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Canadian Anglicans agree to 'flying bishops'
According to the BBC, "Canadian bishops have now voted to allow 'episcopal visitors'—including from overseas—to intervene in dioceses where same sex blessings are allowed."

The plan goes against the Windsor Report, released last month.

"Others of the 43 individual churches that make up the Anglican Communion will watch closely to see whether any system of 'episcopal visitors' can help to keep liberals and traditionalists within the Canadian Church," the BBC writes.

"Even if the Canadian experiment is successful, 'flying bishops' may be more effective at preserving unity within Anglican Churches than between them."

News from Abyssinia
The Discovery Channel is reporting on Italy's decision to return an obelisk "erected at Axum [sic] when Ethiopia adopted Christianity in the 4th century A.D." Benito Mussolini had stolen the monument after his forces attacked Abyssinia—now Ethiopia—before World War II. Since then, it has remained in Italy, despite Ethiopia's pleas to return it.

Also in Aksum is the cathedral of the Church of Mary Zion, where Ethiopian Christians believe the Ark of the Covenant lies. The story says that after the Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon, she gave birth to a son, Menelik, who brought the ark back to Aksum. For more, see our interview with Edwin Yamauchi, a scholar of Africa and the Bible.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving. Weblog will return on Monday.

Religion & politics:

• The black slate: race, religion and the DNC | In order to effectively compete with the GOP, Democrats need to better fuse their policies and programs with the values and morals that make states like Nebraska bleed red. (Africana.com, Africa)
• In Bush, some see a man of faith, others see a zealot | "No president," Bush declared, "should ever try to impose religion on our society." But that is precisely what a sizable number of his critics accuse him of doing. (The Sun Herald, Miss.)
• Evangelicals seem to Democrats to belong to an alien `retro' America, whose values they do not share | Some analysts, stunned by the victory of George W. Bush in the 2004 election, suggested that he had won re-election because of the support of right-wing evangelical Christians or fundamentalists (the terms were used interchangeably). A few even braced for the introduction of an unwelcome theocracy and spoke darkly of secession. Amazingly, nobody laughed. (Fort Wayne News Sentinel, Ind.)
• The next Phyllis Schlafly | With the attention of the political world now turning to the 2006 midterm elections, the GOP is already preparing one facet of their strategy: They're hoping to use the looming battles over judicial nominations to rile up their evangelical base and to paint Democrats as liberal obstructionists determined to block President George W. Bush's choices at any cost. (The American Prospect)
• Americans show clear concerns on Bush agenda | After enduring a brutally fought election campaign, Americans are optimistic about the next four years under President Bush, but have reservations about central elements of the second-term agenda (The New York Times)
• Presidential campaign said a lot about how we view religion | Oh, what an election campaign this was. By the time the votes were counted on Nov. 2 — Nov. 3 in Cameron County — the presidential race had become no less than a holy war. (Brownsville Herald, Texas)
• Politics, Christianity part of GOP landscape in Alabama | Bob Riley or Roy Moore? Mainstream or more conservative? The names and the ideologies come up when people who track politics start talking about the 2006 gubernatorial race. (The Decatur Daily, Ala.)

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November (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48