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This is great news. Evangelical Christianity is a precursor to capitalism. … When a person believes that he can improve the status of his afterlife, he has the self-confidence to feel that he can improve his status right here on earth. He comes to believe that, through his own efforts, he can become rich. … When a broad-scaled index fund of African stocks becomes available, put 5 percent of your portfolio into it. It'll be a bumpy ride. But in the long run, it will be highly profitable.

Richards needs to brush up on his Weber. It's Protestant virtues, not the fear of hell, that made the "work ethic" so famous. And evangelicals don't believe that you can do anything improve the status of your afterlife. But, hey, invest in Africa anyway.

War with Iraq:

• Religious leaders uneasy with Bush's rhetoric | Some worry that he is usurping the role of preacher or possibly inciting Islamic fundamentalists with his good-versus-evil references (The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
  
  
• All exalt, exhort; what does He hear? | Judging by the religious rhetoric at home and abroad, you'd think we were heading into a holy war (David Waters, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis)
  
  
• Bush religious rhetoric blurs Iraq debate, critics say (The Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
  
  
• Is war in Iraq justifiable? | Colin Powell answered the doubting evangelicals and Catholics. (Bob Thomas/ Michael McManus, Daily Journal, Kankakee, Ill.)
  
  
• Pope's envoy to meet Iraqi president | Cardinal Roger Etchegaray said he was on "a spiritual mission and for the sake of peace" and that "we all need peace." (UPI)
  
  
• Churches add voice to peace movement | Groups promote message at vigil (Ventura County [Calif.] Star)

Church and state:

• Yoga in Aspen public schools draws opposition | Some parents and religious leaders are objecting, saying that teaching yoga in school violates the separation of church and state (The New York Times)
  
  
• School prayer gets a boost | Supporters praise new federal guidelines (USA Today)
  
  
• Poetic Licenses | Are "Choose Life" license plates free speech or state-sponsored infomercials? (Dahlia Lithwick, Slate)
  
  
• More church-state entanglement | By accepting federal money to construct buildings that are part church and part state, the religious community will be inviting Caesar to make judgments that should not be his (Editorial, St. Petersburg Times)

Church life:

• Historic black churches fight to remain alive | Faced with preserving aging buildings and graying congregations, historic houses of worship must search for ways to maintain their relevance in a society that doesn't depend on church as it once did (Courier-Post, Cherry Hill, N.J.)
  
  
• Christian workers share ideas, faith | Almost 1,300 on hand for two-day Christian Workers Conference (Peoria [Ill.] Journal Star)
  
  
• Anglicans backtrack on excommunication | Priest and two others had led a group of church faithful to block the enthronement of Archbishop Benard Malango as head of the diocese (The Nation, Malawi)

Missions and ministry:

• Missionary zeal brewing at coffee hut | If there's even one cup of justice in the world, this place will make it (Peter Delevett, The Mercury News, San Jose, Calif.)
  
  
• Uganda missionary raising funds for war torn homeland | Bishop John R. Lokwango, who remembers the horrors his country endured under Idi Amin, is visiting area churches to raise money for a church and Bible college in Uganda (The Courier-Tribune, Asheboro, N.C.)
  
  

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February (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47