dies | Over six decades as a churchman, he became a socially liberal activist widely known for outspoken advocacy in the pulpit and beyond (The New York Times)
Mesrob Ashjian. 62, dies | Led Armenian church in eastern U.S. (Los Angeles Times)

Other articles of interest:

Foundation sues over similar name | The Dallas-based Leadership Network, which works with clergy and congregations to develop more effective ministries, is demanding that the newly formed Clergy Leadership Network of Washington change its name (Associated Press)
First kick the addiction, then escape the recovery culture | Whatever people tell you, recovery is not endless—and it should not remain the center of your life (Mark Gauvreau Judge, Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
Culture vs. faith | A sociologist sees the end times for traditional religion in the United States (John T. McGreevy, Chicago Tribune)
Writer journeyed from atheism to Christianity | C.S. Lewis scholar explores author’s beliefs (Toledo Blade, Oh.)
Student’s death baffles authorities | Having exhausted most conventional theories, investigators said Wednesday they are looking at what role religious fasting and a possible eating disorder may have played in the young woman’s death (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
In battle for Sunday, the ‘blue laws’ are falling | Most colonial edicts have gone the way of scarlet letters. But one has remained intact in states from Connecticut to Texas: the ban on Sunday sales of alcohol. Now, a stubborn seam of Puritanical America is coming undone (The Christian Science Monitor)
Religion news in brief | Religious attitudes among college students, Missing bishop in China’s illegal Roman Catholic Church surfaces, and other stories (Associated Press)