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Ideas

Cloning Okayed, Bible Urinated Upon in Australia

Compiled by Ted Olsen

Columnist

Plus: CPT hostages speak, Malaysia corpse battle ends, Md. pastor shot to death, and other stories from online sources around the world.

Christianity Today December 8, 2006

Today’s Top Ten

Yes, ten. So many interesting stories that we can’t stop at five.

1. Australia lifts ban on human cloning Both the Prime Minister and the new Opposition Leader had wanted to keep the ban on so-called therapeutic cloning, but the House of Representatives still voted 82-62 for the bill. It had earlier passed the Senate by a two-vote margin. The U.S. also allows such cloning, as do Britain, Singapore, and a few other countries.

2. Bible attack case shocks Australia Young teens from East Preston Islamic College were reportedly feuding with workers at a school camp when three of the boys, ages 13 to 15, got a Bible, threw it on the ground, urinated on it, tore pages out, and then set them on fire. An Islamic Council of Victoria spokesman called it a “prank” and explained, “They’ve probably seen things on TV where soldiers in Iraq and in Guantanamo Bay have reportedly done things to the Koran, and they’ve seen other things that have influenced their way of thinking.” The school principal says the students didn’t know it was a Bible, but has expelled two of the students and suspended another.

3. Christian Peacemaker Teams hostages call for “all possible leniency” for kidnappers “Should those who have been charged with holding us hostage be brought to trial and convicted, we ask that they be granted all possible leniency,” said a joint statement from Norman Kember, James Loney, and Harmeet Singh Sooden, who were held hostage for four months. A fourth member of their team was killed by their captors, but the survivors claimed to speak for him. “I know that he would have stood with us today (to ask for) clemency for our captors,” Loney said. Kember said he won’t testify against his captors, and would only testify to plead for clemency. “In our view, the catastrophic levels of violence and the lack of effective protection of human rights in Iraq is inextricably linked to the U.S.-led invasion and occupation,” the joint statement says in part. “As for many others, the actions of our kidnappers were part of a cycle of violence they themselves experienced. While this is no way justifies what the men charged with our kidnapping are alleged to have done, we feel this must be considered in any potential judgment.”

4. Malaysia’s Muslims drop claim to body Apparently, the general rule of thumb in Malaysia is that the only people who can leave Islam are the dead.

5. Congress session endsThe fetal pain bill didn’t pass, but tithing protection for the bankrupt did.

6. Weinstein Company launches Christian label The company has already announced plans to adapt Joyce Meyer’s The Penny and Max Lucado’s The Christmas Candle. “[The] goal is eventually to release six theatrical titles per year,” Variety reports. The Weinstein Company will chiefly be working with Impact Entertainment, which made One Night with the King and other Christian films.

7. Pastor shot to death in Prince George’s County, Md. Police are now following leads that the shooting of “well-known” pastor of Warriors for Christ Ministries may have been premeditated. But the police “have not ruled out the possibility of random street crime,” The Washington Post reported.

8. Ohio megachurch pastor again faces DUI charge Michael Pitts, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Maumee, Ohio, pleaded no contest to driving under the influence in 2000. In the late ’90s he faced more serious accusations , but most charges were dropped after witness testimony problems. Pitts pled guilty to criminal trespassing and served 14 days of house arrest. Cornerstone has 3,000 members and runs two local Christian radio stations. Pitts “serves as overseer, or bishop, of the Cornerstone Network of Harvester Churches, an organization with 12 other churches across the United States and 13 in Mexico,” The Toledo Bladereported last year.

9. Latin American politics is getting JesusyHugo Chávez made headlines by repeatedly invoking Jesus in his election victory speech. One example: “The kingdom of Christ is the kingdom of love, of peace; the kingdom of justice, of solidarity, brotherhood; the kingdom of socialism. This is the kingdom of the future of Venezuela.” Andres Oppenheimer writing in The Miami Herald notes that Chávez is not alone: Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, Ecuador’s Alvaro Noboa, and others have made religion part of their political message, too. “Religious populism is on the rise worldwide, and may be growing in Latin America as well,” he writes.

10. Who’s buried in Paul’s tomb? “Vatican archaeologists have unearthed a sarcophagus believed to contain the remains of the Apostle Paul that had been buried beneath Rome’s second largest basilica,” says a widely circulating Associated Press report. That basilica is called St. Paul Outside the Walls. It’s named that because it’s the place where Paul’s remains have been believed to have been buried since the first centuries of the church. And if this story sounds familiar, it should.

Quote of the day “Without being able to utilize churches, we’ll be in dire straits. There are many areas of the county where we don’t have suitable polling locations, if we were not able to utilize churches, synagogues, and whatever else. They are essential to us being able to service our community adequately and being able to avoid congestion.” —Arthur Anderson, supervisor of elections in Palm Beach County, Florida, which has been sued for using Emmanuel Catholic Church as a polling site.

Bonus story: We couldn’t stop at ten. One of the odder church-state cases in recent years—a suit against the school district logo in Las Cruces, Nevada—has been dismissed. The plaintiff yesterday appealed his case against the city’s logo. Both logos depict three crosses, in reference to the city’s name.

More articles

Australia okays human cloning | Fetal pain bill aborted | Life ethics | Saddleback AIDS summit | Iraq | Crime | Abuse | Theft | Past major crimes | Religious freedom | Bible desecration in Australia | Malaysia | Islam | Qur’an oath | China | Fiji | Politics (non-U.S.): | Politics (U.S.) | Come on ring those bells? | Christmas wars in the U.K. | Christmas commerce | More Christmas | Voting in churches | Church and state | University of Georgia frat ban | Higher education | Missions & ministry | Homosexuality | Anglicanism | Church life | Private prayer language | Spirituality | Money and business | Entertainment and media | Left Behind: The Video Game | Music | History | Richard Dawkins | Other stories of interest

Australia okays human cloning:

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Fetal pain bill aborted:

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Life ethics:

  • Catholic clergy attack French telethon over stem cell aid | The French Roman Catholic Church has called a telethon’s financing of research on embryonic stem cells immoral (The New York Times)
  • Religious order runs drug lab for cures, ethics | Behind the religious order’s acquisition is an unorthodox plan: If it becomes a successful, albeit niche, player in the pharmaceutical industry, the order hopes to have bigger clout in pushing for more ethical business practices from the inside out (The Wall Street Journal)
  • Plan B pill now readily available | Planned Parenthood celebrated Wednesday with a free giveaway of the emergency contraceptive, while critics insisted that Plan B’s accessibility will soon be a cause for regret (Associated Press)
  • Senate approves FDA chief | Frist ends ‘holds’ that long stalled vote on von Eschenbach (The Washington Post)
  • Also: Senate approves FDA chief nomination | The Senate on Thursday confirmed cancer surgeon Andrew von Eschenbach to head the Food and Drug Administration, but only after breaking a filibuster in which he was accused of impeding congressional investigations (Associated Press)

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Saddleback AIDS summit:

  • A broader church | Why an evangelical preacher invited a Democrat to take an AIDS test (The Economist)
  • Purpose driven AIDS plan | Pastor Rick Warren stirs passions—and politics—at church AIDS summit (World)
  • Everyone has AIDS! | A dispatch from the Global Summit on AIDS at Saddleback Church (Rebecca Schoenkopf, OC Weekly)
  • Burnt offferings to hypocrisy | Barack Obama said “condom” in church the other day. It shouldn’t have been news (John Young, Waco Tribune-Herald, Tex.)

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Iraq:

  • Kember: I will not testify at trial of my kidnappers | Norman Kember, the Christian activist who was kidnapped in Iraq and freed in a military operation, has said that he will not testify against his captors (The Times, London)
  • Ex-Iraq hostages urge forgiveness for captors | Three Christian peace activists held hostage for nearly four months in Iraq said Friday that they “unconditionally” forgive their captors and don’t want to see them face the death penalty (CBC)
  • Kember: We ‘unconditionally’ forgive captors | Norman Kember, the freed Iraq hostage, and two other men held with him have announced today that they “unconditionally” forgave their captors and wished them no “retribution” (The Telegraph, London)
  • Iraq marshlands rebound to go on despite turmoil | The marshlands, believed by some to be the location of the biblical Garden of Eden, once totalled an area nearly the size of Wales and provided a resting spot for thousands of wildfowl migrating between Siberia and Africa (Reuters)
  • Music to cynics’ ears | The National Council of Churches latches on to the Baker-Hamilton report. But contrast the NCC’s tone to, say, that of the well-meaning Catholic bishops (Mark Tooley, The American Spectator)

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Crime:

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Abuse:

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Theft:

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Past major crimes:

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Religious freedom:

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Bible desecration in Australia:

  • Expelled Muslim boy’s father blames school | The father of a Muslim boy expelled for urinating on the Bible, burning pages from it then spitting on it has lashed out at the school, saying it failed to protect and control his son (The Australian)
  • Islamic school inquiry | An Islamic college where two students were expelled for desecrating the Bible has been the subject of an inquiry by the Government’s private school watchdog (Herald Sun, Melbourne, Australia)
  • Bible blasphemy shock | The parents of a Muslim student who urinated on and burned a Bible say they are shocked and ashamed over their son’s actions (Herald Sun, Melbourne, Australia)
  • Lessons in ‘hate’ led to Bible abuse | For two days, tensions had been simmering in the school camp at Lake Duwar (The Australian)
  • Schoolboys told of ‘evil’ Aussies | Students at the Islamic school from which two boys were expelled for desecrating the Bible were shown videos of a banned cleric calling Australian Christians “evil” and non-Muslim schools “sewers” (The Australian)
  • Bible desecration a ‘prank’ | Islamic Council of Victoria spokesman Yasser Soliman blamed media reports about the desecration of the Koran. (Herald Sun, Melbourne, Australia)

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Malaysia:

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Islam:

  • In Munich, provocation in a symbol of foreign faith | The construction of mosques in German cities is stoking anti-foreign sentiment and reinforcing fears that Christianity is under threat (The New York Times)
  • Pope expresses admiration for Muslims | “On one side, it is necessary to rediscover the reality of God and public importance of religious faith, on the other to assure that the expression of faith is free, devoid of fundamentalist degeneration, capable of firmly repudiating any form of violence,” the pontiff said (Associated Press)
  • Turkey shuns “fundamentalist degeneration”: Pope | In remarks at his weekly general audience, he also expressed hope that Turkey could become a “bridge of friendship and brotherly cooperation between the West and East” (Reuters)
  • Blair stokes debate on religious tolerance | Prime Minister Tony Blair stoked a simmering debate over religious tolerance and cultural assimilation on Friday, saying it was the duty of all immigrants to integrate into British society (Associated Press)
  • Also: Blair outlines curbs on grants to religious groups | Plans to withhold grants to religious and racial groups were announced by the Prime Minister today as part of a programme to ensure Muslims and other minorities intergrate into British society (The Times, London)
  • Also: Blair: paying religious groups is a mistake | The Prime Minister said handouts to “to organisations tightly bonded around religious, racial or ethnic identities” must stop because they were discouraging integration in the UK (The Telegraph, London)

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Qur’an oath:

  • At swearing in, congressman wants to carry Koran. Outrage ensues | Keith Ellison hasn’t even started his new job, and he’s already under fire (The Christian Science Monitor)
  • Group wants Prager removed from board | Council on American-Islamic Relations called on President Bush to rescind the appointment of a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum board member who criticized an incoming congressman, Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress (Associated Press)
  • Religious texts and the swearing-in tradition | Tradition isn’t as solid as some might think. (Day to Day, NPR)
  • Worry about the oath, not the book | This is a fight over a photo opportunity (Editorial, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.)
  • Muslim rhetoric | I applaud Dennis Prager for trying to construct an argument, however flawed, around what I interpret to be a more visceral reaction against the symbolic introduction of the Koran into the institutions of American government (Diana West, The Washington Times)

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China:

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Fiji:

  • Churches unable to agree on joint statement condemning Fiji coup | The Archbishop of the Fijian Anglican church, Jabez Bryce, says they support the rule of law, and democracy. But while other churches, including Roman Catholic, and Methodist, also have the same stance, he says there is no united voice (Radio New Zealand)
  • Splits widen as church, chiefs oppose Fiji coup | “We are deeply convinced that the move now taken by the commander and his advisers is the manifestation of darkness and evil,” Reverend Tuikilakila Waqairatu, president of the Fiji Council of Churches, said in the advertisement (Reuters)
  • Fiji churches support rule of law | The Fiji Council of Churches and Assembly of Christian Churches are united and concerned with the current political situation the nation is facing says its president Reverend Tuikilakila Waqairatu (Fiji Times)

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Politics (non-U.S.)::

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Politics (U.S.):

  • Congress passes Obama-Hatch tithing bill | Legislation lets bankrupt make donations (Press release)
  • White House Faith-Based Office director counters claims against it | “Criticism of whether we’re authentic and whether we did what we were promising to do, I think, takes the entirely wrong argument,” said Jay Hein, director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives (Religion News Service)
  • The Christian center? | There are growing signs of a shift to center in the evangelical movement, signs that evangelicals’ biblical values can be applied to a broader range of social issues, beyond abortion and gay marriage (Herald News, West Paterson, N.J.)
  • Brownback calls for more family values | Republican presidential hopeful Sam Brownback on Thursday called for a return to an American culture that promotes family values — a theme meant to set the conservatives’ favorite son apart in a growing GOP field (Associated Press)
  • Romney’s ’94 remarks on same-sex marriage could haunt him | Comments Governor Mitt Romney made during his 1994 Senate bid, in which he said the gay and lesbian community “needs more support from the Republican Party,” resurfaced yesterday, posing a potential hurdle as he appeals to conservatives for a probable presidential campaign (The Boston Globe)
  • Hyde leaving Congress with mixed feelings | Hyde’s career was marked by his efforts to end legalized abortion (USA Today)
  • Last rights | Political analysts dismiss social conservatism at their own risk (W. James Antle III, The American Spectator)

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Come on ring those bells?:

  • Grant binds sound system, Jewett City church | The borough would consider selling a sound system that plays secular and religious songs to an outsider, but it can’t, the borough warden said (Norwich Bulletin, Ct.)
  • Griswold bell imbroglio strikes a chord | Businesses might buy sound system to satisfy atheist group complaint (The Day, New London, Ct.)
  • Outsiders can’t meddle with contentment | The folks registering complaints are out-of-towners. No Griswold resident is upset. With no stake in this game, the outsiders should keep their complaints outside (Editorial, Norwich Bulletin, Ct.)
  • Bells toll discord in Jewett City | Heaven help us, the atheists are right (Steven Slosberg, The Day, New London, Ct.)
  • In the spirit of the holiday, clam up | It is just as pigheaded to suggest earplugs for anybody offended by the religious/holiday music blasting from the Jewett City Baptist Church as it is to embark on a separation of church and state discourse (Mike DiMauro, The Day, New London, Ct.)

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Christmas wars in the U.K.:

  • Bishop backs Christian Christmas | The trappings of Christmas should remain Christian, the Bishop of Lichfield has said in his festive message to parishioners (BBC)
  • Sentamu attacks ‘move to throw away crib’ | The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, attacked “aggressive” secularists and “illiberal” atheists yesterday for “throwing out the crib at Christmas” (The Telegraph, London)
  • Deck the halls with tat and tinsel | They may be an affront to good taste, but Christmas decorations shouldn’t be seen as offensive to non-Christians (Tim Footman, The Guardian, London)
  • Holy hypocrites are hijacking winterval | The real affront to Christ is the tiny group of agitators running grotesquely aggressive campaigns to turn Christmas into an annual whingefest for all who worship the religion of “PC Gone Mad” (Brian Reade, Mirror, London)
  • Straw trumpets workplace tinsel | MP Jack Straw has urged people to “put tinsel in the office” after reports that Christmas decorations were not welcome for fear of causing offence (BBC)
  • Christmas: Crucified by do-gooders | I haven’t become a weirdo fundamentalist. This is not a matter of religiosity (I flicker somewhere between an agnostic and a mild believer). My protest is about resisting those who seem hell bent on turning Christianity into a crime (Jeff Randall, The Telegraph, London)

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Christmas commerce:

  • No decorations, please, it might cause offence | Three out of four employers have banned Christmas decorations from their offices for fear of offending other faiths, a report claimed yesterday (The Telegraph, London)
  • Firms ‘ban festive decorations’ | Christmas decorations have been banned by almost three out of four UK employers, for fear of offending staff from other faiths, a survey says (BBC)
  • Deluge of snowflakes grounds Santa ads | Santa’s trendier relative, the snowflake, is the star of holiday marketing this year. Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and Home Depot, among others have centered at least some of their advertising art around snowflakes (The Washington Times)

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More Christmas:

  • ‘Christmas’ makes a comeback in public spaces | Part of the problem is misinformation, with cities and schools often unsure about what is constitutional (The Christian Science Monitor)
  • Back by popular demand: “Merry Christmas” | The majority of Americans surveyed – 95 percent – said they were not offended by a “Merry Christmas” greeting in stores, according to a poll by Zogby International. However, 32 percent of respondents said they took offense at “Happy Holidays” (Reuters)
  • The governor’s decree: ‘Merry Christmas’ OK | Although it’s been said many times, many ways, Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has declared that state employees can say it too (The Kansas City Star)
  • Santa’s evil sidekick? Who knew? | As Christmas nears, Austrian children hoping for gifts from Santa Claus will also be watching warily for “Krampus,” his horned and hairy sidekick (Reuters)
  • Scrooge sacks Santa | A pastor has slammed Santa as a false god who teaches children to be greedy and selfish (Herald Sun, Australia)
  • Nativity builder asks for it back, changes mind | Alan Craddock built Berkley’s nativity scene, and now that the city has given it away, he wants it back. That’s what he said Monday night at the City Council meeting. However on Tuesday he said he’d had a change of heart (Hometown Life, Detroit)

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Voting in churches:

  • Delray photographer sues elections chief over polling site at church | Houses of worship defended as ‘essential’ to the voting process (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
  • Lawsuit disputes church poll site | A Delray Beach man who cast his vote in a Catholic Church amid crosses, prayers and an anti-abortion banner is suing county Supervisor of Elections Arthur Anderson, claiming the use of the church as a polling place was unconstitutional, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court Friday (Palm Beach Post, Fla.)
  • Also: Man sues over church as polling place | A man who had to vote in a Catholic church has sued election officials, claiming that casting a ballot amid crucifixes and anti-abortion banners violates the principles of church and state separation (Associated Press)

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Church and state:

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University of Georgia frat ban:

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Higher education:

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Missions & ministry:

  • Farm helps women start lives anew | Since 2002, when the New Life Covenant Assemblies of God Church began bringing women to the farm, 22 have completed the five-month spirituality-based program (Chicago Tribune, from Nov. 21—we missed it earlier)
  • Homeless lose part of lawsuit over feedings | A federal judge has dismissed part of the lawsuit against Orlando’s ordinance limiting the feeding of homeless people, saying it does not violate a state religious-freedom law (The Orlando Sentinel)
  • Churches make space to shelter the homeless | Joint effort offers beds and help with multiple social problems (The Washington Post)
  • Discussion of church refugee program gets heated | Discussion became heated Tuesday when the Hagerstown City Council sat down with the manager of the Virginia Council of Churches Refugee Resettlement Program’s local office, which sponsored a group of African refugees at the center of October’s West Franklin Street stir (Herald-Mail, Hagerstown, Md.)
  • Palestinian pastors join Evangelical umbrella organization | The group, composed of 15-20 Palestinian evangelical pastors, most of whom live in the greater Bethlehem area, have joined the World Evangelical Alliance (The Jerusalem Post)
  • Lap-dance chaplains plan | The Church of England is considering appointing chaplains to counsel workers at Birmingham’s lap-dancing venues (BBC)
  • Get a Mac ads: The Christian version | They seem not to be working, judging from the comments (Gizmodo; see all the ads here or here)

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Homosexuality:

  • Church of Sweden gives gay couples church blessing | Gays in Sweden will as of January be able to receive religious blessings of their same-sex unions, the Swedish Lutheran Church decided on Wednesday, but stopped short of allowing gay marriages (The Local, Sweden)
  • Gay couple losing their religion | Catholic Church denies communion to two men after same-sex wedding (The Chronicle Herald, Halifax, N.S.)
  • Canada won’t reopen gay marriage debate | Canada’s Parliament voted Thursday not to reopen the gay marriage debate, letting stand a law passed last year that legalized marriage for same-sex couples (Associated Press)
  • Also: Canadian Prime Minister loses bid to revisit gay marriage law | Canada’s House of Commons rejected a move Thursday by Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper to reopen debate on a national law permitting same-sex marriages (The Washington Post)
  • Cheney pregnancy stirs debate on gay rights | The announcement of Mary Cheney’s pregnancy prompted new debate over the Bush administration’s opposition to gay marriage (The New York Times)
  • Also: Groups mixed on Mary Cheney’s pregnancy | Conservative leaders voiced dismay Wednesday at news that Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Dick Cheney, is pregnant, while a gay-rights group said the vice president faces “a lifetime of sleepless nights” for serving in an administration that has opposed recognition of same-sex couples (Associated Press)
  • Gay unions would be ‘civil’ in New Jersey, not ‘spousal’ | New Jersey lawmakers have rejected a bid by gay rights supporters to describe the relationship between gay couples with a new term, “spousal union” (The New York Times)
  • Also: N.J. civil unions hung up on ‘marriage’ | The bill to authorize civil unions refers to couples not as “spouses” but as “parties,” language the head of the state’s main gay rights group considers “putrid.” (Associated Press)
  • Conservative Jews allow gay rabbis and unions | The decision was denounced by traditionalists but celebrated by others as a move toward full equality (The New York Times)
  • Also: Conservative scholars ease gay rabbi ban | Conservative Jewish scholars eased their ban Wednesday on ordaining gays, upending thousands of years of precedent while stopping short of fully accepting gay clergy (Associated Press)

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Anglicanism:

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Church life:

  • ‘Tent’ church at ground zero | Hundreds of faithful from the tiny St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which was destroyed along with the World Trade Center, gathered in a makeshift canvas sanctuary on Wednesday, where they marked St. Nicholas Day and the 90th anniversary of their parish (Associated Press)
  • ‘Restoration’ after the fall | Fellow evangelicals seek to help the Rev. Ted Haggard address the behaviors that snared him in a scandal (Los Angeles Times)
  • Church’s attack on greenhouse gas not just hot air | The Uniting Church is poised to become that nation’s first to buy into a carbon credit scheme to compensate for the greenhouse emissions generated by its leaders’ air travel (The Sydney Morning Herald)
  • County takes over church fight | Historic designation sought to save structure (The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Va.)
  • Former Vernon priest loses court appeal | A controversial Roman Catholic priest formerly assigned to St. Bernard Church has suffered another setback in his efforts to pursue legal claims that the Norwich Diocese and Bishop Michael R. Cote discriminated against him because he is black (Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Ct.)
  • Glemp steps down as Warsaw archbishop | Jozef Glemp was appointed archbishop of Warsaw and primate of Poland by the late Polish-born Pope John Paul II in July 1981, a year after a wave of strikes rocked Poland and gave rise to the Solidarity trade union, the Soviet bloc’s first mass opposition movement (Associated Press)

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Private prayer language:

  • Change on prayer policy is sought | A group of Baptist pastors and church members, mostly from the Southeast, are asking the Southern Baptist Convention to change its policy banning private prayer language, which includes speaking in tongues (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Tex.)
  • Pastors back McKissic on ‘private prayer language’ (Associated Press)
  • Openness to private prayer language echoed at meeting | The coming together of 112 people of assorted ages, races, doctrinal interpretations and worship practices gave host pastors Dwight McKissic of Texas and Wade Burleson of Oklahoma reason to be encouraged after a year in which both have been the center of controversy on denominational trustee boards (Baptist Press)

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Spirituality:

  • Manliness is next to godliness | In daybreak fraternity meetings and weekend paintball wars, in wilderness retreats and X-rated chats about lust, thousands of Christian men are reaching for more forceful, more rugged expressions of their faith (Los Angeles Times)
  • Diya urges Nigerians to invest on evangelism | Former Chief of General Staff assures Nigerians of divine blessings if they learn how to donate to God as well as invest on evangelism and other church activities (Daily Champion, Nigeria)
  • Christianity under siege | In Jamaica, there seems to be a popular movement towards generic Christianity and a widening diversity between Christian religions (Anthony Gomes, The Jamaica Observer)

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Money and business:

  • Religion finds firm footing in some offices | The growth of diversity in the workplace, along with the influence of religion in America, has brought faith — once as taboo in the office as talk of sex and politics — to the job, experts say (Reuters)
  • Business has a prayer | The winter holidays highlight the debate over whether religion should be relegated to after business hours or brought into the office to improve things like employee morale and job retention (Forbes)
  • Christian Book Distributors to acquire Best to You | Christian gift direct marketer has been in business for more than 25 years, selling Christian-based gift items and home accessories via catalogs and a Web site (DM News)

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Entertainment and media:

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Left Behind: The Video Game:

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Music:

  • Songwriter’s legacy contested | Kids seek song catalog; sister denies she has it (Cincinnati Enquirer)
  • TobyMac concert canceled | Concert, to take place Thursday at the Shrine Mosque, didn’t sell many tickets (Springfield News-Leader, Mo.)
  • Do-it-yourself ‘Messiahs’ | There will be “Messiah” sing-alongs taking place around the country during the Christmas season, from Los Angeles to Denver to Northampton, Mass. (The New York Times)

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History:

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Richard Dawkins:

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Other stories of interest:

  • ‘Thrill of the Chaste’ | An interview with Dawn Eden (The Washington Times)
  • New Vatican envoy urges pilgrimages to Holy Land | The new Vatican ambassador to the Holy Land on Wednesday urged Christian pilgrims from around the world to visit the country despite the uncertain political situation between Israel and the Palestinians (The Jerusalem Post)
  • Christian teaching plans under fire | New guidelines on how Religious Education should be taught in Buckinghamshire’s schools has been slammed amid claims that it has turned Christianity into a minor subject (Bucks Free Press, Buckinghamshire, England)
  • Mel Gibson: $8M more to private church | According to a September tax filing obtained by this column, Gibson put $8 million more into his A.P. Reilly Foundation in 2005. That’s the tax-exempt entity named for his late mother and designed to run his privately built and owned Holy Family Catholic Church in Malibu (Fox News)
  • Minister claims 10,000-plus exorcisms | Bob Larson said he has lived brutal scenes similar to those from the movie “The Exorcist” more than 10,000 times during the past 30 years (East Valley Tribune, Scottsdale, Az.)

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