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1. Fight over Warren's Obama invitation illustrates evangelical questions over separation
One of the better pieces is David Van Biema's Time column. He notes (quoting CT's Collin Hansen) that the battle between those who say, quite literally, "we will never work with those can support the murder of babies in the womb" and those who say "the HIV/AIDS pandemic cannot be fought by evangelicals alone" has echoes of the 1940s and 1950s. Back then, the split was between Billy Graham's neo-evangelical camp and the more fundamentalists (in the historical, non-pejorative sense of the term) who advocated "second-degree separation."

2. Christian Coalition gets its name back in the papers
Really, the Christian Coalition isn't that big of a name any more. Neither is Joel Hunter, though his church is big enough to be particularly noteworthy in the Florida Christian world. But the split between the two—right before Hunter was to take over as the Coalition's president—illustrates the same narrative that the Warren/Obama controversy does. The Chicago Tribune, among others, notes the similarities.

3. Chicago stands alone in Christmas wars
You have to look hard—or abroad—for fights over Christmas this year. This year, it looks a lot like Christmas (not "the holidays") every where you go. Take a look at the Five-and-Ten.

4. Mt. Soledad Cross gets a win
But the battle isn't over, of course. Actually, it's hard to pick among the many church-and-state battles today. Read them all, and then head over to the indispensable Religion Clause blog, which tipped us off to several of these.

5. The Pope goes to Turkey
But you knew that, right?

Quote of the day
"This story incorrectly stated that James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, believes people who don't practice what they preach should undergo an exorcism. His quote, in a TV interview about reaction to the firing of evangelical leader Ted Haggard for 'sexual immorality,' was: 'Everybody gets exercised (worked up about it) when something like this happens, and for good reason.'"
—A correction to a November 23 Rocky Mountain News article on Dobson and Haggard, which had the subhead "Dobson: Haggard not a hypocrite, just in need of exorcism."

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Rick Warren and Barack Obama:

• The real losers in the Obama-Warren controversy | Rick Warren's invitation to have Barack Obama speak at his mega-church's AIDS conference has sparked a furor in the evangelical community. But pro-life critics of Obama's inclusion may end up regretting their stance (David Van Biema, Time)
  
  

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December (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50