U.K. Ex-Gay Ministry Quits Effort, Says Trying Changing Orientation Is Hopeless

British ex-gay ministry gives up, saying conversion therapy efforts don’t work Jeremy Marks, director of the United Kingdom organization Courage, is taking “sabbatical leave” from parent organization Exodus International because Courage founder Jeremy Marks says Exodus’s mission to help people out of homosexuality doesn’t work. “We are definitely wanting to be separated from the ‘ex-gay’ label and be more focused on supporting Christians who are gay,” Marks told Gay.com. “None of the people we’ve counseled have converted no matter how much effort and prayer they’ve put into it. There is much more benefit to the more honest view.” Marks has been involved in conversion therapy for more than 14 years—and says it hasn’t worked in his own life either. But he’s not going to leave his wife of nine years. “This is because I believe in keeping the vows I made before God, and my wife deserves to be loved, not deserted,” Marks says. “Having said that, in truth my orientation has not changed.”

National Prayer Breakfast:

Hailing faith’s influence | Bush urges end to bias against the religious (The Washington Post)
Transcript of Bush’s remarks
Bush presents faith as driving force behind his presidency (CNN)
Bush: Religion can’t replace government (Charles Babington, The Washington Post)

Left Behind: The Movie:

Entertainment that evangelizes | Churches join to promote big-screen action film (The Washington Post)
Christian movie gains a firm toehold on mainstream circuit | That the film is booked in more than 900 theaters testifies to a growing demand for evangelical fare (Los Angeles Times)
Winning with LeftBehind | The Left Behind series is, in many ways, nothing more than a gussied-up version of an old, old evangelistic strategy: swinging your arm around your friend’s shoulders, looking earnestly into his eyes, and asking, “If you were hit by a bus tomorrow, would you go to heaven?” (Lauren F. Winner, The Hartford Courant)
Hark! A Christian thriller about the Last Days that doesn’t (totally) suck. That’s got to be a sign of the times. (Cody Clark, Mr. Showbiz)
Heaven Help Us | Immediate Disclaimer: This is not to denigrate the religious beliefs that inform Left Behind, an adaptation of the best-selling Christian thriller of the same name. This is simply to address the hilariously bad manner in which those beliefs are expressed. (The Washington Post)
Christian film hopes to hit No. 1 at box offices (Reuters/CNN)
Couple stars in Left Behind film | Kirk Cameron and Chelsea Noble met on the set of “Growing Pains” and have worked together on and off screen ever since (Associated Press)

British priest forced to leave parish to flee lovesick parishoner:

Priest flees from love-sick cleaner (The Times, London)
Obsessed woman showered priest with love letters (The Daily Telegraph, London)

Gluten-intolerant girl denied special communion wafer:

Unbending church forces family to rethink its faith | Family switches to Lutheranism from Catholicism over communion wafer (Joe Fitzgerald | Boston Herald)
No rice first communion for girl (Associated Press)
Defining news grows tricky | A bad ruling by the church? Definitely. An unnecessary hurt to a family? Yes. A public relations disaster? Absolutely. But was this news? (Beverly Beckham, Boston Herald)

Archbishop of Canterbury visits Nigeria:

Shari’ah could divide Nigeria, says Archbishop (BBC)
Archbishop Carey has bag stolen in Nigeria touchdown (The Times, London)
Archbishop of Canterbury visits Nigeria (Panafrican News Agency)
Court dismisses suit against Zamfara on Shari’ah adoption (The Nigerian Guardian, Lagos)

Pastors in protest:

Ministers join demonstration | Thirty leading ministers and priests have said they are prepared to be arrested as part of a blockade of a Trident submarine base (The Scotsman)
Lutheran leader may join fight over Vieques | George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, plans to lead a delegation to Puerto Rico next month (Chicago Sun-Times)

Religion and politics:

Undue process? | Ashcroft backing is causing a rift among Baptists (Abilene Reporter-News)
Christian Coalition asks Supreme Court to consider school-access case (Associated Press/Freedom Forum)
Some black pastors see new aid under Bush | While many African-Americans still harbor mistrust and doubt toward President Bush, many members of the black clergy are looking for ways to work with the president and other Republicans (The New York Times)
Faith, church, and state | There are risks involved in the Bush approach. But the potential payoff is huge (William Raspberry, The Washington Post)

Persecution:

Guatemala bishop case set for trial | After nearly three years of investigation, military officers and a priest will go on trial for the murder of slain human rights crusader Bishop Juan Gerardi
Hindu nationalists ready after quake | RSS, accused of inflaming anti-Christian sentiments, emerges as relief leader (Associated Press)
Man accused of Staines’ murder faces trial | Dara Singh due to face trial today for murder of missionary and sons (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Church signs are defaced by swastikas (The Boston Globe)

Pope names more cardinals:

Pontiff adds 5 to list of cardinals | Surprise appointments set record in Catholic Church (Chicago Tribune)
Pontiff names five more cardinals | Identities of Ukrainian and Latvian secretly appointed in 1998 also revealed (The Washington Post)
Hope for African pope dims (The [Lagos, Nigeria] Guardian)

Baroness Caroline Cox under fire for buying and freeing Sudanese slaves:

Baroness buys liberty for slaves | Baroness Cox has bought and freed 1,500 people. She calls it ‘first aid’. Others call it folly (The Observer, London)
Why I buy human beings | Baroness Cox, a grandmother of ten, has risked her life to buy and free hundreds of slaves in Sudan. Yet she stands accused of perpetuating the slave trade. (The Times, London)
The ‘loony libertarian’ of Sudan’s slave market (Dawn, Karachi, Pakistan)
Tory peer ignores critics and bullets in Sudan (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Tales of the slave trade (The Times, London)
Sudan denies slavery claims (News24, Johannesburg, South Africa)
Through bombs and bullets | Baroness Caroline Cox offers aid and advocacy to persecuted Christians. (Christianity Today, Sept. 1, 1997)

Abortion:

Verdict won’t close clinics, doctor vows | Jury finds abortionist James Pendergraft guilty of extortion (The Orlando Sentinel)
Seuss widow decries pro-life poster | Ottawa group used quote from children’s book (The Toronto Star)
Dr. Seuss’s widow angered over Ottawa anti-abortion poster | Horton Hears a Who becomes political (The Ottawa Citizen)
Nearly half of Americans believe life begins at conception (Reuters/Zogby)
Support for legal abortion depends on the circumstance | Most still favor abortion rights but say it should be illegal for merely unwanted pregnancies (ABCNews.com)
British schools to offer ’emergency contraception’ (USA Today)
Pulling abortion pill would not be difficult | FDA rules on ‘fast-track’ drugs could allow Bush administration quick removal (The Washington Post)
Study ties family status to abortions | University of Chicago researchers update sex survey (Chicago Tribune)
Another wrinkle in abortion debate | Separating family planning from abortion (Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune)
Tory spokesman retreats from demand for abortion ban | U.K. shadow health secretary Liam Fox says he doesn’t want to restrict, not abolish, abortion (The Guardian, London)
Telling words on Roevs. Wade | Cheney said he didn’t say that he wouldn’t try to overturn the Supreme Court ruling (Editorial, The Boston Globe)
Abortion issue opponents find some common ground | Massachusetts prolife and prochoice activists have been holding secret meetings (Boston Herald)
Canadian priest hands out letters of protest | Parishioners urged to write government on abortion issue (The Ottawa Citizen)

Cloning:

Scientists claim they’ll clone humans | Italian and U.S. doctors aim to help infertile couples (Reuters)
Scientists predict stem cell trials by 2004 (The Guardian, London)

Gay unions and rights:

National Capital Presbytery rejects ban on gay unions | But PCUSA’s Amendment O expected to pass (The Washington Times)
Honolulu park hosts two groups of believers | The groups disagree on the issue of same-sex marriage; five couples exchange vows (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Gay rights fight brews in Broward County | Funding law under attack (The Miami Herald)

Scouting and homosexuality:

Girl Scouts’ gay policy attacked by Focus on the Family | But defenders say organization avoids lifestyle issues (The Detroit News)
Scouts expel troops whose leaders oppose gay ban (The Washington Post)
Charters of 8 cub packs not renewed by Boy Scouts | Oak Park anti-bias code conflicts with national policy (The Washington Post)
Oak Park Scouts may defect to Camp Fire (Chicago Sun-Times)

Canada’s high court upholds ban on child pornography, with exceptions:

Canada’s high court allows some possession of child pornography | Citing freedom of expression, justices okay personal use of explicit material. Opponents fear that pedophiles will benefit (Los Angeles Times)
Canada’s high court upholds child porn ban | Justices overturn lower court’s verdict, allow two exceptions (National Post, Canada)
Top court upholds child porn law | Legislation stands test but some exceptions apply (The Ottawa Citizen)
Canada high court dilutes restrictions on child porn (Reuters)
Making sense of court’s decision (The Toronto Star)
Children meant to have sex, accused says | John Robin Sharpe: ‘Did God goof?’ B.C. child-porn proponent asks (National Post)
Exceptions must be clarified, Ontario says | Attorney-General concerned about hampering police (National Post)
Exceptions expected to have little impact | Authorities predict most cases will not be affected (National Post)
Freedom of expression not absolute: three judges | Dissenters wanted law upheld in its entirety (National Post)
Ruling was almost 20 years in the making (Southam News/National Post)
Sharpe ruling | Canadians are entitled to ask why it has taken two years to get to reach this conclusion (Editorial, National Post)
Protecting the children | For the most part, the Supreme Court of Canada has acted responsibly and prudently (Editorial, The Ottawa Citizen)
Pornography decision a sound compromise | Balancing protection of children against freedom of speech, the Supreme Court allows prosecutions to proceed. (Editorial, The Vancouver Sun)
Good sense on child porn | The Canadian public, not to mention law-enforcement authorities, will feel a real sense of relief at yesterday’s balanced Supreme Court ruling on child pornography. (Editorial, The Montreal Gazette)
Welcome ruling on child pornography (Editorial, The Toronto Star)
What, exactly, is child porn? | If a pedophile asks the question ‘What is child pornography?’ because he wants to possess it, Parliament says here’s how you should do it (Edward L. Greenspan, National Post)

U.S. Supreme Court’s virtual child porn case:

Supreme Court to consider digital images | May the government criminalize computer-generated images of fictitious people engaged in imaginary acts? (The New York Times)
The obscenity of thought crime | U.S. Supreme Court takes on ‘virtual’ child porn law (Brock Meeks, MSNBC
When is a fake too real? It’s virtually uncertain (The New York Times)

Missions, ministry, and evangelism:

Bible comes to life, but is it sacrilege? | Orlando’s Holy Land Experience opens today (USA Today)
Local Jewish leaders to skip protest at Holy Land opening | But Los Angeles-based Jewish Defense League will rally against theme park’s evangelistic mission (The Orlando Sentinel)
Billy Graham may appear in Cincinnati next summer (The Cincinnati Post)
Bringing the Lord, coffee to the inner city | Christian bookstore changes clientele from white grad students to African American community (The Hartford Courant)
Church casts its bread | Church hands out $25,000 to parishioners, telling them to “bless someone in the community.” (The [Colorado Springs] Gazette)
Duke divinity professor bemoans state of clergy | William H. Willimon says about 40 percent of his students “appear to be attracted to the church as some kind of secure living.” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Eject the Jesus video; feed the poor instead (John Thompson, Abilene Reporter-News)
Church-run institution provides for AIDS orphans (African Church Information Service)

Personalities:

Why Jackson won’t quit | What’s different now that Jackson has returned so quickly after confessing weakness is his apparent perception that the threats to civil rights are reaching a point of no more politics-as-usual. (David Dante Troutt, Los Angeles Times)
What nerve! | This perv to serve as Jesse aide (Rod Dreher, New York Post)
Ralph Reed bids to head state GOP at conservative rally (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Poet Larry Woiwode joins Jamestown College (Associated Press)

History and archaeology:

Archaeologists uncover ancient Christian church in Jordan | Second-century find may be the oldest Christian church in the world (CNN)
Has history been too generous to Gutenberg? | The 15th-century German craftsman has long been believed to be the father of modern typography. But the secretive inventor may have to share some of the paternity now. (The New York Times)
Pope urges joint date for Easter celebrations (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Spiritual leaders across state take to pulpits to teach lessons in history | A New Georgia flag: will it fly? (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Two women help revive church rite for virgins (New York Daily News)

Spiritual discipline:

‘Repent,’ said Jesus; do evangelicals hear him? | The entire life of believers should be one of repentance. (Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Dallas Morning News)
Fasting is part of pastor’s campaign | Prayer walks add to his crusade in Hoffman Estates (Chicago Tribune)
Are Americans less generous than they seem? | Sylvia and John Ronsvalle’s numbers crusade (Peter Steinfels, The New York Times)

Church lawsuits:

Parents of drowned teen-ager file suit against church, camp | Shelby County youth was doing missionary work with children of migrant farmers when he died in Perdido Bay (Mobile Register)
Man sues teacher and Catholic Church over 1984 strapping | Australian Paul Hogan says corporal punishment caused permanent hand injury (Sydney Morning Herald)

Denominations:

Baptists on a mission in Miami | Progressive National Baptist Convention seeks converts, distinction from National Baptist Convention USA (The Miami Herald)
Lutheran membership rolls continue to grow around world (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Anglican church leader to visit Nigeria | Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey will travel to states that have implemented Shari’ah as well as mainly Christian south (News24, Johannesburg, South Africa)

Huston Smith’s Why Religion Matters:

Stop science’s rule over faiths, educator says | ‘World’s Religions’ author sees need for respectful co-existence (Associated Press/Chicago Tribune)
Arguing the need for the sacred in a scientific world (Los Angeles Times)

Other articles of interest:

What teenagers talk about when they talk about chastity | Testimonies from True Love Waits (The New York Times)
Today’s Associated Press religion writer looks at the AP’s first | George Cornell examined growing teamwork between churches (Richard N. Ostling, Associated Press)
Mormons live, work to spread faith | Careers, retirement put aside for church (The Washington Post)
Psst! Want a hot tip? Try a crystal ball | In a turbulent market, psychics see the future (U.S. News & World Report)
Goat hurled from church tower window despite ban (News24, Johannesburg, South Africa)
Adult businesses prevail against Dade County law | Forcing them to relocate would violate constitutional rights, federal judge says (The Miami Herald)
Refugees cite ‘walls of division’ in Angolan church (African Church Information Service, Nairobi)
Anna death sparks bid to ban exorcisms (Ananova)
World Economic Forum turns to faith | Religious leaders debate peacemaking role (Associated Press)
Hope, comfort and miracles | The Black Christ of Esquipulas, Guatemala, is the most popular holy site in Central America (New York Newsday)
Hard-wired for God? | A Christian takes issue with a book claiming that religion is merely a trick of evolution (Michael Joseph Gross, Salon.com)
Copts criticize secrecy in World Council of Churches meetings (ArabicNews.com)
Church’s illuminated cross proves costly | Town council charges minister for church’s cross because it is considered advertising (The Guardian, London)
Nuns ‘can use Pill for risk of rape in war zones’ | Spanish Catholic bishop says oral contraception okay to “defend their religious condition” (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Be my martyr | Links to sites about Valentine’s Day history and practices (Los Angeles Times)