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1. Md. father told police of alleged bomb plot

"We became aware of what he was doing, and we felt obligated to contact the police," Robert F. Weiler Sr. told The Washington Post.

Early Thursday, Robert Weiler Jr. was taken into custody at a rest stop in Western Maryland. By dawn, the pipe bomb he allegedly built and stored at a friend's house in the Riverdale Heights area had been partially detonated by bomb squad technicians working to disarm it. …

According to an affidavit signed by two ATF agents, Weiler admitted planning the attack and also told investigators that he intended "to shoot doctors who provided abortions." A loaded gun was found in the glove box of his car at the time of his arrest, the affidavit says.

2. Evangelicals vs. Christian cable

The debate over cable TV indecency is back. RNS reports on the battle between Christian groups that want cable companies to allow subscribers to purchase only the channels they want and Christian broadcasters who worry cable subscribers won't pay for their stations.

The Christian networks' main concern is that the only ones willing to subscribe would be Christians. If a la carte were in existence, May argues, conversion experiences for alcoholics and people contemplating suicide or suffering from a crumbling marriage never would have happened. …

But Concerned Women for America and other groups don't care. "Unfortunately, the number of inappropriate programs far outweighs the number of good," said Lanier Swann, the group's director of government relations. "Our issue is to protect families."

3. Exodus receives sympathetic attention

It's not often that ex-gay ministries get sympathetic treatment in the press. But The Boston Globe takes a look at a California ministry called New Hope, "a haven for men banned from conservative churches, estranged from family members, and alienated from gay organizations or social networks."

Their love for Jesus is real, and so are their desires. Author Tanya Erzen writes,

Often lost in the acrimonious exchanges between ex-gay leaders and their critics are men like Kyle, who are neither at home in their churches or in the gay community. For these men, places like New Hope can offer the first experience they have ever had of belonging to a community and being open about their struggles.

4. Will same-sex marriage collide with religious liberty?

There's nothing new in this New York Times piece of the impending collision between same-sex marriage and religious freedom. It's essentially a summary of the Weekly Standard cover story on a conference held by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Maggie Gallagher reported that the legalization of same-sex marriage would severely limit the religious freedom of religious organizations. When the state of Massachusetts declined to give Catholic Charities an exception to non-discrimination requirements that would force the adoption agency to place children with same-sex parents, Catholic Charities dropped out of the adoption business. Gallagher warns that is just the tip of the iceberg. Colleges, ministries, and all sorts of religious organizations will be forced to make similar decisions: Recognize same-sex marriage or lose your tax exemption.

In Saturday's New York Times, Peter Steinfels says Gallagher is probably right. But Steinfel's only regret seems to be the negative effect this coming "train wreck" has on the political climate. If same-sex marriage represents the beginning of the end of many services provided by faith-based organizations, it shouldn't be a surprise when those groups fight tooth and nail to stay in business.

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June (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50