I SAT ON THE COUCH AND WEPT, still dressed in stiff business casual. I had returned home from the classroom with the realization like a cold stone in my gut—I was not healthy enough to be a teacher. I could not finish my master’s program. I could not spend the hours or energy required to do this one thing I thought God had been leading me toward my whole life. This garden I planted and tended since my childhood, just now springing up, was to die. 

So, I gave it up. There was nothing to be done but pray that God would do something beautiful in the uprootedness of it all. I stood in the middle of dead dreams, unsure how—or what—to replant. 

While in vastly different times and with different implications, I find a resonance in the story of Jesus’ lineage and the way Elizabeth made her home in the wreckage of her uprooted dream. Her pain of a lost dream was compounded by the dishonor that barrenness brought in the ancient Near East. But in a moment, God reversed her story. “The Lord has done this for me,” she proclaimed. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people” (Luke 1:25). Here was hope, growing soft and green in the darkness of the soil, as surprising as spring. God specializes in epic reversals. Elizabeth would bear not just any son in her old age—she was carrying the child who would prepare the way for the Messiah. 

I was still on that couch with crumpled tissues clenched in trembling hands when a wise man, now my husband, helped me sort out what was still growing in the garden: those seeds planted by the hand of God that I had missed. Years later, I’m harvesting different fruit than I thought I would—but it’s better fruit. I consider this my own mini-reversal. God took a dream I thought had been rendered useless and flipped it into a reality of teaching through writing and discipleship, things that fit the contours of my heart better than a classroom could. I’ve made my home in this garden, and I can’t imagine it any other way. 

God’s reversals fill the pages of Scripture. Consider the birth of Isaac to an elderly and once seemingly barren Abram and Sarai, Joseph’s rise from slave to ruler, or the way Haman’s plan to destroy the Jews was foiled by two Jews God lifted to positions of power in their place of exile. These stories speak to the way God delights in flipping situations upside down, bringing salvation in the most surprising ways. 

All of these foreshadow the most surprising reversal of all. God was born as a baby to usher in the upside-down kingdom of heaven where the last are first. He defeated death and rose from his garden grave as the firstborn in the resurrection, purchasing our eternal life. 

This ultimate reversal that flipped the principalities and powers upside down is what Elizabeth’s reversal first points to. Having a child meant that she would no longer be called barren, undoing her earthly shame. But the baby Mary carried would undo Elizabeth’s eternal shame. When Mary’s greeting reached Elizabeth’s ears, “the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed!’” (Luke 1:41–42, CSB). Elizabeth’s awe of God swelled as the Savior of the world, still in a womb, came through her door in the swollen belly of a virgin. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped, like hope springing up, because Mary’s baby had arrived to save us. 

This God is leading us home to the new heaven and earth, a beautiful garden city where death is no more. And until then, he is planting new life in you and me. Our God gives us something better than our earthly dreams. He gives us himself. 

Alicia Hamilton authors Bible studies and disciples college students in New Hampshire.

This article is part of A Time for Wonder, a 4-week devotional to help individuals, small groups, and families journey through the 2024 Advent season. Learn more about this special issue that can be used Advent, or any time of year at http://orderct.com/advent.

The post The Unexpected Fruit of Barrenness appeared first on Christianity Today.

The Gift of the Outsider: What Living in the Margins Teaches Us About Faith

Alicia J Akins (Author), Jen Oshman (Foreword)

224 pages

$12.30

I’m toward the lower end of the income scale compared to most of my peers. I’m also in my late 30s and happily unmarried, while my friends have nearly all coupled off. Three years ago, I began suffering from as-yet-undiagnosed health problems. To top it all off, I run in nerd circles, but I’ve never seen any of the Star Wars, Star Trek, or Harry Potter movies, and I’ve never heard the Hamilton soundtrack.

Sometimes being an outsider has been beyond my control. Sometimes it was a consequence of my choice to pursue certain interests or communities. Other times I sought it out, as with my choices of universities, churches, and living abroad.

No matter how being an outsider has come about for me, I’ve always learned from it. Over time, I moved from insecurity about my difference to neutrality to recognizing the value in it and letting it better me. It has taught me about the bigness of God, his closeness, his power, and his person- and circumstance-specific care.

Might From the Margins

Dennis R. Edwards

During a trying season of life, I wrote to a friend, “Are all stations and circumstances that illuminate the true nature of grace a gift? Since Paul boasts in his weakness and hardships because they facilitate his most powerful encounters with grace (2 Cor. 12:8–10), then are all things gifts that bring to rest on us Christ’s power?”

It was my very differences that convinced me of God’s sovereignty over things like the time and place in which I lived and the family into which I was born. The realization that God was working for my good not despite my race but because of it deepened my faith. And with every new dimension of difference granted to me, my understanding of God’s grace only grows.

In The Outside Edge, author and CEO Robert Kelsey says being a true outsider is exclusively negative: “There’s nothing inherently enabling about this situation, no matter what the view of fashionable commentators. There are no advantages. There’s no edge to being on the edge.” A bleak outlook indeed.

But if I could go back and reverse any of my outsider experiences, I wouldn’t. All the privileges of the inside could not tempt me to part with all I’ve gained from being on the outside. A world where I don’t see what I now see, feel what I now feel, or know what I now know is unimaginable. I am convinced the world and church need certain things for their flourishing that sprout only from seeds of difference.

Taken from: The Gift of the Outsider, Copyright © 2023 Alicia J. Akins. Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR. www.harvesthousepublishers.com

The post There Is an Edge to Living on the Edge appeared first on Christianity Today.

That’s a good start! But there are other things you (probably) don’t have. Like easy access to paper and ink reserves, a commercial printing press, and a fleet of trucks to haul your handiwork across the country. Even then, more hurdles await, like convincing the people who run libraries and bookstores (and Amazon sales teams) to stock an item with your name on the cover.

In our era, new technologies and services have emerged to lower these barriers. Just as social media sites and Substack pages allow writers to bypass traditional media gatekeepers, avenues exist for publishing books outside the orbit of pedigreed institutions with fancy offices.

For good reason, though, many aspiring authors seek out established, experienced publishers to supply the resources, contacts, and know-how they lack. Authors and publishers often squabble over touchy subjects like payment rates and creative liberties. But the partnership brings undeniable advantages: editors who sharpen prose and catch errors, artists who arrange pleasing covers and typography, and marketing mavens who drum up excitement among readers and tastemakers.

In any given year, I hear from lots of independent authors hoping attention from CT will boost their profiles. I always encourage them to send their books and see what happens. But the brutal truth is that traditional publishers furnish nearly all the titles that garner review coverage.

The same goes for our annual Book Awards. That’s why it intrigued me, as I reviewed the current slate of honorees, to spy a few party crashers: one second-place showing in the Fiction category (plus another finalist), and the outright winner in Politics and Public Life. Leave it to trend-watchers and soothsayers to decide whether this represents a one-year blip or augurs a more democratized publishing age to come. In the meantime, let the ranks of unheralded scribblers take solace in the possibility, however remote, of standing out amid buzzier names and bigger budgets.

Publishing, as a human enterprise, is hardly a fine-tuned meritocracy, flawlessly elevating the most deserving ideas and voices. At its best, however, it presents an appealing literary picture of iron sharpening iron. (I sure wouldn’t want to “self-publish” any articles in CT!)

Our Book Awards affirm the biblical wisdom that “two are better than one” (Ecc. 4:9). They also celebrate the irreducible fact of individual genius and creativity, given by God and then amplified however he chooses. As long as he gets the glory, we can stay easygoing about who gets the credit. —Matt Reynolds, CT senior books editor

(Read CT’s choices for Book of the Year.)

Apologetics/Evangelism

Winner

On the Resurrection, Volume 1: Evidences

Gary R. Habermas (B&H Academic)

Words like epic and monumental can be so overused as to be nearly meaningless. But they truly apply to Habermas’s first thousand-page volume of a projected four-part series. Paul tells us that if the Resurrection didn’t happen, our faith is useless. What, then, could be more crucial than establishing its historical factuality? With compelling arguments that treat opposing views with unwavering fairness, paired with meticulous research presented in readable prose, Habermas offers the bountiful fruits of a lifetime of investigation. —Andrew T. Le Peau, writer and former editor with InterVarsity Press

With this volume, Habermas has written what might be the most important book on the Resurrection in the current century. In methodical fashion, he presents the most widely agreed-upon set of facts concerning Jesus’ emergence from the grave. And he accounts for the most reasonable explanation of those facts, both historically and philosophically. The result is a monumental contribution to Christian apologetics. —William Roach, professor of philosophy at Veritas International University

Award of Merit

A New and Ancient Evangelism: Rediscovering the Ways God Calls and Sends

Judith Paulsen (Baker Academic)

Paulsen draws practical insights on evangelism from several biblical conversion stories in Scripture, including those of the apostle Paul, Cornelius, Lydia, and the Samaritan woman at the well. The book taps into her extensive experience teaching evangelism and her careful attention to the background of biblical conversion narratives, resulting in an engaging narrative packed with the kind of wisdom that, if heeded, could truly turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6). —Robert Velarde, author of Conversations with C. S. Lewis

Finalists

Does the Bible Affirm Same-Sex Relationships?: Examining 10 Claims About Scripture and Sexuality

Rebecca McLaughlin (The Good Book Company)

Critically evaluating ten arguments for affirming same-sex sexual relationships on biblical grounds, McLaughlin combines cogent, accessible, and convincing exegesis with testimonies from those (like her) who experience same-sex attraction but believe that faithfulness to Christ precludes acting on it. Beyond defending relevant biblical prohibitions, she sketches a positive vision of life and opportunity within the church, grounded in an ethic of friendship love encompassing all believers. With its marriage of compassion and intellectual rigor, this book equips us to respond thoughtfully to the cultural confusions of our age. —Greg Welty, professor of philosophy at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

(Read CT’s review of Does the Bible Affirm Same-Sex Relationships?)

Faith for the Curious: How an Era of Spiritual Openness Shapes the Way We Live and Help Others Follow Jesus

Mark Matlock (Baker)

This book is based on fascinating and thorough Barna research on the spiritually curious. While written from an evangelical perspective, it paints a compelling picture of how people outside the church think and feel. Matlock clearly understands spiritual dynamics in the United States, and he manages to wrap genuine human flesh around his statistics. For churches wondering how to appeal to those who are spiritually curious but uninvolved in institutional religion, his book abounds with practical and workable suggestions. —Hannah Steele, director of St. Mellitus College, London

Missions/Global Church

Winner

Islam and the Bible: Questioning Muslim Idiom Translations

Edited by Ayman S. Ibrahim and Ant B. Greenham (B&H Academic)

To the uninitiated, the subject of Muslim Idiom Translations (MITs) of Scripture might seem trifling. Yet for anyone who has followed the decades-old controversy over these translations, it makes for thrilling reading. Time and again, Christians whose first language is Arabic have spoken against the liberties taken by MIT proponents, only to be disregarded. But this book clarifies the dangers of incorporating quranic words into Scripture, a practice that lends credence to Muslim claims that the Bible is corrupted (and that Christians are deceptive about its meaning). Islam and the Bible is a crucial resource for everyone looking to fulfill the Great Commission in the Muslim world. —J. Mack Stiles, director of Messenger Ministries Inc.

This book, with chapters from missiologists, theologians, linguists, and biblical scholars, makes an important contribution to ongoing debates about Bible translation and missions in the Muslim world. On the subject of translation decisions related to the person of Christ, especially as they pertain to the title Son of God, Islam and the Bible is without parallel in its depth and breadth. It should prove invaluable for those seeking to reach Muslims for Christ, but without misappropriating Islamic-friendly terminology and themes. —Scott Hildreth, associate professor of missiology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Award of Merit

You Will Be My Witnesses: Theology for God’s Church Serving in God’s Mission

Brian A. DeVries (Crossway)

DeVries has written a well-researched book that gives insight into the Reformed view of missiology, highlighting our work as witnesses to the gospel message. Throughout the book, he references a wealth of Bible verses, and he provides helpful discussion questions at the end of each chapter. I would recommend You Will Be My Witnesses both for Bible study groups and for students in Reformed seminaries. —Mike Morris, senior professor of missions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Finalists

Soul by Soul: The Evangelical Mission to Spread the Gospel to Muslims

Adriana Carranca (Columbia Global Reports)

This book surprised me! Because Carranca writes from a secular journalistic vantage point, it took me a while to warm to her perspective on non-Western evangelicals sharing Christ in the Muslim world. By the final few chapters, I was weeping over the sacrificial witness of the Latin American and African missionaries she follows. Soul by Soul gave me a deeper appreciation for the global church’s resourcefulness in reaching hard places. —Jen Haddox, former director of global engagement for ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians

(Read CT’s review of Soul by Soul.)

Crossing Cultures with the Gospel: Anthropological Wisdom for Effective Christian Witness

Darrell L. Whiteman (Baker Academic)

People are moving across the globe at unprecedented levels, including missionaries from everywhere journeying to reach everyone. Building on decades of teaching and experience, Whiteman, a respected missiological anthropologist, provides wise insights on culture and worldview, inspiration for incarnational ministry, and guidance for navigating intercultural communication. (His in-depth material on culture shock is especially valuable.) In our multicultural world, books like this help us cultivate faithful and effective gospel outreach to neighbors near and far. —Jennifer Collins, associate professor of intercultural studies at Taylor University

(Read CT’s review of Crossing Cultures with the Gospel.)

Biblical Studies

Winner

The New Testament in Color: A Multiethnic Bible Commentary

Edited by Esau McCaulley, Janette H. Ok, Osvaldo Padilla, and Amy Peeler (IVP Academic)

Recent years have witnessed a surge in theological books on racial reconciliation, featuring exhortations to “do the work” of dialogue and engagement. Meanwhile, many voices have called for more theological and exegetical writing that centers nonwhite and other historically marginalized perspectives. This book, in which four major scholars pull together contributions from over two dozen authors, marks a major step forward. Not only does it sketch out the rationale for doing biblical exegesis from Black, Native American, Latino, or Asian standpoints. It reveals what the results look like, showcasing how scholars from diverse backgrounds read the same Bible while attending differently to its applications and implications. —Gregory Lanier, New Testament professor at Reformed Theological Seminary

As the editors of this volume state in their introduction, “The chorus can create a beauty the soloist cannot.” In this analogy, the choir is singing about the meaning of Scripture, but too many ethnic-minority members have been left standing silent in the loft. The editors deserve thanks and congratulations for producing a groundbreaking Bible commentary that amplifies their voices and perspectives. I hope it prompts more of its kind. —Michael Kibbe, associate professor of Bible at Great Northern University

(Read an excerpt from The New Testament in Color.)

Award of Merit

The Transfiguration of Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Reading

Patrick Schreiner (Baker Academic)

This is a thoroughly researched book that makes welcome strides in recentering the glory revealed in Jesus’ transfiguration, one of few vignettes that appears in all four Gospels (as well as 2 Peter). Schreiner’s engagement with early church understandings of this episode brings Protestant thought into conversation with a wealth of wisdom recognized in Eastern Christianity for centuries. Crucially, his book attempts to rehabilitate the Quadriga, a Medieval word denoting a fourfold reading of Scripture for its literal, allegorical, moral, and eschatological meanings. —S. D. Giere, professor of biblical interpretation at Wartburg Theological Seminary, author of Freedom and Imagination

(Read Patrick Schreiner’s CT article on the Transfiguration.)

Finalists

Resurrection Remembered: A Memory Approach to Jesus’ Resurrection in First Corinthians

David Graieg (Routledge)

This is a fascinating reading of 1 Corinthians, lending further support to the Bible’s Resurrection accounts based on a compelling application of groundbreaking philosophical and psychological studies of memory. As an adapted doctoral dissertation, this volume might be less accessible to regular readers. But its profound contributions shouldn’t be overlooked. —Brittany N. Melton, associate professor of Old Testament at Regent College

Jesus, Contradicted: Why the Gospels Tell the Same Story Differently

Michael R. Licona (Zondervan Academic)

In Jesus, Contradicted, Licona demonstrates how ancient Greek biographies provide a framework for reading the Gospels on their own terms. Rather than attempting to harmonize conflicting details and historical incongruities, he recognizes these features as expected elements of the genre. Without sacrificing a high view of Scripture, Licona details what readers should and should not expect from Gospel writers. Any informed doctrine of the inspiration and authority of Scripture must take this book into account. —Kyle Greenwood, independent biblical scholar, author of the Dictionary of English Grammar for Students of Biblical Languages

(Read CT’s review of Jesus, Contradicted.)

Bible and Devotional

Winner

Nearing a Far God: Praying the Psalms with Our Whole Selves

Leslie Leyland Fields (NavPress)

We often find comforting words from the Psalms stitched on pillows or hung on walls. With powerful prose and stunning imagery, Fields takes us beyond their surface-level emotional draw. By reading the Psalms with our whole selves, we learn how to bring every emotion—the good, bad, and ugly—to a Father who longs to show his unfailing love. Approachable and practical, this book will bless generations to come. —Jessica Mathisen, Bible teacher, author of An Overwhelming Hope

As someone who often struggles with prayer, I appreciated this book’s fresh perspective on immersing ourselves in the Psalms. Nearing a Far God illuminates both the art and technique of rehearsing and living out these biblical prayers. Fields helps readers cultivate a bold, vibrant, expressive faith that mirrors not only the heart of David but most fully the heart of our Father God. —Mikella Van Dyke, founder of the ministry Chasing Sacred

Award of Merit

Conquerors Not Captives: Reframing Romans 7 for the Christian Life

Joseph R. Dodson and Mattie Mae Motl (Lexham Press)

Who is Paul talking about when, in Romans 7, he emphatically declares his inability to do the good he wants to do? Is he describing himself as a mature Christian, or the person he was before his conversion? Is he adopting the persona of a devout Jew seeking righteousness through the law, or a devout Christian being drawn back toward law-observance? If you’ve ever puzzled over these questions, then Conquerors Not Captives will stretch your mental muscles. While Dodson and Motl take decided positions, they treat alternative viewpoints with clarity and charity. —Norman Hubbard, Navigators staff member, author of More Than Christians

Finalists

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded: A Liturgy for Daily Worship from Pascha to Pentecost

Jonathan Gibson (Crossway)

Evangelicals sometimes overlook the period between Easter and Pentecost. In this 48-day devotional, Gibson gives it the depth it deserves, compiling prayers, hymns, and readings drawn from Scripture and the riches of church history. The design is stunning—beautiful illustrations and subtle touches of color enhance not only the book’s visual appeal but also its capacity to inspire reflection and worship. I’ll eagerly return to it year after year. —Kathryn Maack, cofounder of Dwellings and author of Whole

Story, Ritual, Prophecy, Wisdom: Reading and Teaching the Bible Today

Mark W. Hamilton and Samjung Kang-Hamilton (Eerdmans)

What a fascinating book, which reflects well not only on biblical literature but also on modern culture and the contemporary church. It is creative, wide-ranging, engaging, thought-provoking, and challenging, bringing freshness and energy to the task of understanding Scripture. —Nat Schluter, principal at Johannesburg Bible College

Christian Living/Spiritual Formation

Winner

A Short Guide to Spiritual Formation: Finding Life in Truth, Goodness, Beauty, and Community

Alex Sosler (Baker Academic)

This book should appeal both to those just starting to explore the subject of spiritual formation and those further along in the journey. Sosler’s holistic approach helps us see how true spirituality is grounded in theological truth, sustained by a longing for holiness, and worked out in the context of Christian community. With so many distractions in life, we must be deliberate in our search for God, and Sosler’s book gives masterful guidance. —Paul Mallard, former president of the Fellowship of Individual Evangelical Churches in the United Kingdom

The brilliance of this book lies in approaching four pillars of the Christian life—theology, virtue, contemplation, and community—through a trio of lenses. We gain fresh perspectives on these pillars as we consider what Scripture says, how others understand it, and the testimony of individual Christian lives. Augustine, Dorothy Day, Teresa of Avila, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer pursued holiness despite being far from perfect. Sosler helps us pause and look upward and outward before looking inward. —Lynda MacGibbon, vice president of people and culture for InterVarsity Canada, author of My Vertical Neighborhood

(Alex Sosler chooses 5 underrated books on spiritual formation for CT.)

Award of Merit

Waiting Isn’t a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life

Mark Vroegop (Crossway)

Some writers have a gift for delivering the right book at the right time. At a moment when both our culture and our churches drive home the notion that we are what we produce, Vroegop reminds us that God, in his grace, ordains periods of uncertainty and delay that draw us closer to him. He makes a winsome case for waiting as an essential spiritual discipline. —Brian Fisher, host of the Soil and Roots podcast

Finalists

The Thing That Would Make Everything Okay Forever: Transcendence, Psychedelics, and Jesus Christ

Ashley Lande (Lexham Press)

I could hardly set this book down. I would wake up in the morning thinking about what I’d read the night before. Lande is a refreshingly imaginative and honest writer who drew me into her story of transformation and grace. Her account of being rescued from the world of psychedelics is a compelling testimony to the power of idolatry and the even greater power of Jesus to redeem. —Derek Vreeland, discipleship pastor at Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri

Letters to a Future Saint: Foundations of Faith for the Spiritually Hungry

Brad East (Eerdmans)

In this collection of 93 letters, East takes your hand and points out the beauty of Christian faith. Even when I disagreed with his theological viewpoints, I appreciated his humility and felt inspired to learn more. This book would make a great gift for new believers or anyone needing a new outlook on their faith. As it built to a resounding crescendo in the last few letters, I found myself weeping for joy. —Jessica Thompson, pastor of church life at Risen Church in San Diego, California

(Read CT’s review of Letters to a Future Saint.)

Church/Pastoral Leadership

Winner

When the Church Harms God’s People: Becoming Faith Communities That Resist Abuse, Pursue Truth, and Care for the Wounded

Diane Langberg (Brazos Press)

Langberg’s compassion and insight, the fruit of decades spent helping sexual abuse victims, are apparent in this excellent book: a solidly scriptural call to better understand and address the multidimensional blight of sexual abuse in Christian ministry. Her tone is marked with genuine passion for the glory of Christ, our Good Shepherd. Langberg aptly exposes the tendency in many quarters of modern church life to protect established systems rather than confront wolves hiding among the sheep. By reading this book, ministry leaders can gain the heart, wisdom, and skills necessary for restoring the church as a place of protection and care. —Daniel Henderson, founder and president of Strategic Renewal

This is a heartbreaking but necessary book. Langberg is effective at marshaling biblical arguments, describing real-life abuse cases, and distilling the sort of practical wisdom that flows from a long career of serving both abuse victims and churches where abuse was perpetrated. Hopefully, her work will help churches identify the telltale signs of abusive situations and individuals before the worst comes to pass. —Jeremy Meeks, founding director of the Chicago Course on Preaching

Award of Merit

De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What’s Next

Karl Vaters (Moody Publishers)

Vaters doesn’t approach this book as a determined opponent of megachurches or a blind cheerleader for small churches. Instead, he calls for faithful churches guided by biblical values rather than mere growth campaigns. With a wealth of research and an engaging manner, his book considers American applications of the Church Growth movement, analyzing how they cultivated a misplaced priority on “numerical quantifiers.” Yet he closes on a hopeful note, suggesting pathways toward recovering a biblical paradigm of being the body of Christ. —Eric Schumacher, pastoral ministry director of the Baptist Convention of Iowa, author of The Good Gift of Weakness

Finalists

Reckoning with Power: Why the Church Fails When It’s on the Wrong Side of Power

David E. Fitch (Brazos Press)

Fitch masterfully defines and unpacks the concept of power, examining how it can be wielded and experienced in different ways: power over (which involves dominance or control), power above (which reflects hierarchical structures), power under (which emphasizes humility and service), and power with (which signifies collaboration and mutual empowerment). As he argues, each form of power can be corrupted and misused, but the church is at its best when it aligns itself with the Holy Spirit’s power rather than seeking worldly influence. —Jamaal Williams, lead pastor of Sojourn Church Midtown in Louisville Kentucky, coauthor of In Church as It Is in Heaven

(Read CT’s review of Reckoning with Power.)

Estranged Pioneers: Race, Faith, and Leadership in a Diverse World

Korie Little Edwards and Rebecca Y. Kim (Oxford University Press)

For many years, pursuing multiethnic churches has been considered a worthy endeavor for modeling unity in the gospel. Yet as Edwards and Kim demonstrate through careful research, the challenges of multiethnic ministry have taken their toll on many individuals and communities. They convey this difficult truth with a blend of concrete data and personal stories, helping readers see the real people at the center of this movement. I finished this book with greater respect for those doing the hard work of leading multiethnic churches. As Edwards and Kim assert, it is “not for the faint of heart.” —Amy Whitfield, executive director of communications at The Summit Church in North Carolina

(Read Korie Little Edwards’s cover article on multiethnic churches from the March 2021 issue of CT.)

Children

Winner

Arlo and the Keep-Out Club

Betsy Childs Howard (Crossway)

In Arlo and the Keep-Out Club, Howard creates an authentic narrative of a child trying to balance his desire for belonging with his sense of what’s right and wrong. When Arlo’s new friends goad him toward bullying another child, his objection is rooted in his family’s Christian faith, as witnessed in his father’s clear, sensitive, biblical-yet-not-preachy assurance that Jesus will stand with Arlo even when the right choice is the hard choice. The book helps children navigate difficult moral dilemmas while modeling support strategies for parents. —Bob Hartman, author of YouVersion’s Bible App for Kids

Award of Merit

Go Bible: A Life-Changing Bible for Kids

(Tyndale)

The Go Bible for kids hits all the right notes. It features helpful introductions, concise applications, interesting facts, thoughtful questions, and colorful sidebars that help children develop a framework for approaching the Bible. The NLT is a fantastic choice for a children’s Bible, since it is closer to their reading and comprehension level than many other popular translations. —Tyler Van Halteren, founder of Lithos Kids and author of the Little Pilgrim series

Finalists

My Tender Heart Devotions

Laura Sassi (Paraclete Press)

Habits formed in the early years stand the chance of becoming lifelong habits, and books of simple devotions like this one, designed for children under age 6, can help busy parents establish a Bible-time habit with their little ones. Sassi presents Bible stories and concepts simply, as if speaking to a child. Original poems introduce each devotion, which is something of a twist for the genre. Another twist: The accompanying Bible verses seem chosen for depth rather than mere ease of memorization, which does add a nice seriousness to the book. —Diane Stortz, editor and children’s author

Strong: Psalm 1

Sally Lloyd-Jones (Zonderkidz)

Lloyd-Jones’s unique perspective on Psalm 1 takes a complicated concept—strength—and applies it in a relatable, encouraging way. Through the illustration of a tree planted near nourishing waters, it portrays the life-giving power of Scripture while teaching kids to draw their strength from God. The book’s rich, earthy illustrations help it stand out from the rest. —Michelle S. Lazurek, author, speaker, and literary agent

Young Adults

Winner

The Miracle Seed

Martin Lemelman (Eerdmans)

The Miracle Seed is a beautiful book full of engaging curiosities. When it comes to historical fiction, approaching younger readers through art and design is key. Lemelman captures the imagination through comics and character development. He achieves a good balance between enticing readers with interesting facts and drawing them into an engaging narrative. Learning is much more fun when you don’t know it is happening! —Melina Luna Smith, executive director of StoryMakers NYC

Award of Merit

More to the Story: Deep Answers to Real Questions on Attraction, Identity, and Relationships

Jennifer M. Kvamme (The Good Book Company)

For any high schoolers looking for answers to their honest questions about sex, attraction, identity, and romantic relationships, this book is a one-stop shop. Kvamme is poignant, authentic, empathetic, winsome, and above all biblical in her approach to topics that teens talk and think about all the time. Beyond its friendly and effective countering of secular messages, More to the Story helps readers see the goodness of God and the life of holiness his Word commands. —Shelby Abbott, author, speaker, and campus minister

Finalists

The Found Boys

S. D. Smith (Harvest Kids)

The Found Boys begins as a familiar childhood adventure before delving into deeper themes, as three boys face their own naive prejudices after meeting characters with entrenched views on race, religion, and power. The fast-paced, cleverly plotted story builds to a surprising and thought-provoking climax. Smith skillfully balances humor and lighthearted banter with explorations of the darker aspects of human nature, ultimately pointing to gospel-centered themes of hope and reconciliation. —Dave Boden, executive director of Grace Foundation

Longing for Christmas: 25 Promises Fulfilled in Jesus, Advent Devotional for Teens

Edited by Chelsea Kingston Erickson (New Growth Press)

A Christmas devotional for the anxious generation, Longing for Christmas holds out the hope of Jesus in clear, compelling, and beautiful ways. By connecting God’s Old Testament promises to their fulfilment through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, these daily devotions paint a vivid picture of a God we can trust to bring his peace, hope, and provision to bear on all the complexity of life. —Chris Morphew, school chaplain in Sydney, Australia, author of Who Am I and Why Do I Matter?

Marriage, Family, and Singleness

Winner

God’s Grace for Every Family: Biblical Encouragement for Single-Parent Families and the Churches That Seek to Love Them Well

Anna Meade Harris (Zondervan Reflective)

Harris knows that even though the church can be a painful place, there’s hardly a community better suited to provide what single-parent families long for. Drawing from her survey of others and her own painful memories, she teaches us what not to say and how to best serve single-parent families in practical ways. Yet she shares this in a spirit of generous love, not resentment. Her book exhibits a hard-won confidence in God’s goodness in the face of devastating circumstances. —Michael Gembola, executive director of Blue Ridge Christian Counseling in Virginia

God’s Grace for Every Family combines solid biblical content, relevant statistical analysis, and personal interviews, all woven around Harris’s own story of loss and struggle. The book provides sympathy and encouragement for single parents, along with pastors and all others ministering to their needs. I appreciate how Harris reframes one possible question—How do we accept single parents without endorsing divorce or sex outside marriage?—with a reminder not to judge them more harshly than any other sinner saved by grace. —Adam Mason, minister of counseling services at Houston’s First Baptist Church

(Anna Meade Harris chooses five books to encourage single parents for CT.)

Award of Merit

Loving Your Adult Children: The Heartache of Parenting and the Hope of the Gospel

Gaye B. Clark (Crossway)

Parenting adult children comes with certain complexities, especially when they have drifted away from the Christian faith. Clark offers empathy, practical advice, and biblical wisdom for parents navigating this season. I especially appreciated her insightful explanation of repentance and reconciliation, which emphasizes restoring relationships without sacrificing personal convictions. —Jennifer Pepito, founder of The Peaceful Press and author of Mothering by the Book

Finalists

Family Discipleship That Works: Guiding Your Child to Know, Love, and Act Like Jesus

Brian Dembowczyk (InterVarsity Press)

This book is an accessible, readable resource for families seeking practical ideas about engaging in discipleship together. It has deep theological roots, along with a variety of good stories to make the lessons stick. I enjoyed laughing along with the author and sighing at anecdotes that brought back memories of when my own kids were growing. After finishing the book, I happily gave it to my youngest brother, whose own “littles” are still young. —Jennifer Ripley, psychology professor at Regent University

Solo Planet: How Singles Can Help the Church Recover Our Calling

Anna Broadway (NavPress)

The church in America is decidedly geared toward married couples, and if they have children, even better. So, in a church full of families, where do singles fit? In Solo Planet, Broadway introduces readers to an international, multidenominational group of single Christians and invites us into their stories of finding life in Christ. We learn about the particular struggles singles face, but also how their pursuit of spiritual maturity and Christian community helps all of us better understand who God is and how he works in the world. —Joel Fitzpatrick, pastor, speaker, and author of Between Us Guys

(Read CT’s review of Solo Planet.)

Culture, Poetry, and the Arts

Winner

Word Made Fresh: An Invitation to Poetry for the Church

Abram Van Engen (Eerdmans)

Van Engen teaches a gentle and grace-filled method of reading poetry, an art form that can frighten the uninitiated. Word Made Fresh accompanies readers on a leisurely, conversational walk through this terrain, exposing them to a range of poems across eras and places. Rather than offering a straightforward apologetic for poetry, Van Engen meets poetry novices where they are, inviting them to share in his genuine, exuberant love. I can see this book being extremely useful in college literature departments—especially, though not exclusively, on Christian campuses. —Pamela Rossi-Keen, executive director of The Genesis Collective

Reading poetry requires focus. In Word Made Fresh, Van Engen invites us to slow down and make space for contemplation. In particular, he asks us to pay close attention to why a particular poem might stir our hearts or awaken curiosity. In so doing, he writes, we learn to “practice thinking and noticing at a different speed.” As Van Engen sees it, a poem is not an explanation but a way of revealing that engages our senses, relaxes our pace, and compels us to wonder. —Gary Ball, rector of Redeemer Anglican Church in Asheville, North Carolina

Award of Merit

Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage?: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress

Jessica Hooten Wilson (Brazos Press)

In this study of Flannery O’Connor’s last, unfinished novel, Wilson showcases a deep love for O’Connor’s work, a scholar’s attentiveness, and a respect for eternal things. The book, featuring scenes from O’Connor’s original manuscript, gives readers a privileged look into her artistic process. Wilson’s introduction and commentary frame important background elements, like O’Connor’s perspective on the civil rights activism and racial violence of her era. Readers see a sincere admiration of O’Connor’s moral character and literary gifts alongside gracious and honest acknowledgments of her faults, both on and off the page. —Alicia Pollard, writer and creator of the Leaf by Lantern podcast

(Read CT’s review of Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage?)

Finalists

Becoming by Beholding: The Power of the Imagination in Spiritual Formation

Lanta Davis (Baker Academic)

This is a marvelous, theologically rich work. As an educator who values the tradition of classical Christian thought, I appreciated Davis’s emphasis on uniting Christian doctrine and practice with rightly formed imaginations. Her book takes an integrated approach to the arts, considering their visual, architectural, and literary expressions, among others. Well-researched and eminently practical, Becoming by Beholding is an excellent introduction into the world of classical Christian creativity—and a must-read for anyone interested in the relationship of imagination to Christian devotion. —Brian Nixon, professor of education and pastoral studies at Veritas International University

(Read an excerpt from Becoming by Beholding.)

Deep Reading: Practices to Subvert the Vices of Our Distracted, Hostile, and Consumeristic Age

Rachel B. Griffis, Julie Ooms, and Rachel M. De Smith Roberts (Baker Academic)

In Deep Reading, the three authors model a love of reading that moves beyond simply consuming established canons of literature or extracting information with maximum efficiency. Instead, they portray reading as an ongoing process of reflection and action that builds virtuous character. Drawing on their classroom experience, their commitments to loving God and neighbor, and their reflections on everyday life, they go beyond theoretical insights to show how deep reading habits help us manage distraction and bring about individual and communal flourishing. —Stephen Garner, senior research fellow at Laidlaw College in New Zealand

Fiction

Winner

This Ain’t No Promised Land

Tina Shelton (Kregel)

This book is ambitious in scope, navigating comfortably between the 1960s Deep South and South Side Chicago two decades later. Shelton’s impressive cast of characters, male and female, spans a wide range of ages, ethnicities, attitudes, and (believable) motivations. The plot is too intricate for brief summary, but it paints a richly textured picture of time, setting, and emotion as each character searches for answers and struggles to forgive. This Ain’t No Promised Land documents the perennial nature of human waywardness, the tragedy of inherited shame and abuse, and the enduring hope of knowing a God whose mercy knows no bounds. —James Cooper, novelist, creative writing professor at Tabor College in Adelaide, Australia

Award of Merit

40: A Collection of Modern-Day Parables

John Cleveland (Publish Authority)

In this eclectic mix of stories, Cleveland gives Jesus’ parables a modern twist, applying a range of genres and situations that resonate across a spectrum of interests and lived experiences. He presents biblical teachings in imaginative ways that are faithful to Scripture and always point back to Jesus. I can imagine these stories launching lively conversations with fellow believers and nonbelievers alike. —Sara Brunsvold, novelist, author of The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip

Finalists

American Inheritance

Nathan Nipper (Post Hill Press)

When I first climbed into the ’79 Airstream RV with Tom, an America-hating socialist whose conservative grandfather has prepared a patriotic cross-country voyage, I considered napping on the couch instead. I braced myself for political posturing wrapped in familiar road-trip tropes. But I’m happy I pressed on. Yes, there is pointed political commentary, but Nipper does a wonderful job weaving believable dialogue and deeper themes throughout. In a contentious age, this book ministered to me. —Buck Storm, novelist and musician, author of the Ballads of Paradise series

Prisms, Veils: A Book of Fables

David Bentley Hart (University of Notre Dame Press)

Hart’s collection of fables features characters who encounter worlds beyond their present “shadows of reality.” As these characters embrace, reject, or hesitate upon the thresholds to these worlds, we see the range of our own humanity reflected in their responses: primal and pragmatic, tender and receptive. These tales drew me in with the enchantment of their language and left me with much to ponder. —Amy Baik Lee, member of the Anselm Society Arts Guild, author of This Homeward Ache

History/Biography

Winner

God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music

Leah Payne (Oxford University Press)

This is an utterly compelling book that not only narrates the history of contemporary Christian music (CCM) but also demonstrates deep connections with the larger “industry of American evangelicalism.” As an Australian reader, I was surprised by the extent to which the book resonated with my own upbringing in evangelical churches of the ’80s and ’90s. I immediately recognized the songs, artists, and theological themes Payne discusses, which only confirms her impression of CCM’s far-reaching influence. —Nicole Starling, academic dean at Morling College in Australia

If you’ve ever pondered how and why American Christians created a sprawling parallel soundscape to the mainstream music industry, this book is for you. In it, Payne presents a riveting, rollicking, textured account of contemporary Christian music, as well as its accompanying aesthetic and commercial culture. Drawing on interviews with industry insiders and a large survey of CCM listeners, the book demonstrates how music has formed American Christians’ lives and shaped their cultural commitments. It will leave you reaching for that Spirit FM dial, primed to listen more intently and shrewdly. —Daryn Henry, assistant professor in the department of religious studies at the University of Virginia

(Read Kelsey Kramer’s McGinnis’s CT article on Christian Contemporary Music.)

Award of Merit

Jingjiao: The Earliest Christian Church in China

Glen L. Thompson (Eerdmans)

This exacting, accessible, and illuminating study demonstrates that Christianity is not Western but universal, and was so from the start. Its implications run deep not only for American evangelicals unaccustomed to thinking about Eastern Christianity but also for Chinese Christians whose government justifies their persecution on the theory that Christianity is a Western import. And it affirms the importance of Eastern cultures to the Christian story in ways that can bless Asian American believers. —Beth Barton Schweiger, historian, author of A Literate South

Finalists

The Reformation of the Heart: Gender and Radical Theology in the English Revolution

Sarah Apetrei (Oxford University Press)

In this highly original study, Apetrei shows that theological radicalism and women’s activism reinforced one another during the 17th-century English Civil War. Women preachers were anything but passive recipients of doctrine. Through polemics and visions alike, they advanced important English Protestant emphases, seeking a “reformation of the heart” that rejected external forms of liturgy and loyalty to civil authorities in favor of authentic interior faith. Providing prehistory of some strands in American evangelical life, the book speaks to matters of “heart religion,” mysticism, gender equality, and women’s roles in ministry. —Agnes Howard, humanities professor at Christ College, Valparaiso University

Turning Points in American Church History: How Pivotal Events Shaped a Nation and a Faith

Elesha J. Coffman (Baker Academic)

With a title and a narrative structure that evoke Mark Noll’s Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity, Coffman’s study of American church history tells textured stories about key individuals and events, rooting them in the ancient Christian past and connecting them to recent developments. Her engaging prose makes the book a page-turner. These qualities, plus the inclusion of songs and prayers in each chapter, elevate Coffman’s work above the typical historical survey. —James Gorman, professor of history at Johnson University

(Read CT’s review of Turning Points in American Church History.)

Politics and Public Life

Winner

Curious: A Foster Mom’s Discovery of an Unexpected Solution to Drugs and Addiction

Christina Dent (Throne Publishing Group)

Curious tells a compelling story of a conservative Christian mother’s remarkable journey toward embracing a more consistent and compassionate pro-life approach to drugs and addiction. Seamlessly blending her own story with those of others she encountered along the way, she makes a persuasive case for confronting this crisis with more humane public policy, coupled with a change of heart toward those in addiction’s grip. In her commitments to humility, courage, open-mindedness, and perseverance, Dent models the intellectual virtues I try to instill in my students. —Chan Woong Shin, associate professor of political science and international affairs at Gordon College

Award of Merit

Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor

Caleb Campbell (InterVarsity Press)

While I am deeply concerned about a sudden uptick in Christian nationalist rhetoric and the harm it does to Christian witness, I’m also sensitive to the ways this threat can be overhyped. Campbell navigates the topic with prudence, not to mention the credibility that comes from his experience as a teenaged white supremacist turned pastor with firsthand knowledge of the pain and dissension extremist politics brought to his church. Disarming Leviathan was personally convicting, as it forced me to acknowledge that flapping my gums against Christian nationalism has far less kingdom impact than actually loving people who have been drawn into its orbit. —Rachel Ferguson, director of the Free Enterprise Center at Concordia University Chicago

Finalists

The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life

Michael Wear (Zondervan)

As a remedy for our ailing political discourse, Wear turns to the teachings of Christian philosopher Dallas Willard, finding in them a blueprint for the kind of spiritual formation that can overcome divisiveness in our churches and communities. In short, semi-devotional sections, he encourages readers to think about voting and political engagement as extensions of Christian faithfulness and love of neighbor. God, he assures us, is more interested in cultivating enduring spiritual fruit than in shaping our positions on temporal matters. —Jennifer Walsh, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Hawaii Pacific University

(Read CTs review of The Spirit of Our Politics.)

Faithful Reason: Natural Law Ethics for God’s Glory and Our Good

Andrew T. Walker (B&H Academic)

In this primer, Walker introduces evangelicals to natural law theory, giving Protestant grounds for appreciating a body of thought more often associated with Roman Catholics. Faithful Reason is an invitation to consider the order in which God has formed all of life, one aimed at securing a common good for Christians and non-Christians alike. Natural law testifies that faith and reason are not at odds, and that Christian ethical reasoning doesn’t pit our deeply ingrained moral instincts against the special revelation of Christ in Scripture. —Paul Morrison, assistant professor of Christian ethics at Emmaus Theological Seminary

Theology (popular)

Winner

What It Means to Be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church

Gavin Ortlund (Zondervan Reflective)

Amid increasing signs of Gen Z Protestant men converting to Catholicism and Orthodoxy, many evangelicals wonder: How can we explain the truth and goodness of the Protestant tradition to those who see it as fractured and weak? Ortlund answers this question in What It Means to Be Protestant. The book educates leaders engaged in conversations about the branches of the Western church, and it equips Protestants to answer Catholic and Orthodox objections to their movement. Ultimately, it calls us back to the Reformation ideal of an “always reforming” church that stands on inherited traditions while showing grace and affection for those around us. —Phylicia Masonheimer, author, speaker, and founder of Every Woman a Theologian

Award of Merit

Cultural Sanctification: Engaging the World Like the Early Church

Stephen O. Presley (Eerdmans)

In many ways, today’s church is encountering the same ostracization, derision, and outright persecution faced by Christians in the earliest centuries of the church’s history. In response, some believers look to fight for the cultural dominance to which they feel entitled, while others retreat in despair from a corrupted culture. Presley’s book teaches us to emulate the early church in resisting these impulses. Following the example of our earliest brothers and sisters, we can rediscover the hope, humility, and patience that come from knowing we are pilgrims called by a faithful Savior to bless the world as salt and light. —Simonetta Carr, author, educator, and translator

(Read CT’s review of Cultural Sanctification.)

Finalists

Know the Theologians

Jennifer Powell McNutt and David W. McNutt (Zondervan)

As Christians, we stand on the shoulders of our theological predecessors, but most of the time, we have little idea who those people are. This is often especially true of contemporary Christianity, which—like the culture around us—tends to prioritize the present over the past. With a great deal of substance and touches of levity, the McNutts introduce key figures in Christian history, pointing to their continuing relevance in Christian life and thought. The authors’ choices reflect the breadth and diversity of the global church, reconnecting us with our forefathers and foremothers in the faith. —Wendy Widder, author, teacher, and Bible commentator

Daily Doctrine: A One-Year Guide to Systematic Theology

Kevin DeYoung (Crossway)

This is the book I wished for when I first started on my journey into the world of Reformed theology. It could only be written by someone like DeYoung, a pastor and popular author who serves as a bridge between the academy and the pew, combining a depth of study with an awareness of what beginners can handle. The book quotes Scripture, scholars, confessions, and philosophical works, always situating them within the history of the church. It handles terms of art in a simple, accessible manner, complete with familiar (and humorous) illustrations. DeYoung doesn’t hesitate to stretch his readers, but he always gives them a boost. —Paige Britton, creator of Grass Roots Theological Library

Theology (academic)

Winner

Mere Christian Hermeneutics: Transfiguring What It Means to Read the Bible Theologically

Kevin Vanhoozer (Zondervan Academic)

Can biblical interpretation change the world? In this carefully crafted study, Vanhoozer answers in the affirmative by exploring the relationship between biblical authors, canonical texts, and believing readers. By guiding our gaze to Christ’s transfiguration, he makes illuminating connections between the literal sense of the Bible’s words, their place in the biblical canon, and the glory of the risen Christ that shines all the brighter when we read God’s Word theologically. Deeply rooted in decades of incisive scholarship, this volume captures the distinctive voice of a creative and faithful virtuoso in theology. —Ched Spellman, professor of biblical and theological studies at Cedarville University

Mere Christian Hermeneutics is a masterpiece. With nuance and depth, Vanhoozer examines the implications of believing that the divine author of Scripture is also the sovereign author of history. In outlining a properly theological interpretation of God’s Word, he writes as a seasoned scholar whose mature perspective manifests decades of careful reflection. On many pages, I found at least one sentence most other theologians would work a lifetime hoping to write. Perhaps my highest praise is that the book truly helped me understand what the Bible is, how I want to read it, and the person I want to become as I grow in discerning its glory. —Trevor Laurence, executive director of the Cateclesia Institute

Award of Merit

Gender as Love: A Theological Account of Human Identity, Embodied Desire, and Our Social Worlds

Fellipe do Vale (Baker Academic)

Gender as Love offers a theologically sophisticated take on contentious contemporary debates about gender, steering between the “essentialist” and “social constructivist” positions. Do Vale shows why human beings cannot do without some fixed sense of what it means to be male or female, regardless of time or place. While the book aims to preserve essential distinctions between men and women, it leaves space to critically evaluate the distribution of gendered goods and roles within a given society, carefully discerning which ones are detachable or inseparable from our male and female bodies. In this way, do Vale helps Christians escape entrapment in abstract debates too wooden to do justice to the complexities of creaturely life. —Brian Brock, professor of moral and practical theology at the University of Aberdeen

(Read CT’s review of Gender as Love.)

Finalists

Thinking Through the Problem of Hell: The Divine Presence Model

R. Zachary Manis (Cascade Books)

If you’ve ever found yourself backed into a corner trying to articulate the doctrine of hell, this book is a game-changer. Most Christians can readily say yes to the justice of God. But many wonder whether a loving God can impose eternal retributive punishment. With logical precision and welcome accessibility, Manis examines the problem of hell in a way that holds human freedom and divine sovereignty in genuine tension. His book has aided my own theological journey immensely, renewing my confidence that the doctrine of hell reflects both the depth of God’s love and the weight of his eternal glory. —Haley Goranson Jacob, associate professor of theology at Whitworth University

Why We Pray: Understanding Prayer in the Context of Cosmic Conflict

John C. Peckham (Baker Academic)

If God is benevolent and all-powerful, why does Scripture command us to lay our requests before him “without ceasing?” Peckham answers this question with an elaborate theological vision in which God, granting significant moral autonomy to his image-bearers, is engaged in a cosmic battle between good and evil, with prayer affording him the moral right to intervene without violating human freedom. Theological traditionalists will object—perhaps rightly—to Peckham’s treatment of doctrines like divine immutability (which affirms the unchangeable nature of God’s will). But this book remains a pastorally sensitive inquiry into why prayer matters. —David Rathel, associate professor of Christianity theology at Gateway Seminary

(Read John C. Peckham’s CT article on Jesus’ prayers in the garden of Gethsemane.)

The post The Christianity Today Book Awards appeared first on Christianity Today.

Thanks for Ed Stetzer’s thoughtful cover story dealing with a pressing theme [“Proselytizing in a Multi-Faith World,” April]. We need more of this kind of discussion. In my own multi-faith encounters and dialogue, I have discovered that both my respect for others and my relationship with Christ deepen. Imagine that.

Tony Richie E-mail

Ed Stetzer wisely admonishes readers to let every religion speak for itself. But he proceeds to speak on behalf of Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims. This irony reaches a crescendo when he states, “Al Qaeda does not represent mainstream Islam any more than one Qur’an-burning pastor or the Ku Klux Klan represents Jesus’ followers.” This is a common sentiment among Christians trying to make sense of Islamic violence, but one I rarely hear from Muslims.

I continue to wait for mainstream Islamic leaders to unite in passionately and forcefully condemning Muslims’ acts of terrorism.

Rich Chamberlain Cohasset, Massachusetts

To see why we should talk about individuals’ beliefs rather than entire religions, we need look no farther than our own churches. How frequently in talking with members of the same church or denomination does it become clear they don’t really understand the doctrinal views of their own tradition? I’ve had Catholics tell me that the Catholic Church does not teach transubstantiation. Meanwhile, how many Baptists, Methodists, and Lutherans believe that they are going to heaven because they’ve tried to be good people and do the right thing?

John Laufer E-mail

Who is Islam’s God?

Theologian Miroslav Volf’s argument [“Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?,” April] is this, in a nutshell: Yes, there are differences between the Islamic and Christian understandings of God, but there are also similarities. Are we therefore to see these differences as a glass half-empty or half-full? Volf says half-full.

I disagree. All we have to do is look at the Qur’an, which repeatedly insists that the people of the Book (Jews and Christians) have corrupted their sacred literature (the Bible). What about the Qur’an’s insistence that Jesus is not divine and did not die on the cross? What about Muhammad’s claim that since the religious practice of the Jews is false, some of them have been transformed into apes and swine?

Effective dialogue between Christians and Muslims must start with frankly acknowledging the vast differences that divide us. The glass is actually almost empty. Anything less than such an admission will confuse the process.

Robert C. Greer Elgin, Illinois

The essential question is whether there is any other God besides Yahweh. Of course people worship many things: money, fame, power, sex, thereby making for themselves little gods. But there is only one God, and to the degree that a Jew, Muslim, Christian, or anyone else seeks to worship in sincerity and truth the One from whom all things come, they worship the only God there is. Jesus said as much to the Samaritan woman at the well: “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know …” (John 4:22).

Fred Jessett Sammamish, Washington

Outpatient Theology

Most writers featured in Christianity Today seem to be thinking about God instead of with him. But this month, I went immediately to David Weiss’s “God of the Schizophrenic” [April] and sat crying at the depth and authenticity of it. He beats out all the New Testament professors this month for relevance and powerful message.

David, keep writing. You are stupendous!

Gigi Bibeault San Rafael, California

CT Unpacks Hell, Bell

I appreciate how CT’s review of Love Wins noted the strengths of both evangelical and liberal theological traditions [“What’s Up with Hell?,” April]. Mark Galli spoke to actual points rather than a trumped-up caricature of the author. Thanks for that. Maybe one day Christians will act like family instead of opposing sides of a bloody war. If so, reviews like this one will have done their job.

Allyn Harris Dault St. Louis, Missouri

I haven’t read Love Wins yet, but would be surprised if Bell credits his theology to Friedrich Schleiermacher, Albrecht Ritschl, Rudolf Bultmann, or Paul Tillich, as CT suggests. In fact, affirming the divinity of Jesus and the historical truth of the Resurrection places Bell squarely in the evangelical fold. I find it odd that the reviewer would insist on painting Bell with the Schleiermacher brush, as it comes off as an undeserved slur, a guilt by association.

Bill Guerrant Keeling, Virginia

Great article, CT. As a pastor for 13 years in a liberal church tradition, I’m perplexed by Bell’s infatuation with elements of old-school liberalism. He’s certainly not saying anything new or shocking. I think you have identified the root issue: ultimately Rob Bell is accountable to Rob Bell—not to a hierarchy, denomination, or the larger stream of Christian thought (expressed via the church fathers, for instance).

Unfortunately, Bell isn’t the only evangelical who works within an independent church system. For all of our criticisms of Roman Catholicism, at least that tradition has a spiritual leader who can stand up and say, “Sorry, but that’s out of bounds.”

Matthew Woodley Wheaton, Illinois

What got the most comments in April’s CT

37% Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God? interview with Miroslav Volf

18% Proselytizing in a Multi-Faith World by Ed Stetzer

17% What’s Up with Hell? by Mark Galli

Readers’ Pick

The most praised piece in April’s CT

God of the SchizophrenicDavid Weiss

Worth Repeating

“I have to daily guard my heart against cynicism toward Christians who value politics more than discipleship.”Brother Stephen, on the intentions of the President and his guests at the Easter prayer breakfast.CT Politics Blog: “Keller, Jakes Among Obama’s Prayer Breakfast Guests,” by Alicia Cohn

“The most vocal Christians tend to believe there is something wrong with painting a little boy’s toenails. Your post was a nice reminder that there are good, reasonable, intelligent believers.”Amanda, thanking the author (despite religious differences) for her response to a J. Crew ad depicting a boy with pink toenails.Her.meneutics: “Why I Let My Son Wear Pink,” by Ellen Painter Dollar

“A reviewer wondered where the sex and swearing was. Those are components of the lives of many Christian kids, but it’s sad he can’t imagine that a chaste teen could be a real character in a compelling story”Joey, on the media’s reaction to the movie Soul Surfer and its depiction of Christian teen Bethany Hamilton and her family.CT Entertainment Blog: “Why Are Christian Movies So Awful?,” by Mark Moring

“I pray for the day evangelicalism is defined more by the gospel and less by politics”John, discussing the results of a recent Pew Research Center poll.CT Politics Blog: “Majority of Evangelicals Prefer Government Shutdown to Budget Compromise,” by Tobin Grant

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1. “I would accept schism” For a century, the fight between liberals and conservatives in the mainline denominations has usually meant that conservatives have broken away to create new denominations while asserting that it’s the liberals who have truly departed from the church and its teachings. It has been difficult to convince the liberals that they’re the ones who are schismatic. But while that story looked to be happening again in the fight between orthodox Anglicans and liberal Episcopalians, it now appears that something different may indeed occur. Faced with a unanimous ultimatum from the world’s Anglican leaders to bar gay bishops and same-sex union blessings by September 30, Episcopalian liberals seem to be realizing that church unity is incompatible with their promotion of a new sexual ethic and rejection of biblical authority.

“I would accept schism,” Bishop Steven Charleston, president of the Episcopal Divinity School, told The Washington Post. “I would be willing to accept being told I’m not in communion with places like Nigeria if it meant I could continue to be in a position of justice and morality. If the price I pay is that I’m not considered to be part of a flawed communion, then so be it.”

Mark Sisk, the bishop of New York, is one of the most-quoted voices of rebellion this week. “Being part of the Anglican Communion is very important to me,” he told The New York Times. “But if the price of that is I have to turn my back on the gay and lesbian people who are part of this church and part of me, I won’t do that.”

Notably, the gay and lesbian people who are part of Sisk’s church say the choice is stark. Both the current and former heads of Integrity, the denomination’s main gay organization, say there’s no middle ground between approving homosexual behavior and staying in the Anglican Communion.

“The American church has been very skillfully and strategically painted into a corner where we really need to face a ‘Sophie’s Choice’ of staying true to our understanding of the inclusive gospel or staying true to our commitment to being a constituent member of the Anglican Communion,” Integrity president Susan Russell told the Post.

Even the debate is a problem, former Integrity president Michael Hopkins told The New York Times. Gays and lesbians are already leaving the Episcopal Church, he said. “People like me can only convince other people to hang in there for so long.”

Boy, does that sound familiar.

2. Bones discovered at Christian hospital in India In India, where gender-based abortion and infanticide are problems even in the Christian community, hundreds of bones and other human remains have been discovered on the grounds of Ratlam Christian Hospital, a mission hospital in Madhya Pradesh. The Church of North India’s Bhopal diocese runs the hospital, and Catholic officials say there’s a conspiracy at work. Diocesan spokesman Suresh Carleton says the hospital “was framed” and that the remains belong to stillborn babies.

“It seems to be conspiracy by some quarters like the Bajrang Dal to damage the reputation of the hospital and the Christians in the state,” Bhopal bishop Laxman Maida told the Indian Catholic newspaper. “It is a ploy to defame us. I was inside the hospital when the Bajrang Dal activists were on a rampage, shouting slogans against Christians, that we convert and alleging feticide. We don’t do abortions, and we don’t even have the machine.”

3. New Life Church issues report on Haggard Last week, overseers at New Life Church disclosed some of their findings from their investigation of Ted Haggard and the congregation’s current leadership. “Numerous individuals … reported to us firsthand knowledge of everything from sordid conversation to overt suggestions to improper activities to improper relationships,” Larry Stockstill, who pastors a church in Baton Rouge, told New Life during Sunday morning services. “These findings established a pattern of behavior that culminated in the final relationship in which Ted was, as a matter of grace, caught.”

The overseers also corrected widespread reports that Haggard had been “cured.”

“There should be no confusion that deliverance from habitual, life-controlling problems is a journey and not an event,” Stockstill said. “Ted will need years of accountability to demonstrate his victory over both actions and tendencies.”

Another overseer, Tim Ralph, earlier said Haggard was “completely heterosexual.” What he had meant to say, Ralph explained, was that Haggard “received a lot of good tools and wisdom to embrace completely the heterosexual man he is. We all know he has some problems. He’s on the road to recovery.”

As for the current church leadership, the overseers said, “We have found a few staff members struggling with unrelated sin issues. Each such person has been confronted and has submitted to discipline. To our relief, we are finding no culture of immorality among the staff here as we might have initially expected.”

If you haven’t read it, be sure to read Patton Dodd’s Beliefnet essay, “We Are Completely Sexual,” which rightly corrects a lot of the “reactionary and unfair” punditry regarding Haggard’s orientation.

4. What’s “surprising” about it? One of the worst headlines of the week appeared in The Washington Post: “Surprising Unity on Va. Hospital Visit Bill: Conservatives Support Right That Includes Gays.”

The bill lets hospital patients choose their visitors—even those of the same sex. And it’s surprising that conservatives would back this? Only for those who think that conservatives are heartless bigots. The Post writer assumes that support for Virginia’s marriage amendment would mean opposition to this bill. But religious conservatives have long supported hospital visitation rights (and bereavement leave) and have said that bills precisely like this are a much better solution than redefining marriage. Has anyone been paying attention?

5. “Darwinists” against Darwin “Was Darwin Wrong?” asked the cover of the November 2004 National Geographic. Inside, David Quammen’s article began with a word in massive type: “No.”

That word is omitted in the online version of the story, and with good reason. Darwin was wrong. And it’s evolutionists who say so. Among them: Ulrich Kutschera, one of Germany’s preeminent evolutionary biologists and a widely quoted critic of Intelligent Design. “It must be made clear that the modern theory of evolution is in part anti-Darwin,” he said in an American Association for the Advancement of Science speech earlier this month. “Darwin did not, for instance, take into account the principle of evolution by cooperation.”

Scientists, he said, should “no longer talk about Darwinism. You could say that Darwinism is one man’s outdated ideology of the 19th century. And Darwinism sounds like Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism. That’s a problem.”

Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, agrees, telling MSNBC, “Geologists don’t refer to themselves as Lyellists. Physicists don’t refer to themselves as Kelvinists. We don’t refer to ourselves by our 19th-century representative. The science has grown up.”

Meanwhile, University of Pittsburgh’s Jeffrey H. Schwartz, another critic of Intelligent Design, says Darwin got it really wrong. Evolutionary change happens rapidly, not gradually, he says. But the scientific community too dogmatically defends Darwin, he told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, which followed up on a paper he published in Biological Theory. “Really I’m just saying, ‘Look, nobody’s saying that evolution is not happening, is not real. I’m just trying to figure out how change happens,'” he says.

Quote of the day “What’s this we hear about the end of the world?” —Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, in an uncharacteristically sarcastic response when asked, “What’s this we hear about you guys joining up with the Roman Catholic Church?” Williams went on to dismiss the widely circulated report of Catholic-Anglican union as overblown and garbled.

More articles

Anglican primates’ meeting (late news) | Anglican primates’ meeting (early news) | Anglican primates’ meeting (responses) | Anglican primates’ meeting (opinion) | Other Anglican news | Anglicans and Catholics really together? | Catholicism | Ash Wednesday and Lent | Church life | Ted Haggard | Homosexuality | Pornography | Parenting | Family planning | NYC condoms | Vaccines | Health | Life ethics | Abortion | John McCain | Mitt Romney and Mormonism | Republican candidates | Democratic candidates | Edwards bloggers | Politics | Voting rights | Immigration | Iranian refugee in B.C. | Environmentalism | Religion bills die in Co. and Ut. | DOJ religious discrimination project | Church and state | Czechs, Romanians fight over cathedrals | Religious freedom | Military | Indonesia | Lebanon | Iraq | Israel | New Zealand | Bones at Christian hospital in India | More on India | Amazing Grace and William Wilberforce | Film | Music | Art and entertainment | Sports | Media | Books | “Blood libel” book | History | Evolution | Education | N.J. taped teacher case | Higher education | Missions and ministry | Money and business | San Diego diocese may declare bankruptcy | Criminal justice | Abuse | Crime | Theft | The pastor who sold his church | People | Margaret Wanjiru | Spirituality | Other stories of interest

Anglican primates’ meeting (late news):

• Anglican leaders demand U.S. church end gay unions | Leaders of the Anglican Church have demanded that the U.S. Episcopal Church stop blessing same-sex unions and consecrating gay bishops. Two American Anglican leaders review the decision and discuss how it impacts the Episcopal Church (The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, PBS)
• Anglicans rebuke U.S. branch on same-sex unions | The Episcopal Church was told to ban blessings of same-sex unions or risk a reduced role in the denomination (The New York Times)
• Anglican leaders rule on gay bishops | Anglican leaders demanded Monday that the U.S. Episcopal Church unequivocally bar official prayers for gay couples and the consecration of more gay bishops to undo the damage that North Americans have caused the Anglican family (Associated Press)
• Anglican Communion wants U.S. action in gay row | The Anglican Communion gave the U.S. Episcopal Church a September deadline on Monday to stop blessing same sex unions, but did gave no clear indication of what action it would then take (Reuters)
• Anglicans tense but not split after talks | Leaders meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, call on the U.S. church to bar the blessing of same-sex unions (Los Angeles Times)
• Anglicans seek a middle way | Leaders of the 77-million-member Anglican Communion — deeply divided over the biblical view of homosexuality and other issues — ended a contentious six-day meeting in Tanzania Monday with the first steps toward a set of core principles spelling out who is truly Anglican and who is not (USA Today)
• Gay ultimatum for Anglicans in US | Anglican leaders have issued an ultimatum to the US Church by demanding an end to the appointment of gay clergy and the blessing of same-sex couples (BBC)
• No schism for now: Williams gets tough on liberals to save the church | Episcopalians ordered to give up on gay blessings; Anglicans must wait on decision of US bishops (The Guardian, London)
• Church deadline to curb gay rights | In an unexpectedly hard-hitting set of recommendations, primates of the Anglican Communion demanded an “unequivocal common covenant” under which dioceses in the Episcopal Church agree not to authorise same-sex blessings (The Times, London)
• Episcopal leaders expect Anglican schism | American church’s support for gays draws international ultimatum (The Hartford Courant, Ct.)
• Episcopalians under fire over gays | If the Episcopal Church in the U.S. was expecting a moderate message on homosexual equality from its Anglican counteparts at their annual meeting in Tanzania this week — or even some kind of benign stalling action — it was sorely mistaken (Time)
• Anglican rift may hit Canada, archbishop says | Support of homosexuals not acceptable in world communion, meeting indicates (The Globe and Mail, Toronto)
• A move to heal Anglican rift, but short of conservatives’ goal | The Episcopal Church has not compromised as much as conservative Anglican leaders have demanded, a report issued at a crucial meeting of the Anglican leadership said on Thursday (The New York Times)
• Anglican Church leaders give ultimatum to liberals | In a strongly-worded unanimous communiqué, only agreed at the eleventh hour, the Anglican primates called on the Episcopal Church to state unequivocally that it will not consecrate more gay bishops or authorise same-sex blessings (The Telegraph, London)

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Anglican primates’ meeting (early news):

• Anglican summit scrutinizes U.S. stance on gay clergy | A group of senior Anglicans have drawn up a report saying the U.S. church has on the whole responded positively to criticism after it consecrated an openly gay bishop in 2003, infuriating traditionalists (Reuters)
• ‘No talk of schism’ at Anglican conference | Leaders gather in Tanzania amid fears of a church split over divergent views on gay bishops and same-sex unions (Los Angeles Times)
• Anglican leaders avoid church split over homosexuals | US Episcopalians take steps to avoid rift; Archbishop’s report seen as rebuff to conservatives (The Guardian, London)
• Setback for Church conservatives | Conservative Anglican archbishops have suffered a rebuff in their efforts to expel the US Episcopal Church over its liberal stance on homosexuality (BBC)
• Primates consider ‘parallel’ Church | The creation of a “parallel” Church for conservatives will be considered by Anglican primates today after a report surprisingly gave American liberals an almost entirely clean bill of health (The Telegraph, London)
• Sitting at the Lord’s Table | Primates explain absence at Holy Eucharist (Press release, The Church of Nigeria)
• U.S. Anglican leader met with boycott | Seven conservative Anglican leaders refused Friday to take Holy Communion with the head of the U.S. branch of the church, who supports ordaining gays and blessing same-sex unions, in the latest sign the fellowship could be headed for a split (Associated Press)
• Conservative Anglicans seek rebuke to U.S. stance on gays | Anglican leaders met on Friday to consider a report about the U.S. church’s response to criticism of its backing of gay clergy and same sex unions, in a row threatening to tear the church apart (Reuters)
• Conservative Anglican clergy snub top US bishop | Seven conservative Anglican archbishops said they refused to take part in a key church ceremony with the head of the U.S. branch of the church on Friday in protest at her support for gay clergy (Reuters)
• 7 Anglican clerics snub U.S. bishop | The conservatives object to the Episcopal Church leader’s stands (Los Angeles Times)
• Anglican prelates snub head of U.S. church over gay issues | The clergy disagree with the new head of the American Episcopal Church over her support of gay clergy and blessings for same-sex unions (The New York Times)
• Archbishop of Canterbury appears to chide faction of Anglicans | Facing a possible church fracture over the issue of homosexuality, the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion reminded bishops of the need for humility (The New York Times)
• Anglican head calls for humility in gay clergy row | “Very early in the history of the church there was a great saint who said God was evident when bishops were silent,” Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said to some laughter in a packed cathedral in the predominantly Muslim Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar (Reuters)
• Anglican leader urges humility over rift | “There is one thing that a bishop should say to another bishop,” Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglicans’ spiritual leader, told the Anglican leaders and several hundred worshippers in a packed cathedral Sunday. “That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great savior.” (Associated Press)
• Episcopalians wrestling | African meeting focuses on fixing painful divisions (Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
• Would an Anglican split have mattered? | A schism has been avoided after the American wing of the church gave in to African demands that it installs no more gay bishops (The Observer, London)
• Archbishop snubbed in gay bishop row | Seven developing world archbishops last night refused to share communion with Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and fellow Anglican leaders at their biannual conference in Dar es Salaam in protest at the presence of the leader of the American Episcopal Church (The Guardian, London)
• Anglican Church on verge of schism | The worldwide Anglican Church was battling to survive last night after talks broke down amid acrimony during the final stages of the primates’ meeting in Tanzania (The Telegraph, London)
• Church rift exposed as primates snub liberal | Divisions in the worldwide Anglican Church surfaced yesterday when a group of senior conservative primates refused to share Holy Communion with a leading liberal (The Telegraph, London)
• Dr Williams will find little comfort | Whatever the package that Dr Williams achieves by Monday, he will then have to sell it to his own increasingly restless clergy, whose loyalties are becoming strained (Jonathan Petre, The Telegraph, London)
• Bitter fudge | Anglicans have come close to an open split but baulk at schism (Editorial, The Times, London)

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Anglican primates’ meeting (responses):

• Many Episcopalians wary, some defiant after ultimatum by Anglicans | Many Episcopalians took umbrage at what they saw as foreign primates imposing their culture and theological interpretations on the American church (The New York Times)
• Some U.S. bishops reject Anglican gay rights edict | Several leading liberal Episcopalians said yesterday that they would rather accept a schism than accede to a demand from leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion for what they view as an unconscionable rollback of the U.S. church’s position on gay rights (The Washington Post)
• U.S. Episcopalians react to church ruling | Relief and anger follow the Anglican directive that the church in the U.S. stop blessings of same-sex unions (Los Angeles Times)
• Anglicans ‘in interpretive free-for-all’ over their future (USA Today)
• Episcopal leader asks for time | The San Francisco-based Diocese of California, which blesses same-gender couples, said Tuesday that the church should not “compromise the essentials of our theology or our polity.” (Associated Press)
• Episcopal leader’s gay views won’t waver | “The spirit of Anglicanism will prevail here and there will be a middle way forward,” said Jefferts Schori’s aide, Robert Williams. But he said she “will not waver in her stand for justice and inclusion of all people in the body of Christ”(Associated Press)
• Difficult choices | The Episcopal bishop of New York fears that the Anglican Church’s demands over gay issues could force the American church into a corner (Newsweek)
• Episcopal bishop refusing gay ban | The orders came from on high, but New York’s Episcopal bishop won’t reconsider his position on gay rights (New York Daily News)
• Episcopal rift seen as ironic | ‘Shoe is on the other foot’ in Valley after Anglican ruling on gay blessings (The Fresno Bee, Ca.)
• Same-sex edict worries Bay Area Episcopalians | “If we have unity where we have hollowed out our moral core to achieve it, then it’s a hollow victory,” says Bishop Marc Andrus. “I don’t think we can build our unity on a foundation of injustice.” (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Episcopal diocese mum on lawsuits | An official with the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia said yesterday the diocese is committed to meeting the needs of its churches, but did not address whether the diocese will drop lawsuits against the 11 congregations that recently left the denomination (The Washington Times)
• Tensions still exist between diocese and local church | Communique from Anglican leaders hasn’t fixed things yet (Lodi News-Sentinel, Ca.)

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Anglican primates’ meeting (opinion):

• Anglican angst | The church is split over issues like homosexuality. Where some see progress, others see decadence (Editorial, Los Angeles Times)
• Unity over integrity | The Communique issued at the end of the five-day session will dishearten all those who retained some hope that the Archbishop of Canterbury might be able to steer the church into less turbulent and more tolerant waters (Editorial, The Guardian, London)
• Divided communion | If evangelicals or rainbow-coalition liberals reject the authority of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and place themselves under the jurisdiction of an overseas primate, they will have left the Church of England (Editorial, The Telegraph, London)
• Crossing the divide | The US Episcopal church goes head to head with Anglican primates in opposition to its liberal attitude towards gay members (Stephen Bates, The Guardian, London)
• Pray lift your eyes above the belt | The Churches’ sexual obsession makes me despair (Libby Purves, The Times, London)
• An unholy togetherness | Fissiparous evangelical Christians are now being reunited by hatred (Giles Fraser, The Guardian, London)
• An Anglican unity of sorts, but bring on Lambeth | The unity that has been preserved is, in many respects, a unity in name only (Chris McGillion, The Sydney Morning Herald)

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Other Anglican news:

• The voices of the Va. Episcopal schism: Martyn Minns | Shortly after becoming an Episcopal priest in the late 1970s, Martyn Minns visited Tanzania and was changed forever (The Washington Post)
• The voices of the Va. Episcopal schism: Peter James Lee | If the Episcopal Church has been a rocky boat in recent decades, Virginia Bishop Peter James Lee has been one of its anchors (The Washington Post)
• A church torn in two | At St. Stephen’s there are now two distinct congregations — a small one that remains in the U.S. Episcopal Church and a larger one that has severed ties and aligned itself with a conservative Brazilian bishop in the Anglican Communion (The Seattle Times)
• “It is wrenching to realize how fragile” church family is | Seattle Times political reporter Alicia Mundy attends an Episcopal church just outside Washington, D.C., in Alexandria, Va. The high-profile rift in that state over biblical interpretation and acceptance of gay clergy has become especially rancorous (Alicia Mundy, The Seattle Times)

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Anglicans and Catholics really together?:

• Churches back plan to unite under Pope | Radical proposals to reunite Anglicans with the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope are to be published this year (The Times, London)
• Pope rules ok. Or, ‘Growing Together in Unity and Mission’ | Excerpts from the declaration (Ruth Gledhill, The Times, London)
• Pope an Anglican? Church unity plan | Australian leaders from both churches dismissed the move as highly improbable last night, although the Australian who heads the Catholic side of the project, Brisbane’s Archbishop John Bathersby, said it was a significant step forward in an attempt at unity that began 35 years ago (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Universal primate plan ‘overstated’ | It’s nowhere near time for Henry VIII to start rolling in his grave, but Anglicans bowing to the authority of the pope has been acknowledged as a theoretical possibility (The Australian)
• Catholics and Anglicans discuss reuniting | Issues surrounding a possible reuniting of the Catholic and Anglican churches under the pope are discussed in a 42-page statement currently being prepared, church leaders said on Tuesday (Reuters)
• Sydney Anglican Bishop says unity is ‘fanciful’ | While some leading Catholics say it’s God’s will to unify Christians, the Sydney Anglican diocese has flatly rejected the proposal (The World Today, Australian Broadcasting Corp.)
• Praying for religious harmony | In what some call a post-Christian era, talk of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches reuniting should hardly raise eyebrows (Editorial, The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
• Forget church unity | But both Australia’s Catholic head and Sydney’s Anglican archbishop believe it is impossible (Andrew Carswell, The Daily Telegraph, Australia)
• Religious numbers game | The best way to come to understand the push towards “full visible unity” between Catholics and Anglicans is to read the 42-page document drawn up by the group of bishops including Brisbane’s Archbishop John Bathersby who co-chairs the group (Tess Livingstone, The Courier Mail, Brisbane, Australia)
• I’m sort of an atheist for Jesus | The big question really is: “Is Anglican-Catholic union really important to the people in the pews?” And here’s the answer. No. It’s not (Catherine Deveny, The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
• Look before you leap into bed with Rome | For generations, Roman Catholic schoolchildren in this country were taught to pray for the conversion of England. Their prayers may soon be answered: as talk of an Anglican schism grows, a leaked report hints that the Church of England may recognise a modified form of the papacy (Cristina Odone, The Telegraph, London)

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Catholicism:

• Priest was given coffee for spying on Pope | Insulin, coffee and football tickets: it didn’t take much to recruit a spy in communist-era Poland, even if the target was a future Pope (The Telegraph, London)
• A call to confession, for it is fading | D.C. Archdiocese opens an ad barrage to revive the elemental rite (The Washington Post)
• The Pope’s progressive challenger | Cardinal Martini continues to embody the Catholic Church’s more liberal spirit — and he doesn’t mind voicing his differences with Pope Benedict (Time)
• Vatican takes steps to control overcrowding | With shorter hours and long lines, visitors may miss more than they see (The New York Times)
• Church puts its faith in the people | Public hearings would be held to determine fate of Catholic shrines in financial trouble (The Montreal Gazette)
• Locked doors don’t stop prayers at East Harlem church | Parishioners and their supporters conducted an outdoor service at a church that the Archdiocese of New York closed last week (The New York Times)
• Also: Hail Mary pass | Lithuania prez begs Egan to spare church (New York Post)
• Also: Church protester “done” with organized religion | One of the two men arrested Sunday for protesting the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York’s decision to close his church said yesterday that he was “done” with organized religion, after a court appearance for him and a fellow parishioner (The Journal News, White Plains, N.Y.)

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Ash Wednesday and Lent:

• Church decides that Lent really should be more of a giggle | The Church of England launches a “Love Life, Live Lent” campaign, accompanied by a website inviting communicants to share Lenten jokes (The Times, London)
• Palming off the Ash Wednesday dirty work | Few churches still burn fronds to make the soot, so commercial suppliers now do the messy job (Los Angeles Times)
• Ash Wednesday means services, and business | F.C. Ziegler Company of Tulsa, Okla., offers palm ashes for religious services in vials and quart-sized bags. Ziegler president Dennis Ziegler says his company has sold hundreds of both varieties in preparation for Ash Wednesday (All Things Considered, NPR)
• Filet-O-Fish hooked patrons | First local McDonald’s owner had lost Catholics on Fridays (The Cincinnati Enquirer)
• The imposition of the ashes | Out, out, damn spots, says the Church of Self-Esteem (Jennifer Graham, National Review Online)
• The irony of Romping Monday and Fat Tuesday | The irony of carnival is that, while religion is one of its targets, religion is also its source (James Carroll, The Boston Globe)
• On Ash Wednesday, religion and joy | On this Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent and a period of fasting, Father James Martin reminds us that joy is one of the upsides of being religious, although it’s not mentioned nearly enough among the faithful (All Things Considered, NPR)
• Why giving up is hard to do | Abstaining at Lent for self-improvement has been practised since medieval times. But does it still carry resonance today? (Christopher Howse, The Telegraph, London)
• Believers give up to grow up during Lent | In a time of indulgence, priests and ministers say they hope only that people sacrifice something, be it as small as a self-imposed chocolate ban or as inconvenient as donating time to charity as a volunteer (Michael Amon, Newsday)

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Church life:

• Presbyterians ask churches not to leave | Some conservatives working on exit (The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.)
• Also: Presbyterians face defections to evangelical denomination | The New Wineskins Association of Churches says it’s tired of battling the PCUSA over theology and policy and has found a better fit in the EPC, a small denomination founded in 1981 (Religion News Service)
• Cash and carry | Sources say a giant Eastside evangelical church borrowed tsunami/Katrina relief funds to cover its own expenses (Seattle Weekly)
• Also: Church borrowed from disaster donations | Two top leaders at Redmond’s Overlake Christian Church confirmed reports that the church initially used for other purposes money that congregants had donated to disaster-relief efforts. But the leaders maintained there was no wrongdoing, saying the money ultimately went to disaster victims (The Seattle Times)
• Pastor, principal at Millvale parish resign | A Catholic priest who had been under fire from some parishioners on their Web site resigned Friday as pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Millvale (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Also: Pittsburgh diocese investigates Millvale allegations (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
• Church seeks use while case pending | Court still to rule if community center can bar religious events. (Ocala Star-Banner, Fla.)
• Explicit recordings disrupt N.M. Mass | Three CD players hidden under a cathedral’s pews blared sexually explicit language in the middle of an Ash Wednesday Mass, leading a bomb squad to detonate two of the devices (Associated Press)
• Megachurches desegregate worship | Researchers who study race and religion say a vanguard of megachurches that are breaking down racial barriers in American Christianity, altering the long-segregated landscape of Sunday worship (Associated Press)
• Black megachurch reaches out | Sprinkled among the black faces at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, Hispanic worshippers listen intently to the congregation’s leader, Bishop Eddie Long (Associated Press)
• Preaching fashion | Minister advises clergy on style (The Boston Globe)
• A booming church | Brentwood Baptist Deaf Church has more than 30 speakers beneath the floor so congregants can feel the vibration of the music (Associated Press)
• Rolling in the aisles at church | A stand-up comedian has been drafted in to help members of Leicester’s clergy brighten up their sermons (BBC)
• Boozing probe for minister | A Church of Scotland minister has been suspended amid allegations of heavy drinking (Daily Record, Scotland)
• New pastor aims to heal wounded congregation | On his first Sunday at St. Agatha Catholic Church, Rev. Larry Dowling was feeling anxious. He worried about this new chapter of his life, taking over a congregation whose last pastor had been charged with sexual abuse of children. (Chicago Tribune)
• Throwback Christians | ‘House church’ faithful on the rise (Los Angeles Daily News)
• Church attracts the trendy, the tech-savvy and controversy | A kind of surprisingly out-of-date Associated Press story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Where have they been? (Associated Press)
• Profit or prophet! | The dust has seemingly settled in the recent impasse between gospel singer Stitchie and the promoters of the Montego Bay leg of Genesis 2007, whom he prevented from videotaping his performance, intimating it was an attempt to exploit his talent without paying for it (The Jamaica Gleaner)
• Also: Rip-offs in church | The widely publicized contractual issue between Jamaica Youth for Christ and gospel artiste Rev. Cleve ‘Stitchie’ Laing in addition to raising intellectual property concerns as noted by Mr. James Moss-Solomon in one newspaper, also brings into focus the wider issue of ethics in the church (Jamaica Gleaner)
• The trouble with Born-again churches | They’re hotbeds of the “wealth and prosperity” gospel (Editorial, New Vision, Uganda)
• Churches have forgotten whom they are serving | The dividing line between successful and unsuccessful churches has little to do with doctrine, attitudes toward Scripture, facilities, quality of clergy or music, or even location. It has to do with “customer service.” (Tom Ehrich, The Indianapolis Star)
• Like, see what I’m praying? | Because they have reference to mysteries that can never be wholly encapsulated in speech, traditional prayers, like other symbols in the liturgy, such as the use of water, fire, signs of the cross, kneeling and silence, point to more than they say in words (Christopher Howse, The Telegraph, London)

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Ted Haggard:

• Flags in Haggard’s fall from grace | New Life Church outlines “dark side” that culminated in Ted Haggard’s downfall but says congregation will heal (The Denver Post)
• More allegations for Ted Haggard | Church leaders tell congregation of ‘sordid’ acts (Rocky Mountain News)
• New leaves turned over at New Life | Congregation looks forward, not back (The Gazette, Colorado Springs)
• New Life Church searches for pastor, closure | The pain hasn’t subsided for the members of Ted Haggard’s congregation. Some miss his presence, while others struggle simply to explain the situation to their children (Weekend Edition Sunday, NPR)
• Haggard has fresh chance to right wrongs | It was the kind of story that the Ted Haggard I knew in high school would have loved (Cindy Schroeder, The Cincinnati Post)
• Haggard can’t pray away gay if he truly is | Haggard has a choice, but switching from gay to straight is not it. He can admit he is gay or admit he is a heterosexual who engaged in homosexual behavior (Steve Gushee, Palm Beach Post, Fla.)
• We are completely sexual | Debates about sexual orientation leave out a larger truth: all humans are sexual (Patton Dodd, Beliefnet)

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Homosexuality:

• Religion today: Readying defiance | Schmeling’s congregation may not let him go, despite ELCA decision (Associated Press)
• Cardinal’s permission for gays’ Mass dismays Catholic traditionalists | Homosexual rights campaigners have gained permission from the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales to hold special Masses for gay parishioners (The Telegraph, London)
• Vicar defiant over marrying gay couples | But weddings unlikely to be included in Sexual Orientation Regulations (The Telegraph, London)
• Surprising unity on Va. hospital visit bill | Conservatives support right that includes gays (The Washington Post)
• Lesbian activists arrested at Focus | Protesters dispute group’s teachings on homosexuality (The Gazette, Colorado Springs)
• Demonstrators protest ‘ex-gay’ seminar | 70 or 80 people participated in a daylong seminar by Desert Stream Ministries. About two dozen protesters held signs outside (San Francisco Chronicle)
• R.I. to recognize Mass. gay marriages | In a legal opinion issued yesterday, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said the state will recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in Massachusetts — making Rhode Island the first state to take that step (The Providence Journal)
• Evangelical churches say no to gayism | The Association of Evangelicals of Africa has hit out at those advocating for gay marriages in the country (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation)
• Nigeria moves to tighten gay laws | Nigeria’s House of Representatives has held a public hearing on a new bill seeking to outlaw gay relations (BBC)
• Gay couples get licenses in N.J. | Hundreds of gay couples were granted the same legal rights, if not the title, as married couples Monday as New Jersey became the third state to offer civil unions (Associated Press)
• As New Jersey opens door to civil unions, couples rush in | The stroke of midnight ushered in a new era for same-sex couples in the Garden State (The New York Times)
• Eagerness and some resignation as civil union law takes effect | About a dozen New Jersey couples submitted applications for civil unions, which guarantee all the rights and benefits of heterosexual marriage (The New York Times)
• Prodi tries to close rift with Vatican over same-sex unions | Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi met late yesterday with the Vatican’s top diplomat to try to end the Catholic Church’s public attacks on proposed legislation that paves the way for same-sex unions (Bloomberg)
• Married to the cause, one state at a time | Evan Wolfson envisions equal marriage rights for gays becoming a nationwide reality (The New York Times)
• Spouse abuse | A gay marriage ban that hurts conservatives (Jonathan Cohn, The New Republic)

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Pornography:

• Group helps Christians battle porn addiction | It’s a pastor’s problem, too (Grand Rapids Press, Mi.)
• Canadian company offers nude photos via cellphone | Archbishop Raymond Roussin says Catholic churches and schools in the archdiocese would cancel their cellphone contracts with Telus (The New York Times)
• Update: Telus suspends cellphone porn downloads | Vancouver Roman Catholic Archbishop Raymond Roussin had said the situation was a “grave concern,” and he urged his flock not to renew their mobile phone contracts with Telus (Associated Press)

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Parenting:

• Spanking: When parents lift their hands | It’s better not to use corporal punishment, researchers agree. But, in fact, people do. Now we’re learning the consequences (Los Angeles Times)
• Uganda should copy Rwanda’s three-child limit | with its current birthrate, Uganda is going to balloon from 25 million souls to a 180 million by 2050 (Editorial, New Vision, Uganda)

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Family planning:

• New research finds that a natural family planning method is as effective as the contraceptive pill | “There are precise rules that work” (EurkAlert)
• Also: Natural contraception ‘effective’ (BBC)
• Abstract: The effectiveness of a fertility awareness based method to avoid pregnancy in relation to a couple’s sexual behaviour during the fertile time: a prospective longitudinal study (Human Reproduction)

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NYC condoms:

• A new condom in town, this one named ‘NYC’ | This is New York City’s first municipally sanctioned and labeled condom (The New York Times)
• Catholics attack NYC’s free condoms | Egan and DiMarzio said the $720,000 cost of the program “would be far better spent in fostering what is true and what is decent” (Associated Press)
• ‘Condom’nation by outraged church | In a rare joint statement attacking Mayor Bloomberg’s administration, Edward Cardinal Egan and Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio said they were particularly disturbed that the “NYC” branded condoms were handed out by city workers to young teens on the streets Wednesday (New York Post)

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Vaccines:

• HPV drug maker ends lobbying | Perry stands by vaccine mandate despite uproar (The Dallas Morning News)
• HPV is fueling a familiar fight | Social conservatives oppose science advocates on vaccine for schoolgirls (The Dallas Morning News)
• Furor on rush to require cervical cancer vaccine | At about $400 the vaccine is costly, and many say the rush toward mandatory inoculation could prove counterproductive (The New York Times)
• Should vaccine be required for all girls? | Debate centers on state’s role against cervical cancer virus (The Hartford Courant, Ct.)
• Vaccinate against cervical cancer | Merck should show at least as much determination to make it available and affordable in such countries as it has in getting US states to mandate it at $360 per child (Editorial, The Boston Globe)
• Islamist militants claim vaccines are US plot | A doctor was killed by a roadside bomb in Pakistan today as Islamist militants tried to halt a polio immunization campaign which, they say, is an American plot to sterilize Muslims (The Telegraph, London)

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Health:

• White House vows to help small charities fight malaria | Small charities and religious groups in Africa can play a key role in fighting malaria and federal money is being allocated to increase their efforts, Bush administration officials said during a White House meeting on Thursday (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
• Ruling on medical-bill ministry upheld | A Kentucky trial judge refused to reconsider a decision exempting an unusual medical-bill ministry from compliance with state insurance laws (The New York Times)
• Health system struggles with spiritual care | In a survey of 230 people with less than a year to live, nearly half say they received little to no support for their spiritual needs from religious communities (USA Today)
• Religious faith may help stroke victims: study | The study does not point to a “higher cause” but suggests that a strong dose of spirituality can reduce the emotional stress linked to obstacles in stroke recovery, according to a report Thursday in the journal Stroke (Reuters)
• Plagiarism accusation | A controversial study that claimed to demonstrate the efficacy of prayer in medicine has suffered yet another blow to its credibility, as one of its authors now stands accused of plagiarism in another published paper (The Chronicle of Higher Education, sub. req’d.)

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Life ethics:

• Euthanasia in Oregon: By any other name | Just don’t mention suicide (The Economist)
• Loans launch state’s stem cell ambitions | California draws on public money, awarding about $45 million to 20 research institutions (Los Angeles Times)
• Fraud in death row cases is alleged | Prosecutors say a private eye forged statements by jurors and others to boost inmates’ appeals in one of the biggest such cases in state history (Los Angeles Times)
• Is Kansas wavering over death penalty? | Poll suggests voters open to other punitive measures (The Wichita Eagle, Kan.)
• O’Malley seeks end to Md. executions | Death penalty repeal splits assembly (The Washington Post)
• Earlier: Death penalty debate has legislators looking inward | Legislators grapple with death penalty (The Washington Post)

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Abortion:

• The grassroots abortion war | Crisis pregnancy centers are fielding an anti-abortion guerrilla army to win over one woman at a time. Are they playing fair? (Time)
• Panel kills abortion ban | But Senate still could resurrect issue (Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D.)
• Also: Abortion ban fails in S.D. Senate panel (Associated Press)
• Jersey top court hears abortion case | Somerset woman’s suit would require doc to tell patient procedure would kill a person (The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J.)
• Also: Human like me? | The New Jersey Supreme Court case that could define the fetus (Emily Bazelon, Slate)
• Death certificates on abortions proposed | Legislation introduced in Tennessee would require death certificates for aborted fetuses, which likely would create public records identifying women who have abortions (Associated Press)
• Panel hears testimony on Indiana bill saying life begins at conception | Bill also require doctors to tell women seeking an abortion that their fetus might feel pain during the procedure and would mandate that women receive information at least 18 hours before an abortion about the availability of adoptions and be told that having an abortion poses physical risks (Associated Press)
• Portugal church says mutation sparked abortion loss | Portugal’s Catholic church blamed “cultural mutation” on Friday for the large number of people who voted to legalize abortion in a referendum and urged doctors to refuse to carry out the operation if asked (Reuters)
• Also: Portugal abortion bill may soon be okayed | Portugal’s prime minister said legislation relaxing the conservative Roman Catholic country’s strict law on abortion could be approved by the end of March, a newspaper reported Saturday (Associated Press)
• Case vs. abortion provider dead for now | An investigation into an abortion provider that was initiated by Kansas’s previous attorney general has been dropped, though the official’s successor has the option of refiling charges (Associated Press)
• GOP rift swells in Va. General assembly | Bills on abortion, immigration clash (The Washington Post)
• 6th Circuit: Abortion foes may sue police over traffic stop | In June 2002, activists were detained by Ohio, FBI officers for three hours after driving trucks displaying photos of aborted fetuses (Associated Press)
• Conservative litmus test | War on terror usurps abortion for right’s base (Jonah Goldberg, Chicago Tribune)

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John McCain:

• National Religious Broadcasters gets visit by McCain | The presidential hopeful is warmly received by Christian conservatives (The Orlando Sentinel)
• McCain defends Christian outreach effort | “Nobody accused me of courting and pandering to the liberals when I went to the New School,” he says (Associated Press)
• McCain: Roe v. Wade should be overturned | McCain later attended an evening rally promoting an abstinence program (Associated Press)
• Romney hits McCain on abortion | “Ask the pro-life movement where his leadership has been in the six years since 2000 that he’s been running for president,” says Gary Marx, who is charged with handling conservative outreach for Romney. “What has he done?” (Politico.com)

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Mitt Romney and Mormonism:

• Romney once tilted left, now right, of official Mormon teaching | Presidential candidate Mitt Romney once sounded like a Mormon liberal. These days, Romney talks like a Southern Baptist (Religion News Service)
• Mitt Romney’s wife opens up on campaign issues | Ann Romney wants her husband to give a speech on the Mormon Church (The Boston Globe)
• Also: Conversation with Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney | Candidate’s wife discusses MS, stem cell research and abortion and debunks Mormonism myths (Good Morning America, ABC News)
• Romney: ‘I’m not running for pastor-in-chief’ | “I think we are, if you will, one family of humanity,” Romney said, in what appeared to be an attempt to reach out to voters suspicious of his religious affiliation (This Week, ABC News | full interview)
• GOP candidate Romney defends religion in Villages | A man stood amid the crowd and called Romney “a pretender” who doesn’t know “the Lord.” The crowd booed the man from the room. (The Orlando Sentinel)
• Romney defends position on stem cells | Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Monday defended his opposition to most embryonic stem cell research despite its scientific promise to cure diseases like multiple sclerosis that afflicts his wife, Ann (Associated Press)
• Mr. Romney jumps in | The GOP candidate’s record offers much to debate, but there’s one topic that shouldn’t matter (Editorial, The Washington Post)
• Nothing sinister about candidate Romney | Accusations that he is anti-Semitic and a religious cultist are unfounded (Zev Chafets, Los Angeles Times)
• Meet Mitt. He’s Mormon. | Is the focus on Romney’s religion fair? (Brian Montopoli, CBS News)
• Romney targets message to religious voters | Former Massachusetts governor cloaks himself in the Reagan mantle (Today, NBC)
• Heard the one about the Mormon President? | The shaky prospects of Mitt Romney (Gerard Baker, The Times, London)
• What matters about Mitt Romney | Consider George Romney’s campaign (Stephen Stromberg, The Washington Post)
• The talented Mr. Romney | I surf the Web with trepidation, bracing myself for the story that I fear might be coming: “Romney Says He Is Not Really a Mormon.” (Richard Cohen, The Washington Post)
• Romney’s religion shouldn’t matter, but it does | Though Constitution bans any religious test for political candidates, some raise groundless fears about former Massachusetts governor’s Mormon faith — similarly to what was said about JFK’s Catholicism (Charles C. Haynes, First Amendment Center)
• Politics and religion | Did anyone really think JFK would try to ban birth control, require eating fish on Fridays or consult with the pope on foreign policy? (Alan Reynolds, The Washington Times)
• Related: What Is Mormonism? | No large religious denomination has faced more controversy over the years than Mormonism, sparked by a set of beliefs and traditions that many Americans consider out of the mainstream (Richard N. Ostling, The Washington Post)

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Republican candidates:

• Battle for 2008 evangelical vote remains open | Republican candidates seek support at NRB (Morning Edition, NPR)
• The great courtship | A “values voter” tally, looking at what this bloc sees as the pros and cons of top GOP hopefuls (Newsweek)
• Tough task on the right: Finding the best social conservative for ’08 | The three leading contenders in early polls — Arizona Sen. John McCain, ex-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — all have extensive baggage with cultural conservatives (USA Today)
• Evangelical leader sizes up GOP field, says Giuliani’s campaign is doomed | Richard Land says the top tier of Republican presidential hopefuls lacks a candidate social conservatives can be fully comfortable voting for (The Hill, D.C.)
• Giuliani, Romney to visit Regent | Both plan spring stops at college; Giuliani is in Richmond today (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.)
• Giuliani praises conservative judges | Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, who favors abortion rights, said Friday if elected in 2008 he wouldn’t hesitate to appoint anti-abortion conservatives such as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito to the federal bench (Associated Press)
• ‘Amen’ to Brownback | On the stump, Brownback preaches the gospel of the Christian right, stating his strong opposition to abortion and gay marriage (Politico.com)
• Social conservatives losing faith in values of Crist, ’08 hopefuls | Catholic, conservative and concerned, former Florida Christian Coalition leader Pat Neal says many social conservatives are “a little disappointed” in the state’s new governor and worried about the coming presidential election (Palm Beach Post, Fla.)
• Also: Moderates move to Right | But Charlie Crist’s experience might suggest the presidential candidates are making a mistake in courting Florida’s religious and social conservatives (The Tampa Tribune, Fla.)
• Preacher primary | Republican presidential hopefuls court evangelical kingpins that could determine the 2008 nomination (Howard Fineman, Newsweek)
• Abortion contortions | Why John McCain and Mitt Romney are having trouble gaining the trust of pro-life voters (W. James Antle III, The American Spectator)
• Christian voters and the 2008 race | What role will Christian voters play in the 2008 elections? They’re being courted from all angles, by many different varieties of candidates (Michael Cromartie, Morning Edition)

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Democratic candidates:

• Narrowing the religion gap? | In this presidential race, it could be Democrats, not Republicans, who are most at ease in church (The New York Times Magazine)
• As Clinton runs, some old foes stay on sideline | Many conservatives say that the intensity of anger toward Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has subsided (The New York Times)
• Unchristian bumper stickers | For sale at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention: Bumper stickers depicting an elephant, a donkey and Sen. Clinton. Captions under the three figures read “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly” (New York Post, final item)
• Obama’s better off not playing pulpit politics with S.C. pastor | If you want to see what power looks like, go to a megachurch. On Sunday, I visited the Bible Way Church of Atlas Road — the church where state Sen. Darrell Jackson is also the pastor. The senator is an awesome preacher. Still, I don’t see how he got away with a questionable deal in which he appeared to have peddled his influence to the highest bidder (Mary Mitchell, Chicago Sun-Times)

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Edwards bloggers:

• Why I had to quit the John Edwards campaign | During my brief tenure as blogmaster for a Democratic presidential contender, I experienced the right-wing smear machine firsthand (Amanda Marcotte, Salon.com)
• Curse of the Christian-bashers | The spirit of the Edwards bloggers haunts Democrats (Mary Eberstadt, The Wall Street Journal)
• Blogging with bile | Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan may be off John Edwards’s campaign payroll, but there are plenty of other liberal activists who share their anti-Christian views (Megan Basham, The American Spectator)
• Extremists drown out serious debate | The Edwards bloggers were right. Too bad they were vulgar, too (Bonnie Erbe, syndicated columnist)

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Politics:

• Supreme Court’s new tilt could put Scalia on a roll | The outspoken justice is poised to lead a new conservative majority (Los Angeles Times)
• Election in Nigeria has US ramifications | Hopes are for first peaceful handover (The Boston Globe)
• As we outlaw discrimination so we need discernment | Discrimination is a word which has suffered in our own day, as recent controversies make clear (Geoffrey Rowell, The Times, London)
• Religious thinkers have a role for 2008 | Like Niebuhr, theologians can help clarify politics (William McKenzie, The Dallas Morning News)
• Short on questions of faith | Nearly all of the major contenders want to have it both ways on religion: They want credit from religious voters for having a strong faith, but they don’t want to talk about what they actually believe (Paul Waldman, The Boston Globe)
• The Religious Right’s era is over | Evangelicals — especially the new generation of pastors and young people — are deserting the Religious Right in droves (Jim Wallis, Time)
• Dear Bible-thumping, fundamentalist hypocrite | The Religious Right is ruining Jesus (Erin Schulte, Esquire)
• With God on your case | The agenda of the Christian right is more about politics than religion (Ian Williams, The Guardian, London)
• Building bridges | The religious left goes to Iran (Mark D. Tooley, The Weekly Standard)

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Voting rights:

• Liberal church groups join fight for D.C. voting rights | More than a dozen religious groups have joined efforts to pass the D.C. Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act, which would give one House vote to the predominantly Democratic District and an additional House vote to Utah, a mostly Republican state (The Washington Times)
• Democrats eye voting-rights extension for former felons | Democratic lawmakers and church leaders yesterday called for more voting rights for ex-felons in Maryland (The Washington Times)

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Immigration:

• Theme for Lent is immigration | Southland Roman Catholics are urged to fast and take other steps to help ease the burden of underdogs (Los Angeles Times)
• Also: Withholding their ‘amens’ | As Lent begins, some Catholics object to sermons calling for a revised immigration policy (The Orange County Register, Ca.)
• Church joins union fight to help migrants | The Catholic Church, whose ranks are being swollen by a flood of Polish immigrants, is working with trade unionists to stem the abuse of migrant workers by rogue employers (Financial Times)
• Immigrants ‘overwhelm’ Catholic churches | In at least three London parishes, more than three-quarters of those attending Mass were found to be illegal immigrants, while others are using churches as job centers and social welfare offices. (The Telegraph, London)
• Again British Catholicism gains an accent | Such has been the influx of Catholic immigrants in recent years that a new study suggests that the old faith is on course to replace Anglicanism as the dominant religion in Britain. We have been here before. (Graham Stewart, The Times, London)

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Iranian refugee in B.C.:

• Iranian ‘a free man’ after arrest ends almost 3 years in church sanctuary | An Iranian refugee claimant who spent almost three years in sanctuary in a Vancouver church before being arrested on the weekend is suddenly a free man (Canadian Press)
• Iran refugee free after years in church | The Canada Border Services Agency released Amir Kazemian from custody after Citizenship and Immigration officials granted him residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds (Associated Press)
• After 2 years in church refuge, he walks free | Iranian refugee Amir Kazemian, his mother by his side, is told he can stay in Canada for good (Vancouver Sun)
• Also: Iranian refugee granted asylum (The Globe and Mail, Toronto)
• Earlier: Police arrest Iranian living in Anglican church | Call for help after being threatened lands refugee claimant in jail (The Province, B.C.)
• Earlier: Iranian refugee claimant jailed | Lawyer says it’s only second time Canadian police have violated sanctuary principle (Vancouver Sun, B.C.)
• The case of this asylum seeker wasn’t so simple | A board so often lambasted for being too easy on refugees was actually being the gatekeeper it should be (Gary Mason, The Globe and Mail, Toronto)

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Environmentalism:

• Evangelical groups join call for global warming action | Evangelicals have long allied themselves with America’s conservative right. But when it comes to global warming, a growing number of worshippers find they agree more with scientists who believe humans are responsible for climate change and that leaders must take drastic measures to avoid catastrophe (Times Herald-Record, Middletown, N.Y.)
• Religious leaders gather to save God’s green earth | Dozens of clergy members and religious leaders came together at the Garrison Institute for a meeting of the institute’s Hudson River Project, an ambitious effort to fuse the values and manpower of the religious and environmental communities (The Journal News, White Plains, N.Y.)
• Area churches going back to the garden | Faithful take small steps to address global warming (The Salt Lake Tribune)
• Stewards of the earth | Evangelicals, environment a match made in heaven (Editorial, Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.)
• Ideological match made in heaven? | Evangelicals traditionally relish dark warnings about a judgment that results from bad behavior. They are also susceptible to simplistic solutions. So thinking a global climate catastrophe can be battled if Americans just abandon their SUVs is appealing to Americans as a whole and evangelicals in particular (Mark Tooley, Albany Times Union, N.Y.)

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Religion bills die in Co. and Ut.:

• Religious rights bill dies in committee | Sen. Dave Schultheis’ Religious Bill of Rights, which he described as an idea that could draw national attention, died with barely a whimper in a Senate committee Wednesday (The Gazette, Colorado Springs)
• Also: Religious rights bill dies in committee | Bill, which would have required all public schools to post a religious bill of rights for students and employees, defeated in party-line vote (Daily Times-Call, Longmont, Co.)
• Confronting the veil | There must be some way of protecting religious liberty that doesn’t turn the exercise into a bureaucratic burden (Vincent Carroll, Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
• Bill that would protect religious speech is pulled | Would prohibit government from interfering with religion. Next step: Will be reworked and studied for a year. (The Salt Lake Tribune)

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DOJ religious discrimination project:

• Gonzales says religious freedoms a priority | Attorney general tells Baptists of new federal effort (The Tennessean, Nashville)
• AG targets religious discrimination | Alberto Gonzales says The First Freedom Project would increase education about religious discrimination by holding a series of training seminars throughout the country over coming months (Associated Press)

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Church and state:

• Fighting faith-based spending in court | A Supreme Court case could set the standard for challenging grants that break down the wall between church and state (Los Angeles Times)
• Also: Atheist group takes on Bush initiative | Annie Laurie Gaylor as helped transform the Freedom From Religion Foundation from obscurity into the nation’s largest group of atheists and agnostics, with a fast-rising membership and increasing legal clout (Associated Press)
• State weighs issue of faith | Bill would give wives an equal stand in Orthodox Jewish divorce (The Baltimore Sun)
• Corinth church property battle back in circuit court | U.S. District Court Judge Michael P. Mills has decided the federal court doesn’t have authority to determine who owns the property that makes up First Presbyterian Church of Corinth (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)
• Boulder County effort draws leaders’ ire | Religious leaders plan to protest an attempt by Boulder County to overturn a provision of a federal law governing church expansion (Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
• Ministry sues South Orange for denying use of village square | “Government officials do not have the right to discriminate against Christian groups,” said a lawyer for Care and Share Ministry. “When village officials open up a public arena for members of the community, they must be fair and allow for equal access.” (Associated Press)
• Elder sues over city’s demolition of East St. Louis church | Mayor: Program being overhauled (Belleville News Democrat, Ill.)
• Jensen church has no love for beer-selling neighbor | Gary Landsberg, pastor of the Jensen Beach Christian Church, said he already has canceled upcoming youth events such as lock-ins and Boy Scout meetings for fear of people wandering from the restaurant to his church after having one too many (Palm Beach Post, Fla.)
• Ex-court worker sues, alleges religious bias | A former deputy court administrator is suing 19th District Court and its chief judge, Mark Somers, claiming he has a religious beef with her live-in relationship with a fellow judge. (The Detroit News)
• Church appeals jury verdict on shelter | Tabernacle owes $30,000 in fines for housing homeless without permit (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
• Our stake in this tent flap | St. Jude’s is not relying on prayers alone. The church is taking a serious financial risk to make an in-our-face point (Kate Riley, The Seattle Times)
• Government says church can’t practice religion? | I really look forward to seeing which legislators intend to step up and declare that government should indeed be able to dictate how a church can practice its religion (Ken Schram, KOMO, Seattle)
• South African authorities seize farm | The South African government has seized a 600,000-acre game and cattle farm from its owners, the Lutheran Evangelical Church of Southern Africa, and will divide the land among poor rural communities, ministers said Thursday (Associated Press)

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Czechs, Romanians fight over cathedrals:

• Court returns landmark cathedral to state | St. Vitus Cathedral, one of Prague’s most popular tourist attractions, doesn’t belong to the Catholic Church, the Czech Supreme Court ruled Friday. The Church must now return the building to the state. The decision annulled previous verdicts by the Prague 1 District Court, which had ruled in favour of the Church (Prague Monitor, Czech Republic)
• Update: Government not to enter dispute over St Vitus | The Czech government will not enter court disputes over the ownership of St Vitus’ Cathedral at Prague Castle in any way, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek told journalists yesterday (Prague Daily Monitor)
• Czech churches demand settlement of state-church relations | A memorandum urging the quick settlement of relations between churches and the Czech state was given by its authors yesterday to Czech Culture Minister Václav Jehlička, who is in charge of church issues (Prague Daily Monitor, Czech Republic)
• Cardinal angry about judge’s past in St Vitus’ case | Czech Cardinal Miloslav Vlk considers unacceptable that Supreme Court judge František Formánek, who decided the Church vs state dispute over the ownership of Prague St Vitus’ Cathedral, was a member of the Communist Party before 1989 (Prague Daily Monitor)
• New initiative demands final settlement of disputes between Church and State | Last week’s Supreme Court ruling, which handed control of Prague’s St. Vitus’ Cathedral to the Czech state has once again focused attention on the tense relationship between the Catholic Church and the Czech government. (Radio Prague)
• Romania: Catholic clerics protest in Romania | About 200 Roman Catholic priests and nuns protested Thursday in the capital to demand the government halts the construction of a new high-rise office building near their main cathedral in the capital. (Associated Press)

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Religious freedom:

• Eritrea authorities arrest founder of Full Gospel Church | Three jailed Protestant leaders released on bail; Muslims also detained (Compass Direct)
• Uzbekistan officials admit arrest of Protestant pastor | Indictment equates ‘Charismatic Pentecostals’ with Islamist extremists (Compass Direct)

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Military:

• Providing a place of sanctuary and solace for the faithful on the frontline | Services are just a small part of the help provided by chaplains in a war zone (The Guardian, London)
• Chaplain shortage for Army Natl. Guard | Some Army National Guard units may have to deploy overseas without a chaplain if recruitment incentives, including $10,000 signing bonuses, don’t work to fill hundreds of vacant positions (Associated Press)
• For gods and country | The Army chaplain who wanted to switch to Wicca? Transfer denied. (The Washington Post)

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Indonesia:

• Preachers, revenge push Indonesia terror | “The preachers told us it was a form of worship,” says accused terrorist. “They said, ‘The Christians cut of the heads of Muslim girls in the war, so now it is payback time.'” (Associated Press)
• Australia warns of attack in Indonesia’s Sulawesi | Australia warned on Friday of a militant attack in the restive Indonesian province of Sulawesi, long the site of deadly Christian-Muslim rivalry (Reuters)
• Indonesia seeks 20 yrs jail for Christian beheadings | Indonesian prosecutors on Monday sought a 20-year jail sentence for the main defendant in the beheadings three Christian schoolgirls from religiously divided Central Sulawesi province (Reuters)

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Lebanon:

• Dispatch from Beirut | Forget about Shiites and Sunnis. Lebanon’s deepest fault line is between rival Christian groups (Daniel Kurtz-Phelan, Slate)
• A history of violence | Syria reminds Lebanon of their “special relationship.” (Lee Smith, The Weekly Standard)

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Iraq:

• White House opens doors to Iraq refugees | The Bush administration agreed Wednesday to greatly expand the number of Iraqi refugees allowed into the country and to pay more to help Iraq’s Arab neighbors cope with the human tide fleeing increasing violence and economic hardship in their country (Associated Press)
• Iraqi refugees dismiss U.S. resettlement | Some Iraqi refugees living in Syria dismissed on Wednesday a Bush administration plan to allow some 7,000 Iraqi refugees to settle in the U.S., saying they preferred to stay closer to home and planned to return to Iraq (Associated Press)
• Iraq war tests unity among U.S. Muslims | Leaders of the U.S. Islamic community are fearful that sectarian slaughter tearing Shi’ite and Sunni communities apart in Iraq is testing unity among Muslim immigrants in the United States (Reuters)

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Israel:

• Violent protests in Kashmir over al-Aqsa excavation | Police fired teargas in Indian Kashmir’s main city on Friday to disperse hundreds of people protesting against Israeli excavations near Islam’s third holiest shrine in Jerusalem, police and witnesses said (Reuters)
• Webcams broadcast Israeli dig | Israel has installed Internet cameras near an archaeological excavation close to a Jerusalem shrine that had sparked Muslim protests, in a bid to show the work does not harm the holy site, officials said on Thursday (Reuters)
• Calm prevails at holy site in Jerusalem | Despite calls by Muslim religious figures for mass protests, Jerusalem’s Old City was largely calm on Friday (The New York Times)
• Old Israeli find fuels Muslim ire at Jerusalem dig | Islamic officials intensified calls for Israel to abandon a controversial dig in Jerusalem on Sunday, saying they were upset they had not been told sooner about a discovery of relics at the site three years ago (Reuters)
• Arabs say Israel is not just for Jews | A manifesto argues that the nation’s minority is entitled to share power in a binational state (Los Angeles Times)
• Pope meets relatives of Israeli soldiers | Relatives seeking information on two Israeli soldiers who were seized by Hezbollah militants in northern Israel at the start of last year’s Lebanon war met Wednesday with Pope Benedict XVI (Associated Press)

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New Zealand:

• Draft statement due on country’s religious identity | But state schools will be expected to treat all religions equally, as will the government (Radio New Zealand)
• Denying state religion like treason, says Brian Tamaki | Evangelical churches are accusing the Government of “religious treason” for promoting a statement that Christianity is no longer New Zealand’s state religion (The New Zealand Herald)
• Non-Christians looking for more than tolerance | Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims at a national forum in Hamilton yesterday all objected to the word “tolerance” in a draft National Statement on Religious Diversity (The New Zealand Herald)
• State religion for further debate | A national interfaith forum has agreed to a statement that New Zealand has “no state religion” – but only as a basis for further public debate (The New Zealand Herald)

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Bones at Christian hospital in India:

• Christians allege conspiracy in Ratlam Hospital case | Church leaders say that the twist given to the recovery of bones from the Ratlam Mission hospital is a deliberate effort by fundamentalists to malign the whole Christian community in Madhya Pradesh (Indian Catholic News Service)
• Tiny bones found at India hospital | The police in central India discovered 396 small bones and bone fragments that they say could be the remains of newborn babies or fetuses (The New York Times)
• Hospital super held, probe ordered | The superintendent of the Ratlam Mission Hospital and a sweeper were arrested on Sunday after the sensational recovery of more than 350 bones, suspected to be of infants and aborted foetuses, from the hospital premises on Saturday (Hindustan Times, India)
• Crime hinges on foetus sex test | Mystery about the fetuses remained unravelled even three days after the sensational recovery of 390 bones from the Christian Mission hospital even as the superintendent and sweeper were freed by a local court on bail on Monday (Hindustan Times, India)

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More on India:

• Indian American author pleads for Staines’ murderer | ‘We are hopeful of a real change and transformation in the life of Dara Singh, who is a victim of Hindutva, an ideology of hate,’ says Vishal Mangalwadi, author of ‘Burnt Alive’ (IANS, India)
• 10-month-old baby boy abducted from church | A 10-month-old boy was allegedly abducted from a church at Madhapur by a woman even as his mother was offering prayers on Sunday afternoon (The Hindu, India)
• ‘No’ to reservation for Dalit Muslims, Christians | Says untouchability is peculiar to Hinduism only (The Hindu, India)
• Priests sell baptism certificates | A CNN-IBN and Cobrapost investigation has found that some unscrupulous members of the church are selling baptism certificates, which are needed to prove that a person is Christian (IBN)
• Also: Faith vendors under scanner | The Baptist Union of North India has reacted strongly to a CNN-IBN and Cobra Post’s expose that found some unscrupulous members of the church selling baptism certificates. (IBN)
• Also: India 360: Are priests corrupt? | Rev Walter David President, Baptist Union of North India, Sister Nirmalini Principal Carmel Convent School, Chanakyapuri (Delhi) and Aniruddha Bahal Editor-in-chief, Cobrapost.com (IBN)

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Amazing Grace and William Wilberforce:

• Britain’s slave empire, as the sun set | Long before Gettysburg, activist Quakers challenged Parliament. The film Amazing Grace seeks to tell that story (The New York Times)
• Churches reminded of slavery in song | Amazing Grace Sunday, an event sponsored by the abolitionist organization The Amazing Change, asked thousands of people in churches across North America to sing “Amazing Grace” and pray for those who are still enslaved (The Tennessean, Nashville)
• Churches unite to end global slavery | “Amazing Grace Sunday” is an innovative attempt to raise a wave of public outrage over slavery in the United States and other countries in such forms as forced laborers, domestic servants, sex workers and child soldiers (Detroit Free Press)
• Churches on ‘Amazing’ crusade | Churches pray for freedom for modern-day slaves (York Daily Record, Pa.)
• Film chronicling the work of William Wilberforce will have local premiere | Wilberforce University will premiere the upcoming movie Amazing Grace on Friday, a week ahead of its theater release and for free (Dayton Daily News, Oh.)
• ‘Grace’ movie enters churches | Indy congregations take part in promotion as another way to connect with mission (The Indianapolis Star)
• Evangelicals rally around — and disagree on — ‘Grace’ | Some criticize the film’s “toned down” approach to faith. Supposedly. But there’s really no evidence of that in this article, anyway. (USA Today)
• Abolition’s ‘Amazing’ hero | Film gives William Wilberforce his due — and maybe more (Philadelphia Daily News)
• Brewer launches Fairtrade beer to mark 200th anniversary of slavery abolition | William Wilberforce Freedom Ale. Yep. (Kent News)
• Amazing grace always defeats hatred | Two things essentially cooked slavery’s goose. One was Christianity, because of its conception that there were no chosen people and that all had equal access to God. The other was the idea of universal humanism (Stanley Crouch, New York Daily News)
• British abolition’s faith-based roots | William Wilberforce relied on his deeply held religious beliefs for inspiration in fighting the slave trade (Joseph Loconte, Los Angeles Times)

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Film:

• Hollywood set to honor faith-based movies | Religious conservatives have a newfound cachet in Hollywood thanks largely to their significant spending power (Reuters)
• Abortion documentary set for October release | Indie distributor ThinkFilm has picked up worldwide rights to the provocative, graphic abortion documentary “Lake of Fire,” the first feature from director Tony Kaye since 1998’s “American History X.” (Reuters)
• Film keeps focus on pedophile priest | Deliver Us From Evil, which chronicles Oliver O’Grady’s legacy of abuse, has made him a pariah in his Irish homeland and brought new attention to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony (Los Angeles Times)
• The spiritual side of Jim Carrey | Star of The Number 23 talks about what inspired him to take the role (Los Angeles Daily News)
• De Niro may have role in Opus Dei’s film fightback | A spokesman in Rome said yesterday that Opus Dei was collaborating in the production of a full-length feature film on the life of its founder, Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer. The producers said they were hoping to enlist Antonio Banderas and Robert De Niro for the leading roles (The Guardian, London)
• Author finds Christianity in ‘Star Wars’ series | Robert Banta, author of Star Wars, Jesus: A Spiritual Commentary on the Reality of the Force, says, “‘Star Wars’ taught me how to be, how to see faith, how to relate to God” (The News Leader, Staunton, Va.)
• Philippine group opposes U.S. film on Abu Sayyaf | Disney and Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer bought the screen rights to “Jihadists in Paradise”, an article written by Mark Bowden for the Atlantic Monthly (Reuters)

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Music:

• Tomlin leads way with nine Dove nominations | 38th GMA awards gala set April 25 at Opry House (The Tennessean, Nashville)
• Also: Tomlin, Jars of Clay top Dove nominees | Again. (Associated Press)
• A rap sermon calls out converts | Christian hip-hop takes on skeptics, negative image (The Boston Globe)
• It’s her party, she’ll praise if she wants to | Jennifer Hudson sings gospel at home church (Chicago Tribune)
• Also: All roads lead back to church for Hudson | For Oscar nominee Jennifer Hudson, there was no question where she’d celebrate her success in the week leading up to the Academy Awards — at her family’s church (Associated Press)
• Review: Anberlin’s “Cities” | Thanks in part to the efforts of Tooth & Nail, Christian bands have played an important role in the continuing emo boom, though the signs aren’t always obvious (The New York Times)

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Art and entertainment:

• Exhibit celebrates religion in 20th Century art | “Biblical Art in a Secular Century: Selections, 1896-1993,” at New York’s Museum of Biblical Art, features artists whose work was often expressly religious in theme—Marc Chagall and Ben-Zion, for example—as well as artists like Andy Warhol, whose work is rarely linked to religion (Religion News Service)
• Christians say Hirst exploiting religion to create sensation | Skulls, graphic images of Christ, crucifix encrusted with pills … and all in an exhibition inside a church (The Independent, London)
• Idle’s Messiah is Spamalot sequel | Former Monty Python star Eric Idle is to follow up his smash hit musical Spamalot with an oratorio based on the comedy troupe’s Life Of Brian film. Not The Messiah (He’s A Very Naughty Boy) will premiere at the Luminato festival in Toronto, Canada in June (BBC)
• New York troupe comes to “Save” Colorado Springs | “Save This City” is the name of a New York theater documentary exploring evangelism in the Springs (The Denver Post)
• ‘Monastery people’ video featuring gay anthem ‘YMCA’ pulled from YouTube | Critics say it “promotes homosexuality inside the Catholic Church” (UK Gay News)
• No sex, please, we’re engaged: couples who wait for the wedding | MTV’s new reality serial about people who wed before they’ve slept together is a clever inversion of a rape thriller (The New York Times)

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Sports:

• No “hand of God” goals in priests’ European cup | A hundred Roman Catholic priests from all over Europe swapped their cassocks for football strips in Sarajevo this week to compete in an indoor football championship organized by the church (Reuters)
• Point, God: Religion is key for Raymond | After sitting out all of last season to reflect and sort through personal spiritual matters, Wheaton College’s Kent Raymond has come back playing even better than before (Chicago Sun-Times)
• So nice guys can finish first: Dungy’s win may break new mold for NFL coaches | Now that Dungy — a man who rarely raises his voice and doesn’t curse — stands atop his profession, he could influence future coaching hires (USA Today)

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Media:

• KDKA, church leaders concur on story ethics | Clergy wanted an apology, but instead ended up issuing one (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Miracle Channel told to repent, on pain of losing licence | Federal regulators told the station yesterday they are considering a rare step that would see the Miracle Channel’s right to broadcast linked to how well it abides by its own internal standards (The Globe and Mail, Toronto)
• Shock jock Stern infiltrates area Christian airwaves | Blending of signals upsetting to broadcasters (The News-Press, Fort Myers, Fla.)
• Taking the debate about God online, and battling it out with videos | A religious battle is taking place on the Internet, with two very different groups arguing over the existence of God (The New York Times)
• Clergy put their faith in YouTube | S. Florida religious leaders broaden exposure on Web (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
• A free crypt for the columnist from Cardinal Mahony? | Mahony recently gave a tour of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to my editor and publisher. In the mausoleum under the altar, where crypts are available for purchase, the cardinal offered my bosses a deal. He said he’d provide a final resting place, free of charge, if they promised to put me in it (Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times)

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Books:

• Nelson out of CBA winter show | Nelson’s decision will almost certainly spur an exodus of publishers, who have felt burdened for the past several years by having to do two annual trade shows for the Christian retail channel, especially when one of the shows has seen a steep drop in retailer attendance (PW Daily)
• Police have dirt on mystery odor | The “hazardous material” that sickened two Zondervan Publishing House workers and triggered a large-scale response by police, firefighters and hazardous-material workers turned out to be dirt, the Kent County Sheriff’s Department said (The Grand Rapids Press, Mi.)
• Dear Dan Brown, all eyes are on you | Thanks, Dan Brown. Look what you started. In the sound-like-Brown genre the stakes are high, the scruples are absent and the copycatting is out of control (The New York Times)
• Gathering once a month for a voyage to Narnia | One a month, the members of the New York C. S. Lewis Society immerse themselves in the writer’s fantastical realm (The New York Times)
• The fatal history of misplaced faith | In Sacred Causes, Michael Burleigh tracks the fate of religious and secular forces in the 20th century, registering their collisions and their effects on the culture we live in today (The Wall Street Journal)
• If Christian soldiers really are on the march, where’s the evidence? | Chris Hedges’s American Fascists charts the rise of the Christian Right (The Observer, London)

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“Blood libel” book:

• Blood libel revisited | After an international furor, an Italo-Israeli historian has withdrawn his book claiming that some medieval Jews did ritually kill Christian children (The Chronicle of Higher Education, sub. req’d.)
• Professor pulls book with controversial ‘blood libel’ claim | The book, “Easter of Blood,” by Italian Jewish professor Ariel Toaff, has resurrected charges of “blood libel.” Toaff said Thursday (Feb. 15) he wants to “re-edit those passages which comprised the basis of the distortions and falsehoods that have been published in the media” (Religion News Service)
• Blood-libel prof pledges book revenues to ADL (Haaretz, Tel Aviv)
• Author of blood libel book holds distribution to make changes (Haaretz, Tel Aviv)
• The real blood of Passover | There is plenty of evidence to suggest hatred between Jews and Christians, as many scholars have demonstrated regarding the Middle Ages. It is, however, quite a leap of imagination to take testimonies obtained under torture and to construct a hypothetical reality based on unrelated circumstantial facts (Ronnie Po-chia Hsia, Haaretz, Tel Aviv)

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History:

• Fears for Ethiopia’s crumbling churches | The roofs of some of the ancient churches, dating to the 11th and 12th centuries, have even started to collapse (BBC)
• Michelangelo had private room at Vatican | A 450-year-old receipt has provided proof that Michelangelo kept a private room in St. Peter’s Basilica while working as the pope’s chief architect, Vatican experts said (Associated Press)
• Also: Michelangelo gem finished five centuries late | The magnificent façade that he designed for the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, is to be erected thanks to the detective work of Renaissance scholars (The Times, London)
• Window into Puritan life | Renovation of 1648 house offers a look at settlers’ everyday lives (The Boston Globe)
• Visiting a landmark Baptist church | Silver Bluff Baptist Church in Beech Island, S.C., is said to be the nation’s first black Baptist church. The church dates back decades before the Revolutionary War. (Day to Day, NPR)
• Lancaster group wants to save its hall | Lancaster Camp Ground is deteriorating but was deemed worth saving (The Columbus Dispatch, Oh.)
• What Washington saw in God | And how that vision shaped his life and presidency (Michael Novak and Jana Novak, USA Today)
• Also: What George Washington really believed | Neither conservatives nor secularists will like the answer (Steven Waldman, Beliefnet)
• Debate began before Jefferson | The idea of the separation of church and state was the product of a much older debate. It was first suggested as a public policy by religious dissenters in the 16th century (David C. Steinmetz, The Orlando Sentinel)

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Evolution:

• Lawmaker apologizes for memo linking evolution and Jewish texts | A leader of the Texas House of Representatives apologized for circulating an appeal to ban the teaching of evolution as derived from “Rabbinic writings” (The New York Times)
• Earlier: Evolution memo prompts call for apology | State Rep. Ben Bridges denies writing the memo, which attributes the Big Bang theory to Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism (Associated Press)
• Churches discuss evolution | Congregations seek to square science and faith (The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.)
• The case for ditching Darwin | An evolutionary biologist proposed at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco last week that scientists might win the argument on evolution by ditching Darwin and emphasizing that evolution is a fully formed field of biological study (The Chronicle of Higher Education, sub. req’d.)
• Pittsburgh professor thinks evolutionary change was rapid | Outspoken critic of teaching Intelligent Design thinks Darwin was wrong on gradual, constant evolution (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
• Article: Do Molecular Clocks Run at All? A Critique of Molecular Systematics | Review of the history of molecular systematics and its claims in the context of molecular biology reveals that there is no basis for the “molecular assumption” (Jeffrey H. Schwartz, Biological Theory)
• So help us Darwin | The intelligent liberal community should not impose on anyone a requirement of believing that there is only the single, materialist word on origins (William F. Buckley Jr., National Review Online)
• Religion and politics | Unavoidable. (John Derbyshire, National Review Online)
• Don’t monkey with science | Science teachers have no trouble staying out of pulpits. Why is the opposite not true? (Robert M. Thorson, The Hartford Courant, Ct.)

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Education:

• Nativity scene is too religious for New York City schools | The Supreme Court this week let stand rules that keep menorahs and Christmas trees in holiday displays—but not crèches (The Christian Science Monitor)
• Also: High court won’t hear NYC schools Nativity case | Justices let stand 2nd Circuit decision upholding policy that bans displays of Nativity scenes but allows Santa Claus, Christmas trees and Jewish, Islamic symbols (Associated Press)
• Schools’ barring of student religious literature found unconstituitonal | The court held that the allegations, if proven, demonstrate that a number of the defendants engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination in banning religious viewpoint material while permitting students to distribute secular material to their classmates (Religion Clause)
• Court rules for religious tolerance | A Pietermaritzburg High Court judge has dismissed an application by a parent who has challenged attempts by the recently appointed governing body of Newcastle High School to move away from the Christian-based ethos of the former whites-only Afrikaner school and strive to promote religious tolerance among the now culturally, racially and religiously diverse school community The Mercury, South Africa)
• Lawsuit: School banned Jesus costume | Officials at Willow Hill Elementary School in suburban Glenside reportedly told the boy Oct. 31 that he could not wear his faux crown of thorns or tell others he was dressed as Jesus (Associated Press)
• Bible essay stirs trouble for teacher | Lake Stevens student objects to questioning of creation story (The Daily Herald, Everett, Wa.)
• Students told to shun Muslims | A national Muslim advocacy group has rebuked the Wake County Public School system for allowing a Christian evangelist to speak at Enloe High School and distribute pamphlets denouncing Islam (The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.)
• Also: Group: Pupils given anti-Islam material | A high school teacher allowed a group whose declared mission is to “raise an awareness of the danger of Islam” to distribute literature in his class, including a handout titled “Do Not Marry a Muslim Man,” according to an advocacy group (Associated Press)
• Schooltime religious education called off in Atascadero | Board members voted unanimously to rescind a resolution that would have allowed high school students to leave campus and attend a class at church next fall. They had originally approved the concept Jan. 16 (The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Ca.)
• School calendar has no religion | The Hillsborough School Board appears ready to embrace a calendar with no days off for religious holidays, including Good Friday (St. Petersburg Times, Fla.)
• Also: Secular school calendar wins favor with board (The Tampa Tribune, Fla.)
• Don’t gum up sex-ed | Leave instruction to professional teachers (Marc Fisher, The Washington Post)
• Schools shouldn’t cater to Gideons’ mission | Handing out Bibles to students gives Christianity preferential treatment (Paula Simons, The Edmonton Journal)

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N.J. taped teacher case:

• Student, 16, finds allies in his fight over religion | A high school student drew some legal heavyweights into his battle with school officials over a teacher’s proselytizing in class (The New York Times)
• Kearny student moves to sue district | He cites harassment after challenging teacher’s preaching (The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J.)
• Classroom pulpit sparks legal action | Matthew LaClair, a Kearny 16-year-old, is fighting his public high school after they took little action against his teacher’s use of the classroom as a pulpit (Herald News, West Paterson, N.J.)
• Teacher defends religious comments in class | The teacher who is the subject of a potential lawsuit regarding proselytizing in a public high school history class denied on Tuesday night that he had preached in class and said that the student who taped him had never expressed discomfort to him about his comments (The New York Times)

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Higher education:

• College leader resigns post | Embattled Carson-Newman president takes position in Georgia (Knoxville News–Sentinel, Tenn.)
• Also: Carson-Newman president resigns amid turmoil, becomes Mercer VP (Associated Baptist Press)
• Earlier: College chief’s neck on the line | While he remains upbeat, board will decide Netherton’s fate on March 23 (Knoxville News–Sentinel, Feb. 15)
• In constitutional clash with university, Christian fraternity wins big | case exemplifies the difficult road some religious fraternities and sororities travel on public university campuses where there are church-state issues involving funding and facilities-access (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• At William & Mary, a cross becomes a lightning rod | Restore the cross, and let’s move on (Andrew and Constance McRoberts, The Washington Post)
• Also: Wren Chapel when to display a holy symbol? | The debate over the Wren Cross is a worthy one (Editorial, Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.)
• Baylor aims to lead Christian music field | According to the vision document which will be given to the board of directors, “The vision for the center is to provide leadership in all aspects of Christian music by becoming the pre-eminent Christian music center worldwide and to foster the growth and effectiveness of efforts to utilize Christian music to its God-given potential.” (The Lariat, Baylor)
• Asbury hosts pope’s preacher | Protestant-Catholic ‘convergence’ praised (Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.)
• BYU blocks campus access to YouTube | “We use the filtering process for two reasons,” said BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins. “First to protect students from inappropriate material. The other is because of our limited bandwidth. That bandwidth is used for academic purposes.” (Daily Herald, Provo, Ut.)
• Going to the Chapel | Harvard wasn’t the only school to appoint a woman last week (Mark Oppenheimer, Slate)

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Missions and ministry:

• 10 Americans ordered to leave Belarus | Ten Americans left Belarus on Friday after authorities ordered them deported for allegedly singing religious songs and reading spiritual literature, in violation of laws restricting religious activity in the former Soviet republic (Associated Press)
• Volunteerism figures fall to four-year low, federal study finds | More than 61 million Americans donated their time to charity last year, the lowest number of volunteers in four years, according to new data from the federal government (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
• Church members let their fingers do the praying | Members of First Christian Church pray through the phone book (Clayton News Daily, Jonesboro, Ga.)
• Where the poor live, so shall he | A Christian missionary paid his dues on Santa Ana’s Minnie Street in the 1980s. But he keeps paying them (Los Angeles Times)
• Help not wanted | By pushing their alternative development model, wealthy nondemocratic regimes effectively price responsible aid programs out of the market exactly where they are needed most (Moisés Naím, The New York Times)

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Money and business:

• Faith-at-work movement going mainstream | First companies were encouraged to be family-friendly; today they are lauded for being gay-friendly. Now there are some advocating to break down that final office taboo: religion (The Miami Herald)
• Court upholds Wiccan-Boscov’s ruling | Superior Court says store discriminated when it canceled pagan classes (The News Journal, Wilmington, Del.)
• Corporate ‘dropouts’ find calling | Ministry helps clients recover from behavior problems (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Preacher wins case in court | Judge finds no evidence of mishandling estate (The Cincinnati Enquirer)
• Also: Judge okays handling of songwriter estate | The children of a hit country music songwriter won’t get control of his estate, a judge ruled, but a bigger battle looms between them and their aunt, an evangelist with a worldwide ministry (Associated Press)

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San Diego diocese may declare bankruptcy:

• S.D. diocese eyeing bankruptcy | Faced with claims that could exceed $200 million, the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego may be on the verge of declaring bankruptcy rather than proceed to trial on sexual abuse lawsuits (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• San Diego Diocese considers bankruptcy | The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego said in a letter to parishioners this weekend that it is considering declaring bankruptcy to avoid going to trial on more than 140 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests (Associated Press)
• Diocese’s bankruptcy threat upsets abuse victims in San Diego | San Diego’s Catholic churches may file in face of lawsuits over alleged sexual abuse by priests. Critics call it an attempt to avoid disclosures (Los Angeles Times)
• Clergy meet as activists blast idea of bankruptcy | San Diego Bishop Robert Brom met behind closed doors yesterday with hundreds of priests, a session clouded by a possible bankruptcy filing as the first civil trials in the sex-abuse scandal loom (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Priest abuse case lawyers ordered to appear in L.A. | Judge likely aims to prevent bankruptcy (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Brom’s gambit | Diocese history hovers over bankruptcy talk (Editorial, San Diego Union-Tribune)

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Criminal justice:

• For one man, God’s mercy is more than a theory | Several days before the lawyers gathered on the 28th floor of the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse to argue the legal merits of a religious program in an Iowa prison, I met Alan Varrin. He was paroled a week before Christmas (Bill McClellan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
• Churchgoer and gospel performer sue SF police | A teenage churchgoer handcuffed for allegedly breaking a window and a hip-hop gospel performer who was pepper-sprayed after coming to the teen’s aid filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit today against San Francisco police (San Francisco Chronicle)

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Abuse:

• Faith community plays big role in the plan to end child abuse | Expert Victor Vieth says area churches offer an avenue for reaching at-risk families (Springfield News-Leader, Mo.)
• Baptists asked to crack down on abusers | The victims’ advocates who dogged the Roman Catholic Church over sex abuse by its clergy have now turned their attention to the Southern Baptists, accusing America’s largest Protestant denomination of also failing to root out molesters (Associated Press)
• Pastor arrested for soliciting sex online | Pastors at Northgate Colonial Baptist Church reportedly solicited what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl online (WLTX, Columbia, S.C.)
• Church deacon acquitted of sexual assault on girls | He’s the second of four charged men associated with Ambassador Baptist Church to be acquitted of all charges (London Free Press, Ont.)
• Fort Myers youth pastor faces additional charge | Elantonio T.O. Gomez, 50, was a youth pastor at the Safe Harbor Church in Fort Myers (Naples Daily News, Fla.)
• Friend saw signs of abuse in church leader’s victim | A church youth leader accused of repeated sexual assaults on two teenage boys now has a $300,000 bond after his first court appearance (WBBH, Fort Meyers, Fla.)
• Greensburg man charged with sex assault of boy | A man is again facing sexual assault charges, this time involving a 5-year-old boy in a bathroom at the First Presbyterian Church in Greensburg in October (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
• Mill Creek church youth leader charged with molesting girl, 13 | Joshua Tanner Beals, 22, is accused with repeated sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl on church grounds (Daily Herald, Everett, Wa.)
• Lawyer accused of destroying evidence in Connecticut pornography case | Philip D. Russell was indicted on charges that he obstructed justice in the investigation of a former church choir director whose computer contained images of naked boys (The New York Times)
• Sect man jailed for sex abuse of girl | The sentencing of Lindsay Ronald Jensen yesterday for abusing a young girl in Albury brings almost to an end a saga of squalor and betrayal that has embroiled the religious sect the Exclusive Brethren and its leadership for four years (The Sydney Morning Herald)
• Cardinal says he warned Mahony | A Catholic leader in Mexico says he sent the head of the L.A. Archdiocese a letter about a priest later charged with abuse (Los Angeles Times)
• Sins of the father? | Five decades after a priest allegedly molested 3 brothers, their case plays out (The Gazette, Colorado Springs)
• Van Wert County parish defends accused priest | St. Mary vents grief to bishop (The Toledo Blade, Oh.)
• Archbishop deposed in sex-abuse case | After fighting his civil deposition for months, the Archdiocese of Miami on Tuesday praised Archbishop John C. Favalora for his openness in answering closed-door questions posed by an attorney for an alleged victim of sexual abuse by a former Catholic priest (The Miami Herald)
• Reflections of an archbishop | Kelly takes stock of tenure, says keeping abusers in ministry “probably offended some people” (The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.)
• Priest abuse claims led to suspension | Greek Orthodox leader retired July 1 (The Dallas Morning News)

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Crime:

• Parents guilty in child murder | Death occurred while Joseph and Sonya Smith punished 8-year-old (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Also: Church’s critics say verdict is a lesson | Georgia couple guilty of murdering son, 8 (The Tennessean, Nashville)
• Also: Closing argument forces Cobb parents to tears | As prosecutor Eleanor Dixon concluded her closing remarks Wednesday, she produced a birthday cake with eight candles. Missing, she said, were candles marking Josef Smith’s subsequent birthdays. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Cab driver arrested for running over student after religious debate | The passengers — college students from Ohio visiting Nashville — got into an argument over religion with Ibrahim Ahmed as he was dropping them off at the Vanderbilt University campus, police said (Associated Press)
• Also: Cabbie in trouble after allegedly running over college students for religious dispute (Fox News)
• Lighter sentence | Woman charged in drunken-driving killing of priest pleads guilty to all charges in return for reduced prison term (Newsday)
• Widow killed by burglar she tried to help | A church preacher was murdered by a burglar she had invited into her home to recover after he had become drunk while celebrating his release from prison (The Times, London)
• Teen allegedly attacks priest with church’s cross | A wallet belonging to the teen was found outside the church a short time later just outside the church (KOVR, Sacramento, Ca.)
• Church vandal pleads guilty | Prosecutors say Alix Rolland, 20, scrawled anti-Semitic slogans and satanic symbols on two statues at the Good Shepherd Church (KNSD, San Diego)
• Cross sparks probe | Law enforcement officials are investigating a strange case of vandalism in which a wooden cross was placed atop the 200-foot tower of a Milton radio station whose owner is Jewish (Pensacola News Journal, Fla.)
• Rwanda frees genocide prisoners | Rwanda is releasing more than 9,000 prisoners, most of whom are in jail over the 1994 genocide which left about 800,000 people – mostly Tutsis—dead (BBC)
• Missionaries freed, but motive still unclear in abduction | Captors likely thought the four were oil workers before realizing their mistake (The Salt Lake Tribune)
• In Haiti, abductions hold nation hostage | Despite U.N. troop presence, much of capital controlled by gangs (The Washington Post)
• Sri Lanka says finds rebel grenades, cyanide at church | Sri Lankan troops have found Tamil Tiger rebel grenades, cyanide capsules and communications equipment in a Catholic church in the island’s besieged far northern Jaffna peninsula, the military said on Wednesday (Reuters)
• No prison sentence for Middletown pastor | Bishop of Power of Deliverance Temple sentenced to probation and community service after pleading guilty to money laundering (Middletown Journal, Oh.)
• Foe of gay marriage to face assault case | Catholic group leader accused in rally incident (The Boston Globe)
• Romanian priest sentenced for exorcism | A Romanian priest who led a dayslong exorcism ritual for a young nun that ended with the woman’s death was sentenced Monday to 14 years in prison. Four nuns were also sentenced in the case (Associated Press)
• Troubles at Our Lady of Las Vegas ongoing | Priest accused in attack brought in to heal rift over previous pastor (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

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Theft:

• Suspect accused of stealing church donations | Maintenance worker caught on videotape during communion (Times Herald, Port Huron, Mi.)
• Norfolk church wants to ensure no one helps himself to the money | Eight hundred tamper-proof money bags arrived at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Norfolk the other day, just in time for the Richmond diocese’s drive against collection plate embezzlement (The Virginian-Pilot)
• Also: Richmond diocese seeks to guard cash | Procedures, tamper-proof bags suggested to assure collection donations are safe (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.)
• Former church bookkeeper sentenced | A New Geneva woman who pleaded no contest to accusations she stole nearly $90,000 from a Uniontown church will spend 6 months under house arrest, followed by a period of intermediate punishment (Herald Standard, Uniontown, Pa.)
• Pilfering priests | Still recovering from the sexual abuse scandal of five years ago, the Catholic Church is facing another crisis: clergy who steal money from their parishes (Time)
• Bishops look at fleecings of flocks | The past year saw several cases where clerics were accused of stealing from their faithful. Some churchgoers say the thefts result from putting too much trust in one person and say more oversight is needed to stop it (USA Today)
• Former church officer accused of scam | Ex-treasurer indicted in theft of $25,000 from Athens man, 77 (The Decatur Daily, Ala.)
• Checks & balances | Churches have responded to recent thefts by starting or improving structures of accountability around their finances (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)
• Priest is not fleeing, attorney says | But other members of Spotsylvania household are moving to N.M. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.)
• Man admits church theft | A former business manager has pleaded guilty to stealing $118,000 from a Catholic church in Lebanon, Ohio (The Cincinnati Enquirer)

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The pastor who sold his church:

• Blogger posts clip of purported Radic interview | The man purporting to be Radic is remorseful and attempts to explain why he cheated the members of First Congregational Church (The Record, Stockton, Ca.)
• Pastor sentence delayed again | Judge wants to hear Radic’s testimony (Modesto Bee, Ca.)
• Also: Ex-pastor to be sentenced today after eight delays | Minister convicted after selling Ripon church; new judge given sentencing duties (Tri-Valley Herald, Ca.)

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People:

• Bruce Metzger, scholar and bible translator, dies at 93 | Dr. Metzger, an eminent scholar and translator of the Bible, was a world-renowned authority on translating the New Testament from the original Greek (The New York Times)
• Also: Bruce Manning Metzger dies at 93 | New Testament scholar helped edit, update Bible translations (Los Angeles Times)
• An icon? This ponytailed monk will leave that image to others | Father Justin Sinaites has ‘rock star’ status as overseer of a Byzantine exhibition at the Getty Museum. He’s eager to return home to Egypt (Los Angeles Times)
• Tyler Perry’s grass-roots path to fame | But some say Perry is TOO old-school — that his portraits of modern black life are based on stereotypes and that his over-the-top, cross-dressing style derives from 19th-century minstrel shows (Associated Press)
• A hard right punch | Michelle Malkin’s conservative fight has others coming out swinging (The Washington Post)
• Obituary: Roberta Semple Salter | Daughter and one-time heir to the ministry of the colourful Los Angeles evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson (The Times, London)
• The religious right’s Canadian godmother | Credit Ontario-raised evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson with popularizing the politically-charged belief that the United States is God’s “Chosen Nation.” (Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun)

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Margaret Wanjiru:

• Bishop Wanjiru’s bid to grill Kamangu thrown out | Embattled televangelist Margaret Wanjiru suffered yet another setback when she lost a bid to have the man who claims to be her common law husband cross-examined. At the same time, the High Court for the second time stopped her intended marriage to South African preacher Samuel Matjeke until a case filed by Mr James Kamangu Ndimu challenging the union was heard and determined (The Nation, Kenya)
• Also: Kamangu will not be quizzed, rules court (East African Standard, Kenya)
• Wanjiru joins ODM | Making the move at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Nairobi, Bishop Wanjiru said she will contest the Starehe parliamentary seat on an ODM-K ticket (The Nation, Kenya)

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Spirituality:

• What to believe in if not in God? | Just what do non-believers believe in? Despite all the tempting spiritual goodies our world offers, enlightened skeptics still seek to practice a secular, humanist morality. But the lure is growing hard to resist: Even pious Catholics are starting to dream of reincarnation (Der Spiegel, Germany)
• Spiritual aptitude tests help guide church works | Assessments of talents tell people about selves (The Tennessean, Nashville)
• Rally for God | Dozens of Christians gather on steps of the courthouse (The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
• Even in religion, boomers call the shots | As with housing, they want lots of room; for ministry, they want service even more than sacrament to manage the everyday pressures and sorrows of life (Eugene Cullen Kennedy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Is America too damn religious? | Barry Lynn, Susan Jacoby, Alan Wolfe, Jean Bethke Elshtain Albert Robateau, and William Galston debate (NPR)

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Other stories of interest:

• Religion news in brief | SBC leader calls for examination of denomination’s spiritual health; Grand sheik at top Muslim school agrees to meet pope in Rome; and other stories (Associated Press)
• Misplaced faith | Why no one questioned the implications of bringing large Muslim populations into a secularizing West (William Anthony Hay, The Wall Street Journal)

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The post Episcopal Bishops Balk at Anglican Leaders’ Demands appeared first on Christianity Today.

The debate has become an excuse for some to compile every criticism of what they think the megachurch movement is about. (Among the problems with such a critique is that many megachurches are having Sunday services, and many small churches are closing on Christmas, too). Closing church is seen as capitulation to a consumeristic, market-driven culture, a metaphor for placing cultural style above the substance of the gospel.

For some defenders, the criticism of the closings is representative of the judgmentalism and rigid dogma that has led so many away from “institutional” churches, and is the reason that “seeker-sensitive” churches exist. Those who insist that you go to church Sunday morning instead of Saturday night, they say, are akin to first-century Judaizers and are the ones missing the freedom of the gospel.

As Weblog wrote last week, this debate really is iconic. Both sides seem to agree that the story itself is a tempest in a teapot: more symbol and indication than a major development in itself. But what it symbolizes gets to the heart of many of the current intra-evangelical debates:

What is church? Is “real” Christianity about private devotional life or about ordered corporate life? Why do we meet as churches? What is the relationship between the church and church members, church attendees, and interested non-Christians? Is a church service where the majority of attendees are non-members or non-believers still called a church service? Can worship be evangelistic? Is evangelism the church’s (and the Christian’s) highest calling? What is the role of the family at church? Have American Christians made an idol out of family? How “pro-family” is Christianity? What happens when we use pro-family as a synonym for Christian? Why are pro-family groups making explicitly religious Christmas greetings a priority when the issue seems to have little to do with family relations? Is the church becoming too politicized? Too polarized? If one group says that another group is not really a church because of its policies, are the two groups still part of the same universal church? What makes a group a church? What might make a group that looks like a church not a church?

Whether to skip Sunday Christmas services is not a core issue. But the issues raised by doing so are foundational.

Unfortunately, rather than use the news as a springboard to discuss important issues, the conversation has devolved into name-calling and anathematizing. It’s getting particularly bad in Lexington, Kentucky, where Southland Christian pastor Jon Weece is defending the decision by claiming that Christmas is largely a pagan holiday anyway, that critics are being manipulated by Satan, and by comparing himself to Jesus battling the Pharisees over the breaking of tradition.

To make matters worse, the Lexington Herald-Leader has decided to go beyond Frank Lockwood‘s fair and detailed reporting of the controversy  to editorializing against the church. “The judgmental have now discovered how it feels to be judged,” the paper said yesterday, and suggested that Weece really cancelled services because “this is a time when people travel to be together, lightening the collection plates.”

Weblog does not yet have a comments section (we do have a message board), but there are other blogs where the conversation on this topic hasn’t completely devolved into pointlessness. Check out Out of Ur (from Christianity Today sister publication Leadership Journal), theologian Ben Witherington‘s blog, Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed, and Challies.com

More articles

Canceling church on Christmas | Christmas wars | Christmas wars blame game | Christmas consumerism | Can’t we all get along? | Annoyed by Christmas wars | Christmas cynicism | Bush Christmas | Christmas in school | Christmas & state | Inclusive holidays | The reason for the season | Operation Christmas Child

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Canceling church on Christmas (news):

1. Defense of canceling church on Christmas | Southland minister answers critics (Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.)
2. Story of the season: canceled Christmas | Not holding services widely criticized as the news spreads (Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.)
3. Family first, religion down the field | A survey of 1500 people by Sensis found 95 percent planned to celebrate Christmas Day with family. Three in four of those surveyed will eat a meal at home, and the same number will decorate the house. But only one in three will attend a religious service (The Sydney Morning Herald)
4. Meeting of the megachurches | Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington may be closed on Dec. 25, but the megachurch’s pastor has decided to preach on Christmas morning anyway. He’ll share preaching duties with the Rev. James Meeks in the pulpit of his Salem Baptist Church, the area’s largest predominantly black congregation (Chicago Sun-Times)
5. Christmas service DVD brings sermon to sofas | “I don’t see it as canceling Christmas service,” Pastor Jim Pelletier said. “I see it as putting it on a DVD and handing it to people.” The DVD has a six-minute sermon, animated videos of carols like “Silent Night” and 30 minutes of a burning fireplace. (The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Fla.)
6. Churches keep their Christmas services | Local congregations not following trend (The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.)
7. 2 churches not holding services on Christmas | While some churches are embracing the rare occurrence that Christmas Day falls on Sunday this year, at least two Central Indiana churches have joined other megachurches across the United States in deciding not to hold Christmas Day services (The Indianapolis Star)
8. Church trend puts holiday focus on Christmas Eve | Many are adjusting schedules to reduce services on Dec. 25 (Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
9. No Sunday holiday service? | Some churches close for Christmas (The Journal Gazette, Ft. Wayne, Ind.)
10. Some churches will take off Christmas Sunday | New trend urges stay-at-home family celebrations. (The Orange County Register, Ca.)
11. Christmas surprise: services cut | This year some churches in the Inland area and elsewhere will cancel Sunday services, expecting significantly lower attendance or wanting to give volunteers more time with their families (The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Ca.)
12. No church on Christmas? | Many services may be canceled (The Cincinnati Post)

Canceling church on Christmas (opinion):

1. Christmas lessons | Church closing debate takes strange turns (Editorial, Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.)
2. Churches’ split on Dec. 25 services raises big questions | It’s not for us to say whether churches should skip holding services on an upcoming Sunday. But the controversy should spur debate on what Christmas Day means to people, on how different people worship their god and on the role of churches in this matter (Editorial, The Daily Local, West Chester, Pa.)
3. Faithful should worship on Christmas | I think the leaders who closed their churches for Christmas are dead wrong. But I do understand their dilemma (Alan Price, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
4. Churches closing this Christmas | But if Jesus’ birth is the good news Christians say it is, why not take every opportunity to proclaim it? (Jim Ketchum, The Times Herald, Port Huron, Mi.)
5. No church on Dec. 25 because it’s Christmas? | It’s distressing that so-called “mega” churches are canceling services on Christmas Day just because it’s on Sunday this year (Rose Russell, The Toledo Blade, Oh.)

Christmas wars:

1. Calling Christmas by its name | People are saying ‘Happy Holidays’ instead of Merry Christmas (Good Morning America, ABC)
2. Bishop: Call it a Christmas tree | “Historically, that’s what it is. I don’t think we want to call a menorah a candlestick,” Madison Bishop Robert Morlino told reporters Monday at a news conference (The Capital Times, Madison, Wi.)
3. Banner stirs Christmas controversy | One Tampa church says in a banner that it’s tired of the secularization of Christmas, but others find the sign offensive (St. Petersburg Times, Fla.)
4. The war over Christmas, who’s fighting and why? | This year the Christmas crusaders appear to be winning: holiday is out, Christmas is in (Charles C. Haynes, First Amendment Center)

Christmas wars: Right’s fault:

1. Christian soldiers battle the ‘War on Christmas’ | This debate flares each December, but in recent months the outcry has gotten louder than ever (The Salt Lake Tribune)
2. Lines drawn in battle over Christmas | An increasingly vocal number of Christians are attacking what they say is a “war on Christmas” by those determined to enforce a rigorously neutral holiday season reflecting America’s constitutional separation of church and state (BBC)
3. Who took the “X” out of X-mas? | Fear not, religious conservatives. The Winter Holiday might be commercially tied to a roly-poly man who lives with elves, but you might get an anti-abortion majority on the Supreme Court and God could cement her place in the Pledge of Allegiance (Editorial, The Seattle Times)
4. Trumped-up Christmas kerfuffle | The early Christians confronted lions in the Coliseum. But these post-moderns find martyrdom in hearing someone tell them “Season’s Greetings” (Froma Harrop, The Providence Journal, R.I.)
5. A holy war vs. Dec. 25? | To those people who want to put Christ back in Christmas—go for it. No one is stopping you. But don’t turn Christ’s birth into a war over who’s holier than thou. (Inez Russell, The New Mexican, Santa Fe)
6. There’s a war on Christmas? Don’t buy it | To claim that this small cadre of militant secularists is winning a war on Christmas is absurd. It looks silly when people fresh from crowing about how they elected a president and a Congress, then beat back a Supreme Court nominee, stand before the cameras that televise their Sunday services from plush temples seating thousands and claim that their right to worship is being squelched (Chris Satullo, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
7. Saying ‘happy holidays’ not an assault on a merry Christmas | Saying “Happy Holidays” is not an insult. It has not taken Christ out of Christmas. Just can’t do that (David Hampton, The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Miss.)
8. ‘Tis the time to celebrate, not bicker | Be glad we have the religious freedom to argue over seasonal greetings (Jeff Bruce, Dayton Daily News, Oh.)
9. A backlash to ‘Happy Holidays’ | What appears to be emerging in the Toronto area, and indeed across Canada, is a backlash to inclusiveness (Bob Hepburn, Toronto Star)
10. Fox News foments a controversy | Sometimes living in Diaspora, or in fact as a minority anywhere, can feel mighty uncomfortable. (M.J. Rosenberg, The Jerusalem Post)
11. Greetings under siege | An extraordinary movement has risen up to save Christmas, even though the right of Christians to worship as we choose is about as endangered in this country as those of Muslims in Mecca (Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune)

Christmas wars: Left’s fault:

1. The battle over Christmas | The American Civil Liberties Union, with whom we often find common cause, needs to mellow out on this one and enjoy what can be—if we keep it in perspective—a particularly satisfying time of the year, regardless of your religious faith (Editorial, The Toledo Blade, Oh.)
2. fight, all ye faithful | Because of ridiculous political correctness, today’s Christians have a hard time holding on to Christmas (John Tierney, The New York Times)
3. Americans demanding end to generic holiday | Sensitivity has taken the fun from Christmas, many say (The Arizona Republic)
4. Holiday wishes? Happy holidays? | Humbug! Merry Christmas (John Sonderegger, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
5. Putting ‘Christ’ back into ‘holiday’ season | This obsession to secularize a day – a federal holiday, by the way – that Americans have always set aside to honor the birth of Jesus Christ seems to have reached a frenzied pitch (Gregory J. Rummo, NorthJersey.com)

Christmas spirit of consumerism:

1. Christmas jeers | Target, Lowe’s and Wal-Mart get caught in the culture wars (Fortune)
2. Merry Christmas or else | Push to get retailers to drop ‘holiday’ language grows stronger, louder (The Dallas Morning News)
3. Pope says materialism pollutes Christmas spirit | “In today’s consumer society, this time of the year unfortunately suffers from a sort of commercial ‘pollution’ that threatens to alter its real spirit,” the Pope told a large crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square to hear his weekly Angelus blessing (Reuters)
4. ‘Happy holidays’ doesn’t make some shoppers very merry | Retailers’ neutral holiday displays anger some Christians, but others say the lack of “Merry Christmas” doesn’t bother them (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
5. Holiday spirit: From the heart, not the mall | Silly me! And here I’ve been thinking that Target, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Kmart and America’s malls are places where people go this time of year to shop. But thanks to the Rev. Jerry Falwell and others in his wing of Christendom, I now know that those stores are there during the holiday season to serve as places of worship (Colbert I. King, The Washington Post)
6. Diverse greetings | Signs and displays alluding specifically to Christianity don’t bother me at all, and I can see why Christians—and adherents of other faiths—would prefer to spend money where their beliefs are taken seriously. On the other hand, I’ve known believers who do not want the life of their savior linked to anything as crass as a marketing campaign (Jabari Asim, The Washington Post)
7. Putting Rambo back in Christmas | Christians buy things. Lots of things. Especially during the Christmas season when we celebrate the birth of the man who said, “Give up your possessions and follow me” (David Waters, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.)
8. Let church put `Christ’ in Christmas | I don’t want corporate America to determine a Christian message (Steve Scauzillo, Pasadena Star-News, Ca.)
9. A war on Christmas? Hmmm. | Our way of life is under attack and on some of our most sacred ground: department stores (Mark McCormick, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.)
10. Not-so-merry militants fighting for the wrong side | Now we’re supposed to denounce companies for not exploiting Christmas? (E.J. Montini, The Arizona Republic)

Can’t we all get along?

1. Whose holy day? | The public needs a thicker holiday season skin, as well as the courage to call holidays by their proper names, the courtesy to respect holiday atheists, and the wisdom to sidestep the hype of holiday hollering (Editorial, The Boston Globe)
2. What ‘war on Christmas’? | There is an ugly, bullying aspect to this dispute, in which the pro-Christmas forces are not only asking, reasonably, that their religion be treated with equal status and respect but in which they are attacking legitimate efforts at inclusivity. (Ruth Marcus, The Washington Post)
3. Let’s not make the Christmas season a ‘holiday’ battleground | God bless anyone who has a special time during this season that they want to celebrate. We should thank them for thinking enough about us to offer salutations (Cary Clack, San Antonio Express-News, Tex.)

Annoyed by Christmas wars:

1. Merry whatever | Unlike the ones I used to know (Kate Carlisle, The Washington Post)
2. Offended? Use reason this season | The nonsense from both sides of this cultural abyss has gotten entirely out of hand (Jacquielynn Floyd, The Dallas Morning News)
3. ‘Holiday tree’ doesn’t put Christmas in peril | I am one of many people I know who have become less “Christian” through the years. I think most of us caught in this trend feel driven that way by the unrelenting, judgmental attitude expressed by more and more conservative “Christians” who seem hell-bent on imposing their beliefs on everybody else (Tim Botkin, Kitsap Sun, Wa.)
4. Christmas war belittles reason for the season | Forgive me if I don’t take up arms in the so-called War on Christmas (Leonard Pitts Jr., The Miami Herald)
5. No need to tiptoe around Christmas | If we got to stay home purely for faith reasons, some politically correct workaholic would’ve sued to get us back in the office by now (Mike Moore, The Journal Times, Racine, Wi.)
6. Merry Christmas — and don’t blame me if you’re miserable | I said “Merry Christmas” because I wanted to, but I would heartily resent it, if someone like Falwell or O’Reilly wanted to force me to say it. (Jim Baron, The Call, Woonsocket, R.I.)

Christmas cynicism:

1. Thou shall mention Christmas or be subjected to denunciations | Some of these manipulators make quite a nice living on the anger circuit (The Brownsville Herald, Tex.)
2. ‘Tis the season for all to take offense | Who’d have ever thought that “Merry Christmas” could turn into a political statement? (Ed Quillen, The Denver Post)

Bush Christmas:

1. Bush meets St. Peter | As for the “war on Christmas,” heaven has other priorities (Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times)
2. Bush not losing his religion | Now is the time to stand in defense of President Bush. The issue? Christmas cards. (Carlos Sanchez, Waco Tribune-Herald, Tex.)
3. Presidential tidings of great joy | I don’t think that a cheery “Merry Christmas” in 1.4 million mass-produced cards goes nearly far enough (Henry Brinton, The Washington Post)
4. So much for peace on earth | Bush’s ex-friends see a ‘war’ on Christmas (Katy Burns, The Concord Monitor, N.H.)

Christmas in school:

1. Letter hits home for the holidays | Schools largely ignore letter reminding that Christmas doesn’t need to disappear during the holidays (The Beacon News, Aurora, Ill.)
2. Schools lean to ‘holiday trees’ as spirit of inclusiveness grows | Decorations, celebrations gradually shift from use of ‘Christmas’ (The Toledo Blade, Oh.)
3. School’s ‘giving tree’ turns into ‘giving counter’ | A parent complained that the tree was a Christian symbol. The principal agreed to remove the tree, but continue the giving effort (KOMO, Seattle)
4. School policy on Christmas stirs concerns | Principal apologizes for e-mail about avoiding holiday themes (Springfield News-Leader, Mo.)
5. Say sorry for Xmas | Dad’s whinge wins apology from principal (Sunday Herald Sun, Melbourne, Australia)
6. There is no room for Christmas at multi-faith school | Parents are demanding the return of Christmas at a school where the nativity play has been cancelled in favour of a “seasonal celebration” of four faiths (The Telegraph, London)

Christmas & state:

1. Nativity displays tangled in legalities | Dozens of residents and interested onlookers have been pleading for weeks with Wellington leaders to add the Nativity scene to its holiday display — which now features the menorah, a traditional symbol of Judaism, and Christmas tree, which is considered a secular symbol of the holidays (Palm Beach Post, Fla.)
2. Mial’s doctrine of separating church and state | Does it really hurt us if someone tells us, “Merry Christmas?” Or “Happy Holidays?” (Richard Mial, LaCrosse Tribune, Wis.)
3. City strikes balance at holidays | Here we are in the middle of a liberal city located in a liberal state attending a public concert in a public building and Christian music is featured without controversy (Bill Wineke, Wisconsin State Journal)
4. Call for show of faith fails to inspire public | After years of avoiding religious holiday decorations, this time the Village of Wheeling invited them, but … (Chicago Tribune)
5. Humbug in Harrow | These days, no Christmas is complete without a multiculturalist Scrooge, in the shape of a public sector institution with advanced views about “celebrating diversity” (Editorial, The Telegraph, London)
6. Grinch causes scene | Another holy war erupted on Long Island yesterday after a Huntington lawyer filed suit arguing that a Nativity scene and menorah in the center of town violated the constitutional separation of church and state (New York Post)

Inclusive holidays:

1. Christmas belongs to all of us | All those folks getting bent out of shape miss the point: The holiday belongs to all. Jesus may have been the original reason for the season. But we’re 2,000 years down the road and customs have evolved to fit a diverse society (Editorial, Tallahassee Democrat, Fla.)
2. This year, the meaning of Dec. 25 is twofold | 1st night of Hanukkah falls on Christmas Day (The Washington Post)
3. Not so happy holidays | My grandchildren came home from kindergarten with a question: Why couldn’t we celebrate Hanukah and Christmas like their friend Isabel? (Bob Schieffer, CBS News)
4. Happy? Merry? Neither? | Is the push for inclusion causing the exclusion of Christmas? At work or in the stores, you’ll hear about the hot topic this season (The Kansas City Star)
5. Have a merry whatever | ‘Christmas?’ ‘Season?’ ‘Holiday?’ Enjoy it in peace (Richard Larsen, Ventura County Star, Ca.)

The reason for the season:

1. Father & child | Scripture downplays even his Christmas role, but Joseph’s relationship with Jesus has inspired generations to explore his hidden virtues (Time)
2. Focus on Christ, not Christians | Christianity doesn’t require perfection (Issac J. Bailey, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
3. It’s not all about the tree | Christmas does not center around a Frasier Fir, a blue cedar or any other evergreen (Kristen Campbell, Mobile Register, Ala.)
4. Don’t dilute the meaning of Christmas | You might refuse to receive the expression; you might not want to act upon the truth it conveys. You might refuse to accept and celebrate Christmas for what it truly means. But please, don’t neutralize it! (Jim A. Farrell, Philadelphia Daily News)
5. At Christmas, search for new virtue within | Beyond remembering the literal story of his nativity, there’s an important theological concept associated with the Christmas season — it’s the idea of incarnation (R. Scott Colglazier, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Tex.)
6. The stupid season? | Before we condemn what’s going on in the public squares, perhaps we should examine how we celebrate Christmas in our homes and our hearts. (Alicia Colon, New York Sun)

Operation Christmas Child:

1. Christian charity warning | Tasmania’s public schools have been told not to raise Christmas funds for a Christian organization run by the son of the world’s most famous evangelist Billy Graham (The Mercury, Tasmania, Australia)
2. Let children learn the art of giving | There is no need for anyone to be concerned about Samaritan’s Purse (Editorial, The Cumberland News, U.K.)
3. Shoeboxes overseas, public schools at home | Evangelist Franklin Graham uses rally to reveal witness initiative (The Charlotte Observer, N.C.)

Missions & ministry:

1. Single parents can gas up for free | A cross denominational group of area pastors and dignitaries will be at Jackson’s Chevron on Fairview in Meridian from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. pumping free gas as part of a modern day parable (The Idaho Statesman, Boise)
2. Also: Ministry giving away free gas to single parents (Associated Press)
3. From pulpits, a call to halt gun violence | City pastors seek a grass-roots push (The Boston Globe)
4. A church reaches out to the very young | In Boston, the Episcopal Church of the Advent has developed a worship class for children under 3 (The New York Times)
5. Evangelicals seeing the light when it comes to AIDS outreach | Due credit must be given to Evangelical churches who are turning their missionary efforts in fighting AIDS, homeward (Charita Goshay, Canton Repository, Oh.)

Church life:

1. Judge sides with 2 Episcopal parishes in property dispute | Churches in Long Beach and North Hollywood had split from the diocese over gay issues (Los Angeles Times)
2. Also: Judge backs Calif. Episcopal parishes | A judge ruled that two conservative parishes that broke away from the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles to protest the ordination of a gay bishop are the rightful owners of their church buildings and other property (Associated Press)
3. Church ‘misused welfare’ | Hillsong Church is generating money by recycling public funds aimed at disadvantaged people back into its own coffers through tithes, a NSW MP has alleged (The Australian)
4. Officer wins $5M case; city weighs appeal | Case began as a run-of-the-mill noise complaint at a Fair Haven church and turned into a political conflagration (New Haven Register, Ct.)
5. Church parking irks neighbors | The streets around several Northwest churches turn into virtual parking lots on Sunday mornings, and rows of illegally parked cars that create a weekly gridlock has many residents of the gentrifying neighborhood fuming (The Washington Times)
6. Minister awaits sex bias verdict … against God | Helen Percy, 39, was suspended from her job as an associate Church of Scotland minister in the Angus glens when, as a single woman, she was accused of having sex with a married elder (The Observer, London)
7. Physical changes to build spiritual future | Hollywood Methodist is one of many churches remodeling to better use worship space and accommodate more contemporary music (Los Angeles Times)
8. Opening church’s doors first step to conversion | Churches understand that sports can be a powerful evangelical tool and are offering weekend warriors opportunities as a gateway to a deeper exploration of faith (Colorado Springs Gazette)

Catholicism:

1. Diocese to try priest for heresy | The Diocese of San Bernardino today will hold what experts say could be one of the few Roman Catholic heresy trials in U.S. history (The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Ca.)
2. Archdiocese seeks to curtail eulogies | A new document has been making its way through parishes of the Archdiocese of Chicago for the last few months in an attempt to set the record straight about what should and should not happen during a Roman Catholic funeral (Chicago Sun-Times)
3. Diocesan campaign falls short | Springfield misses goal for fifth year (Associated Press)
4. Jews and Catholics bid for pope’s family home | The two rooms and a kitchen in southern Poland where Karol Wojtyla was born in 1920 is now a shrine to the memory of the late Pope John Paul II, visited by up to 5,000 pilgrims every day (The Guardian, London)
5. Menino fires back at critics over issues of faith, politics | At Catholic Charities event, he delivers personal address (The Boston Globe)
6. Also: Zealots mask real struggles | The demonstrators outside a Catholic Charities fund-raiser honoring Mayor Thomas M. Menino the other night are not leaders of some right-wing ascendancy among the laity in the Boston Archdiocese. They are a tiny band of antiabortion zealots, being exploited by the hierarchy in hopes of promoting a backlash against reformers outraged by the criminal conduct of predatory priests and the bishops who protected them (Eileen McNamara, The Boston Globe)
7. Church group refuses to give up fight | Members vow to press appeal (The Boston Globe)
8. Clergy’s call still strong for young Vietnamese | Fewer American Catholics are expressing interest in the priesthood, but Vietnamese-Americans are an exception (The New York Times)
9. Mexicans honor Virgin of Guadalupe | Wearing long feather headdresses, Aztec-style dancers spun in circles to beating drums Monday as millions of worshippers converged on Mexico’s Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe to honor Latin America’s patron saint (Associated Press)
10. Also: Multitude of personal touches will build an expanded shrine | Cathedral will create a mosaic from broken bits of donated china in an enlarged niche for Our Lady of Guadalupe (Los Angeles Times)
11. Holy orders put their faith in cohabitation | Cohabiting monks and nuns—who have joined forces to pray, work and live together under the same roof – have hailed their mixed convent trial as a success (The Observer, London)
12. Also: The monks and nuns who found a new calling—to move in together | A mixed convent and monastery could offer a solution to the declining number of faithful joining religious orders in the Roman Catholic Church (The Times, London)

Abuse :

1. Police fear for children abused by religious sects | Dozens of children are being abused by religious groups who believe they are possessed, The Times has learnt (The Times, London)
2. Catholic Church acts to limit abuse settlements | In several cites in the United States, the Catholic church is using legal mechanisms to protect itself against sex abuse settlements it says would devastate its mission (Talk of the Nation, NPR)
3. Pa. priest gets probation in abuse case | A judge broke down in tears Friday as she gave probation to a priest who sexually molested a student in the late 1970s (Associated Press)
4. New Jersey Assembly to vote today on sex assault liability | Legislation that would allow childhood victims of sexual assault to sue churches, schools and other non-profits for the actions of their employees is scheduled for a vote today in the state Assembly (Associated Press)

Vatican Instruction on seminaries:

1. Vatican’s gay policy gets liberal reading | Ask the archbishop of Dublin to describe the theological weight of the Vatican’s latest statement on whether gay men have a place in the priesthood. He’ll say it didn’t amount to much (Associated Press)
2. Advocates protest ban on gay priests | Rallies denounce Vatican policy (The Boston Globe)
3. Catholic leaders divided on banning gay priest | Response to a recent Vatican document barring men with ”deep-rooted homosexual tendencies” from studying for the priesthood underscores how divided Catholic leaders in the United States remain on the subject of gay priests (The Miami Herald)
4. Gays not banned by new rules | Neither homosexuality nor heterosexuality in themselves are predictors of sexual violence. The new document does not make such a connection at all, but some readers, in confusion, have (Tom Ryan, The Miami Herald)
5. How can Vatican think inner conflict makes a priest safer? | For the general Catholic population, appropriate reactions would seem to include concern about whether the instruction will or will not be enforced, anger at leadership that is so distant from the experience of its people, and wonderment about who will be affected when the Vatican drops the next shoe (Robert McClory, Chicago Tribune)

Brazilians convicted of killing U.S. nun:

1. Brazilians convicted of killing U.S. nun | Rayfran das Neves Sales and Clodoaldo Carlos Batista were found guilty of killing Dorothy Stang on Feb. 12 in the heart of the Amazon rain forest (Associated Press)
2. Friends of slain US nun vow to press Brazil fight | Stang’s supporters said they were now ready to go after ranchers accused of offering the two men 50,000 reais to kill the activist, who blocked their advance on valuable, hard-wood rich rain forest (Reuters)

Crime :

1. Woman who beat Jehovah’s Witness gets jail | A woman who used a butcher knife to beat a Jehovah’s Witness who knocked on her door on Christmas Day was sentenced to three months in jail (Associated Press)
2. Ex-cop sentenced in cardinal’s death | A court has sentenced a former police commander to 40 years in prison in the 1993 shooting death of a Roman Catholic cardinal at the Guadalajara airport, officials said Friday (Associated Press)
3. Let us prey … on Christians | Net fraud targets charity donors (Daily Record, Scotland)
4. Teacher and pastor who submitted a false order faces firing | Pastor of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Bronx, who was also a chaplain in the Air National Guard, admitted to submitting false military orders (The New York Times)
5. Also: Teacher busted for lying | Got time off for Brazil trip by saying Guard unit was aiding flood victims (New York Daily News)
6. Priest attacked and robbed by men | Three men tied up and robbed a priest who had given them food and money just minutes earlier (BBC)
7. Religious inmates less violent | A University of Alabama study finds that religious prison inmates are less likely to get into fights (UPI)
8. Study: Religiosity, Religious Participation, and Negative Prison Behaviors (Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion)

Stanley “Tookie” Williams & the death penalty:

1. Death penalty debate focuses on redemption | Whether Stanley “Tookie” Williams truly had found redemption—and many doubted his sincerity—prosecutors, victims’ advocates and death penalty supporters said he still had to pay for the murders of four people in 1979 (The Baltimore Sun)
2. Death penalty: A moral debate | Rooted in many religions is the idea that sins must be atoned for. In California, juries occasionally require from murderers the ultimate payment: their lives (Los Angeles Times)
3. Protecting life by taking it away | Does God frown on the death penalty even when it comes to the worst killers in our midst? (Jeff Jacoby, The Boston Globe)

Australian riots:

1. Christian leaders call for harmony | Christian leaders combined yesterday to call on politicians to look at the underlying causes of the cycle of race riots and reprisals afflicting southern Sydney (The Australian)
2. Christmas is sacred, Pell warns race gangs | Catholic Archbishop George Pell has warned gangs of Middle Eastern descent not to target Christmas celebrations, after families were abused and gunshots fired into cars at a primary school’s carols night in western Sydney on Monday (The Australian)
3. A community with a proud record | Of the Lebanon-born now living in Victoria, 44 per cent identify as Muslim and about 39 per cent as Christian. But Professor Trevor Batrouney said Christians would outnumber Muslims when all people of Lebanese descent were considered (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
4. Leaders sickened by the violence | Sydney’s religious, political and community leaders yesterday condemned Sunday’s violence as a revolting disgrace (The Daily Telegraph, New South Wales, Australia)

Persecution :

1. Blasphemy laws and church attacks fuel strife in Pakistani town, Christians say | Blasphemy laws are blamed for worsening sectarian relations in Pakistan, where Christians, Hindus and other minorities make up 3 percent of the overwhelmingly Muslim population (The New York Times)
2. Jharkhand’s Christian minister opposes anti-conversion bill | Enos Ekka, Jharkhand’s lone Christian minister, has reacted sharply to the proposed Anti-Conversion Bill announced by Chief Minister Arjun Munda (IANS, India)
3. Fearing Christmas in Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka’s Christians have been the victims of little-noticed persecution (Roger Severino, The Wall Street Journal)

Human rights :

1. Liberian warlord reinvents self as senator | Once a powerful faction leader, more recently an evangelical preacher-in-exile, Prince Johnson helped drive Liberia into a catastrophic civil war (Associated Press)
2. Pope says war no excuse for human rights abuses | In the first peace message of his pontificate, he also appealed for worldwide nuclear disarmament and said countries considering acquiring such weapons should “change their course” (Reuters)
3. Rights group urges Darfur probe | Human Rights Watch has called for senior Sudanese officials—including the president—to be investigated for crimes against humanity in Darfur (BBC)
4. Also: Darfur ‘abuses’ blamed on leaders | Senior members of Sudan’s government, including the president, are responsible for “widespread and systematic abuses” in Darfur, according to a report released last night by Human Rights Watch (The Telegraph, London)

CPT hostages :

1. Peace activist ‘was betrayed by spy’ | The kidnapped British peace activist who faced a deadline for his “execution” in Iraq last night may have been betrayed by a spy at a mosque that he visited just before his abduction (The Telegraph, London)
2. Still no word on fate of Iraq hostages | Iraqi and British officials said Sunday they had no word on the fate of four Christian peace activists, more than a day after the expiration of a deadline set by kidnappers to kill them if all prisoners weren’t released (Associated Press)
3. Silence follows hostage deadline | The deadline set by kidnappers holding British peace activist Norman Kember and three colleagues has passed with no news of their fate emerging from Iraq (BBC)
4. A mission of peace and peril | With four colleagues kidnapped, a Minnesota pacifist is poised to return to Iraq. She goes to bear witness to those struggling with violence (Los Angeles Times)
5. Hostage situation in Iraq sparks interest in joining Christian peace group | The upswing in those looking to sign on with Christian Peacemaker Teams, including those wanting to go to Iraq despite the dangers, has been “noticeable,” said Robin Buyers, a spokeswoman for the organization (Canadian Press)
6. Vigil held for Briton kidnapped in Baghdad | Friends and colleagues of British hostage Norman Kember were holding a vigil for him last night, as diplomats in Iraq continued to hunt for clues of his whereabouts (The Scotsman)
7. Va. Muslims and Quakers pray together for safety of hostages | As the deadline for hostage Tom Fox’s execution approached in Iraq, Muslims and Quakers gathered at a Sterling mosque yesterday afternoon to pray together for his safe return and that of three other Western peace activists kidnapped in Baghdad two weeks ago (The Washington Post)
8. In their hour of need, prayer | As the deadline regarding the fate of four hostages in Iraq passes, friends reflect (Los Angeles Times)

War & terrorism:

1. Pope decries stalled disarmament efforts | Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday decried “bogged down” nuclear disarmament efforts and religious fanaticism as thwarting peace, while his top justice official denounced torture as an unacceptable, unnecessary way to fight terrorism (Associated Press)
2. Christians have no voice in new Iraq government | Local Chaldeans hope they can make difference with vote. (The Macomb Daily, Mount Clemens, Mi.)
3. U.S. activists fast outside Guantanamo | American activists camping out at a Cuban military checkpoint outside the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay started their first day of a water-only fast Monday to protest the treatment of suspected terrorists detained at the base (Associated Press)
4. Australia warns of Xmas attacks in Indonesia | Australia warned of possible terrorist attacks in Indonesia over the Christmas-New Year period, saying on Monday it had received reports militants were in the advanced stages of planning attacks against Western targets (Reuters)

Israel :

1. Missionaries lobby Israeli gov´t to stop demonstrations in Arad | Christian missionaries, primarily from the United States, have been pressuring the Israeli government to prevent demonstrations against their activity (Arutz Sheva, Israel)
2. Chicago Presbyterians debate Mideast | They may target firms gaining from conflict (Chicago Tribune)
3. The other Bethlehem story | In Jewish history, the town itself has significance (Moshe Dann, The Jerusalem Post)
4. Jerusalem patriarch prays barrier removed | The top Roman Catholic official in the Holy Land planted an olive tree Sunday on the planned route of Israel’s separation barrier in a West Bank village and prayed for the wall’s removal, saying it serves no purpose (Associated Press)
5. Christodoulos rapped for hellish Israel quote | A speech by the outspoken head of the Church of Greece, Archbishop Christodoulos, during which he used a little-known and old-fashioned phrase that links Israel with hell, drew criticism from the Israeli Embassy yesterday (Kathimerini, Athens)

Benny Hinn in Fiji:

1. No disclosure on Benny Hinn | Whether American evangelist Benny Hinn will have his records checked will not be made public (Fiji Times)
2. Church wants Hinn banned | A church group has started a campaign to keep American evangelist Benny Hinn out of Fiji (Fiji Times)
3. Qarase backs man of God | If American evangelist Benny Hinn has a dubious background, then it is up to the Ministry of Home Affairs to decide on whether or not to investigate him, says Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase (Fiji Times)

Church & state:

1. Lawmakers call for review of IRS activities involving religious group | Three members of Congress have requested a federal investigation into news reports that the Internal Revenue Service conducts reviews of churches and other places of worship based on the content of sermons or other discourse delivered as part of religious services or gathering (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
2. N.J. prison to allow inmate to receive Wiccan items | Move settles lawsuit brought by convicted murderer who was denied access to books, other religious materials (Associated Press)
3. Group asks Idaho high court to allow commandments initiative | But city of Boise attorney tells justices that letting citizens vote on whether to return monument to city park would make all administrative decisions by local governments subject to voter reversal (Associated Press)
4. Lawyer reaches fee deal in prayers case | A lawyer in a case that forced Great Falls to eliminate references to Jesus during prayers before government meetings says he reached a deal over his legal fees (Associated Press)
5. Welcome wall, don’t fear it | Religious leaders abuse trust with political views (Amber Brestle, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
6. Meeting the test of inclusive prayer | People fulminating that the recent ruling about prayer at the Statehouse was a violation of “free speech” should read Judge David Hamilton’s decision (Sheila Suess Kennedy, The Indianapolis Star)
7. Is United States a Christian nation? | If you’re talking about culture and history, yes. Legally Christian, no (Ed Williams, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.)

Religion & politics:

1. Congress seeks to reconcile divergent bills | Taxes, spending at issue as religious activists, labor unions and liberal groups to scuttle the legislation (The Washington Post)
2. Gov. names moderate to high court | Carol A. Corrigan has long been active in the Roman Catholic Church and in Catholic charities. In response to questions, she said the church’s views on such issues as abortion and homosexuality may not necessarily reflect her beliefs, nor would she ever permit her religion to influence her legal decisions (Los Angeles Times)
3. Kansas leaning further to right | Conservatives, moderates both battling to claim ‘traditional’ mantle (Lawrence Journal-World, Kan.)
4. The presidency & faith | While maintaining barriers between religion and politics, America’s political leaders can exemplify commitments to peace, economic and political justice, the alleviation of suffering and the enhancement of human rights. (Jimmy Carter, USA Today)
5. Religious zealots, arranged right to left | Liberals who want you to be liberal are moral, but Christians who want you to be Christian are bigots (Dennis Prager, Los Angeles Times)
6. Separation of sex and state | One of the most difficult tasks of a democracy is deciding which messages are suitable for universal consumption in the public square — especially when it comes to sex and religion (Carol Platt Liebau, Los Angeles Times)
7. Politically speaking, Christian liberals left behind | The religious left is still noisy and has access to all media but has become increasingly ineffective in the public square (T.R. Fehrenbach, San Antonio Express-News, Tex.)
8. Lawyer proves powerful advocate for his Christian faith in court | Robert Tyler believes a culture war is being waged against Christians, and the religious attorney from Temecula is using the courts to fight it (The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Ca.)
9. Can you believe it? | While there is significant suspicion of Muslims in American society, the secular urban liberals and progressive religious believers I know rarely question the premise of my faith. They do not roll their eyes when I make a reference to Allah in conversation. So, why do so many liberals see a theocrat whenever they hear the word “evangelical”? (Eboo Patel, Chicago Tribune)

Frist cautions senators against filibustering Alito vote:

1. Frist cautions senators against stalling Alito vote | Democrats don’t plan filibuster (The Washington Post)
2. Frist says he’s ready to block filibuster | Senate majority leader Bill Frist said Sunday he is prepared to strip Democrats of their ability to filibuster if they try to stall Samuel Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court (Associated Press)
3. Byrd warns Frist against ‘nuclear option’ | “If the senator wants a fight, let him try it,” said Byrd, the Senate’s senior Democrat (Associated Press)

Abortion :

1. Colombia’s anti-abortion law challenged | A women’s rights group challenged Colombia’s strict anti-abortion law in a new lawsuit Monday, seeking to revive the issue days after the country’s highest court decided not to rule on a previous lawsuit (Associated Press)
2. Also: New lawsuit in Colombia over abortion | Days after Colombia’s highest court rejected a case challenging the country’s prohibition on abortion, an international women’s rights group plans to file another suit (The New York Times)
3. Embryo adoption | This year, opponents of abortion stepped up their use of a carefully chosen phrase (The New York Times Magazine)
4. Pass the buffer | Council’s abortion protest bill strikes a fair balance (Editorial, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Study: ‘Anguish of abortion is worse than miscarriage’:

1. ‘Anguish of abortion is worse than miscarriage’ | Women who have an abortion can suffer mental distress, anxiety, guilt and shame at least five years afterwards, researchers say today (The Telegraph, London)
2. Post-abortion trauma seen as worse than miscarriages | The lingering distress, sadness and guilt brought on by an induced abortion is worse than that of a miscarriage and decreases much more slowly as time goes on, according to a five-year study of Norwegian women (The Washington Times)
3. The shame of our abortion laws | In the short term, more post-abortion counselling is needed. In the long term, the need for it should be reduced by a change in the law (Editorial, The Telegraph, London)

Morning-after pill :

1. Confusion over new emergency contraception law deepens | A law requiring hospitals to offer emergency contraception to rape victims takes effect next week, but confusion about its legal implications lingered Friday, fueled by Gov. Mitt Romney’s shifting interpretation of the law and opposition from some Catholics (Associated Press)
2. ‘Morning-after’ access widened | About 200 New Hampshire pharmacists have taken the first step toward making emergency contraception more widely available in the state (The Concord Monitor, N.H.)
3. Political pill | Was the FDA caving to political pressure when it refused to make the morning-after pill available over the counter? (Shaunti Feldhahn and Diane Glass, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Mother gives life to save baby:

1. The mum who died for this moment | Tributes were paid last night to the memory of a remarkable mother who refused life-saving cancer treatment to protect her unborn baby (Northern Echo, England)
2. Mother’s life gift to unborn baby | Bernadette Mimura, 37, from Ingleby Barwick, was diagnosed with breast cancer one month into her pregnancy. Doctors urged her to try life-saving drugs, but this would have meant terminating the pregnancy (BBC)
3. A brave and tragic mum | In later years when Nathan is told of his mother’s sacrifice, what a proud young man he will be (Editorial, Northern Echo, England)

Life ethics :

1. South Korea’s Hwang returns to hospital | South Korean stem cell pioneer Hwang Woo-Suk briefly left a hospital Monday and made a tearful return to work after being treated for extreme stress brought on by an ethics scandal over his groundbreaking research (Associated Press)
2. Cloning chaos | Misrepresentations, hype, and outright lies in the name of “science” (Richard Doerflinger, National Review Online)

Science :

1. Science friction | No wonder many Americans are leery of evolutionary theory. The leading lights of science today can be arrogant and condescending, and science is poorly taught in most schools (Pamela R. Winnick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
2. Madness about a method | How did science become so contentious and politicized? (Jim Holt, The New York Times Magazine)

Intelligent Design & evolution:

1. Warning label on Darwin sows division in suburbia | Parents in Cobb County, Ga., clash over sticker in textbooks (The Washington Post)
2. The fear of teaching Darwin | Larry Arnhart wants biology students not just to learn about the father of evolutionary theory, but to read his words (Inside Higher Ed)
3. Orthodox Jews in S. Florida join debate on evolution vs. intelligent design | Evangelical Christians aren’t the only ones making evolution and intelligent design a cause célèbre: Leading Orthodox Jews have the topic in their sights as well — some of them gathering for a three-day conference this week in South Florida (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
4. Kentucky could join debate on evolution | Kentucky could be next to join the national debate about intelligent design when the General Assembly convenes in January (Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.)

KU’s Mirecki fights being ‘forced’ from chair of religious studies dept.:

1. Latest: KU: Mirecki left leadership post voluntarily | Professor’s peers advised him to resign, officials say (Lawrence Journal-World, Kan.)
2. Professor blasts KU, sheriff’s investigation | Mirecki says he may sue university (Lawrence Journal-World, Kan.)
3. Also: Kansas professor fights back (Inside Higher Ed)
4. Also: Mirecki hires lawyer to look into resignation (Channel 6, Lawrence, Kan., video)
5. Also: Professor says was forced out over comment | A college professor who drew sharp criticism for comments deriding Christian fundamentalists over “intelligent design” said he was forced out as chairman of the university’s religious studies department (Associated Press)
6. Embattled KU professor has long history with religion | As a boy, his parents wanted him to be a Roman Catholic priest. And as a young adult, he studied at a Protestant seminary and considered the ministry (Lawrence Journal-World, Kan.)
7. Conservative made postings public | Real estate broker controversial on political scene (Lawrence Journal-World, Kan.)

Education :

1. Christian schools sue U. Calif. system over content | More than 800 Christian schools are suing the University of California system. They say the nation’s largest public university system won’t credit certain high school courses because they contain too much religious content (Morning Edition, NPR)
2. Also: Culture war pits UC vs. Christian way of teaching | Religious schools challenge admission standards in court (San Francisco Chronicle)
3. Bad attitude | Some education schools want to make sure that students have the right “disposition” to be teachers. Their students — particularly conservative ones — aren’t happy about it (The Chronicle of Higher Education, sub. req’d.)
4. Reading, writing, and … religion | School sees a growing trend of students more involved with spirituality (The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C.)
5. BC officials seek a compromise after blocking gay group’s dance | Officials at Boston College hope to work out an agreement with a gay student group after preventing it from holding an AIDS benefit dance earlier this week (The Boston Globe)
6. More black families home schooling | Home-school advocates say the apparent increase in black families opting to educate their children at home reflects a wider desire among families of all races to guide their children’s moral upbringing, along with growing concerns about issues such as sub-par school conditions and preserving cultural heritage (Associated Press)
7. Pretty good book | A new book tries to teach the Bible’s role in culture without preaching religion. It doesn’t quite succeed (Editorial, Houston Chronicle)

Sexual ethics :

1. The siren song of sex with boys | When women face prison for having sex with boys, questions are raised about where to set the age of consent (The New York Times)
2. The economy of desire | Can fear of AIDS change sexual preference? (The New York Times Magazine)
3. Hold the limo: The prom’s canceled as decadent | Prom night is about social manners, class, gender roles; and to a more or less open degree, it is about sex (The New York Times)
4. The marriage of many | Is polygamy the next big moral debate in America? (The Washington Times)

Same-sex marriage:

1. Harper warned on same-sex | Christian leaders want him to push on; Ontario Tory Leader urges him to back off (The Globe and Mail, Toronto)
2. Mainline Protestants must speak up for gays | It bothers me that our media report on the same-sex issue as if Christians are opposed and secular folks are for. A great many Christians support same-sex marriage (Kevin Little, The Toronto Star)
3. Pseudo-science and shoddy logic | The majority report recently released by the same-sex marriage commission is an embarrassment, 100-plus pages of homophobic claptrap based upon pseudo-science, junk statistics and shoddy logic (Hillary Nelson, The Concord Monitor, N.H.)

Homosexuality & religion :

1. Region’s American Baptists seek vote on break with church | Conservative leaders of 300 congregations in the Southwest are ready to bolt over homosexuality (Los Angeles Times)
2. Pastor’s rights not violated, federal judge rules | Monroe pastor and anti-gay crusader Ralph Ovadal’s rights to free speech were not violated when Madison police told him to remove anti-gay banners over the Beltline in 2003, a federal judge ruled Monday (Wisconsin State Journal)
3. Also: Ovadal loses again on anti-gay banners | A federal judge Monday upheld the constitutionality of a Madison police policy that selectively prohibits signs from highway overpasses even though a new city ordinance that totally bans signs takes effect next month (The Capital Times, Madison, Wi.)
4. Keep ‘Adam and Steve’ out of his in-box. Is that so hateful? | An e-mail reply to a film announcement at William Paterson University sparked a free-speech hate-speech case (The New York Times)
5. Ford talks with gay leaders | Automaker asked to disavow conservative Christian group (The Washington Post)
6. Also: Gay groups ask Ford to reinstate ads | Gay and lesbian organizations asked Ford Motor Co. on Monday to reinstate advertising for its luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands in gay publications and to distance itself from an anti-gay group which had boycotted the automaker’s vehicles (Associated Press)

Spirituality :

1. Spiritual changes common in U.S. | Half of U.S. adults have had a spiritual transformation experience, and 35 percent of those are not born-again Christians, according to research by the University of Chicago (The Washington Post)
2. Also: Half of us ‘spiritually transformed’ | Half of all Americans say they have experienced at least one “spiritual transformation” in their lifetime, according to an unprecedented study released late last week by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago (Chicago Sun-Times)
3. Alternatively blessed be this house | The tradition of house blessings stretches across Islam, Judeo-Christianity and beyond (The Washington Post)
4. Chapel gives airport travelers a lift | Travel and Christmas have been linked ever since Luke’s account of the holy family’s journey to Bethlehem, but the motif takes on a special meaning at Our Lady of the Airways, the Catholic outpost at Logan International Airport that in 1951 became the nation’s first airport chapel (The Boston Globe)
5. But, Archbishop, this is the bleak mid-winter for many Christians | Although Koran and Bible are the most sacred scriptures of their respective religions, the comparison may be misleading (The Telegraph, London)
6. Who wants heaven? | It is still this world that matters most to the devout, however literally they appear to take scripture (Malachi O’Doherty, The Guardian, London)

Narnia :

1. ‘I was sure that children would not want to be told that this old lady was Lucy’ | The question of who inspired CS Lewis to create the fantasy world of Narnia has remained a mystery for decades. Now, 55 years on, Nigel Farndale talks to Jill Freud who, as a wartime evacuee, provided the spark for his best-selling classic. As Hollywood’s £75m version comes out, she tells her extraordinary story for the first time (The Telegraph, London)
2. No lion, no witch, but quite a few wardrobes | The town of Narni, the inspiration for CS Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia (The Telegraph, London)
3. Little religious uproar from ‘Narnia’ opening | Sunday’s take could be stronger than estimated: A campaign to enlist churchgoers into attending the movie, based on C.S. Lewis’ books, could boost Sunday attendance (USA Today)
4. ‘Narnia’ puts new focus on Lewis’ faith | Enigmatic Christian author’s works remain beloved by believers (The Baltimore Sun)
5. ‘Narnia’ creates common ground for Christians | They expect the perfect storm of a Christian Christmas movie (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
6. The Lion, the witch and the metaphor | Adults are battling over who owns Narnia: secular or Christian lovers of C. S. Lewis’s stories (Jessica Seigel, The New York Times)

Narnia money :

1. For ‘Narnia,’ lots of believers | Disney’s adaptation of the C.S. Lewis story with Christian themes opens with an estimated $67.1 million (Los Angeles Times)
2. ‘Narnia’ bolsters box office in strong debut | “Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” scored a much-needed box office hit for Walt Disney Co, taking in $67 million for the second-biggest debut ever in a weekend in December (Reuters)
3. ‘Narnian’ delight: Passion of the ‘Lion’ pays off | Playing on about 6,800 screens across 3,616 locations, Narnia drummed up an estimated $67.1 million, exceeding industry expectations in the $50 million range (BoxOfficeMojo.com)

Defending Lewis :

1. Democrat group calls for Narnia boycott | “The film is little more than a Christian recruiting film and it undermines all other beliefs as secondary,” says Pierce County Democrats spokesman (Contact Music)
2. Leave the lion alone | The hollow criticism of the Narnia books’ biblical subtext smacks of mindless offence-seeking (Zoe Williams, The Guardian, London)
3. They’re desperate to kill the magic lion | If it were not so repressive and censorious, this would be comic (Minette Marrin, The Times, London)
4. Christmas bashing extends to Narnia | Yikes, Christian content — peace, love, joy, charity sacrifice, redemption. Better run for your life! Connie Woodcock, Toronto Sun)
5. Say ‘na-na-na-Narnia!’ to the PC prudes | Maybe I wasn’t a perceptive child, but I just liked the story, and whatever the motives of CS Lewis, it certainly didn’t convert me to Christianity of any denomination (Jennifer Veitch, Edinburgh Evening News, Second item)
6. Message? What message? The story makes the movie | Fortunately, Lewis was too good a storyteller to let the Christianizing message constrain his imagination (Chauncey Mabe, South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
7. The lion king | C.S. Lewis’ Narnia isn’t simply a Christian allegory (Meghan O’Rourke, Slate)

Film :

1. Kissing cousins | What is it about watching young women being ravished by oversized middle-aged gorillas that presses so many buttons? (Clive D. L. Wynne, The New York Times)
2. Two guys and a camera | They started making films as teenagers, and now two brothers hope that they’ll hit the big time by creating meaningful movies that won’t compromise their faith as Christians (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

Television :

1. How do you say ‘D’oh!’ in Arabic? | In Middle East translations of The Simpsons, Duff is a juice and Ned Flanders isn’t religious (Los Angeles Times)
2. Uncouth Christian wins no converts | Marguerite Perrin, America’s newest super-scary Christian has me cringing after seeing her on Fox’s “Trading Spouses.” (Wendi C. Thomas, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis)
3. I’m in Opus Dei … get me out of here | Mark Dowd, a former friar and the presenter of Opus Dei and The Da Vinci Code (Channel 4), seemed to have had no doors slammed in his face (Joe Joseph, The Times, London)

Books :

1. Alt-Jesus | Rock musician-turned-pastor takes his case for reinvigorating Christianity in surprising directions (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
2. Q&A with Chuck Smith Jr. | Many young Americans don’t find relevance in the church, says Chuck Smith Jr., because they can’t accept the answers “that the church has been trained to give.” (The Dallas Morning News)
3. Doubt, out from the shadows | Poor Doubting Thomas, so misunderstood all these years (Los Angeles Times)

More articles of interest:

1. A place where God springs to mind | There is no chance of avoiding the existence or otherwise of God for very long in Colorado Springs (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
2. Karmazin’s Sirius airs less ‘Stern’ Christian talk | Station launches alongside new Howard Stern broadcasts (Forbes.com)
3. What’s the big idea? | Peter Watson, the author of a history of ideas, talks about what counts as an idea, his idea of bad ideas (monotheism, Freudianism) and why no one ever has a great idea in the middle of the night (The New York Times Magazine)
4. Wal-Mart calls campaign offensive | Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said on Friday a campaign by a union-funded group that says Jesus would have disapproved of the company’s practices is offensive and misleading. (Reuters)
5. Compassion linked to better health | If your heart goes out to others, it may stay healthier (The Hartford Courant, Ct.)
6. Works of art, faith, history | Artist He Qi’s paintings of Christianity come from many influences. He is working on a “world art Bible.” (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
7. Richard Pryor: Preacher of truth | It makes perfect sense that the most influential comedian of his time would identify with preachers who knew how to put on a proper show, who gave a committed performance, who refused to hold anything back—and who told the truth (Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post)
8. Court dismisses Jews for Jesus evangelism case | Woman claimed she was defamed by report of her conversion (WorldNetDaily)

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The post Megachurches on the Defensive appeared first on Christianity Today.

We could discuss whether it’s best to have a solitary judge rule on whether science requires methodological naturalism. We could discuss the propriety of a judge issuing a ruling that religion, and specifically with Christianity, are compatible with evolution. We could discuss William Saletan‘s interesting argument that Judge John Jones falls prey to the same “contrived dualism” that he condemns. We could talk about Jones’s statement “no other tribunal in the United States is in a better position than are we to traipse into this controversial area” when Jones himself admits that the supposed supporters of Intelligent Design in this case “had utterly no grasp of ID” (one board member “consistently referred to ID as ‘intelligence design’ throughout her testimony.”) And surely we could talk about the future of Intelligent Design as an academic pursuit in the wake of this ruling.

But first, before we talk about any of those things, let’s talk about one of the major issues in Jones’s ruling: honesty among the board members supporting Intelligent Design.

“Witnesses either testified inconsistently, or lied outright under oath on several occasions,” Jones wrote. “The inescapable truth is that both [Alan] Bonsell and [William] Buckingham lied at their January 3, 2005 depositions. … Bonsell repeatedly failed to testify in a truthful manner. … Defendants have unceasingly attempted in vain to distance themselves from their own actions and statements, which culminated in repetitious, untruthful testimony.”

Jones was particularly grieved that board members denied using the term “creationism” before switching the term to “Intelligent Design,” and that some board members claimed not to know how copies of the book Of Pandas and People were donated to the school when Buckingham personally raised funds for the books at his church. If you’re interested in the details, the York Daily Record has enoughtochokeapanda.

In Jones’s conclusion (the entire 139-page decision is Scalia-like both in its readability and causticity, if not in its legal perspective), Jones twists the knife: “It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy.”

“Yes, ironic—at the very least. But also sinful according to the 9th Commandment. And perhaps also criminal,” said an editorial in the York Daily Record. “We can only hope that the appropriate authorities are investigating possible perjury charges in this case. … The unintelligent designers of this fiasco should not walk away unscathed. They’ve damaged and divided this community, and there should be repercussions—a perjury investigation—beyond a lost election.”

Bearing false witness? Are these calls for perjury charges short-lived responses from a community angry at being “made a national laughingstock,” as the editorial puts it? Or are Bonsell, Buckingham, and perhaps others at real risk of criminal charges?

It may be that the board members are safe, for the same reason that this case won’t go higher in the court system: Eight of the nine school board members behind the ID policy were voted out in a recent election and replaced with members staunchly opposed to the policy.

“Those school board members have given conflicting statements as to whether they would allow the case to continue to the appeals courts in hopes of making it a national test case to ban intelligent design from the classroom,” Time notes. But it’s highly unlikely: The locals are really tired of being in national spotlight and have no desire to make their town an even larger issue. And because the town wishes this story would just go away, they may not want a criminal trial, either. But who knows?

In a separate news article, the Daily Record looks at the perjury question: Professor Richard Fallon of Harvard Law School said a judge wouldn’t have the authority to level perjury charges in a case that he or she had tried. That authority would go to a prosecutor. Steve Harvey, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said Jones would be able to forward any such concerns to federal prosecutors.”

The paper does not quote Bonsell on the subject, but paraphrases him saying “he disagreed with the judge that the board provided a disservice to the public and that members lied to cover their tracks.”

Buckingham was more direct in an interview with The New York Times. “If the judge called me a liar, then he’s a liar,” the former board member said.

Meanwhile, it’s worth remembering that other supporters of Intelligent Design, like the Discovery Institute, are being sullied by the board members’ actions. (The Discovery Institute actually opposed the Dover policy and every other policy requiring the teaching of Intelligent Design.) In fact, closing arguments in the case claimed that the board members’ dishonesty was an outgrowth of the deception of the Intelligent Design movement in its “shell game” attempt to say it’s not religious.

In an interview with the York Daily Record, Dover science teacher Rob Eshbach again equated the deception of the board members with the ID movement. “We are certainly glad that Judge Jones saw it for what it was,” Eshbach said. He saw the lies that took place. The deception that took place. That’s what we were hoping for.”

Such equations are spurious, but expected. It is not terribly difficult to use the sins of a few to tar the intentions of the many. Nor is it difficult to criticize Darwinists for taking advantage of the opportunity.

What is more difficult is to recognize that so many of us are tempted to “forget” inconvenient facts, to retell events in a more positive light, to take shortcuts for the benefit of what we think is the greater good. When it comes down to it, though, which do you think God cares more about? That those who act in his name got a school district to call Darwinian evolution a theory, or that the entire world now considers them perjurers?

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Intelligent Design decision (news) | Intelligent Design decision (opinion) | What’s next for ID | Intelligent Design & evolution | Cobb County evolution stickers | Education | Higher education | Christmas at school | Christmas & state | Christmas wars | Christmas wars opinion | Fake Christmas war | Bill O’Reilly & Christmas | Christmas wars posters, etc. | Christmas & Jews | Christmas history | Archbishops condemn PC Christmas | Non-western Christmas | Caroling | Trees, wreaths, and candles | Christmas cards | Christmas commercialization | Pope’s Christmas comments | Midnight mass | Closing church on Christmas | Christmas at church | The meaning of Christmas | More Christmas | Bethlehem | Persecution | Iraq | Sudan | Australian riots | Stem cells (Australia) | Stem cells (U.S.) | Life ethics | Abuse | Homosexuality | Same-sex marriage | Dick Otterstad | Crime | Osteens booted off plane | Ralph Reed | Politics | Church & state | Ten Commandments | Anti-Christianity | Military chaplains | Missions & ministry | Wrestling evangelism | Tsunami ministry | Charity | Money & business | Media | Christian gaming | Music | Books | C. S. Lewis and Narnia | Film | Television | Barbara Walters on heaven | Catholicism | St. Louis excommunication | Church life | Anglican Communion | People | Other religions | Spirituality | More articles of interest

Judge rules against Intelligent Design (news):

1. Judge rules against teaching intelligent design | Tammy Kitzmiller said it is heartening to know that it’s possible for “11 ordinary citizens” to take a step forward to make a difference. (York Daily Record
2. ‘The activism of an ill-informed faction’ | A selection of quotes from Judge John E. Jones III’s ruling in Kitzmiller v. Dover (York Daily Record, Pa.)
3. Judge: Ex-members lied in testimony | Former member Buckingham said board did the right thing (York Daily Record, Pa.)
4. ‘Breathtaking inanity’: How Intelligent Design flunked its test case | A federal judge minces no words as he comes down against evolution’s rival (Time)
5. Judge rules against ‘Intelligent Design’ | Dover, Pa., district can’t teach evolution alternative (The Washington Post)
6. Judge says ‘Intelligent Design’ is not science | He calls a school board’s effort to teach it as an alternative to evolution unconstitutional (Los Angeles Times)
7. Judge quashes ‘intelligent design’ | Judge Jones further held that several religious members of the Dover Area School Board lied when they claimed they sought to improve science education by exposing students to intelligent design (The Washington Times)
8. Colo. groups split on ruling | “The First Amendment is the true loser today,” says Focus on the Family(The Denver Post)
9. Also: Judge says Intelligent Design has no place in public schools | Ruling says teachers should not disparage evolution (CitizenLink, Focus on the Family)
10. Judge rules against Pa. biology curriculum (Associated Press)
11. Judge bars ID from schools, says it’s religion, not science (Newsday)
12. Judge rejects teaching Intelligent Design | The judge ruled it was unconstitutional for a Pennsylvania school district to present intelligent design as an evolution alternative (The New York Times)
13. Federal judge rules, in strongly worded opinion, that teaching Intelligent Design is unconstitutional (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
14. Judge rules against Intelligent Design | A federal judge ruled this morning that intelligent design is not a scientific theory and should not be taught to public school students (The York Dispatch, Pa.)
15. Survival of the fittest theory | Federal judge rejects intelligent design curriculum as religious and non-scientific (Inside Higher Ed)

Judge rules against Intelligent Design (opinion):

1. Investigate perjury in Dover ID case | Judge Jones issued a broad, sensible ruling – finding that some board members lied (Editorial, York Daily Record, Pa.)
2. Intelligent decision | The resurgence of interest in religion in America is a laudable development and will enrich many lives. But it should not be thrust into public school science classes (Editorial, The Boston Globe)
3. Intelligent Design ruling dashed in Dover | The results were bad for ID – and good for democracy. They were good for those who read the Bible, those who read Darwin, and those who never read anything. This was a triumph for the Constitution, so it is one we all can share (Editorial, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
4. Is creationism destructible? | Where to go from Dover (William Saletan, Slate)
5. Defending science by defining it | The opinion written by Judge John E. Jones III is a passionate paean to science. But it is also a strategic defense of Darwinian theory. (David Brown and Rick Weiss, The Washington Post)
6. Darwin victorious | Time‘s Michael Lemonick assesses the theory of evolution after Intelligent Design is defeated in Pennsylvania (Time)
7. It’s God or Darwin | Competing designs (David Klinghoffer, National Review Online)
8. The Lemon cliffs of Dover | I.D. and the establishment clause in the classroom (Lee J. Strang, National Review Online)

What’s next for ID:

1. New board isn’t planning appeal | But members must find a way to pay for the trial their predecessors provoked (York Daily Record, Pa.)
2. A town in the spotlight wants out of it | With the intelligent design case resolved, residents of Dover, Pa., hoped stereotypes of the town as a place of nonstop cultural warfare would be dispelled (The New York Times)
3. Evolution debate moving to new battlegrounds | ‘Intelligent design’ movement dealt a blow, but not mortally wounded (MSNBC)
4. Districts look anew at policies | Many districts across the country wrestling with the issue have paid close attention to the case (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
5. Ruling may create new interest in intelligent design movement | While some saw a federal ruling Tuesday as a major blow to the proponents of “intelligent design,” a Seattle organization that is one of the movement’s key figures slammed the decision as a futile attempt at government censorship that could actually further its message (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
6. Ruling addresses broader controversy | The sweeping federal court decision yesterday against “intelligent design” went far beyond the narrow issues in Dover, Pa., and gave new hope to American science teachers who have increasingly been on the defensive in the teaching of evolution (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Intelligent Design & evolution:

1. Republicans design gain mainly on the plains | In Kansas, everyone you meet seems to have an opinion about what the board did in November and about how reporters from all over the world have been to Topeka, some of whom ridiculed Kansans, and there is bitterness and passion beneath the politeness and Kansan hospitality (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
2. Creationists say fossils back them up | Members of a Florida family use their finds to dispute evolution and the age of Earth (The Orlando Sentinel)
3. Survival of the unfittest | A Pennsylvania judge has ruled that intelligent design is not fit for science classes. But I.D. remains rooted in U.S. schools, where science teachers are pressured to address God in the classroom (Gordy Slack, Salon.com)
4. What’s so scary about intelligent design? | The reality today is that when theology, philosophy or religion dares to examine the Big Question, its practitioners find themselves increasingly bumping heads with scientific claims of exclusive competence (Dennis Byrne, Chicago Tribune)
5. Intelligent design is not smart | While the religious right wrings its hands over what to topple first, education or the courts, think about the implications of allowing alternatives to accepted scientific theories to be taught in school (Bethany L. Ruhe, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
6. Supposing … There were fun illnesses | If you’re looking for proof that God doesn’t exist, don’t bother investigating the big stuff, like earthquakes or famines or the tsunami. Start small. Right now I’ve got a sore throat and as far as I’m concerned that’s evidence enough (Charlie Brooker, The Guardian, London)
7. The designs of science | In July 2005 the New York Times published my short essay “Finding Design in Nature.” The reaction has been overwhelming, and not overwhelmingly positive (Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, First Things)

Cobb County evolution stickers ruling:

1. 11th circuit skeptical of evolution sticker ruling | Judges decry inconsistencies in lower court’s timeline of events (Fulton County Daily Report, Ga.)
2. Man who fought evolution stickers won’t be silent | While awaiting a Court of Appeals ruling on the sticker suit, Selman busied himself gathering ammunition for a lawsuit to stop Christian prayers at government meetings (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
3. Appeals judges skeptical about Cobb ruling | Evolution disclaimers were ‘literally accurate’ (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
4. Appeals panel criticizes evolution ruling | A federal district judge had ordered the removal of stickers in a Georgia county’s science textbooks that called evolution a theory (Los Angeles Times)
5. Federal judges consider evolution stickers | A federal appeals panel Thursday questioned the accuracy of a judge’s ruling that a disclaimer in school textbooks describing evolution as “a theory, not a fact” represents an endorsement of religion (Associated Press)

Education:

1. Ousted girls sue church school | The lawsuit says they were suspended because the principal suspected they were gay (The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Ca.)
2. ECISD to choose Bible course | Eyes turn toward district’s decision on curriculum (Odessa American, Tex.)
3. State to push abstinence in schools | Romney to use US grant; other sex-ed will stay (The Boston Globe)
4. Abstinence speaker wins over students | The visit by Jason Evert, 29, of the Catholic Answers evangelical organization, based in El Cajon, Calif., had worried some parents, who feared he would inject religion into his talk. But Evert had said beforehand that, for public school visits, he omits any mention of God, sin, faith or religion (Detroit Free Press, Mi.)
5. Faith in their community | A Catholic sixth-form college is popular with Sikh and Muslim students, too (The Guardian, London)
6. Panel awaits sex-ed course | The chairwoman of a new advisory committee on sex education for Montgomery County public schools said her panel will not hold substantive meetings until school officials devise a curriculum that can be reviewed (The Washington Times)
7. School boards support book on city’s faiths | Saskatoon public school board trustees have agreed to provide $600 to Multi-Faith Saskatoon to help cover the costs of colour illustrations for a new book about nine faiths in Saskatoon (The Star Phoenix, Saskatoon)
8. Taxpayers billed for trip to church event | State Board of Education member John Bacon has charged taxpayers for expenses he incurred while attending a church-school sponsored event that featured leaders of the movement to make the Bible the foundation of public life (Topeka Capital-Journal, Kan.)
9. Gay clubs issue dominates school forum | Amid the rising clamor over the legitimacy of Gay-Straight Alliances, concerns such as school crowding get shoved aside at a town hall meeting (St. Petersburg Times, Fla.)
10. Teach, don’t preach, the Bible | A nonsectarian way to educate young people about faith (Bruce Feiler, The New York Times)

Higher education:

1. Students bridge science, faith at Christian colleges | But intersection of Bible, biology lab not free of collisions (Chicago Tribune)
2. Lawmakers still consider hearings | The offending professor has resigned over his comments, but holding legislative hearings about anti-religious bias at Kansas universities remains a valid idea, Rep. Kay O’Connor, R-Olathe, said Monday (The Johnson County Sun, Ks.)
3. Postcard repudiates Mirecki’s remarks | Religious studies board aims to inform department donors about recent controversy (Lawrence Journal-World, Kan.)
4. CSUSB group drawing notice | University rejects club’s charter (San Bernardino Sun, Ca.)
5. Also: Christian group denied Cal State charter | The university says the group cannot form because it would exclude some students (The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Ca.)
6. Rights clash in bias suit against UC | A Christian school says admissions policies violate its freedom of speech and religion. The university defends its role in setting standards (Los Angeles Times)
7. Failing the science test | Students who head off to college knowing nothing about evolution except that they shouldn’t believe in it, and thinking that dinosaurs and people lived together, are not ready for university-level science courses. That is why the University of California is justified in rejecting a Christian school’s creationism-based science course as college-prep material (Editorial, Los Angeles Times)

Christmas at school:

1. Student allowed to share Christian message | A fourth-grader who was initially told he could not share candy canes with religious messages did so at his class party Thursday morning (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Tex.)
2. “Winter break” at school brings a blizzard of debate | The calendar discussion in Colorado Springs is one of the latest salvos in the decades-old battle over public expression of the celebration of Jesus’ birth (The Denver Post)
3. Schools’ concerts don’t water down Christmas | I did not expect to hear sacred music or carols or any references to angels, a babe and a manger (Ruth Holladay, The Indianapolis Star)
4. Morris School goes multicultural | Fest replaces school’s Christmas show (Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.)
5. Pageant’s name spurs petition | Some not so merry at Berkeley High switch (The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C.)
6. Do you hear what I hear? | There has been no controversy this year regarding the choice of holiday music being performed at school events, officials say (Home News Tribune, East Brunswick, N.J.)

Christmas & state:

1. Congress moves to protect holiday’s symbols | The lopsided vote, 401-22 in favor of a resolution applauding “the symbols and traditions of Christmas,” masked sharp and emotional divisions among lawmakers over religion’s place in American culture (The Virginian-Pilot, Hampton Roads, Va.)
2. Also: Legislator tries to put Christmas back in holiday | Rep. Jo Ann Davis introduced a congressional resolution in defense of traditional Christmas celebration and well-wishing (Fauquier Times-Democrat, Va.)
3. Chula Vista city staff at holiday fest bar ‘Jesus Christ Dancers’ from performing | At the city’s annual holiday celebration, a rabbi lighted a menorah. A dance troupe performed a traditional prayer to the gods. But six young girls were told they they couldn’t perform because they were wearing shirts emblazoned with a silver cross and the words “Jesus Christ” on the front (San Diego Union-Tribune, Ca.)
4. Holiday displays fuel legal feud | Christmas tree prompts call for menorah, which prompts call for nativity, which prompts call for lawsuit (CBS Evening News)
5. No art controversy this time; Southington library displays Morley’s works | Two years after a controversy that led the Meriden Public Library to restrict its art exhibitions, the library doesn’t appear close to re-establishing an open forum for local artists (Record-Journal, Meriden, Ct.)
6. Reclaiming Christmas takes on a local twist | Baltimore County man challenges calendar for including Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but not Easter and Christmas (The Baltimore Sun)
7. Christmas back on city’s calendar | Christmas and Good Friday are going back on the calendar in Greencastle, Indiana, after a community uproar over a City Council decision to adopt generic holiday names (Associated Press)
8. Call for more peace, fewer cribs | Religious leaders have called on John Howard to do more to promote peace and tolerance at Christmas after the Prime Minister called for more public Christian decorations to be displayed during the festival (The Australian)
9. We’ll be dry for Christmas | Christmas is the only holiday on which the state enforces a ban on sales (Brian Dickerson, Detroit Free Press)

Christmas wars:

1. The poll says … Merry Christmas! | A USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday finds that 69% of adults surveyed say “Merry Christmas” is the greeting they most likely would use this time of year when first meeting someone. That’s up from 56% in 2004 (USA Today)
2. Most Americans like Christmas cheer | It’s nearly unanimous: 97 percent of Americans say they are not bothered by public references to Christmas according to a new Gallup poll (The Washington Times)
3. A holiday hot button | Use or exclusion of Christmas in ads spurs strong feelings (The Indianapolis Star)
4. Have a holly, jolly holiday | Conservatives, others angry over removals of word ‘Christmas’ (The Washington Post)
5. Battles rage in US over celebrating holidays | Ebenezer Scrooge would enjoy Christmas in America this year (Reuters)
6. Christmas or holiday tree? | Question becomes flashpoint in debate over role of religion this time of year (The Tennessean, Nashville)
7. Tread lightly in the season of good cheer | The simplest holiday wish can be packed with societal subtext and political correctness. Or is it really just a simple holiday wish? (St. Petersburg Times, Fla.)
8. Faux faux faux | Resentment of inclusive holiday greetings contradicts the true spirit of Christmas (Editorial, Houston Chronicle)
9. Bah humbug | Hendrik Hertzberg examines the War on Christmas (The New Yorker)

Christmas wars opinion:

1. Lighten up | How about a cease-fire in the Christmas war? (Daniel Henninger, The Wall Street Journal)
2. Let there be lights | During holidays, the government needs to be inclusive (Jon Kaiman, The New York Times)
3. The Grinch factor | The Whos down in Who-ville /Were a tolerant lot (Rosa Brooks, Los Angeles Times)
4. Merry mobs sound the same playing the blame game (Greg Sagan, Amarillo Globe News, Texas)
5. Christmas doesn’t need special protection | This crusade by Fox News and the Rev. Jerry Falwell to win their so-called Christmas war is a joke compared to what my father went through in the 1950s (Ken Braiterman, The Concord Monitor, N.H.)
6. Happy Christmahanakwanzikah? | How shall we greet you on the front page of the Post-Dispatch on Dec. 25? (Kurt Greenbaum, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
7. Saner heads starting to prevail in debate over Christmas | I’m not opposed to someone saying “Happy Holidays.” I don’t boycott certain stores or ask that you boycott them. What I am opposed to is the de facto condemnation of Christmas disguised as political correctness (Larry Grooms, The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C.)
8. Time to recall that Santa isn’t the Savior | Very few of the images we’ve come to associate with Christmas have anything to do with the birth of a baby boy in Bethlehem. And it doesn’t seem that the Christians most ardent about the holiday even notice (Wendi C. Thomas, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis)
9. And a merry Christmas to anyone who wants one | Those who pursue a Christmas-less public square are seeing too small a picture. They end up robbing everyone of a grand demonstration of our inalienable rights to worship as well as denying everyone — including themselves — these brief respites from ordinary day-to-day living. (John P. Araujo, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Tex.)
10. How the liberals stole Christmas (or) A visit from St. Dick | Twas the month before Christmas / And as I lit candles, / Conservatives stirred / They were onto a scandal (Kevin Horrigan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
11. Christmas is just another word for | When there is a critical mass of people who don’t, for whatever reason, celebrate the religious part, we have to either (a) find a non-religious name for the holiday on the marvelous and intelligently designed day of Dec. 25 (or rediscover its original name) or (b) continue to use the word Christmas as the name for the day, with the understanding that the connection with a religion is optional, primarily etymological and inessential – what medieval Christian philosophers would call an accidental property (David Hagner, The Concord Monitor, N.H.)
12. Season’s silliest brouhaha | Bless me, father, for I have sinned. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of times I have said or written “Happy Holidays” around this time of the year (Bob Bestler, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.)

War on Christmas is fake:

1. ‘Christmas’ still thriving in public | There are only a few times of the year when banks, governmental offices, public and private schools, businesses big and small, and retailers all simultaneously either shut their doors in celebration or out of reverence – or shift work and production schedules to observe a holiday. And two of those are centered on the most sacred events in Christian tradition (Issac J. Bailey, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
2. A fictional ‘war on Christmas’ | Merry Christmas from the ACLU! And for believers in all other traditions: Thank you for enriching our world! (T. Jeremy Gunn, USA Today)
3. “War on Christmas” is just hype | The so-called War on Christmas is a load of headline-grabbing hype. Most shoppers don’t care how the advertising reads or what store clerks say – as long as the price is right (Al Lewis, The Denver Post)

Bill O’Reilly & Christmas:

1. A challenge for Bill O’Reilly | When you’ve seen what real war does, you don’t lightly use the word to describe disagreements about Christmas greetings (Nicholas D. Kristof, The New York Times)
2. A mixed holiday message from Fox News | Bill O’ Reilly’s message hasn’t gotten to the corporate office, apparently (Broadcasting & Cable)

Christmas wars posters, etc.:

1. Name that holiday, some say | Clothing urges ‘Christmas’ greeting (The Ann Arbor News, Mi.)
2. Posters put Christ into Christmas | A Midlands Church of England diocese says it is fighting back against the “politically correct” approach to Christmas with a new poster campaign (BBC)
3. Signs of the times | Placards promoting Christmas spirit a hit (Asbury Park Press, N.J.)

Christmas & Jews:

1. Will Jews be blamed for stealing Christmas? | Evangelical leaders don’t cast the Jewish community as the Scrooge, yet efforts to highlight Christian themes and celebrations at Christmas historically have come at the expense of religious diversity and tolerance – and Jewish leaders fear that stressing Christmas’ religious significance could highlight Jews’ minority status in the United States (The Jerusalem Post)
2. Hanukkah: It’s big. And it’s beginning to look less like Christmas | Many Jews seeking more traditional ways to celebrate (The Boston Globe)
3. Also: Holidays’ convergence adds to December dilemma | This year, Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah fall on the same day, posing a logistical challenge to blended families (The New York Times)
4. It’s Jews for Jesus (his b’day, that is) | “Merry Christmas!” New York’s Jewish mascot, comedian Jackie Mason, shouted from the steps of St. Patrick’s Cathedral (New York Post)
5. Holiday horticulture recalls Christmas past | Buying plants shouldn’t be difficult, but I recently spent 20 perplexing minutes in the flower section of the Acton Trader Joe’s (The Boston Globe)
6. The Christmas he dreamed for all of us | The white Christmases that Irving Berlin dreamed of weren’t the earliest ones he used to know. He spent his first five Christmases in czarist Russia, and his only recollection of that time, at least the only one he’d acknowledge as an adult, was that of watching his neighbors burn his family’s house to the ground in a good old-fashioned, Jew-hating pogrom (Harold Meyerson, The Washington Post)
7. ‘Half-Jew, half-Christmas’ | Non-Christian reflects on how it feels during holy days (Lennard J. Davis, Chicago Tribune)
8. What would Cardinal Cushing do? | There is undercurrent of antisemitism in today’s exclusivist claims for a Christian meaning of ”the holidays” (James Carroll, The Boston Globe)

Christmas history lessons:

1. The secretary of Christmas | In 1985, Mary Seeley’s husband bought a presidential Christmas card. That put her on the path to becoming the authority on White House holidays (St. Petersburg Times, Fla.)
2. The travellers’ tale | Most people know very little about St Nicholas, even after 1,500 years (The Economist)
3. Merry winter solstice festival | We get a kick out of the people who, trying to secularize Christmas, say “Happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” Holiday means “holy day.” If you want to take the religion out of Christmas, you’ll have to come up with another term (Editorial, Union Leader, Manchester, N.H.)
4. The war on Christmas, the prequel | When the holiday was banned (Andrew Santella, Slate)
5. Christmas is safe with the pagans | Christmas has always been a weird blend of traditions anyway. It has never been simply a calm reflection on the incarnation. (Andrew Sullivan, The Times, London)
6. Don’t take the attack on ‘Christmas’ personally | Christmas doesn’t really have anything to do with “Christmas.” (Betsy Hart, Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
7. Christmas didn’t just materialize in its modern form | The first thing I learned is Christmas isn’t the birthday of Christ (Fred Barton, Lansing State Journal, Mi.)

Archbishops condemn PC Christmas:

1. Stand up for Christmas, archbishops tell their flock | Political correctness or fear of offending other religions should not be allowed to cloud the fact that Christianity lies at the heart of British culture, the Archbishop of Canterbury and his predecessor said yesterday (The Telegraph, London)
2. Archbishop attacks ‘PC’ Christmas | Christian leaders have condemned politically correct approaches to Christmas for stifling religious expression (BBC)
3. Also: Don’t stifle Christianity by political correctness, says Carey (The Times, London)

Non-western Christmas:

1. Asia celebrates Christmas with a twist | Few Asians are Christian but people across the vast continent are embracing the holiday as a great excuse for shopping, partying and even romance (Reuters)
2. A holiday by any name, Kenyans will celebrate | With a population of more than 40 ethnic groups encompassing a cornucopia of religions, Kenyans say they are a model of religious tolerance (Reuters)

Caroling:

1. Bleak outlook as Silent Night slips | The carol In the Bleak Mid-winter has supplanted Silent Night as the nation’s favourite, says a survey (The Telegraph, London)
2. Carol singers are wrapped in red tape herald angels can’t sing | Carol singers have found themselves tied up in red tape this Christmas because of confusion over new licensing laws (The Telegraph, London)
3. Here they come a-caroling, sans message | Despite rumor, singers back at mall — without service (Albany Times-Union, N.Y.)
4. Reclaiming holiday gets warm greeting | Concert organizer urges ‘proper respect’ for Jesus (The Huntsville Times, Ala.)
5. O come off it, all ye faithful . . . | The beauty of language in traditional hymns is what inspires, not modern banalities (Magnus Linklater, The Times, London)
6. In praise of … Christmas carols | All Christmas carols are sentimental—but the best of them have a dash of astringency which raises them above the level of religious pop songs with their harmless but undemanding insistence on tidings of comfort and joy (Editorial, The Guardian, London)

Trees, wreaths, and candles:

1. 3 quit gym over fetus Christmas Tree | Birthright provided tree with plastic dolls (KMBC, Kansas City)
2. Holiday season is the time of the year for candles | The $2 billion candle industry, which enjoyed its heyday in the 1990s, has shown signs of maturing in recent years. Annual sales growth, once 10 to 15 percent, has slowed to 2 to 3 percent (Associated Press)
3. Wreaths | The demure symbol of Christmas (Slate)
4. Reporters on the Job: Christmas Trees in Iraq | Holiday in Baghdad (The Christian Science Monitor)

Christmas cards:

1. Is a Supreme Court Card political? You be the judge. | Richard Land’s notable card (The Washington Post)
2. With most governors, ‘Happy Holidays’ is in the cards | Amid the intense controversy over the appropriate greetings to be made this time of year, the nation’s governors have overwhelmingly opted for “Happy Holidays” greetings over “Merry Christmas” in their annual cards (The Washington Post)
3. Also: Your governor wishes you a (fill in blank) | Forget Red state vs. Blue state. For governors, the split that’s in vogue this season is between those offering “Christmas” wishes and those sending “holiday” tidings in their annual greeting cards (Stateline.org)
4. White House plays card right | Though it angers some, greeting is a small victory for pluralism (Javeed Akhter, Chicago Tribune)
5. Merry whatever, dudes and dudettes | The fuss over the White House’s generic holiday card—which conservatives blasted for omitting reference to religion—got us rushing to our mailbox every day in search of fresh Christmas controversies. Alas, we found that most VIPs were playing it safe! (Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts, The Washington Post)
6. For this holiday, religious themes are in the cards | Move over, Santa, and take a flying leap, Rudolph: Christmas or Hanukkah greetings in the mail these days often reflect the sender’s faith (Los Angeles Times)

Christmas commercialization:

1. O come, all ye (well-heeled) faithful | A St. Paul church is raising money for its school by selling access to front-row pews at a Christmas Eve mass. Some question the practice (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
2. ‘Tis the season to be jolly angry … | Where would Jesus shop? The Bible gives little clue as to whether Our Saviour preferred his local hardware store for his carpentry supplies or a larger wholesaler (David Litterick, The Telegraph, London)
3. Santa v Jesus | St Nick is winning the fight but advertisers and marketers say Christ is making a comeback (The Australian)
4. Give peace a chance in the Santa battle | Is materialism really ruining Christmas? Pope Benedict seems to think so (Julia Baird, The Sydney Morning Herald)
5. Holy holiday hullabaloo! | What really brings Americans of all races, creeds, income together? Low, low prices (Maggie Gallagher)

Pope’s Christmas comments:

1. Pope says true gift of Christmas is joy | Pope Benedict XVI urged people to spread joy through smiles and acts of kindness, saying it was an antidote to the ills of society (Reuters)
2. Pope decries commercialization of Christmas | Pope Benedict urged Roman Catholics on Sunday not to commercialize Christmas, saying joy — not expensive objects — was the real gift of the season (Reuters)
3. Pope doesn’t have U.S. spirit of Christmas | I hate to say this, but Pope Benedict XVI is starting to meddle with Christmas (Bill Wineke, Wisconsin State Journal)

Midnight mass:

1. For some local Catholic churches, Midnight Mass isn’t necessarily at that time | Only two of the city’s Catholic churches still offer a true midnight Mass these days (Racine Journal Times, Wi.)
2. Debatable — Does it matter if the midnight Mass isn’t at midnight? | Years ago, the first Mass to celebrate Jesus’ birth in Catholic churches was always held at midnight (Racine Journal Times, Wi.)

Closing church on Christmas:

1. Church reverses decision to cancel Christmas services | Bowing to public pressure, the pastor of South Florida’s largest church reversed position and announced that he would, after all, hold Christmas Day worship (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
2. Fewer attending Christmas services | Churches closing for the holiday might be just following trend (Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.)
3. Churches scale back on Christmas services | Some cite attendees’ traditions with family for shutting down. Others will open to honor those who worship each Sunday (The Denver Post)
4. Churches cite family in Christmas closing | Eve services, in lieu of Sunday, reflect needs of togetherness, travel (The Commercial Appeal, Memphis)
5. The Christmas divide: family or church? | Local clergy weigh priorities as holiday falls on Sunday (The Toledo Blade, Oh.)
6. Cuts in Christmas Day service at Salem churches anger some | Lower attendance is expected Sunday (Statesman Journal, Salem, Ore.)
7. Churches struggle with the true meaning of Christmas | Only a handful of local churches will be closed (The Virginian-Pilot, Hampton Roads, Va.)
8. A Sunday Christmas alters worship plans | Some churches will close that day, citing value of family time, low turnout; many change schedules, add Saturday services (Akron Beacon-Journal, Oh.)
9. Churches closed for Christmas? | Worshippers will encounter schedule changes, cancellations next Sunday (Cincinnati Enquirer)
10. Some churches drop Christmas services | Cancelling Christmas Day services allowed Orchard Hill members and staff to “have a day with their family,” Kurt Bjorklund said (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
11. Many churches cancel Dec. 25 services | It is almost unheard of for a Christian church to cancel services on a Sunday, and opponents of the closings are accusing these congregations of bowing to secular culture (El Paso Times, Tex.)
12. Closed for Christmas? | Most Baton Rouge churches will hold services, but will scale back (The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.)
13. More churches skipping Christmas Day service | Worship shifts to days before to let staff, parishioners enjoy holiday with families (The Arizona Republic)
14. Full hearts, empty pews | Christmas, one of the biggest days in the Christian faith, falls on Sunday this year, but some megachurches across the U.S. won’t be joining in the party (Appeal-Democrat, Marysville-Yuba City, Ca.)
15. Churches’ plans to take Christmas Day off draws mixed reviews | Some call it innovation, others apostasy (The Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, Oh.)
16. No service on Christmas Sunday? It’s just wrong | Canceling worship on the Lord’s Day is a violation of the fourth of the Ten Commandments that so many of these churches so vehemently champion. Hypocrisy joins blasphemy in the church’s stocking this year (Steve Gushee, Palm Beach Post, Fla.)
17. Corporatised churches shun Christmas | At least in Australia, where debate ensues each year about the secularisation of Christmas celebrations in schools and communities, the churches all still insist on Jesus’ birth as “the reason for the season” (Muriel Porter, The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
18. Word that best describes closed churches this Sunday | Sad (Jon Mark Beliue, Amarillo Globe News, Texas)

Christmas at church:

1. This year’s Christmas must-have: a church service | As well as cramming into the shops for a frenzy of consumer spending, Britons will be going to church in increasing numbers this Christmas, according to an opinion poll (AFP)
2. Churches eliminate, reduce Christmas Day services | Across Southwest County, at least three churches reported this week that they will forgo Christmas Day services—despite the fact that it falls on a Sunday—while others will hold fewer services than normal (North County Times, San Diego)
3. Cheasters, relax: ‘Twice a year is better than zero’ | Twice a year, you find yourself in unfamiliar and discomforting surroundings in a church pew, on Christmas and Easter (Cathleen Falsani, Chicago Sun-Times)

The meaning of Christmas:

1. Taking the Christmas out of Christ | Even as conservatives rail against what they say is secularization of the holiday, some Christian churches forbid its observance (Los Angeles Times)
2. ‘Who do you say I am?’ | From faith to faith, visions of Jesus vary (The Kansas City Star)
3. Christmas: When love overcame power | Christmas shatters the image of a harsh God. Out of love, God limited his power and chose to be born as a baby (Tony Campolo, Beliefnet)
4. Christmas has been about contrasts | If you look closely, Christmas is about the sacred and the secular living alongside each other (William McKenzie, The Dallas Morning News)

More Christmas:

1. Little Christmas cheer in Cuba; Santa blacklisted | Eight years after Communist Cuba restored December 25 as a national holiday in a gesture to Pope John Paul II, there is not much Christmas spirit to show for it (Reuters)
2. Good will took a holiday, whatever you call it | As politics and Christmas mix, there is a sense of impending loss among those who shop and listen to the Chipmunks sing (The New York Times)
3. St Nicholas returns to take on his red imposter | The lay canon reacquainting children with their patron saint (The Times, London)
4. Go ahead, move his day | Maybe we should move the birthday of Jesus out of the holidays and celebrate it with the Festival of the Magi on Jan. 6, as did the Greeks in the church of long ago (Andrew Greeley, Chicago Sun-Times)
5. This year, Christmas should last a lifetime | Christmas is here to stay. It demonstrates God’s persistence with the human race (John Sentamu, The Telegraph, London)
6. Christian rhyme and unreason | Love thy neighbour as thyself? That sounds about as likely as having a stress-free post-Christian Christmas (Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian)
7. Witches’ brew at winter solstice | How Wiccans do themselves in (Mark Oppenheimer, Slate)

Bethlehem:

1. Gunmen briefly seize Bethlehem’s city hall | Palestinian gunmen disrupted Christmas preparations in Bethlehem on Tuesday, briefly taking over the municipality building across from the Church of Nativity, leading clergy to close the ancient shrine for several hours (Associated Press)
2. Militants, seeking jobs and aid, briefly seize offices in Bethlehem | Members of the Fatah movement’s militant faction demanded financial assistance and jobs in the Palestinian security forces (The New York Times)
3. Also: Palestinian gunmen end standoff in Bethlehem (Reuters)
4. Israeli army to ease access to Bethlehem | Israel will ease access to Bethlehem during Christmas in a “calculated risk” meant to let Christian pilgrims celebrate the holiday freely in the West Bank town, security officials said Monday (Associated Press)
5. Also: Bethlehem walled off by Israel this Christmas | Pilgrims traveling the ancient route from Jerusalem to Bethlehem this Christmas will find themselves hitting a dead end—a towering concrete wall and metal gate under the lock and key of the Israeli army (Reuters)
6. Wall casts shadow on Arabs in Bethlehem | Israeli security barrier isolates Palestinian residents as pilgrims are allowed easy entry (Chicago Tribune)

Persecution:

1. Fears after Indonesia beheadings | The attackers seemed to be sending a chilling message (BBC)
2. Alos: Indonesia police tells churches to dig bomb holes | Police have urged churches in and around the Indonesian city of Solo to dig holes for disposing of suspicious objects that might be bombs, an officer said on Friday amid fears of Christmas-related attacks (Reuters)
3. The real war on Christmas | Being a Christian can be deadly (Nina Shea, National Review Online)
4. You call this persecution? | Religious persecution is alive and well in America, we hear all over these days – and it is Christians who are the victims. (Janice M. Eisen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Iraq:

1. Iraq expats narrowly favor Christian slate | Iraqi expatriates, some traveling hundreds of miles to participate in their war-torn homeland’s national elections, cast the most ballots for a slate of Assyrian and Chaldean Christians in a second round of U.S.-based voting (Associated Press)
2. Colleague hopeful for hostages in Iraq | A Baghdad-based colleague of four Christian peace activists kidnapped in Iraq says she remains hopeful despite eight days passing since the expiry of a deadline on their lives (The Sydney Morning Herald)
3. Hostages’ friends still ‘waiting and praying’ | Candles lit for four hostages held in Iraq were extinguished partway through a prayer service yesterday in Toronto, but hope for the safe release of the Christian aid workers still burns bright (The London Free Press, Ont.)
4. Pray for captives, not the captors (Rosie Dimanno, Toronto Star)

Sudan:

1. No plan seen for more Darfur funds | Rice lobbies, but Congress aides say budget stretched (The Boston Globe)
2. Sudanese refugees head home from Kenya | The voluntary repatriation of 147 refugees is the first such return by some of the hundreds of thousands of Sudanese who fled the country during its long-running civil war (Associated Press)

Australian riots:

1. Riot and attacks a blemish, says Pell | Australia has pockets of racism but overall it is not racist, and any racism is criminal, “idiotic” and borne of ignorance, says the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell (The Sydney Morning Herald)
2. Religious leaders embrace for peace – and point finger at radio station | As police prepared for further outbreaks of mob violence this weekend, many religious leaders met by the charred ruins of Auburn Uniting Church to call for calm (The Sydney Morning Herald)
3. All quiet on Sydney’s southern riot front | One hundred Christians gathered at dawn on North Cronulla beach to lay out a sign reading “peace”, and pray that the past week’s violence in Sydney had ended (The Sydney Morning Herald)
4. Riots in Australia spur introspection | Ethnic and religious tensions seen as linked to war on terror (The Washington Post)

Stem cells (Australia):

1. Embryo cloning gains backing | Scientists could soon be creating cloned embryos for stem cell research after a Government committee yesterday backed the controversial technique of “therapeutic cloning” (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
2. Stem cell research ban may be lifted | Scientists will be able clone human stem cells for scientific research under controversial recommendations for new laws that will entrench ethical divisions in parliament. (The Australian)
3. One step closer to embryo cloning | The easing of laws on cloning and embryo research to permit controversial procedures, including the creation of cloned human embryos for scientific study and mixing of animal and human material to obtain stem cells, have been urged by an independent revieweasing of laws on cloning and embryo research to permit controversial procedures, including the creation of cloned human embryos for scientific study and mixing of animal and human material to obtain stem cells, have been urged by an independent review (The Sydney Morning Herald)
4. Libs clash over stem cells | Senior Howard Government ministers are divided over the contentious issue of cloning embryos for stem cell research, with Treasurer Peter Costello saying he does not believe potential lives should be created and destroyed (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
5. Review redefines embryo | Researchers and fertility experts will have a brand new definition of an embryo if the federal Government accepts the recommendations of the Lockhart review into Australia’s embryo research and anti-cloning legislation (The Australian)
6. Time is ripe to ponder freedom and our future | Liberty of action and speech comes from having a moral society, (Peter Jensen, The Sydney Morning Herald)

Stem cells (U.S.):

1. Votes back use of adult stem cells | Bush to OK easier access to umbilical tissue (The Baltimore Sun)
2. Senate approves umbilical cord blood bill | The Senate on Friday passed legislation to promote collection and expand therapeutic use of umbilical cord blood, which can be used to treat such diseases as leukemia (Reuters)
3. New Jersey awards $5 million in grants for stem cell research | The grants represent an important step in New Jersey’s effort to establish a stem cell research industry (The New York Times)

Life ethics:

1. Federal survey shows unwanted births up | More American women are having babies they didn’t want, a survey indicates, but federal researchers say they don’t know if that means attitudes about abortion are changing (Associated Press)
2. Contraception drug policy protested | Demonstrators call Target’s ruling on ‘morning-after’ pill discriminatory (Houston Chronicle)
3. Suit challenges state rule on morning-after pill | The American Center for Law and Justice said it filed a lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Springfield that challenges the Illinois rule mandating all pharmacies in the state dispense the morning-after pill without delay (Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.)
4. Swiss hospital to allow assisted suicide | A Swiss hospital has agreed to let an assisted-suicide organization help terminally ill patients take their own lives on its premises (Associated Press)
5. Faith and consequences | What Terri’s Law cost the Republicans in Congress (St. Petersburg Times, Fla.)
6. Bioethics on trial | At the first national bioethics conference held in Mumbai, the discussions centred on India as a hot destination for clinical trials and medical research (Frontline, India)
7. Bishop: Arroyo backing Church on birth control | President Macapagal-Arroyo has assured that her administration would promote only natural family planning methods as legislators set debates on a population management bill, the chair of the Catholic Church’s commission on family life said on Sunday (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Abuse:

1. Lawyers want to question Vatican official | Attorneys for alleged victims of sex abuse asked a federal judge Friday to let them question a top-ranking Vatican official about a church doctrine that might permit him to lie under oath (Associated Press)
2. Appeals court reverses sex-crime conviction in Fall River case | Assistant district attorney shouldn’t have invoked the clergy sex-abuse scandal, says court (The Boston Globe)
3. Also: Appeals court: Prosecutor wrong to mention clergy sex scandal | The Massachusetts Appeals Court has overturned the sex abuse conviction of a Fall River man, saying the prosecutor made an improper reference to the clergy sex abuse scandal during her closing argument (Associated Press)
4. Archbishop pledges to make church ‘safe for children’ | Catholic Archbishop Seán Brady yesterday committed the church in Ireland to implementing child protection guidelines that aim “to ensure that where the church is, children are safe” (The Irish Times)
5. Maine bishop suspends priest accused of groping teen | Maine’s Catholic bishop has suspended a retired priest who was charged with groping a teenage boy in a Texas movie theater last week (Portland Press Herald, Me.)
6. Earlier: Texas priest accused of groping teen | A Roman Catholic priest accused of groping a 16-year-old boy at a movie theater during a showing of King Kong has been charged with indecency with a child by sexual contact (Associated Press)
7. Poet: Catholic cult of virginity made me keep rape a secret | Tom Leonard, the poet and essayist, has attacked what he calls a “cult of virginity” surrounding the institution, a mindset he claims prevents the church from providing solace to survivors of child abuse (The Herald, Glasgow)
8. Strict pact bound victim | Breaking church’s sex-abuse secrecy deal (The Denver Post)
9. Priest charged over girl’s rape | A County Fermanagh priest has been remanded in custody charged with indecent assault and facilitating the rape of a 12-year-old girl (BBC)
10. ‘Secret projects’ were cover for sex abuse, accusers say | Fourteen former students have filed a total of 13 suits in Missouri and Colorado, alleging that the psychological experiments were a cover for sexual abuse (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Homosexuality:

1. Warner protects gays in Va. hiring | State workers given right to challenge (The Washington Post)
2. Gay rights issue splits Christians | Second Council vote on ordinance is expected tonight (The Indianapolis Star)
3. Cliff: ‘Church must accept gays exist’ | Christian pop legend Cliff Richard has urged the Church to “learn to deal” with homosexuality, and accept the world is very different from when Jesus Christ was alive (Ireland Online)

Same-sex marriage:

1. First civil-union couple parting ways | A lesbian couple who entered into the nation’s first same-sex civil union are splitting up amid allegations of violent behavior (Associated Press)
2. N. Ireland begins granting gay unions | Two lesbians become the first gay couple in the United Kingdom to win legal recognition under a civil partnership Monday, a ceremony that attracted scorn from evangelical Christian protesters but praise from gay rights activists (Associated Press)
3. Opposition attacked over same sex marriage | Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin took his main election opponent to task on Friday over his opposition to laws allowing gay marriage as party leaders clashed in a second debate ahead of January’s vote (Reuters)
4. Czech MPs approve law on same-sex partnerships | The lower house of the Czech parliament approved a law legalizing civil partnerships for same-sex couples on Friday, in spite of strong opposition inside Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek’s coalition government (Reuters)
5. Here come the brides | Plural marriage is waiting in the wings (Stanley Kurtz, The Weekly Standard)
6. In support of marriage | Last week, South Africa’s Constitutional Court ordered that the definition of marriage be changed from a “union between a man and a woman” to a “union between two persons,” which should remind us that we in America still have not arrived at a final answer to this question. And the electorate does not have to wait until our Supreme Court discovers their answer (David Wilkinson and Chris Stevenson, The Washington Times)
7. Civil partnerships are divorced from reality | Today’s rich variety of relationships and lifestyles is not reflected by this new one-size-fits-all legislation (Peter Tatchell, The Guardian, London)
8. Here comes the religious gay right | Civil partnerships will lead to the introduction of a new morality into the gay and lesbian community (David Self, The Guardian, London)

Dick Otterstad, Fred Phelps wannabe?

1. Group fights Wal-Mart on ‘happy holidays’ | A group of religious protesters demonstrated outside a Wal-Mart superstore Saturday, hoping to turn away customers by calling attention to the retailer’s decision to use “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas” in its seasonal advertising (Associated Press)
2. Earlier: Church group faces off against another over subsidized gas | Protesters say they object to ‘merchandising’ activity (Auburn Journal, Ca., Nov. 14)
3. Anti-gay trucks stir controversy in EDH | El Dorado Hills residents and visitors couldn’t help but notice the three so-called “truth trucks” parked on El Dorado Hills Boulevard last Wednesday and Thursday (Village Life, El Dorado Hills, Ca., Mar. 9)

Crime:

1. Former pastor tries for pulpit, gets arrested for trespassing | Pastor who quit gets trespassing charge (Winston-Salem Journal, N.C.)
2. Minister faces jail in beating of his son | Some say corporal punishment a right (San Bernardino Sun, Ca.)
3. Colo. judge resentences convicted killer | A man convicted in the slaying of a cocktail waitress was resentenced to life in prison Monday, nearly nine months after his death sentence was overturned because a juror consulted the Bible during deliberations (Associated Press)
4. You’ve suffered enough, judge tells parents of dead child | David and Cathy Tribble were convicted in the High Court at Whangarei last month of failing to provide medical care for their sick baby boy Caleb, who died in December 2003 of an undiagnosed kidney complaint (The New Zealand Herald)
5. Nativity theft probed as hate crime | Balthasar, one of the wise men in a Holbrook church’s nativity scene, has disappeared for the second year in a row—this time, being replaced by a white sheet hanging from a pole, in what Suffolk police believe is a hate crime (Newsday)
6. Police nab robbery suspect at church event | Man ‘tried to blend in’ with Sunday school class eating breakfast (Knoxville News-Sentinel)
7. Taunton suspect nabbed in church | An off-duty police officer attending Sunday church services with his wife arrested a man caught sneaking into the church bathroom to use cocaine, police said (The Enterprise, Mass.)
8. The nun who died for the Amazon | The case of murdered nun and activist Dorothy Stang has brought into sharp focus the vigilante violence that accompanies the destruction of Brazil’s rainforest (BBC)
9. Pope says French riots were “a message” from youth | Pope Benedict said on Monday that France had to heed the warning from the riots that rocked cities across the country last month and urged the French to do more to promote racial integration (Reuters)

Osteens booted off plane after dispute:

1. Osteen family leaves plane after dispute | FBI agent says the pastor’s wife didn’t follow a flight attendant’s instructions (Houston Chronicle)
2. Wife of Joel Osteen asked to leave plane | The wife of the pastor of the nation’s largest church was asked to leave a plane after she failed to comply with a flight attendant’s instructions, the FBI said Tuesday (Associated Press)

Ralph Reed:

1. County attorney weighs Ralph Reed inquiry | Georgia candidate may have lobbied in Texas (Cox News Service)
2. Reed admits misstep in work | Says he shouldn’t have taken job for Abramoff (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
3. Ralph Reed regrets taking Abramoff money | Reed did not mention Abramoff by name, but said the efforts “associated my long-standing opposition to gambling with those who did not share it and has caused difficulty for the faith community with whom I worked, which I deeply regret” (Associated Press)

Politics:

1. AP: Frist AIDS charity paid consultants | Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s AIDS charity paid nearly a half-million dollars in consulting fees to members of his political inner circle, according to tax returns providing the first financial accounting of the presidential hopeful’s nonprofit (Associated Press)
2. Pastor leads his flock to President’s promised land of family values | Pastor Russell Johnson of the Fairfield Christian Church in Lancaster, just south of Columbus, the capital of Ohio, is a man of few doubts, indeed of no doubts at all (The Sydney Morning Herald)
3. Religious groups join national fight against smoking | Interfaith organizations in New Jersey, Ohio and other states have joined efforts to discourage smoking and broaden tobacco regulation. (Chicago Tribune)
4. Alito would likely be religion’s best friend on U.S. high court | Supreme Court nominee supported religious practice at almost every opportunity as an appellate judge, whether it meant lowering the barrier between church and state or protecting individual freedom to worship — and whether the case involved Christianity or a minority faith (Bloomberg)
5. Is the court Catholic? | If the Senate confirms Alito, a majority of the justices would share a faith tradition (Marci A. Hamilton, Los Angeles Times)
6. Nussle’s budget sells out the vulnerable to benefit the wealthy | Religious groups, including evangelicals who would normally side with Republicans against abortion or same-sex marriage, were this week talking about the lack of morality in the budget (Rekha Basu, Des Moines Register, Ia.)
7. Latter-day politics | Is Mitt Romney’s religion a problem? (Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review Online)
8. The power that made Rosa Parks | The civil rights leader’s act of resistance was not a spur-of-the-moment decision but nurtured in a faith community (Diane Winston, Los Angeles Times)
9. Why do they hate us? | No state makes the rest of the country squirm like ours. Is that because we’re a bunch of Kennedy-votin’, stem-cell-lovin’, clergy-bashin’, gay-marryin’ human clones? (Charles P. Pierce, The Boston Globe)

Church & state:

1. Plano woman sues over Christian pamphlets | A woman who was told she couldn’t hand out religious materials on a sidewalk in front of a school sued the Crowley Independent School District today (Associated Press)
2. Loud church music, then stunning reverberations | In New Haven, the legal and political smackdowns are still playing out three years after a police officer responded to a noise complaint at a church (The New York Times)
3. Church leaders uneasy | Several non-Catholic religious leaders are speaking out against the bill requiring religious institutions to disclose their finances (Lowell Sun, Mass.)
4. Prayers stay atop agendas | Area governments hold firm on calls to faith (The Brunswick News, Ga.)
5. The wall that unites us | To derive morals from religious teachings is natural, but to claim one tradition as the basis for civil law is wrong (Stephen Julius Stein, Los Angeles Times)
6. Decision singles out Christians | Judge Hamilton’s recent decision enjoining House Speaker Bosma from allowing sectarian prayer in the Indiana House of Representatives is a violation of the very establishment clause it tries to enforce (Kelly L. Persall, The Journal Gazette, Ft. Wayne, Ind.)
7. Why does government bar parolee from church? | While A few Americans complain the government is trying to force religion down their throats by putting up a Christmas tree in the town square, John Mostiller III is complaining the government is blocking him from going to church (Stu Bykofsky, Philadelphia Daily News)

Ten Commandments:

1. Court allows Mercer display | Judges rule that it’s historic, not religious (Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.)
2. 6th Circuit upholds Ky. Ten Commandments display | Three-judge panel finds courthouse posting is constitutionally acceptable because other historic documents are also included (Associated Press)

Anti-Christianity:

1. Unholy alliance | The “Christianity as a threat” theme in the Times ad echoes campaigns by the American Civil Liberties Union and others (Investors Business Daily)
2. Stop apologizing for being Christian | The modern Left exercises a militant anti-Christianity not so much because of a cultural cringe in the face of immigrant minorities, but because of its general wish to dismantle history (Simon Heffer, The Telegraph, London)

Military chaplains:

1. Lawmakers take issue with Air Force guidelines on prayer | Members of Congress on Wednesday again called for a presidential order supporting the religious freedom of Christian military chaplains, labeling proposed Air Force guidelines on prayer “absolutely un-American” (Stars & Stripes)
2. Military chaplains told to shy from Jesus | To pray—or not to pray—in Jesus’ name is the question plaguing an increasing number of U.S. military chaplains, one of whom began a multiday hunger strike outside the White House yesterday (The Washington Times)

Missions & ministry:

1. In Swaziland, U.S. preacher sees his dream vanish | Bruce Wilkinson hits wall trying to push ‘orphan village’; rodeo stars, safari guides (The Wall Street Journal)
2. Desert samaritans stand by duty | Move to outlaw aid for immigrants called contrary to Bible (The Washington Post)
3. Helping North Koreans defect is easy part, missionaries find | For South Korea’s missionaries, converting people from the North dovetails with their dream of a reunified peninsula (The New York Times)
4. City, church reach agreement on meals | The city and Hill-n-Dale Christian Church have reached an agreement that will allow the church to continue to feed poor and homeless people in Phoenix Park on Sundays (Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.)
5. Clergy, city leaders step up effort to protect witnesses | Representatives from the Ten Point Coalition and the Black Ministerial Alliance urged community residents to help break the code of silence on the streets (The Boston Globe)
6. Doing godly work | Hindu couple’s gift helps fund church soup kitchens (David Crumm, Detroit Free Press)

Wrestling evangelism:

1. Spreading the gospel through pro wrestling | Evangelical Christianity’s new and unusual outreach approach (World News Tonight, ABC)
2. ABC News to feature local evangelical wrestling | Harvest Church of Athens (Athens Banner-Herald)

Tsunami ministry:

1. Much tsunami aid still unspent, report says | Groups cite unexpected snags in coordination and distribution, and the recovery effort’s transition to long-term rebuilding programs (Los Angeles Times)
2. God finds converts in wake of tsunami | As the first anniversary approaches there are a score of churches where there once were none, mostly set up by United States-based evangelical groups that moved in following the deluge (The Telegraph, London)
3. Claims tsunami aid used as evangelical opportunity | As Thailand prepares to hold commemorations to mark the first anniversary of the tsunami, Christian aid groups in the mainly Buddhist kingdom are being accused of exploiting the tragedy for their own ends (The World Today, ABC, Australia)

Charity:

1. Donations for victims of South Asian earthquake exceed $50-million | But the pace of giving has slowed even as relief workers prepare for additional challenges in providing aid during the winter months (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
2. Study shows the superrich are not the most generous | Working-age Americans who make $50,000 to $100,000 a year are two to six times more generous in the share of their investment assets that they give to charity than those Americans who make more than $10 million, a pioneering study of federal tax data shows. (The New York Times)
3. Outbreak of faith | Wherever disaster has struck this year, compassion has quickly followed (Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, The Observer, London)

Money & business:

1. Double-crossed | Fund manager accused of breaking faith with investors (Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
2. Should the American Girl doll company partner with a pro-choice group? | (Diane Glass and Shaunti Feldhahn, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
3. Corporate America caught in culture tug-of-war | Businesses face wrath for supporting a cause (San Diego Union-Tribune)
4. Christmas cheer abounds for Church of England fund | It might be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get on the guest list for Heaven, but CCLA Investment Management thinks making money can still be an ethical enterprise (Reuters)
5. Group may reinstate boycott against Ford | The conservative American Family Association said Thursday it will consider reinstating a boycott against Ford Motor Co. because the automaker plans to continue running advertisements in gay publications (Associated Press)

Media:

1. Times-Dispatch accepts ad; publisher apologizes | It’s fine to declare in a Richmond Times-Dispatch personal ad that you’re looking for a “spiritual man who puts God first,” or that you love “lobster and church,” as two recent examples said. But what about help-wanted ads? (Style Weekly, Richmond, Va.)
2. Catholics hope to get in on religious radio boom | Among the 2,014 religious stations in the country, Catholic stations number only about 120 (Associated Press)
3. Christian pop culture on the upswing | We now have confirmation from entertainment circles abroad that spiritual productions are on a roll (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Christian gaming:

1. Christians converting video games to reflect their beliefs | Video games, long berated for explicit content and nihilistic themes, are gaining popularity in an unexpected arena: the Christian marketplace (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
2. Video games rated ‘G’ for God | Though some Christian-themed PC games have been around for years, this fall Los Angeles-based Crave Entertainment became the first to break the console Bible barrier (The Kansas City Star, Mo.)

Music:

1. ‘Idol’ worship shapes Christian, gospel genres | The power of the “American Idol” franchise is clearly evident at the peak of this year’s Christian and gospel music charts (Reuters)
2. Clear Channel converts Austin rock station to Christian | Clear Channel Communications Inc. has switched Austin classic rock station KPEZ-FM 102.3’s music format to create the company’s first contemporary Christian radio station in the United States (Austin Business Journal)
3. Murphey lets his faith ride tall in the saddle | What was new this year was Michael Martin Murphey’s candid, and frequent, declarations of his own Christian faith (Jim Jones, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Tex.)
4. Switched | Rock grows up (Mark Joseph, National Review Online)

Books:

1. Cookbooks offer food for the soul | A spate of cookbooks with a spiritual spin has been adding flavor to bookshelves lately (The Dallas Morning News)
2. JPII, she loves you | Peggy Noonan’s brush with a phenom (National Review Online)
3. Also: Devotional | Peggy Noonan’s book is a valentine sent to a man she knew mainly from watching television, written in the idiom of spiritual gush. Kenneth L. Woodward reviews John Paul the Great (The New York Times Book Review)
4. Also: The first chapter of John Paul the Great (The New York Times Book Review)
5. Hidden meanings in priest’s poems that stayed secret for 375 years | Poetry by George Herbert, the 17th-century priest, contains innumerable acrostics and anagrams, discoverable by reading the first letter of each line down the left-hand column of text, an American academic has found (The Times, London)
6. His ad here | A biography of Bruce Barton, who gave Jesus a modern makeover. Michael Kazin reviews The Man Everybody Knew: Bruce Barton and the Making of Modern America (The New York Times Book Review)
7. Jesus skeptics on the run | Anne Rice’s latest novel relies on a biblical scholarship more trusting of the New Testament. (Charlotte Allen, Los Angeles Times)

C. S. Lewis and Narnia:

1. A religious plot | The Chronicles of Narnia has done the unthinkable – it’s put Christianity smack-bang in the middle of a pop-cultural debate (The Age, Melbourne)
2. Disney’s marketing menagerie | A mouse, a dim bear, a messianic lion; they all turn children into compulsive consumers (David Rowan, The Times, London)
3. Gentleman Lewis | No Powerpuff Narnia (R. Andrew Newman, National Review Online)
4. The faerie king | The Passion according to C.S. Lewis (Richard Jenkyns, The New Republic)
5. Lion, witch and censor? Unfortunately for all, yes | And adults are wondering why children don’t read (Ashley Herzog, Houston Chronicle)

Film:

1. The ‘Code’ breakers | The most popular—and controversial—novel of our time hits the screen in May. An exclusive report on the second coming of The Da Vinci Code (Newsweek)
2. Two gay cowboys hit a home run | Brokeback Mountain arrived at a time when America’s attitude toward homosexuality has shifted (Frank Rich, The New York Times)
3. Looking for similarities where others see differences | The thought-provoking documentary Three Faiths, One God sets out to prove that the three world faiths involved in current global conflicts are really one big religion (The New York Times)

Television:

1. When you ride with Jesus, don’t tailgate | A new NBC drama that features a walking, talking Jesus is already stirring up a lot of controversy in a country that takes its religion seriously (The New York Times)
2. FCC to delay new rules on children’s TV | The FCC said Friday it would delay implementation of new rules governing children’s programming on digital television to consider an agreement struck by entertainment companies and children’s advocates (Associated Press)

Barbara Walters on heaven:

1. You’ll never get to heaven watching this | Here’s the problem: the title, “Heaven: Where Is It? How Do We Get There?” implicitly and explicitly states that not only does heaven exist, but that you, the viewer, will learn how to get to there if you spend two hours watching this broadcast (Newsday)
2. Switch channel: ‘Heaven’ can wait, eternally | Fake “news” programs such as Heaven are basically insulting to all involved (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
3. What to expect when expecting heaven | This Barbara Walters special is a semi-serious survey of eschatological beliefs in various religions (The New York Times)
4. Where is heaven? In the jeans … er, genes | This just in … ABC News has learned … faith exists. Christians believe in Jesus, and Buddhists believe in reincarnation? Get out of town! (Chicago Sun-Times)
5. Walters looks to stars for ‘Heaven’ | Walters isn’t out to break ties or offer solutions, but to point out similarities and differences between various faiths in the way they depict heaven (New York Daily News)
6. Barbara Walters ponders heaven | Celebrities (natch) have opinions as to where is it and how we can get there, as do terrorists and theologians (Los Angeles Times)
7. ‘Heaven is a place where you are happy’ | Barbara Walters explains what heaven means in different religions, whether she’ll go to heaven or not, and what happens there (Beliefnet)
8. Knowing precious little about so much | ‘Do you believe experiences of an afterlife by people who have had a near-death experience are real?” The impish TV talk-show host and his panel of celebrity guests posited to the audience. (Alicia Reynolds, Ventura County Star)
9. Walters searches for stairway to heaven | The topic seems impossibly broad and the questions unanswerable, although that doesn’t stop many from trying (Associated Press)
10. It’s heaven on Earth – or at least on television | Holiday shows say amen to a pop-culture wave of spiritual awareness (The Denver Post)

Catholicism:

1. Memento mori | The abolition of Limbo, and the importance of eternity (Ross Douthat, The Weekly Standard)
2. Church silent on bishop’s marriage comments | The Catholic Church was staying silent last night on comments from one of its bishops that priests should be allowed to marry (The Irish Examiner)
3. Also: ‘Let priests marry’ bishop ‘will escape sanction’ | A bishop who called for priests to be allowed to marry will not fear any potential sanction from the Vatican, it was claimed (Ireland On-Line)
4. Castro wants Pope to visit Cuba, cardinal says | Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone of Genoa, who visited Cuba in October and met Castro, told the Italian Catholic business magazine “Il Consulente Re” that Castro told him he was impressed by Benedict, who was elected last April (Reuters)
5. Vatican affirms closing of East Toledo parish | An East Toledo parish that appealed its closing to the Vatican has won a partial victory from Rome and now plans to plead its case to the church’s highest court, according to a parishioner leading the effort (The Toledo Blade, Oh.)
6. Catholic choir sings a different tune | Gospel is a popular music form in evangelical Protestantism. But these were Catholics. (The Boston Globe)
7. Pope names new S.F. archbishop | The Most Rev. George H. Niederauer, currently the bishop of Salt Lake City, will move to his new post in February (Los Angeles Times)
8. Mary = Homegirl? | Ave Maria University students wear religious beliefs on their T-shirts (The News-Press, Fla.)
9. Touched by the Pope | This season inspires reflection among all faiths. In that spirit, we ask people who met John Paul II before he passed away this year to share their moving stories (USA Weekend)
10. Seeing Mary all over again | A combination of Mexican immigration, popular feminism and a growing need among spiritual seekers to make God more accessible has led to a resurgence in the presence of the figure of Mary (Gregory Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times)

St. Louis Archbishop excommunicates priest, board after turf fight:

1. A Catholic parish pays high price for independence | Dispute with archbishop over property, control leads to excommunication (The Wall Street Journal)
2. Board and priest have been excommunicated | St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke said Friday that the six lay members of the board of directors of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church and a priest they had hired to be their pastor had been excommunicated (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
3. Service as usual for St. Stanislaus | The Sunday service at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church drew a regular crowd of more than 100 parishioners and included the usual prayers and psalms – in English and in Polish – with little hint that anything was amiss (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
4. Burke excommunicates St. Stan board | St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke has notified the six lay members of the board of directors of St. Stanislaus Kostka parish and a priest from the diocese of Springfield Cape-Girardeau who they had hired to be their pastor that they have been excommunicated (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
5. Also : History of the dispute (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
6. Earlier: Defiant priest joins St. Stanislaus | When the Rev. Marek B. Bozek was in college seminary, he decided there were plenty of priests in his native Poland and that he needed to shepherd a flock where priests were scarce (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dec. 3)

Church life:

1. Jesus, CEO | America’s most successful churches are modelling themselves on businesses (The Economist)
2. Lutheran congregation votes to leave ELCA | (Associated Press)
3. Outspoken pastor is out of the pulpit | M. Robinson-Gaither, who preached politics and protest at his small South L.A. church, says he was ousted because of his AIDS ministry (Los Angeles Times)
4. These Shakers won’t be movers | Final four members of America’s only populated Shaker village, in rural Maine, agree to a preservation plan to protect the enclave from subdivisions (The Christian Science Monitor)
5. In Miss., 4 churches band together for holidays | The thick ring of trees outside the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church is bowed as if the winds from Hurricane Katrina are still blowing. But the tiny building still stands, offering a spiritual sanctuary to its members and worshippers from three other congregations (Associated Press)
6. Church falls on Christians | Child dies, 38 injured (The Nation, Malawi)
7. On a mission to lead the nation’s church | |As dean of the National Cathedral, Rev. Samuel Lloyd III has also become an architect of sorts, designing a mission of reconciliation that honors the nation’s diverse faiths (Chicago Tribune)
8. Kirk minister sacked over affair wins right to lodge sex bias claim | A former Church of Scotland minister who says she was forced out of her job after being accused of having an affair with a married church elder has won the right to claim compensation for sex discrimination (The Guardian, London)
9. Church gives ground to Muslims | In a surprising change of opinion, the Church of Greece said yesterday that it would support the building of a Muslim cemetery and mosque in Attica but its opposition to the possible separation of Church and state led to heavy criticism in Parliament (Kathimerini, Athens)
10. Pastor urges war against ‘evil’ temple | An Anglican pastor has called for a holy war of prayer against plans to build a lucrative Buddhist temple on the NSW south coast (The Australian)
11. Spirit in the skylight | Mario Botta designs buildings to worship in—no matter if you are Christian, Jewish or Muslim (The Guardian, London)
12. See the light, see the sun | I resign myself to carrying the jacket—as nonchalantly as possible—into my parents’ house, knowing that doing so implies I will join them for services at their new church home (K. David Dixon, The Washington Post)

Anglican Communion:

1. Excised All Saints church aligns with Church of Uganda | A church that was recently voted out of the local Episcopal diocese has aligned itself with the Church of Uganda (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, N.Y.)
2. Resignation of priest 1st sign of rift in S.D. | An Episcopal priest has resigned from his church and taken much of his congregation with him in the first significant sign that the divisions between the U.S. Episcopal Church and its Anglican counterpart have arrived in San Diego (San Diego Union-Tribune)
3. Nigerian Anglicans seeing gay challenge to orthodoxy | The Christian population of the developing world is standing up for orthodoxy in the face of increasing liberalism in the West (The New York Times)

People:

1. Murdered bishop gets Kenyan honour | President Mwai Kibaki has posthumously honoured an Italian bishop who was murdered in northern Kenya this year with one of the country’s highest awards for public service (The Mercury, South Africa)
2. Haitian priest said to need U.S. doctor | A jailed Catholic priest who had been considered a potential candidate for Haiti’s presidency may have cancer and should be released to seek medical treatment in the United States, his lawyer said Thursday (Associated Press)
3. Living with a true Mother | Raymond Arroyo on Mother Angelica, an unlikely woman who built an unlikely empire (National Review Online)
4. A man with a mission | From October 1771 until March 1816, Francis Asbury was a traveling evangelist in the American Colonies and fledgling United States. No American during that period is known to have traveled as widely as he (The Washington Post)

Other religions:

1. Religions stand to be counted | Non-Christian faiths such as Islam are the fastest growing religions in Victoria, a new report reveals (Herald Sun, Melbourne, Australia)
2. The hard sell | Jews consider proselytizing to fight assimilation (Naomi Schaefer Riley, The Wall Street Journal)
3. Muslim leader forges interfaith accord | Popular imam boosts Islam in Md., beyond (The Washington Post)

Spirituality:

1. ‘Your body is a temple,’ class urges | “PraiseMoves” marketed as a Christian alternative to yoga (The News-Dispatch, via South Bend Tribune, Ind.)
2. Rooney pipped by God in survey of under-10s | Forget holidays by the sea, computer games and religion. According to a survey of under-10s released today, “money and getting rich” is the top priority for the nation’s children (The Guardian, London)
3. Peer into today’s Aladdin’s cave and try to detect a spiritual life | The opium of the masses was in fact the vitamin supplement of the poor, whether in terms of providing a code of values or practical help and a sense of moral worth to even the most disadvantaged (Michael Burleigh, The Times, London)
4. Philip Roth was wrong | How simplistic to blame our innate human aggression on religion (Robert Winston, The Guardian, London)
5. Trust in God … or Jamie | We live in an age of illusion where faith in just about anything has replaced rationalism (Mary Riddell, The Guardian, London)
6. Last of the true believers | Christianity in Britain tends to become a repository of presumed goodness and wisdom which has no, or at best a very distant, God, but owes a lot to Him (John Lloyd, Financial Times)

More articles of interest:

1. Christians strip to build a new Eden | In the beginning was the word of God and God never said anything about brassieres or boxer shorts. Thus was born Natura, America’s first Christian nudist camp (The Times, London)
2. Amish struggle to adapt to tourism | They are unwillingly becoming one of most popular tourist attractions in the United States (BBC)
3. Zimbabwean evictees return, find no refuge | Many displaced when the government razed squatter camps are back, desperate and fearful (Los Angeles Times)
4. Jesus and the Gospel—What really happened? | Believe only the embarrassing (Alan F. Segal, Larry Hurtado, and John S. Kloppenborg, Slate)

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