But he's a new kind of religious right leader, says David Key, director of Baptist studies at Emory University's Candler School of Theology. His "low-key, contemplative approach" appeals to conservatives tired of "charismatic, inflammatory" figures "such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson." "He's not flashy," Key tells the AP. "He uses his educational background [which includes a D.Phil. from Oxford] to project a very thoughtful perspective on his agenda, and yet he represents a group that is not thoughtful at all when it comes to their positions on certain issues. He's a great person to represent them in Washington because of that." The Southern Baptist Convention is "not thoughtful at all when it comes to their positions on certain issues"? Weblog is sure the SBC isn't pleased about that description.
Karl Rove tells Family Research Council Bush will continue to nominate conservative judges
Presidential adviser Karl Rove says the Senate Judiciary Committee made a mistake in rejecting the nomination of Charles Pickering for an appellate court position. "This is not about a good man, Charles Pickering," he told 250 so people at the Family Research Council (FRC). "This is about the future. This is about the U.S. Supreme Court. And this is about sending George W. Bush a message that 'You send us somebody that is a strong conservative, you're not going to get him.' Guess what? They sent the wrong message to the wrong guy."
According to The Washington Post, Rove told the FRC that Bush would continue to nominate conservatives to federal benches, as well as promote marriage in welfare reform plans, support crisis pregnancy centers, and oppose human cloning. "There'll be some times you in this room and we over at the White House will find ourselves in agreement, and there'll be the occasion when we don't," he said. "But we will share a heck of a lot more in common than we don't. And we'll win if we work together far more often than the other side wants us to."
Inauthentic preaching
What a week it has been for honesty in the pulpit. First, Edward Mullins was accused of plagiarizing sermons and was suspended from his duties as rector of Christ Church Cranbrook, an Episcopal church outside Detroit. "Along with other questionable actions he has taken during the past five years, the plagiarism of his spiritual messages causes us seriously to doubt his fitness for the ordained ministry," said a letter from parishioners. "How can a priest of the church lay claim to a defense of such dubious morality as 'everybody does it' and 'I paid to use those materials?'" Mullins has his defenders in the congregation—and at The New York Times. "A congregation doesn't come to church on Sunday morning needing to believe that what they hear will be authentically delivered from the original pen of their minister," writes Verlyn Klinkenborg. "They need to believe that whatever he or she has to say to them will be true and full of solace, applicable to the days and weeks ahead." Besides, notes the Associated Press, "The point where research becomes plagiarism is murky for ministers and rabbis." Others disagree. See past articles on sermon stealing from Christianity Today, our sister publication Leadership Journal (which also gave tips on how to credit sources) and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
But some preachers aren't just padding their sermons—they're also padding their rÉsumÉs. William Taylor was forced to resign as the Dean of Portsmouth's Anglican Cathedral in the U.K. after someone notified the bishop that he'd never earned the doctorate from Cambridge University he said he had. "This has been a difficult time for all concerned but I would like to pay tribute to William's integrity in dealing honorably with this situation," said Bishop Kenneth Stevenson. "I wish him well in his future ministry. This matter is now closed." Taylor reportedly claimed a Ph.D. in Arabic churches even though all he had completed was a Master of Theology degree. The diocese says it will now demand proof of academic qualifications.
Return to bloodied church | Jim Killgore had left Protestant International Church in June after pastoring there for five years (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Pakistani congregation will 'keep going,' minister predicts | Danny Mulkey worshiped for more than two months at the Protestant International Church in Islamabad, Pakistan, while waiting for Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer to be set free in neighboring Afghanistan. (Baptist Press)
For diverse community, a valued sanctuary | Protestant International Church was small but diverse, with diplomats, teachers, missionaries and professionals from a dozen countries. (The Washington Post)
Agencies quietly pair church, government | Bill languishes in Senate, but states and federal agencies are moving the faith-based initiative forward (Newhouse News Service)
ATHEIST tag wins reprieve | The brouhaha over the tag has provoked the agency to form a committee to review all potentially banned tags. (St. Petersburg [Fla.] Times)
Group criticizes Sept. 12 prayers in Statehouse | Freedom from Religion Foundation asks inspector general to investigate whether governor and several other state leaders proselytized state employees (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
Earlier: N.Y. Prolifers See Partial Victory | New York attorney general withdraws subpoenas targeting crisis pregnancy centers. (Christianity Today, Mar. 1, 2002)
Whose commandments? | Nurturing individual autonomy and the rights of groups that reject the autonomy principle is a difficult balancing act. (E. J. Dionne Jr, The Washington Post)
No permission required | Government must avoid infringing on the right of citizens to express peaceably their religious or political views, even when one person's peaceful expression happens to be another person's pain in the neck. (Editorial, Chicago Tribune)
Bus driver's removal explained | She was removed for swearing and violating rules, not praying, say administrators (Carroll County Times, Westminster, Md.)
It's easy to forget how Christian Canada is | Canada would be better served by church leaders openly admitting that when it comes to the relationship between politics and religion, they occupy a position not of victimhood but conspicuous and long-standing privilege. (Andy Lamey, National Post)
Cleric wants assembly to enact prayer day law | As the country prepares for elections billed for next year, the National Assembly has been enjoined to enact a law making it mandatory for Nigerians to observe a yearly three-day national prayer to avert any impending disaster. (This Day, Lagos, Nigeria)
Politics:
Gov. Bush's judicial pick raises brows | "It's obvious the opposition against Judge Aleman is solely because she's a Christian," says Christian Legal Society leader (The Washington Times)
Also: RSS, Christian leaders to meet on March 22 | Will discuss conversion, Indianisation of the church, reinterpretation of scriptures and violence against Christians. (The Times of India)
Article continues below
Billy Graham:
Billy Graham, anti-Semitic? | If he returns his ADL award, so will I. (William F. Buckley Jr, National Review Online)
Graham's journey gives all of us hope | I'm going to choose to remember not just the man but the journey that led him from one road to the other. (Ken Garfield, The Charlotte Observer)
Abuse allegation offers a view of issues in scandal | Cases like a dispute at a Harlem church raise the question over whether priests should be defrocked because of an allegation of sexual misconduct. (The New York Times)
Portrayal of the church causes unease | Catholics young and old, at school and at church, expressed a mix of support, dismay and frustration (The New York Times)
Church scandal resurrects old hurts in Louisiana bayou | The case of a pedophile priest in Louisiana offers insight into the kind of lasting effects that such episodes can have on the victims, and on whole communities. (The New York Times)
A tragic crisis for the church | One thing the church must be willing to render to Caesar is priests who exploit their office to molest innocent children. (Editorial, The New York Times)
Snakebitten church needs redemption | Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland, and now we need someone to drive the snakes out of the Catholic Church in America. (Bill O'Reilly, Boston Herald)
Article continues below
Father knows worst | We have turned a light on these cloistered, arrogant fraternities and they can no longer justify themselves. (Maureen Dowd, The New York Times)
The systematic corruption of the Catholic Church | This is about a massively powerful institution using its power to conceal and effectively perpetuate crimes (and sins) of the most evil nature against the most innocent and vulnerable of the souls who trusted the church. (Michael Kelly, The Washington Post)