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4. Jesus gone, but the debate continues
Someone stole the Head of Christ painting from the wall outside the principal's office at Bridgeport High School in West Virginia. The painting is the subject of a lawsuit from Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the state ACLU. "The most logical question is 'Now that the picture's gone, is it moot?'" Harrison County School superintendent Carl Friebel told the Associated Press. "We're all in uncharted water here, but if it resurfaces, then the case wouldn't be moot."

The school board says it won't accept a replacement until the case is resolved.

5. 'Prejudice' that makes the news—and that doesn't
The country's newsrooms are apparently flabbergasted that a church—a Baptist church no less—would prohibit a woman from teaching men in a Sunday school classroom. As it turns out, that storyline is problematic, but the heavy news coverage continues anyway. Meanwhile, Fellowship Baptist Church in Saltillo, Mississippi, voted out a 12-year-old boy who "asked Jesus to live in his heart" at the church two weeks ago. Why the ban? Joe is biracial, and church members didn't want the black side of his family attending with him.

They were "afraid Joe might come with his people and have blacks in the church," church pastor John Stevens told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. "I could not go along with that. There would always be a wall between us, so I resigned that night."

Cliff Hardy, a local police officer, also resigned from the church. "My best friend is a black man," he said. "I wouldn't be comfortable going to a place where I couldn't ask my best friend to go to church with me."

The paper contacted church members, but they refused comment. Here's perhaps one of the most amazing parts of the story: four days later, no media outlet has picked up the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal's reporting. Are media outlets too busy misreporting the woman Sunday school teacher story? Do they feel burned on bigotry stories, now that they know the story isn't so simple?

Note: See our update on the Daily Journal article.

Quote of the day:
"As more evangelical leaders acquire firsthand experience in foreign policy, they are likely to provide something now sadly lacking in the world of U.S. foreign policy: a trusted group of experts, well versed in the nuances and dilemmas of the international situation, who are able to persuade large numbers of Americans to support the complex and counterintuitive policies that are sometimes necessary in this wicked and frustrating—or, dare one say it, fallen—world."

—The conclusion of Walter Russell Mead's article "God's Country," which appears in the September/October 2006 issue of Foreign Affairs. The full 7,000-word article is worth a read.

Malaysia bans religious talk | India church attacked | China | Religious freedom | Hezbollah-Israel war | Christians and Islam | John Sentamu's vigil | Sanctuary | Politics | Conservatism and religious belief | Church and state | Religious displays | Controversial Jesus painting stolen | Education | Higher education | Church building disputes | Baptist pastor quits amid real estate questions | Church robberies and vandalism | Crime | Abuse | Churches and sex offenders | That "church fires woman" story | Church life | Anglicanism | Catholicism | Pope on workaholism | Missions & ministry | People | AIDS | Life ethics | Contraceptives and Plan B | Sexual ethics | Boycott the (water) bottle | Art and entertainment | Books | History |The Exodus Decoded | Exhibits | Music | Travel | Other stories of interest

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August (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50