Legalise assisted suicide, Kirk minister says A retired Church of Scotland minister is calling for assisted suicide to be legalized so that patients could end their lives "in an ethical and merciful manner". (The Times)
Gay marriage momentum stalls in 2 states Legislatures in New York and New Jersey have failed to schedule long-expected votes on bills to recognize the unions in those states. (Associated Press)
Catholic Leaders Fight Social Change The U.S. Catholic bishops pushed for the passage of an amendment to the House health care reform bill limiting the use of taxpayer funds for abortions. (NPR)
Manhattan Declaration unlikely to inspire young Christians Little new information was offered in this "new" statement, which essentially affirmed the primacy of three historically hot button issues: abortion, gay marriage, and religious liberty. (Jonathan Merritt, The Washington Post)
Can Bob Casey Bridge the Abortion Divide on Health Care? The son of the man often called the father of pro-life Democrats finds himself facing the biggest issue of his three years in the Senate: a debate over federal funding of abortions that threatens to bring down health care reform. (Time)
For Opponents of Abortion, a Victory in Health Care Vote A restriction on abortion coverage, added late Saturday to the health care bill passed by the House, has energized abortion opponents with their biggest victory in years — emboldening them for a pitched battle in the Senate. (The New York Times)
House votes strict ban on abortion subsidies A bipartisan House coalition voted Saturday to prohibit coverage of abortions in a new government-run health care plan that Democrats would establish to compete with private insurers. (Associated Press)
Suspect in Fort Hood shooting, a Muslim, asked Army to discharge him, aunt said In an interview, his aunt, Noel Hasan of Falls Church, said he had endured name-calling and harassment about his Muslim faith for years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and had sought for several years to be discharged from the military. (Washington Post)
Minister's Path of Miracles The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez helped oversee a shift of Latino voters, disillusioned with the Republican Party over failed immigration reform, toward the Democratic Party in the November election. (The Washington Post)
Invoking a Presidential Revelatory Moment The discussion of evil at the Saddleback forum gave Americans a valuable glimpse into the president-elect’s soul--and quite possibly into their own (Peter Steinfels, The New York Times)
Bad Faith Blaming religion for Proposition 8. (Robert K. Vischer, Commonweal)
Religion A Big Story in 2008 Tell Me More looks back at the people and the stories that rocked the faith world — from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and the Rev. Rick Warren to the fallout over gay marriage in California. (NPR)
Succession, division worry church members and beneficiaries This month's abrupt purging of top executives at the Washington Times, which Moon founded and subsidized, and downturns at some Moon-connected businesses have rattled some Unificationists already worried about what will happen to their movement after the passing of its 89-year-old founder. (The Washington Post)
Gay marriage momentum stalls in 2 states Legislatures in New York and New Jersey have failed to schedule long-expected votes on bills to recognize the unions in those states. (Associated Press)
Catholic Leaders Fight Social Change The U.S. Catholic bishops pushed for the passage of an amendment to the House health care reform bill limiting the use of taxpayer funds for abortions. (NPR)
Manhattan Declaration unlikely to inspire young Christians Little new information was offered in this "new" statement, which essentially affirmed the primacy of three historically hot button issues: abortion, gay marriage, and religious liberty. (Jonathan Merritt, The Washington Post)
India's new Bible wears a bindi The Virgin Mother in a sari, Joseph donning a turban. These are just some of the depictions in an Indianized version of the Bible. The controversy that followed means a toned-down second edition this year. (The Toronto Star)
Creationism teaching varies at Christian universities Some religiously affiliated universities keep creationism discussions in theology, religion and philosophy classes. Others integrate them into biology courses. (The Press-Enterprise)
Professor Claims God is Not Creator according to Genesis Oct 12 In one of the more unusual theories to come out about Genesis, a professor of Old Testament in the Netherlands claims that Genesis 1:1 is not about creation of the material world but separation within it. (Bock's Blog)
Court turns down student over religious speech The justices said Monday they will not revive a lawsuit filed by Brittany McComb of Henderson, Nev. challenging the actions of Clark County school officials. A federal appeals court ruled previously ruled against her. (Associated Press)
Students sue Tenn. county schools over religion The complaint states the schools showed a pattern of endorsing religion that included the distribution of Gideon's Bibles in class, a teacher who has a cross on a classroom wall and sectarian prayers at school events. (Associated Press)
ACLU: Bibles passed out, prayer encouraged in Cheatham County schools A lawsuit has been filed against the Cheatham County School Board alleging that school officials have promoted their own religious beliefs and allowed and encouraged public prayers at school events. (The Tennessean)
Bachmann backs "God" at Capitol Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Eric Cantor (R-Va.) are ganging up to block a lawsuit seeking to scrub "In God We Trust" from the wall of the new Capitol Visitors Center. (Politico)
Finding religion at the truck stop The Carlisle, Pennsylvania, outpost of Truckstop Ministries is one of 74 chapels in 29 states. (The Washington Times)
More preachin’ in school For several years — at least six, principal Ann Kerr says — the school has allowed members of Gideons International, armed with copies of the New Testament and accompanied by the principal, to come speak to fifth graders about their evangelical work. (Arkansas Times)
Biker spreads Christian message from motorcycle “I thought a preacher preaches in a church, but God used me to spread his word from a motorcycle,” he said. (The Galveston County Daily News, Texas)
Africa: Evangelical Churches Shake Up the Social Order The fire of Pentecostal evangelism is burning through the continent scorching "sins" and shaking the religio-political status quo to its very foundation. Meanwhile, traditional churches are watching helplessly as their members defect en masse to the Pentecostal churches. (allAfrica.com)
Evangelists target spiritually cold New England Several Christian denominations see New England as a "mission field" — a term often associated with unchurched, foreign lands. (Associated Press)
Counting the world's 'invisible' children In many countries, those without a birth certificate may not have the right to marry, vote, be employed, inherit property, open a bank account, acquire a passport, or even to register their own children's births. (CNN)
New Fame for the Everyday Donor One Day’s Wages, a new charity established by Eugene Cho, a Christian minister in Seattle, asks donors to give up a day’s income to charity. (The New York Times)
Catholic archdiocese gives ultimatum to D.C. Church officials say that unless the city alters a proposed same-sex marriage law, the archdiocese will discontinue its social service programs. (Los Angeles Times)
Confusion Over Where Money Lent on Kiva Goes Kiva’s home page once promoted lending “to a specific entrepreneur,” but the fine print shows that members’ $25 checks go to microfinance organizations, not individuals. (The New York Times)
Aborted fetus cells used in beauty creams San Francisco cosmetics company defends use of trademarked ingredient derived from fetal skin cells. (The Washington Times)
'Spiritual health care' raises church-state concerns Christian Scientists call it "spiritual health care," and it is a practice they are battling to insert into the health-care legislation being hammered out in Congress. (The Washington Post)
Praying for healing, lobbying for a provision As the health-care debate enters its final stages, the clash over spiritual care has become essentially a referendum about whether the government recognizes prayer as a legitimate and viable health-care option. (Washington Post)
Humanist Chaplains Only Harvard University, Rutgers University, and Adelphi University retain humanist chaplains, according to Harvard’s Greg Epstein. (Inside Higher Ed)
Iowans share their road to spirtualism Some find safe harbor in organized religion, while others seek out spiritual alternatives. (The Des Moines Register)
God and Football: NFL Chaplains Offer Spiritual Advice For most of football season, Father James Baraniak wears his green vestment with gold lining when he performs Mass in Green Bay, Wis. And while it has nothing to do with the Packers' team colors — green is mandated by the Vatican — it is something of a holy coincidence. (TIME)
Idle Hands: Puritan Advice for the Jobless Puritans gave America a pedagogy of work and an attitude toward life that upsets the modern notion that a person's occupation equals his value (Amy Henry, The Wall Street Journal)
CNN Poll: Majority favor abortion funding ban in health care bill A CNN survey indicates that 61 percent of the public opposes the use of public money for abortions for women who can not afford the procedure, with 37 percent in favor of allowing the use of federal funds. (CNN)
Goldman Commits $500 Million to Help 10,000 Small Businesses A little more than a week after Goldman’s chairman and chief executive drew fire for saying the Wall Street giant was “doing God’s work,” it is apologizing for past mistakes that led to the financial crisis — and sharing at least some of its riches. (The New York Times)
India's new Bible wears a bindi The Virgin Mother in a sari, Joseph donning a turban. These are just some of the depictions in an Indianized version of the Bible. The controversy that followed means a toned-down second edition this year. (The Toronto Star)
Michael Jackson: He was channeling God Toward the end of his life, Jackson burned the midnight oil in large part because he said he was channeling God and didn’t want to affront his creator or miss out on divine inspiration by clocking off too early. (Los Angeles Times)
Experts find rare Crusader-era murals in Syria Archaeologists discovered two Crusader-era murals depicting heaven and hell in a medieval church on Syria's coast — a rare find that could reveal information about the Christian knights. (The Associated Press)
Mr. McDonnell's albatross Pat Robertson, casual bigot and major donor (Editorial, The Washington Post)
New Fame for the Everyday Donor One Day’s Wages, a new charity established by Eugene Cho, a Christian minister in Seattle, asks donors to give up a day’s income to charity. (The New York Times)
It is well with his soul After decades of local parish ministry, St. Andrews pastor John Huffman isn’t stopping his ministerial work. He will stay in the area and help out other organizations. (Daily Pilot, Newport Beach, Ca.)
Women invisible in religion realm Why not Mrs. Tada, pro-life leader Alveda King or Concerned Women for America founder Beverly LaHaye? Aren't these women considered pioneers or leaders? (Julia Duin, Washington Times)
Abortion Politics and its Discontents Jon Shields, author of “The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right,” on the history of the organized opposition to abortion and its evolving relationship with American politics. (The New Yorker)
Christians Bite into Vampire Market While the evangelical Christian market has seen a few vampire-themed books, four new ones tap the popular vein. (Publishers Weekly)
'Witches, possessed' flock to Kenya pastor On one Sunday each month Pastor Lawrence Omambia, the lead preacher at the Community of Christ church in Kisii, Kenya, shows off his gift -- healing and exorcism. (CNN)
Anglican head rejects Pope’s offer on priests Anglican Church of Kenya Archbishop Eliud Wabukhala said any Anglican priest intending to cross over to the Catholic Church must understand these differences beforehand. (The Daily Nation)
Leadership rows tear African churches apart Almost two decades after “Baba Messiah” Melkio Ondeto’s death, his name still invokes reverence among the followers of the Legio Maria sect in Kenya, while to others, it is synonymous with controversy (The Nation, Kenya)
Kenyan believed to be world's oldest pupil dies Maruge accomplished his biggest goal — being able to read the Bible — but he remained shy of completing primary school. (The Associated Press)
Kenya Muslims to Educate Christians on Kadhis Courts Muslims have started countrywide civic education targeting Christians to explain the work of Kadhis courts and "how it does not affect them." (Nation, Kenya)
NJ teen barred from abortion protest sues school A high school student claims lawsuit that school administrators violated her First Amendment free-speech and religious-freedom rights when they said she couldn't participate in a day of silent protest against abortion. (Associated Press)
School's past comes to light Wheaton College's role in Underground Railroad is clearer after student's firsthand account is discovered. (Chicago Tribune)
Students sue Tenn. county schools over religion The complaint states the schools showed a pattern of endorsing religion that included the distribution of Gideon's Bibles in class, a teacher who has a cross on a classroom wall and sectarian prayers at school events. (Associated Press)
ACLU: Bibles passed out, prayer encouraged in Cheatham County schools A lawsuit has been filed against the Cheatham County School Board alleging that school officials have promoted their own religious beliefs and allowed and encouraged public prayers at school events. (The Tennessean)
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