Prosecutors say they will appeal El-Kosheh verdict
On Saturday, an official at Egypt's State Security Prosecution office said it would appeal the Feb. 5 acquittals of 96 Muslim murder suspects in last year's El-Kosheh massacre. Though observers say the acquittals were probably meant to avoid further violence between Muslims and Christians, Coptic Christian Bishop Wissa, whose diocese includes the village, says the ruling is an "open invitation for any one Muslim to kill Christians."
Was Lincoln an abolitionist?
Allen C. Guelzo, author of Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President (which won a ChristianityToday Book Award) wrote an article about the president as "a reluctant recruit to the abolitionist cause" for Friday's Washington Post. "Not even the most vigorous apologists for Lincoln can escape the very real differences between the emancipator and the abolitionists," Guelzo writes. "Only when those differences are allowed full play can we begin to recognize Lincoln's real place in the story of slavery's end in America. Though Lincoln and the abolitionists finally reached common ground, they did so along very different paths." He also quickly summarizes Lincoln's religion: "Lincoln rebelled against his parents' religion early in adolescence. He understood that the universe was run not by a god who could be influenced by prayer to change the course of human events, but by 'Law & Order.'" (See Books & Culture's review of Redeemer Presidenthere.)
Earlier: Saint Flanders | He's the evangelical next door on The Simpsons, and that's okily dokily among many believers (Christianity Today, Feb. 5, 2001)
Vietnam:
Vietnam war-era group accused | Vietnamese authorities have arrested 15 people for allegedly spreading Protestantism and advocating autonomy (Associated Press)
Group accuses Hanoi in unrest | Widespread protests in the central highlands of Vietnam this month were triggered by the arrest and torture of two Christian activists working for the rights of ethnic minorities, a U.S.-based group alleged Friday. (Associated Press)
Michelangelo's Moses gets multimedia makeover | Visitors to www.progettomose.it will be able to follow the restorers' every stroke and dab, learn about the statue's blighted history, read modern interpretations of it and then visit chat rooms to discuss their findings (Reuters)
Earlier: Is God.com Dead? | Investors lost faith in iBelieve.com, Lightsource.com was extinguished, and Crosswalk is being run over. What happened to the for-profit Christian Web site boom? (Christianity Today, Feb. 9, 2001)
Faith healings:
Unholy neglect | Families who rely on prayer instead of medicine should, by law, be criminals (Editorial, The Denver Post)
Faith healing vs. kids' rights | Colorado legislature gears up for this week's clash over religious freedom and children's rights. (The Denver Post)
Earlier: Moon struck | Church founder's ex-daughter-in-law pens grim tome about life on the inside. (Christianity Today, Nov. 16, 1998)
Other religions:
Scientology-linked project to get scrutiny | Critics claim that the ``study technology'' used by literacy program is a disguised form of Scientology scripture. (Boston Herald)
Churches' land fight up for vote | County head seeks to limit rural-area sprawl, but churches are lobbying harder than ever before against plan (The Seattle Times)
Put sex back in the pulpit | Next week is National Sexually Transmitted Disease and Condom Week (Editorial, The Mail and Guardian, Johannesburg, South Africa)
Earlier: Semi-amazing grace | Jay Bakker (yes, Jim and Tammy Faye's son) describes his continuing recovery from church-inflicted wounds (Christianity Today, Jan. 23, 2001)
Abortion:
Abortion foes cheer Florida court ruling | Florida appeals court Friday unanimously upheld a state law requiring that parents or a judge be notified before a minor gets an abortion. (The Orlando Sentinel)
In the trenches of a new holy war | The Catholic bashers are loose in Albany, and nothing less than the religious freedom of all New Yorkers is at stake. (Rod Dreher, New York Post)
Other stories:
Priest in fight for sex change | The Church of England faces a test case over a demand from a priest in one of its most conservative dioceses to be allowed to change sex and work as a woman (The Sunday Times, London)
Christian comedy movie unveiled | First major film by Billy Graham's World Wide Pictures in a decade (Religion News Service, Los Angeles Times)
Alabama wants right to post Ten Commandments | Resolution urging U.S. Congress to submit an amendment to the 50 states unanimously passes the Alabama House of Representatives (Reuters)
A porn loophole to close | The Massachusetts Legislature has let too much time go by without updating the child pornography statutes for the computer age (Boston Herald)
Tanzania's religious leaders plead for tolerance | Catholic Church and the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), the Muslim Council of Tanzania (BAKWATA) and the Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT) Friday called on the government to prevent further bloodshed as democracy is installed (Panafrican News Agency)
Nepal: Jailed Norwegian missionary to be released soon | The Norwegian missionary Trond Berg who was jailed in Nepal for illegal proselyting, will probably be released and allowed to leave the country on Thursday (The Norway Post)
While we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
A Christian reconciliation group in Israel and Palestine warned that war would come. Now the war threatens their relevance.العربيةFrançais
Christian artists work at the intersection of music and climate change.
