'If Evangelicals Elected a Pope … '

Weblog has finally gone through everything that was published over the American Thanksgiving weekend. Now we’re just thankful to be caught up. Many interesting articles below—dozens begging for commentary there’s just not time for today. “Don’t miss” articles are highlighted.

Index:

Religion & politics:

GOP sees chance to pass faith initiatives | With Minority Leader Tom Daschle leaving the Senate and Republican gains in both chambers of Congress, supporters of President Bush’s faith-based initiative hope to quickly pass into law next year legislation providing tax incentives for donations to faith-based and other charities (The Washington Times)
Evangelicals to Bush: Payback time | Christian conservatives say they gave Bush ‘moral mandate’; call him to act on their behalf (World News Tonight, ABC News)
Church in union with migrant community | Catholics pressing immigration reforms (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Developer says faith placed him in anti-tax conflict with mayor | Hartman ready to finance a legal fight to validate his Proposition 2 (Houston Chronicle)
The scary right | Religious zealots riding high after W’s win (Errol Louis, New York Daily News)
Defending the place of faith in politics | If anything can be said to be right or wrong, there must be an extrinsic standard—one that is separate from and not subject to individual opinions and desires (Caroline Smith, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
Catholics are swingers | The Catholic voter exists, as Dems know all too well. (Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review Online)
When the state gets churched | Jesus of Nazareth, who said his kingdom was beyond this Earth, was not the sort of guy you’d expect to see winning an election for the regime of wealth and war (Dan Carpenter, The Indianapolis Star)
Religion, politics, and the new obtuseness | Liberals in a tizzy over religious voters and Bush’s reelection need a refresher course on the American tradition of religious expression in the political arena (Claudia Winkler, The Weekly Standard)
A shade of doubt about a true blue state | Is Massachusetts—John Kerry’s home, haven for Unitarian Universalists, and home of the nation’s only same-sex marriage law—a closet red state when it comes to spiritual values? (Rich Barlow, The Boston Globe)
The godly must be crazy | Christian-right views are swaying politicians and threatening the environment (Grist)
Walk softly and carry a rubber stick | Envoy John Danforth learns that diplomatic circumlocution makes friends at U.N. (The Washington Post)
New deity dawns for faithful Labor | Christian Labor MPs are vowing to speak more openly about their faith as they grapple with the rise of Family First and the Coalition’s courting of Catholics and fundamental church groups (The Australian)

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‘Values’:

To hell with values | I’m sick of talking about values, sick of pretending I have them or care more about them than I really do (Michael Kinsley, Los Angeles Times)
The battle is over, but the war goes on | Those who think they won on “moral values” may be in for a surprise (Michelle Cottle, Time)
‘Moral values’ fact and fiction | There is no evidence that more Americans voted for retrogressive social policies in 2004 than in 2000 or any other year (The Berkshire Eagle, Mass.)
Moral to the election: Time to build on values we all share | Most people would agree that we ought to help people who are in need. But people disagree about how to help (Jerry Large, Seattle Times)
Conservative Christian values hold sway in U.S. | Conservative Americans, and especially conservative Christian Americans, believe that the founding fathers knew the only common thread that would bind the country together was a moral standard. Standards not defined by chance or whim but those ordained by God. (Mary Endres, Kansas City Star)
Defining morality splits Christians | To cast a vote for John Kerry was infinitely more moral than a vote for George Bush (Sydney Smith, News-Leader, Springfield, Mo.)

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Supreme Court fight:

The next Phyllis Schlafly | A longtime Republican operative wants to sell herself as a grass-roots leader. Her target: the Supreme Court. (The American Prospect)
James Dobson focuses on the Supreme Court | Now that Election Day is over, the Christian leader is rallying supporters for ‘moral’ Supreme Court appointees (The Baltimore Sun)
Courts first to go in right-wing revolution | Every time the so-called Christian Right has tried to turn this country into a theocracy, those pesky federal courts have stymied things (George McEvoy, Palm Beach Post)

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Religious left:

From left, religious figures make a push | Almost universally, liberals are seeking to counteract the growing political power exerted by Christian conservatives and the religious right since the 1970s (The Boston Globe)
Loser opportunities | If Democrats want to get back in the “values” game and change their image as a party full of secularists intent on removing any reference to God from culture and even the history of America, they can start in the government schools (Cal Thomas, The Washington Times)
A lesson for the liberal elite | In a recent speech at Tufts University, Andy Rooney reflected on the election and said, according to The Tufts Daily, that Christian fundamentalism is a result of “a lack of education. They haven’t been exposed to what the world has to offer” (Bernard Moon, The Boston Globe)

God not partisan:

Christians must focus on God, not politics | It is ultimately God who saves and prospers us. He is our hope—not Republicans or Democrats, liberals or conservatives (Franklin Graham, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
God doesn’t belong to a political party | Being “pro-life,” according to Pope John Paul II and church teaching, is a “womb-to-tomb” belief. It’s not just about being opposed to abortion (Dennis Godby, The Oregonian)

‘Conservative hypocrites’:

A moral quandary | Conservatives are hypocrites (Brian McGrory, The Boston Globe)
The righteous right: hypocrisy, not ‘moral values’ | Moral values? How hypocritical. And how typical of the righteous right to be hypocritical (Heather Froeschl, The Roanoke Times, Va.)
If you read the gospels, the Religious Right is most often wrong | I’ve compared what I read in Gospels with what I’ve been hearing from the Religious Right, and I’ve concluded that the holier-than-thous must have traded in their red-letter editions of the Good Book for red-state versions that omit most of Jesus’ teachings (Rick Mercier, The Free-Lance Star, Fredricksburg, Va.)
Fundamentalist flim-flam | Narrow mindelitis—which causes those affected to remain philosophically stranded in the first century C.E. It is brought on by a diet deficiency of ecumenism (David Lecam, Weymouth News, Mass.)

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Evangelicals:

Who is John Stott? | You’ve never seen him on TV, but if evangelicals elected a pope, it would be John Stott (David Brooks, The New York Times)
What’s the difference between ‘evangelical’ and ‘born again’? | If Billy Graham doesn’t know what “evangelical” means, then who does? (Terry Mattingly)
Evangelicals can still be saved | Vote setback no reason for Dems to quit values debate (David C. Steinmetz, Houston Chronicle)
Evangelicals and the presidential election | Today, the common perception of evangelicals seems to be that we are a group of uneducated, homophobes who hate those who hold pro-choice views (Eric Tober, Centre Daily Times, State College, Pa.)
America is facing a historic contest of wills between faith and reason | Evangelical Christians want to repeal the Enlightenment (Michael Hopping, Asheville Citizen-Times, N.C.)

Jerry Falwell et. al. on Meet the Press:

Religious leaders clash on ‘Meet the Press’ | Focusing on the intersection of faith and politics, four religious leaders illustrated in a television appearance today just how passionate and difficult dialogues on such topics can be (The New York Times)
Transcript: Religion, politics, and moral values | Guests: Jerry Falwell, Richard Land, Al Sharpton, and Jim Wallis (Meet the Press, NBC)
On Meet the Press, Falwell lied about post-9-11 remarks and divorce rate (Media Matters)
ACLU supports suit filed by Falwell critic | Group files brief in trademark dispute involving Web site (Associated Press)

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Abortion (U.S.):

It’s the pro-lifers’ moment | Bush’s re-election, the Peterson case, and other factors show that the right has gathered steam (James P. Pinkerton, Newsday)
Poll: Americans want Roe v. Wade upheld | AP poll found that 59 percent say Bush should choose a nominee who would uphold the 1973 decision that legalized abortion. About three in 10, 31 percent, said they want a nominee who would overturn the decision (Associated Press)
Abortion notification law faulted in ruling | A law requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court said Wednesday in a decision that backed a lower court’s ruling (Associated Press)
Abortion foes put faith in Congress | Both sides prepare for legislative fight (Chicago Tribune)

Abortion (outside U.S.):

Make late abortions easier, urges charity chief | The beleaguered head of Britain’s leading abortion-providing charity will today inflame her critics by calling for women to be given easier access to terminations over 20 weeks (The Guardian, London)
British GP faces three inquiries over ‘illegal abortions’ | A doctor exposed by the Telegraph last week for arranging illegal late-term abortions for British women is now the subject of three investigations (The Telegraph, London)
Church must make abortion case: Jensen | The Church needed to win the moral debate and raise public awareness before it could persuade governments to outlaw abortion, the head of Sydney’s Anglicans has said (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Catholic taskforce to act on abortion | Australia’s Catholic leaders have made a belated entry into the abortion debate, announcing a taskforce to look at ways of increasing support for women who are considering abortion (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Distraught Diana had abortion during affair, claims new book | According to Lady Colin Campbell, author of The Real Diana, the princess was having an affair with Oliver Hoare, a wealthy and married art dealer, and was desperate to keep the baby (The Scotsman)

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Suicide:

Religious affiliation and suicide attempt | Religiously unaffiliated subjects had significantly more lifetime suicide attempts and more first-degree relatives who committed suicide than subjects who endorsed a religious affiliation (The American Journal of Psychiatry)
Ban on suicide journey is lifted | The High Court has lifted an injunction banning a Wirral man from taking his chronically-sick wife to Switzerland for an assisted suicide (BBC, video)
Judge lifts ban on dying woman’s flight to Swiss euthanasia clinic | In what is thought to be the first case of its kind, Mr Justice Hedley stopped short of sanctioning what has been called “suicide tourism” after a number of cases in which people traveled abroad to die (The Times, London)
High court refuses to halt suicide trip | A high court judge refused to intervene yesterday to stop the husband of a woman with a degenerative brain disease taking her to Switzerland for an assisted suicide, even though the man could be committing a criminal offence (The Guardian, London)
Dying woman is free to commit suicide | A woman suffering from an incurable brain disease was told yesterday that the High Court would not stop her from traveling to Switzerland for an assisted suicide because she has full mental capacity (The Telegraph, London)

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Life ethics:

Netherlands hospital euthanizes babies | A hospital in the Netherlands—the first nation to permit euthanasia—recently proposed guidelines for mercy killings of terminally ill newborns, and then made a startling revelation: It has already begun carrying out such procedures, which include administering a lethal dose of sedatives (Associated Press)
Good breeding | So far, from what we know, no one has attempted to create a human/chimpanzee hybrid. But would that be wrong? (The New York Times, third item)
Mother carrying ‘designer baby’ | A woman who was given permission to have embryo screening treatment in a bid to save her son is carrying the UK’s first “designer baby” (BBC)
First ‘designer baby’ could save his brother | Wife is pregnant after rule change lets couple choose embryo to be donor for anaemic son (The Times, London)
Living wills don’t really work often | End-of-life medical questions often involve much more complicated medical and moral questions. Many living wills are so vague as to be useless (Associated Press)
Adopt away! | Fifteen reasons to consider adoption instead of assisted reproductive technology (Jennifer Roback Morse, National Review Online)

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Embryonic stem cells:

California’s new stem-cell initiative is already raising concerns | Critics say the ballot measure that passed by a wide margin on Nov. 2 contains inadequate safeguards to ensure public oversight of the financial allocations and guarantee public benefit from any medical breakthroughs (The New York Times)
Swiss voters okay stem cell research law | Swiss voters overwhelmingly approved a law allowing stem cell research Sunday, rejecting a hard-line campaign that compared researchers to the Nazis’ “angel of death,” Dr. Josef Mengele (Associated Press)
Also: Swiss voters back stem cell research | Voters in Switzerland yesterday overwhelmingly approved a law allowing scientists to experiment on stem cells taken from human embryos, in a move which will deepen the division between Europe and the US over the use of such research (The Guardian, London)
Also: Swiss endorse stem cell research | Voters in Switzerland have strongly backed a new law permitting research on the stem cells of human embryos (BBC, video)
A question of human value: Are we all equal? | The question of whether human embryos should be used for stem-cell research presents Americans with a new phase of an old struggle over equality, says Wesley J. Smith (The Washington Times)
‘I don’t know how it works’ | Dr Huang Hongyun cultivates the cells of aborted foetuses and injects them into the brains and spines of his patients. His method is controversial, but his results have led hundreds of westerners to his Beijing surgery (The Guardian, London)

Non-embryonic stem-cells:

Umbilical cord cells ‘allow paralysed woman to walk’ | A woman who has been paralysed for almost 20 years has started to walk again after scientists injected stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood into her spine (The Telegraph, London)
Stem cells used to aid continence | Scientists have helped women beat incontinence by injecting them with stem cells from their own tissue (The Guardian, London)
Also: Stem cells to cure incontinence | Scientists are successfully treating stress incontinence with a transplant of the patient’s own stem cells (BBC)

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Health:

Bishop acts to keep the flu from the flock | The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington is the only one in the country that has formally asked priests to refrain from using the communion chalice and parishioners to avoid the usual handshake, hug or kiss when they make the sign of peace during Mass until the end of flu season (The New York Times)
Do your fears overshadow your faith? | With health officials harping on the importance of hygiene, it’s no wonder such worries have spilled over into churches. But when did fear overcome faith? (Tom Schaefer, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.)
Catholic leaders issue advisory on flu precautions | Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Boston and Springfield issued advisories to parishioners in recent weeks telling them that if they have the flu or a cold, they should forgo a handshake of fellowship as well as sipping from the Communion cup during Mass (The Boston Globe)
Teen pregnancy rates revealed | Teenage pregnancy rates in parts of east Belfast are more than double the average for the Eastern Health Board area, a report has said (BBC)

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AIDS:

HIV hasn’t spared clergy—Archbishop Malango | The clergy have not been spared by HIV and AIDS, Anglican Central Africa Archbishop Bernard Malango has said (The Post of Zambia)
Archbishop Malango’s welcome admission | This admission makes us feel the leadership of the Anglican Church is starting to give some serious attention to this problem (Editorial, The Post of Zambia)
In South Africa, denial is a form of protection | This is a poor and dust-blown place where love and trust kill (The New York Times)
S. Africans with AIDS see ray of hope | Drugs begin to help the few poor patients who can get them (The Washington Post)
Vatican: AIDS a sign of moral ‘immunodeficiency’ | Vatican today blamed the spread of AIDS on an “immunodeficiency” of moral values among other factors and called for education, abstinence and greater access to drugs to fight the disease (Reuters)
Is the church preparing to aid HIV/AIDS victims? | There is a growing recognition that HIV/AIDS is not just a serious health issue in developing countries, but a major developmental catastrophe that threatens to dismantle the social and economic achievements of the past half-century (John Hardy, The Jamaica Observer)
World AIDS Day marked amid warnings | Health officials say disease risk for Asian women is rising (The Washington Post)
Groups says condom limits sap AIDS fight | Criticism of condoms and restrictions on access to them are undercutting the fight against HIV/AIDS in countries ranging from Nigeria to Peru to the United States, Human Rights Watch said in a report Tuesday (Associated Press)
U.N., World Vision fight HIV/AIDS | The U.N. World Food Program and World Vision joined forces Monday to urge a massive increase in donor funds for schools to combat HIV/AIDS (UPI)

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War & terrorism:

Bethlehem hopes for post-Arafat Christmas revival | As memorial posters of Yasser Arafat fade fast in Bethlehem’s Manger Square, Palestinians in the birthplace of Jesus dare to hope this Christmas will not be as bleak as the last few (Reuters)
Faith in foxholes—farfetched? | A civil rights group has objected to remarks made by a U.S. Navy chaplain, who used the familiar phrase, ‘there is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole,’ during an interview on CNN. Was he wrong? Religious leaders respond (Daily Pilot, Newport Beach, Ca.)
Dutch try to thwart terror without being overzealous | His telephone was tapped, his apartment was watched and many of his friends were already behind bars, so the Dutch authorities were not surprised by evidence that it was Mohamed Bouyeri, a Dutchman of Moroccan descent, who murdered the filmmaker Theo van Gogh in broad daylight one morning this month. Yet they had been powerless to stop the crime (The New York Times)
Challenging traditions of tolerance | Why would the hijab or the murder of van Gogh provoke European reaction when, for instance, the March 11 bombings in Madrid did not? (Jonathan Gurwitz, Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

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Iraq’s Christians:

Fighting fear with faith | Hope has become increasingly rare among Iraq’s Christian minority, which says it is under threat as never before (The Washington Times)
Iraq’s Christian minority under threat as never before | Already an estimated one of every 10 Iraqi Christians has fled the country, most of them to neighboring Syria (Newhouse News Service)

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Sudan:

Sudan backtracks on aid workers | Sudan has reversed its decision to expel two senior international aid workers it claims have made political statements about the Darfur crisis (BBC)
Sudan reprieves aid chiefs in expulsion row | The Sudanese government appeared to bow to international pressure last night and postponed its planned expulsion of senior staff at two British aid agencies, Save the Children and Oxfam (The Guardian, London)
Earlier: British aid workers are expelled from Sudan | Oxfam and Save the Children accused of backing rebels (The Telegraph, London)
Sudan moves to expel two relief groups | Organizations have worked in the country for years (The Washington Post)
New pilgrims, familiar dreams | Sudanese refugees thankful, though life remains a struggle (The Washington Post)

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Religion in China:

Violence taints religion’s solace for China’s poor | China’s growing material wealth has eluded the countryside, home to two-thirds of its population. But there is a bull market in sects and cults competing for souls (The New York Times)
Sidebar: Christians in China: An expanding faith (The New York Times)
Chinese Christians are a force, but what kind? | On Sundays, Beijing’s government-registered Protestant churches overflow with as many as 5,000 worshipers each. Some are so crowded that believers who don’t arrive early must huddle in the basements, watching services on closed-circuit televisions (The Washington Post)
“Religious distortion” and religious freedom in China | All religious activity is not as it seems (Forum 18 News Service)

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International religious liberty:

1m Christians sign EU religion plea | More than a million people from all over Europe are to deliver a petition to Tony Blair and fellow EU leaders calling for changes to the constitution recognizing Europe’s Christian heritage (The Telegraph, London)
Churches vow to fight NGOs bill | Bill, which government is likely to bulldoze through Parliament, targets civic organizations involved in issues of governance and human rights by prohibiting these organizations from receiving foreign funds, thus stifling their activities (Zimbabwe Standard)
Italy’s church and state: A mostly happy union | In Italy, the European nation where religion and state have mingled most, the disagreements are somehow less bitter and absolute than in the United States (The New York Times)
Religion and the unfair international system | Far more people in the developing countries take religion including Christianity seriously than in the rich and developed societies (Kevin Pamba, The National, Papua New Guinea)
Anger at no repeal on blasphemy | Government plans to keep the ancient blasphemy law while outlawing incitement to racial hatred have been criticised in some quarters (BBC)
Old-time religion gives way to diversity | Canada’s statistical data on religion create more fog than light (The Globe and Mail, Toronto)
Needless row over Trinity | There is no reason why a more neutral name should not be found for the country’s highest national award, given the Christian connotations inherent in the “Trinity Cross” (Trinidad & Tobago Express)
Christian caucus: Israel not getting out message | Israel is not getting out its political message to millions of Christian supporters around the world who have a skewed view of the conflict with the Palestinians, Christian leaders who are attending the Jerusalem Summit said Tuesday in a meeting with the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus (The Jerusalem Post)
Pakistani gets life for blasphemy | Iqbal Ahmad, a member of the Ahmediya community, was found guilty of being disrespectful to the Prophet Muhammad in a mosque near Faisalabad (BBC)
Cleric: Cuba blocked goods | The Cuban government prevented a delegation from the Archdiocese of Miami from taking medicine and religious artifacts into the country, Archbishop John C. Favalora said Monday (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
Also: Favalora leads clergy to Cuba | Regional religious leaders joined in the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Cuba’s Archdiocese of Santiago (The Miami Herald)

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Jesus ban lifted from Australian restaurant:

Baby Jesus ban lifted | A fast food chain yesterday admitted it was overzealous in its pursuit of political correctness when it banned one of its Sydney stores from displaying a traditional Christmas nativity scene (The Daily Telegraph, NSW, Australia)
Earlier: Chicken shop bans baby Jesus | A fast food chain has banned one of its Sydney stores from displaying a traditional Christmas nativity scene because of fears it would offend non-Christians (The Daily Telegraph, NSW, Australia)
Playing chicken on culture clash Â | For those who need to have it explained, for those who need a reminder, Christmas is a Christian celebration—a time to celebrate the birth of Christ—hence the name (Editorial, The Daily Telegraph, NSW, Australia)

December dilemma:

City lights up Nativity scene—and church-state debate | Jesus has returned to the steps of Denver’s city hall (Denver Post)
Public religious holiday displays absent in Palm Beach | The town held its first of three holiday tree lightings Monday night, and it wasn’t in the Royal Poinciana Way median, nor was there a menorah or Nativity scene nearby (Palm Beach Post, Fla.)
Misguided targeting of Christmas sign | ‘Merry Christmas’ isn’t a divisive statement (Editorial, Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
Seminar guides teachers on religious inclusion | With the Christmas season now officially begun, teachers must try to be inclusive of all religions, not just Christianity. That’s why 75 teachers from the city and Brighton attended a teacher training seminar at Nazareth College Monday (Democrat & Chronicle, Rochester, N.Y.)
Schools debate Christmas policies | Throughout the fall, a group of nearly 100 parents and students has met with school administrators to bring back Christmas to the classroom, where they say it is now referred to as the “C-word.” (Foster’s Sunday Citizen, N.H.)
Belief in a kindly Santa ‘is good for children’ | Parents should encourage their children to believe in Father Christmas as a way of teaching them to be good and charitable, according to a paper from the Royal College of Psychiatrists (The Times, London)
Parade prohibition puzzles preacher | If groups celebrating American Indian holy people, German culture and the Chinese New Year can march in the city’s Parade of Lights, why can’t a Christian group march to celebrate Christmas? (Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
Holiday festivities divide Canterbury in two | Santoro orders town tree-lighting to be nonsectarian; those who disagree plan rival event (The Day, New London, Conn.)
Should Christmas be censored in public schools? | The yuletide legal battle is gaining new momentum in Chicago. A Chicago law firm has joined a national effort to stop what they call the censoring of Christmas in schools (WLS, Chicago)

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Thanksgiving troubles:

Students free to thank anybody, except God | Maryland public school students are free to thank anyone they want while learning about the 17th century celebration of Thanksgiving—as long as it’s not God (Fox News)
Ehrlich disputes limit on religion | Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said yesterday that the state does not bar teachers from addressing the religious aspects of the Thanksgiving holiday, taking issue with a recent report by the Capital News Service (The Washington Times)
Erasing religion | The Judeo-Christian influence on the formation of America can’t be wished into non-existence (Arnold Ahlert, Chicago Sun-Times)

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School bans Declaration of Independence, other documents:

Teacher: God on history’s side | Cupertino schools sued over ban on founding father excerpts invoking religion (Oakland Tribune, Ca.)
Christian teacher sues his school | A Californian teacher who claims he was barred from using documents in history lessons that refer to God, including the Declaration of Independence, is suing his school for discrimination (The Telegraph, London)
Declaration of Independence banned at California school (Reuters)
Document: School bars Declaration of Independence | Teacher sues for right to use documents that reference God (The Smoking Gun)
Declaration banned | You wondered how absurd political correctness in the schools could get? (Editorial, Las Vegas Review-Journal)

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Education:

Poem read by principal sparks complaints | Some Cedar Shoals High School parents and students are complaining to school district officials about a poem read by the principal over the school’s intercom last week that talked about prohibitions on school prayer while at the same time, students “dress like freaks,” get pregnant and use bad language (Athens Banner-Herald, Ga.)
Principal sorry for ‘school prayer’ poem | A high school principal apologized Monday for reading a poem called “The New School Prayer” over the school’s intercom, which brought complaints from some parents who said it violated the principle of separation of church and state (Associated Press)
Accusations of bias fly in eviction | Pastor Lee Wasson said his Kissimmee Christian Academy was cast out of its old home in favor of the Islamic nonprofit Universal Heritage Foundation (The Orlando Sentinel)
Gay book ban goal of state lawmaker | An Alabama lawmaker who sought to ban gay marriages now wants to ban novels with gay characters from public libraries, including university libraries (The Birmingham News, Ala.)
Support of gays pushed in schools | Civil liberties and homosexual rights advocates have renewed their push for community programs to bolster support in schools for homosexual youths, just weeks after voters repudiated same-sex unions in 11 state referendums (The Washington Times)
Christian school asks Lords for right to smack pupils | A Merseyside school will go to the House of Lords next week in a battle over its right to administer corporal punishment to its pupils (Daily Post, Liverpool, England)

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Creation & evolution:

School science debate has evolved | The long-simmering battle over how evolution is taught in high school biology is boiling again (USA Today)
Anti-evolution teachings gain foothold in U.S. schools | Evangelicals see flaws in Darwinism (San Francisco Chronicle)
Many in Dover say ‘intelligent design’ mandate reflects values | The Dover school board’s decision in October to require the teaching of intelligent design in biology class as an alternative to evolution—an apparent first in the United States—has placed the community under the national microscope (Associated Press)
Creation science isn’t science at all | Special pleading does a disservice to both faith and facts (J. David Pleins, Mercury News, Calif.)
Creator won’t rest in bashing of Darwin | I believe in a creator of the universe. But that’s faith, not science (Linda Valdez, The Arizona Republic)
Was Darwin right on creation? | National Geographic steps into the contentious waters of evolution (Cary McMullen, The Ledger, Lakeland, Fla.)
Intellectuals who doubt Darwin | Hunter Baker on Uncommon Dissent: Intellectuals Who Find Darwinism Unconvincing (The American Spectator)

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Home schooling:

Home-schooling series elicits intense response | Nearly 800 comments collected at newspaper (Akron Beacon Journal, Oh.)
Home schooling is attracting mainstream families | These days, the ranks of home schoolers are becoming so diverse that few generalizations can be made about the burgeoning movement. There are as many reasons for home schooling as there are families (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

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College:

What would Jesus do at Harvard? | Walking out of Harvard’s Divinity Hall on a recent afternoon, Harvey Cox’s mood does not seem affected by the cold, damp weather or the deafening sounds of nearby construction. All the way back to his office, he’s happily singing the much-covered reggae song “By the Rivers of Babylon” (Naomi Schaefer Riley, The Boston Globe)
Colleges are learning to hold parents’ hands | The same baby boomers who cast off family ties when they left home just can’t let go of their kids (Los Angeles Times)
SPU keeps its ban on drinking, fostering a debate | Seattle Pacific University students last spring voted for relaxing the school’s alcohol ban to allow undergraduates 21 and over to drink off campus. From the outside, that may seem like a tweak, but those familiar with the evangelical Christian school know otherwise (Seattle Times)
Campus becomes gay rights microcosm | The University of North Florida explores the possibility of religious adherence without creating discrimination (St. Petersburg Times, Fla.)

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Boy Scouts:

Boy Scouts of America under fire | In case you missed it during the hustle and bustle of Turkey Day, the Boy Scouts of America are under attack. (Darrell Huckaby, Athens Banner-Herald, Ga.)
Bashing the Boy Scouts | One group whose First Amendment rights the ACLU opposes (Editorial, The Wall Street Journal)
Rumsfeld supports Scouts meeting on military bases | Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has entered the fray over the Defense Department’s relationship with the Boy Scouts of America, endorsing in a letter to the House speaker continued support of Scout troops who meet on military bases (The Washington Times)
Senate GOP eyes counter punches to aid Boy Scouts | Senate Republican leaders plan to move legislation next year to protect the Boy Scouts of America from attacks by liberal groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union over government ties to the organization, which has an oath that acknowledges God (The Washington Times)

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Church & state (U.S.):

2 churches file suit against Peabody | Groups argue they have right to use school (The Boston Globe)
Also: Church sues city for use of public schools (Associated Press)
Court says properties entitled to religious tax exemptions | New York’s highest court rules that four properties used as parsonages by the Word of Life Ministries on Long Island should qualify for religious tax exemptions. (Associated Press)
Lawsuit seeks to stop faith-based mentoring | The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation is suing to halt direct federal funding of a Christian child-mentoring program in Arizona that has its mentors “share the good news of who Jesus is and how he can provide a future of hope for anyone” (The Capital Times, Madison, Wi.)
Rescue of missions stirs flap | Activists challenge use of U.S. funds (Chicago Tribune)
Officials try to stop removal of cross | Congressmen seek to designate the Mt. Soledad landmark, on city-owned land in San Diego, as a national veterans memorial (Los Angeles Times)
What makes the US a Christian nation | American Christianity is much closer to what the Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “religionless Christianity”. Soren Kierkegaard, I think, would have been pleased (“Spengler,” Asia Times)
Prison rule hair-brained at best | Now here is a ruling we can all be proud of. This is the story of Billy Warsoldier, a Native American who was freed from jail earlier this year after his sentence had been extended due to his refusal to allow his hair to be cut while in prison (Charles J. Unger, News-Press, Glendale, Ca.)
Bill of Rights holds in check pious hubris | Freedom from religion must be near the top of any thanksgiving list this year (Steve Gushee, Palm Beach Post)

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Ten Commandments:

Touring Commandments make a symbolic stop | Alabama tablet pulls up alongside contested display outside courthouse (Houston Chronicle)
Ten Commandments visit Houston | The Ten Commandments monument removed from an Alabama court building was displayed briefly last week near a Bible monument at the center of another legal battle because of its placement in front of the Harris County Civil courts building. (Associated Press)
Commandments stone at last might be removed | The president’s advocacy of religion’s “deserving of support” for scholarships to seminaries, restoration of church architecture, grants in support of religious charitable works, and so forth, with the weight of the cost for these “projects” to be thrown onto every tax-paying citizen, no matter what non-Christian sect each adheres to, seems imminent. The evidence of religion, as a force rising over the state, pledged to even-handedness for all people, is frightening to contemplate. (Marcel Stratton, In-Forum, Fargo, N.D.)

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Same-sex marriage in South Africa:

SA ruling ‘may allow gay unions’ | South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of a lesbian couple who wanted the definition of marriage changed to include same-sex unions (BBC)
‘Now we can tie the knot’ | Lesbians delighted by watershed ruling on same-sex marriages (The Star, South Africa)
Gay marriages not legally recognised yet | Gay couples will not be able to have their marriages legally recognised as yet, as a great deal of legislative amendments have to be put into place before it can happen, according to Jan Stemmet, the co-chairperson of the Law Society of South Africa (SABC, South Africa)

U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Mass. same-sex marriage case:

Court declines to hear gay marriage case | The Supreme Court on Monday sidestepped a dispute over gay marriages, rejecting a challenge to the nation’s only law sanctioning such unions (Associated Press)
Supreme Court turns down a same-sex marriage case | Both sides in the fight said the decision set the stage for years of further legal and political battles that, at least in the short term, would be likely to help conservatives at the polls (The New York Times)
No court ruling on same-sex marriage | US justices won’t hear Mass. case (The Boston Globe)
Justices decline to hear gay ‘marriage’ challenge | The Supreme Court yesterday declined without comment to hear a case challenging Massachusetts’ new same-sex “marriage” law (The Washington Times)

More on same-sex marriage:

‘Marriage’ issue works its way through courts | December will be a busy month for homosexual “marriage” issues as courts in Oregon and California consider the fate of about 7,000 same-sex “marriages” and a Louisiana court considers the legality of a newly passed marriage amendment (The Washington Times)
Political battles over gay marriage still spreading | 12 more states may vote on banning it in 2006 (The Christian Science Monitor)
The future is uncertain | On the future of gay marriage, your guess is as good as ours (Joshua K. Baker & Maggie Gallagher, National Review Online)
After victory, crusader against same-sex marriage thinks big | Phil Burress, an antipornography crusader from the suburbs of Cincinnati, became a Paul Revere for the movement against same-sex marriage, not only sounding warnings across the land but also laying the groundwork for a church-based conservative movement that he hopes will transform Ohio politics for years to come (The New York Times)
Bishops turn up the heat on MPs | The Catholic Church is urging its members to take note of the way their MPs vote on the Civil Union Bill today when deciding who to support at the next election (The New Zealand Herald)

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Marriage & family:

Godparents becoming in vogue | Now that many Americans consider a godparent as much a cool family friend as a trusted spiritual guide, some parents hope to cement a relationship with someone who’s influential or wealthy, or at least in a position to give their child an edge. (The Wall Street Journal)
Mother, daughter baptism brings family home | Finally, the VanArsdalls of Bossier City have a home (Shreveport Times, La.)
Group: Egypt divorce laws unfair to women | Egyptian women, denied equal access to divorce, often are trapped in unwanted marriages or left begging for a divorce that can take years to secure and leave them destitute, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday in a report urging an overhaul of procedures rooted in Islamic law and tradition (Associated Press)

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Sexual ethics:

The charity prostitutes can trust in | A community project that helps prostitutes in Brixton and Streatham quit the sex industry has won a top award (Streatham Guardian, England)
Sex change and salvation | The religious right revs up its megaphones against teenage behavior and sexual promiscuity but never against corporate interests responsible for imposing sex change agents on all of us (Alan Farago, The Orlando Sentinel)
Bush seeks funds for abstinence education | Congress last weekend included more than $131 million for abstinence programs in a $388 billion spending bill, an increase of $30 million but about $100 million less than Bush requested (Associated Press)

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Methodist trial of lesbian minister:

Gay minister to face jury of Methodist peers | Pennsylvania woman could lose credentials (The Washington Post)
Also: Lesbian cleric faces church trial | Beginning today, the United Methodist Church will, for the second time this year, try an openly lesbian minister on charges that her sexual practices are incompatible with church teaching (The Washington Times)
Minister facing trial for her sexual identity | Rev. Beth Stroud is ‘openly lesbian’ Methodist cleric (Philadelphia Daily News)
Lesbian minister faces Pa. church trial | When the Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud told her congregation last year that she lives with a lesbian partner, she set the stage for the United Methodist Church’s third trial under a law forbidding clergy who are “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” (Associated Press)

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Anglican Communion & homosexuality:

Anglican takes America to task | The archbishop of Canterbury suggests the U.S. church repent for the global rift caused by a gay ordination (Los Angeles Times)
Text: Advent pastoral letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury (Anglican Communion News Service)
Churches warned over ‘gay slurs’ | The Archbishop of Canterbury has called for church traditionalists opposed to homosexuality to stop using inflammatory words about gay people (BBC, video)
Anglican leader warns churches on gay hate message | Rowan Williams has warned church leaders that criticism of gay people could make them vulnerable to persecution or suicide (Reuters)
Williams tells clergy: stop gay bashing | The Archbishop of Canterbury has issued a strong rebuke to conservatives in the worldwide Anglican Communion for the hostility of their language towards homosexuals in the recent row over gay bishops (The Times, London)
Williams calls for healing in gay rift | The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, pleaded with both sides in the war over homosexuality to repent for bringing the worldwide Church to the brink of schism (The Telegraph, London)
Archbishop’s letter angers gays | Gay activists say that a letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury rebuking conservative Anglicans for pejorative language against them fails to address the cause of homophobia in the Church (The Times, London)
Williams’ call for Anglican unity falls on deaf ears | The archbishop’s call was already being criticized by both sides within hours of its release (The Guardian, London)
Williams to chair bishops’ closed debate on gay crisis | The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, will lead a summit of more than 50 Church of England bishops today to discuss the way forward over the homosexuality crisis in the Anglican Church (The Times, London)
Gay issues slowly erode Episcopal membership | Episcopalians aren’t making a mass exodus from their church, but dioceses across the country are doing a slow bleed as members realize that a much-anticipated report released six weeks ago has no teeth and that the denomination’s ordination of a homosexual bishop will go unpunished (The Washington Times)
Robinson’s first year | A year of controversy and protest following his consecration as the first openly gay bishop hasn’t dampened Gene Robinson’s faith. Here’s an interview with the bishop (The Advocate, gay magazine)
Bishop J. Neil Alexander: ‘God makes a small percentage of people gay’ | Atlanta’s Episcopal Bishop explains how he went from a man who thought that all homosexuals were sinners to one who voted last year to consent to the election of New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay man in a relationship (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
U.S. Episcopal Church leader visits isles | Bishop takes up war, gays (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
Toronto Anglicans defer same-sex decision | The governing body of Toronto Anglicans voted Saturday to defer a decision on approving the blessing of same-sex unions until 2006 (Associated Press)
Episcopal bishop to stop blessing same-sex unions | In a move to win back three breakaway Southern California parishes and placate conservative critics internationally, the Episcopal bishop of Los Angeles said Tuesday he will observe a personal moratorium on blessing same-sex unions. However, he said his priests were free to continue officiating at homosexual ceremonies (Los Angeles Times)

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Homosexuality & religion:

St. Paul cathedral damaged in apparent anti-gay exorcism | An informal exorcism performed at the Cathedral of St. Paul this month was more profane than sacred and was directed toward gay Catholics, police and church authorities said Tuesday (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
Origin of homosexuality unresolved despite study | Even presidents don’t have an answer to questions about the origin of homosexuality. And it’s no wonder. Science doesn’t have a clear answer either (The Washington Times)
Where the Bible bashers are sinful and the liberals pure | Many of America’s biggest “sinners” are those most intent on upholding virtue. It may be partly because they know sin close up that they want to prevent its occurrence among others (Andrew Sullivan, The Times, London)
Same-sex couples win pension fight | Ottawa violated rights in denying CPP benefits, Ontario Court of Appeal rules (The Globe and Mail, Toronto)
Health toll of anti-gay prejudice | Discrimination is being blamed for high rates of mental health problems amongst gay men and lesbians, a study suggests (BBC)
Gay rights should not be part of code | I see five principles involved regarding the proposal to add sexual orientation and gender identity to South Bend’s anti-discrimination ordinance (Thomas Eubbing, South Bend Tribune, Ind.)

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Church life:

Sermon subject raises hackles | The sign in front of the Church of the Nazarene in Sunnyvale, promoting a sermon by Sunday’s guest speaker, is raising a few eyebrows. “Why I am not a Muslim,” reads the electric signboard in front of the church at 975 Fremont Ave. But church officials and the speaker say the message isn’t intended to inflame. (Mercury News, Calif.)
Update: Setting the record straight | A quote in an article Saturday in the local section about a guest speaker at a church who planned to talk about his conversion from Islam to Christianity was not set in the proper context. (letters, Mercury News, Calif.)
When the flock takes the lead | Pastoral letters don’t necessarily speak for the parishioners (John J. Miller, The Wall Street Journal)
A warning signal from the churches | The American Jewish organizations managed not only to pave the way for rapprochement with the Presbyterians, they even managed to convince the Episcopalian church to remove a similar decision from the agenda, and also to prevent liberal Protestant denominations from discussing the question of divesting from Israel. (Haaretz, Israel)
Church attributes recent growth to a commitment to prayer | Since 1996, Calvin Presbyterian Church in Zelienople, which had declined for decades, has grown from 100 to 240 in average Sunday attendance (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
A big opening to fill | With Rev. Adrian Rogers turning over the reins, Bellevue Baptist needs another God-sent man (The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.)
Congregation saves, rededicates Md. church | When Tropical Storm Isabel dumped itself on Hooper’s Island, the damage to the 114-year-old Hoopers Memorial United Methodist Church seemed beyond repair (Associated Press)
A milestone to eternity | In little-changing Greek orthodox church, a celebration of a cathedral’s centennial (The Washington Post)
Permanent sites elude churches | Rented schools a sanctuary for growing congregations (The Washington Post)
Ever faithful | A South End church clings to its soulful past and helps its parishioners find faith and friendship (The Boston Globe)
Crusade deserves an ‘Amen’ | If you went to Patrick Wooden’s church Sunday expecting an apology, you were at the wrong place (Barry Saunders, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.)
Church’s long hunt for home finally over | They were not 40 years in the desert, but the congregation of Rock Harbor Church nevertheless has been on a lengthy journey to find a home (Daily Pilot, Newport Beach, Ca.)
Searching for sweet Jesus | Today I’m going to church. Megachurch (Nancy Sartor, Pulse of the Twin Cities, Minn.)
Also: Supersized salvation | Today there are roughly 800 of these Protestant Christian megachurches in the United States (Pulse of the Twin Cities, Minn.)
My family now has a church to call its own | Whenever I drive down Main Street here in Waltham, my two older kids point out highlights from their everyday life—the places they like to visit, such as the library and our church (Mary K. Pratt, The Boston Globe)

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Church life in Africa:

‘Godless’ young generation worries churches | Attendance at Kenya’s Protestant churches is plummeting as Kenyans flock towards exciting new cults or back to traditional religions (East African Standard, Nairobi)
Split looms as Methodist Church saga boils over | The controversy that has dogged Dr Charles Mugaviri, Bishop- designate of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe for the past year, finally caught up with him, scuttling his installation yesterday (Zimbabwe Standard)
Slide is normal, Nzimbi declares | The head of Anglican Church, Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi has played down the slide in church membership, saying it was normal. “We call it nominalism,” he said. “It simply shows that Christian movement in Kenya has gone full circle.” (The East African Standard, Nairobi)
Why the church must change | The Church in Kenya must review its theology and doctrine whose failures Islam has capitalized on to convert Christians, said an analyst (Samwel Rambaya, The East African Standard, Nairobi)

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Ecumenism:

In a gesture of conciliation, the Pope returns Orthodox relics | Pope John Paul II returned the bones of two of the most revered saints in the Orthodox Church on Saturday, one in a series of gestures aimed at healing a millennium of distance and distrust between the church’s Eastern and Western rites (The New York Times)
Pope returns relics to Orthodox leader | Vatican move is seen as an attempt to revive talks on unifying Christianity (The Washington Post)
Pope returns relics of Orthodox saints | Pope John Paul II, seeking to heal rifts with other Christians, on Saturday handed over the relics of two Orthodox saints that were brought to Rome from ancient Constantinople centuries ago (Associated Press)
After 800 years, church leaders are still making bones over claim to saintly relics | During relic handover ritual, the Pope’s spokesman issued a statement contradicting the Orthodox version of history (The Guardian, London)
Religion Today: Ecumenism’s heyday? | At least six initiatives are under way around the world to bring together various Protestant churches (Associated Press)

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Catholicism:

Ancient language this Mass production’s drawcard | The Latin Mass is symbolic of the church’s traditional base and it’s striking a chord with young Catholics as well as old (The Courier-Mail, Brisbane, Australia)
Catholicism under siege | Today, even some Catholics engage in Catholic-bashing. (William H. Keeler, The Baltimore Sun)
Austria has new bishop after porn scandal | Klaus Kueng, a bishop in southwestern Austria who was sent by Pope John Paul II to investigate the scandal for the Vatican, was installed as the bishop of St. Poelten in a solemn ceremony in this city 50 miles west of Vienna (Associated Press)
Pope prays for peace in Ukraine | Pope John Paul II said Sunday he was praying for peace in Ukraine as the former Soviet republic endures a crisis over its disputed presidential vote (Associated Press)
Stand erect, hold your heads high | Our respect, admiration and love for the leadership of the Catholic Church from the pope himself to the lowest ranking priest or nun is ever growing (Editorial, The Post of Zambia)

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Catholic priest shortage:

Pope concerned about U.S. priest shortage | He also suggested, in an apparent reference to the clergy sex abuse scandal, that seminary training needs to be tightened to instill a commitment to “holiness and spiritual wisdom.” (Associated Press)
Pope urges U.S. national prayer day for more priests | Pope John Paul on Friday called for a national day of prayer to boost priestly vocations in the United States, where sexual abuse scandals have hit already shrinking numbers of priesthood volunteers. (Reuters)
Priest shortage puts Mass under cloud | Melbourne will soon have insufficient Catholic priests to conduct Sunday Masses (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)

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Abuse:

Deal is elusive in O.C. abuse talks | Orange diocese is trying to settle 87 claims against priests and others. An agreement could set a benchmark for L.A. cases (Los Angeles Times)
Earlier: Sex abuse settlement may be near | Judge hearing suits against the Diocese of Orange asks that all plaintiffs be present. Any resolution could be a model for other cases (Los Angeles Times)
Deal possible in priest-abuse lawsuits | Plaintiffs waiting outside an L.A. courtroom for word of a settlement involving Orange diocese (The Orange County Register)
Scandal puts focus on Los Angeles cardinal | Cardinal Roger Mahony has been considered a voice for the dispossessed ever since he supported farmworkers’ rights in the 1960s. But he draws sharp criticism from those who feel he protects the church at the expense of sexual abuse victims and others who disapprove of his fight to keep internal church documents secret (Associated Press)
Boston priest pleads guilty to child rape | A priest charged with repeatedly raping an altar boy pleaded guilty Tuesday as jury selection was set to begin (Associated Press)
Also: Priest admits abusing altar boy | “I feel at peace,” Robert V. Gale told the judge when asked if he was comfortable with his decision (The Boston Globe)

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Closing Catholic parishes:

Archbishop forms panel to review finances of church closings | Archbishop Sean O’Malley said Tuesday he has formed an independent committee to review the financial transactions involved in the ongoing church closings (Associated Press)
Baptism by fire | The liaison between the archdiocese and closing parishes draws praise and heated criticism (The Boston Globe)
Church gives parishioners role in closure | More than 700 parishioners learned to their surprise Monday night that the archdiocese, which decided in May to close St. James, has backed away from that plan and now wants the laity to recommend which church to shutter (The Boston Globe)
Best use of Church assets | Archbishop Sean O’Malley’s challenge will be to protect the financial interests of the archdiocese while maintaining the social mission of the church—especially its historic commitment to affordable housing (Editorial, The Boston Globe)
Amid vigil, parishioners feast on hope | 75 days into sit-in, they offer thanks (The Boston Globe)

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Latter-Day Saints:

Controversy surrounds Mormonism comments by Fuller exec. | Evangelical Christian leaders and experts on Mormonism have expressed dismay at recent comments made by Fuller Theological Seminary President Richard Mouw at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ “signature pulpit” in Salt Lake City (Baptist Press)
Judge tells ranting preacher to stop abusing Mormons | An Evangelical Christian preacher was ordered yesterday to stop bombarding Mormons with mobile phone calls and text messages and to keep away from their missions (The Telegraph, London)
Also: Jezebels and underwear | What Andrew Price allegedly did (The Telegraph, London)
Also: Preacher to keep clear of Mormons | A fundamentalist Protestant preacher was ordered yesterday to keep away from Mormons after a judge found that his prolonged attempts to harangue them were unreasonable (The Guardian, London)
Mormons spruce up their aging Hawaiian outpost | Church officials hope they will bring more of Hawaii’s six million visitors a year through Laie and possibly into the Mormon fold (The New York Times)
Flat tax mindful of LDS needs | One version retains deductions for tithing, homes, kids (The Salt Lake Tribune)

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Scientology:

Scientology settlement puts IRS in a kosher pickle | Tax lawyers are watching a trial in Los Angeles that pits an orthodox Jewish family against the Internal Revenue Service over whether tuition for religious education is deductible—based in part on a “secret” settlement between the IRS and the Church of Scientology (National Law Journal)
Drug addicts sent to Scientologists | Norway’s government has spent large sums sending drug addicts to a controversial Danish treatment run and supported by Scientologists (Aftenposten, Oslo)

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Messianic Jews:

Long “Road” for followers | Event for Messianic Judaism shifts Calif. venues after light registration (The Denver Post)
Revival raises questions of faith | A Denver-based Christian ministry says its only goal is to show support for Messianic Jews, but Inland Jewish leaders contend the group’s upcoming Coachella Valley revival is aimed at converting Jews to Christianity (The Press Enterprise, Riverside, Ca.)

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Missions & ministry:

A Christmas Carol for Target | The retail giant has given the Salvation Army the cold shoulder this holiday season. Perhaps they should read Dickens (Hugh Hewitt, The Weekly Standard)
Also: Salvation Army looks to small businesses | Salvation Army bellringers in Rochester are looking to small, local businesses this holiday season after being shut out of Target stores (Associated Press)
Ministry brings gifts and goodwill to sailors | Center adapts to tighter security measures and less shore leave (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.)
‘Spiritual coach’ helps guide Vols | ‘He makes a difference in a lot of lives around this program’ (Associated Press)
Street preacher turns corner on faith | The calling of the Rev. Ty Johnson is to the pavement not the pulpit (The News Journal, Wilmington, Del.)
Gourmet chef has an appetite for evangelism | Former restaurateur Clive Berkman figures one way to the soul is through a happy stomach filled with a delicious gourmet dinner (Houston Chronicle)
Young Mennonites put faith to work in city | Agencies benefit from volunteers (The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.)
Gathering together | Church projects bring meaning to spirit of holiday giving (Knoxville News-Sentinel, Ky.)
Family sails out on prayer | The Maddox family of Bossier City is setting out to change the world. They’re planning to sail as far away as island countries south of Asia like Palau that many Americans have never heard of to establish Christian churches (Associated Press)
Baptist women’s group adopts strong stance | Woman’s Missionary Union fights discrimination (Cody Lowe, The Roanoke Times, Va.)
Bible-based counseling | Residents use God’s word to minister to others (News Journal, Mansfield, Oh.)
Tennessean helps African nation’s poor raise more crops for harvest of hope | Farmers’ labor helps feed thousands of AIDS-ravaged country’s orphans (The Tennesssean)
Bush asks Americans to volunteer, give | President Bush issued a holiday-season call on Americans to volunteer and give to charity—”to share our blessings with the least among us” (Associated Press)
Battle to put charities at the heart of public life | Charities should be able to borrow money on the financial markets so they can become the third force in public services, Alan Milburn, Labour’s policy supremo said yesterday (The Telegraph, London)

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Thanksgiving:

Pilgrims saw our nation as having a great mission | They left Europe to escape religious persecution—not quite the same as saying they came for religious freedom—and “to create His kingdom on earth.” (Clifford D. May, Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
America’s ‘official’ religion | How does an atheist observe Thanksgiving, other than perhaps with a jaundiced eye? (Dimitri Vassilaros, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
What would Jesus give? | The annual holiday greedfest turned on its afterburner yesterday, the day after Thanksgiving (Bob Ewegen, The Denver Post)
A very Christian holiday | “Fundamentalists” gave us Thanksgiving, and we should thank them for it (David Gelernter, The Wall Street Journal)
Va. group wants to unseat pilgrims at history’s table | Imagine a Thanksgiving Day without Pilgrims. Picture this instead: a solemn day of fasting, meditation and introspection, followed by a light meal of roasted oysters or Virginia ham (The Washington Post)
‘Grinch’ gives Florida credit for first Thanksgiving | Old rivalry faces new competition from those who say the true first Thanksgiving was celebrated many decades before the English arrived at either Jamestown or Plymouth Rock (The Washington Times)
Thanks, prayer fill cathedral | Worshippers from across the region prayed for their families—and their loved ones serving in the military overseas—at the Thanksgiving Day service at Washington National Cathedral (The Washington Times)
Grace, gratitude, and God | In typical toddler fashion, my daughter is now absolutely fanatical about her new routine. Not only must we say grace before every meal, but also before each snack. And anytime we have a drink. And anytime her baby brother gobbles Cheerios in his car seat. Failure to give thanks to God is met with swift retribution (Michelle Malkin, The Washington Times)
Hunting for turkey in bread lines of today | Like the bishop in “Les Misérables,” who gave his candlesticks to Jean Valjean after he had already stolen the silver, Pastor Samuels persists because she believes that when all the turkeys have been given away, even to the undeserving, good will beget more good (The New York Times)

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St. Andrew’s Day:

Canavan seeks day for St Andrew | An MSP is taking the campaign to make St Andrew’s Day a national holiday to the Scottish Parliament (BBC)
How one day could unite our country | Campaigners calling for St Andrew’s Day to be a public holiday claim it would improve our sense of nationhood. Here, Scotland’s most senior Catholic argues it could also bring together the nation’s many faiths (Keith Patrick O’Brien, The Sunday Herald, Glasgow)
It’s time to give St Andrew a day to remember | He is our patron saint and the Saltire or St Andrew’s Cross is our single most immediately recognisable national emblem (Allan Massie, The Scotsman)

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More on holidays and holy days:

Bethlehem Star now falls under computer’s gaze | A Welsh university is carrying out research into one of the world’s most enduring mysteries—the star of Bethlehem (Western Mail, Wales)
Holiday cards combine Christmas, Hanukkah | Chrismukkah inspired by television show (Associated Press)
‘Hanukkah Song’ strikes sour note on Jewish ears | Hanukkah is too holy to be known primarily for sarcastic pop music, says the founder of an Orthodox Jewish Web site, who wants to reclaim the holiday from Hollywood (The Washington Times)
Plenty of room at inn for Mary and Joseph | British hotel chain is offering couples called Mary and Joseph a free night’s stay over Christmas (Reuters)
Santa v Jesus | At Christmas two of society’s most wished-for figures collide. Some Christians attempt to keep Santa at a respectable distance (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Nativity collection shows many faces of Christmas | Susan Greeley has accumulated dozens of the icon sets and displays them in a nursing home (Chicago Tribune)

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Law:

Limits set on arguments during trial | Courts crack down on preachy lawyers (National Law Journal)
Peterson jurors face wrenching choice | Jurors who have sent people to death row say even though they were overwhelmingly convinced of their guilt, settling on the death penalty was one of the toughest decisions of their lives (Associated Press)
Judge in TBN case to step aside | Jurist says he could be perceived as biased against a Times reporter who wrote of Crouch (Los Angeles Times)

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Fraud:

Scammers’ latest target: Churches | State regulators are concerned that scam artists are cranking up affinity fraud–where scammers target members of a particular ethnic or community group–by preying on churches (Chicago Tribune)
Son of a preacher pleads guilty to larceny | John Eseppi is accused of stealing nearly $1 million from victims affiliated with the Evangelical Baptist Church in Torrington, a church founded by Eseppi’s late father, the Rev. John E. Eseppi. (Republican-American, Waterbury, Conn.)
Also: Preacher’s son pleads guilty | Former Torrington resident John Eseppi is expected to be sentenced Feb. 25 to eight years in jail for defrauding nearly $1 million in bogus investments from 16 members of the Evangelical Baptist Church in Torrington, where his late father was a pastor and founder (Register Citizen, Torrington, Conn.)
Also: Plea deal in fleecing of flock | Preacher’s Son Guilty In $900,000 Scam (The Hartford Courant, Conn.)
Victims shocked over Boston radio fraud | Greek Orthodox church among those in Bradford Bleidt’s Ponzi scheme. “I’m going to hell, and I’ve been in hell for years,” he said before suicide attempt (Associated Press)
Couple say employee betrayed, duped them | Indictment says woman embezzled $200,000 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Court weighs money laundering conspiracy | The U.S. Supreme Court heard argument Tuesday on whether an overt act is a necessary part of a money laundering conspiracy (UPI)
Lawyer pleads guilty in Frankel scheme | A former powerhouse fund-raiser for the Catholic church pleaded guilty Tuesday to taking part in financier Martin Frankel’s scheme to loot insurance companies in five states (Associated Press)

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Vicar victim of ‘hate campaign’:

Hate case vicar feared for family | A vicar feared for his family’s safety during an eight-month hate campaign against him, a court has been told (BBC)
Vicar weeps over ‘hate campaign’ | A vicar who allegedly suffered a campaign of hate from a GP and his undertaker girlfriend told yesterday how eight months of abuse had left him scared of being blown up or attacked in the street (The Times, London)
GP ‘planned to kill vicar with overdose of Viagra’ | A rural GP who mounted a hate campaign with his girlfriend against a country vicar planned to use his medical knowledge to drug and sexually abuse the clergyman, a court was told (The Times, London)
Court told of sex plot against vicar | A doctor and undertaker plotted to inject a parish priest with a drug which would cause an embarrassing sexual condition as part of a terrifying hate campaign, a court heard yesterday (The Guardian, London)

Other crime:

Police relying on power of prayer | Police in a seaside town are asking churchgoers to pray for them in the hope it will reduce crime in the area (BBC)
New details emerge in Matthew Shepard murder | Killers talk about crime that shocked the nation (20/20)
Clay items to deter church raids | Parish priests in Cambridgeshire have been advised to put replica silverware in churches in a bid to beat raiders (BBC)
Crawford church members rely on faith after arson, theft | Not far from the ashes, melted siding and twisted rusted metal that remain of Livingstone Baptist Church, interim pastor Jimmy Daniels had a message for the Livingstone congregation about what really matters (Macon Telegraph, Ga.)
Priest faces investigation over finances | A Catholic priest who already was in trouble with his bishop now faces a criminal investigation by civil authorities (The Arizona Republic)
Priest stabbed in ‘bungled burglary’ | An elderly Roman Catholic priest was stabbed repeatedly in a bungled burglary, police said yesterday (The Telegraph, London)
Also: Man arrested for priest stab attack | A 19-year-old man has been arrested over the attempted murder of a 71-year-old Catholic priest (Huddersfield Daily Examiner, England)
Also: Man held after intruder stabs priest, 71, at home (Yorkshire Post)

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Hell & the devil:

Is it ok to hope anyone is in hell? | Just as any decent human being would want good people to be rewarded in whatever existence there is after this life, they would want the cruelest of people to be punished (Dennis Prager)
Being Satan means hellfire, damnation and no free time | Who hasn’t been accused of being the lord of evil from time to time? (Emma Tom, The Australian)

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Theology & belief:

Evangelical scholars further explain support for biblical inerrancy | The action followed a meeting last year in which two scholars were almost ousted for believing in open theism (Religion News Service)
Everybody believes in something | Even those who doubt the miracles of Moses or Jesus but who espouse, perhaps, evolution or the ascendancy of the proletariat base their lives on a kind of faith (Don Erler, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Tex.)
‘Day of rest’ re-evaluated | Sundays in the Tri-State—like much of America—have shifted from a day of relaxation and religious observance to, frankly, just another day of the week (Courier & Press, Evansville, Ind.)
It’s out with the old and in with the New … Age guardian angel | Angels haven’t gone away after all. They’ve merely changed form (The Belfast Telegraph)

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People:

Fate put him in pulpit, Joel Osteen does the rest | With an upbeat message and media savvy, the Texan rises to stardom (The Orlando Sentinel)
Once-‘rebel’ son becomes heir to Graham ministry | Franklin Graham takes on a higher profile in the organization built by his father, Billy (Los Angeles Times)
Profile: Bishop Frank Griswold | No one has been more in the middle of the controversy over homosexuality and the U.S. Episcopal Church than Frank Griswold, the presiding bishop (Religion & Ethics Newsweekly)
Finding his faith | The path the Rev. Deacon Edgar Hopper took to the New York Hall of Fame runs through St. Augustine’s Episcopal church on the lower East Side. But his trip was hardly a straight line, marked instead by some unusual detours and a bit of bittersweet chance (Charles W. Bell, New York Daily News)
Spring Valley triplets are team players | The Lukes triplets of Spring Valley, Wis., share their love of athletics and faith, and will leave a sizable hole on their high school teams when they graduate next spring. (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.)

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Evangelist Billy James Hargis dies:

Billy James Hargis, 79, pastor and anticommunist crusader, dies | Fiery evangelist and anticommunist preacher founded the Christian Crusade and reached millions in an international ministry that used radio, television, books, pamphlets and personal appearances (The New York Times)
Evangelist Billy James Hargis dies | Spread anti-Communist message (The Washington Post)
Rev. Billy James Hargis, 79; pastor targeted Communism | The Rev. Billy James Hargis, a colorful and controversial evangelist and anti-communist crusader who launched the “Bible balloon barrage” to float Scripture behind the Iron Curtain and tangled with the IRS, the church that ordained him and the college he founded, has died (Los Angeles Times)
Anti-Communist crusader Hargis dies | The Rev. Billy James Hargis, a radio and television evangelist and fervent anti-Communist crusader who used balloons to send his message across the Iron Curtain, has died at age 79 (Associated Press)

Other obituaries:

Messiah College mourns Sawatsky | Ex-president remembered as inspiration and friend (The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa.)
Langdon Gilkey, 85, theorist on nexus of faith and science, dies | Prominent Protestant theologian argued for a rational, even satisfying, coexistence between science and faith in the modern, secular age (The New York Times)
Also: Langdon Gilkey, 85; theologian wrote about God in wartime (Los Angeles Times)

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Church historian share Kluge award:

Jaroslav Pelikan shares $1M Kluge Prize | American historian of Christianity wins award with French philosopher Paul Ricoeur (Associated Press)
Press release: Library of Congress announces winners of John W. Kluge Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities and Social Sciences (Library of Congress)
For second Kluge Prize, a double win | Philosopher, historian to split $1 million award (The Washington Post)

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Bones:

Faithful flock to venerate Apostle of the Indies | In a country where Hindu saints attract huge crowds, India’s Christian minority will this month gather in the holiday state of Goa to venerate one of their own (The Telegraph, London)
Savannah Grove founder completes his journey home | The posthumous return of Sampson Ham, a former slave, to the grounds of the Savannah Grove Baptist Church—which he founded—finally was completed Sunday (Morning News, Florence, S.C.)
Also: Churches’ founder back home | Rev. Sampson Ham taken to mausoleum at Savannah Grove (Associated Press)

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Knights Templar:

The last crusade of the Templars | The knights want a Papal apology nearly 700 years after they were disbanded and hounded into exile (The Times, London)
Knights Templar seek papal apology for 700 years of persecution | Seven hundred years after they were denounced as heretics and condemned to torture and death, the Knights Templar are calling for a public apology from the Roman Catholic Church (The Independent, London)

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Holy Grail:

The never-ending search | Fascination with the Holy Grail has lasted for centuries, and now the Bletchley Park code-breakers have joined the hunt. But what is it that’s made the grail the definition of something humans are always searching for but never actually finding? (BBC)
Has the mystery of the Holy Grail been solved? | Wartime Bletchley codebreakers assess American’s claim to have found answer in Staffordshire motto (The Guardian, London)
Codebreaker scores success in search for the Holy Grail | An anonymous American researcher was credited yesterday with the best stab yet at what the letters D.O.U.O.S.V.A.V.V.M.—carved on the Shepherd’s Monument at Lord Lichfield’s Shugborough estate in Staffordshire—might actually signify (The Independent, London)
Code points away from Holy Grail | An inscription etched on a marble tablet at a stately home could be a hidden message from an 18th Century Christian sect, code-breakers say (BBC)

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Books:

Faith-based publishing | Do the stellar sales of The Purpose Driven Life and other religious titles speak to a newfound spiritual thirst in the culture or just great marketing? (Rachel Donadio, The New York Times Book Review)
The Prophecy of C. S. Lewis | Why was Lewis so uncannily prophetic? The answer may be somewhat discomfiting to modern evangelicals: One reason is precisely that Lewis was not an evangelical. (Chuck Colson)
Peter Brook considers matters of faith and power | The main work, “Tierno Bokar,” the name of a Sufi mystic caught in an Islamic dispute in French-ruled Africa, has echoes of Mr. Brook’s African epic, “The Conference of Birds.” “The Death of Krishna” is taken from Mr. Brook’s Indian saga, “The Mahabharata.” “The Grand Inquisitor,” based on Dostoyevsky, also addresses questions of religion and power. The theme that connects them is tolerance. (The New York Times)
10 of this year’s best spiritual books | The spotlight is on books that creatively push boundaries (David Crumm, Detroit Free Press)
Father Drinan pushes religious tolerance | In what was akin to a political homecoming, the Rev. Robert F. Drinan spoke in the Newton Free Library last night to promote his latest book and to speak his mind on the current state of religious freedom around the world (Daily News Tribune, Waltham, Mass.)
The day you gained a soul | The Soul of the Embryo by David Albert Jones is a fascinating historical study of what people have thought, from the earliest biblical times, about the human soul before birth (Christopher Howse, The Telegraph, London)
A second coming for belief | John Gray reviews Alister McGrath’s The Twilight of Atheism and Dawkins’ God (The Independent, London)
Newspaper voices concern over Evangelical Alliance statement | A leading denominational newspaper has voiced its concern over a recent statement from the Evangelical Alliance which publicly chastised Rev Steve Chalke for his views about the cross. (Ekklesia, U.K.)

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Art:

National Gallery shows printed portrait | Image of St. Bernardine of Siena is earliest known print depicting subject exactly as he appeared (Associated Press)
It’s an almighty task getting God on canvas | A review of 100 Artists see God (The Observer, London)
Michelangelo’s final chapel is a revelation | Michelangelo’s last architectural masterpiece is to be unveiled in Rome next week after two years of restoration which reveal it to have been a visionary work which prefigured the Baroque era (The Times, London)

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Television & film:

The invisible hand holds the remote | National moralists—dominated these days by evangelical Christians—politicize the issue by blaming “liberal Hollywood” for what deregulation and the free market have wrought (Robert Scheer, Los Angeles Times)
The great indecency hoax | To see how the hucksters of the right work their “moral values” scam, there could be no more illustrative example than the Nicollette Sheridan episode (Frank Rich, The New York Times)
‘Values voters’ and the tube | The New York Times implies that pulling the lever for “traditional” marriage or against abortion eliminates curiosity, boredom, bad taste and maybe even sin from the human condition (Diana West, The Washington Times)
Forget idol. Think role model | Australian Idol—it’s an unfortunate moniker to be associated with when you live by the creed that thou shall not worship false idols. But Guy Sebastian, the Afro-haired pin-up boy for both the Australian Idol talent show and the Pentecostal church (as well as the whipping boy for most of the music industry), believes worship is a strong word (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
‘Polar Express’ could be metaphor for Christianity | The film’s underlying thesis that “believing is seeing” is very significant (Tommy Davidson, Daily Press, Hampton Roads, Va.)
Hanks, Howard reunite for ‘Da Vinci Code’ | Sony Pictures said Tuesday it plans to release the film May 19, 2006 (Associated Press)
Golden Gibson | Meet Mel Gibson: actor, director—and now the $395 million man. Make that $395 million and counting. (New York Post)
Wardrobe closed to Evanescence singer | Amy Lee from American goth pop band Evanescence has been composing music for the New Zealand-made film The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The New Zealand Herald)
Kinsey conniptions | Holy wrath hits film on the famed sex researcher (Editorial, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
‘Davey and Goliath’ bridges generations | The show’s creators still hear from viewers, now in their 40s, who learned racial and religious tolerance by watching the program, which featured some of the first people of color on television (The Dallas Morning News)
Abortion film sweeps British film awards | Vera Drake, Mike Leigh’s moving portrayal of a back-street abortionist in 1950s London, swept the British Independent Film Awards late Tuesday, taking six awards, including Best Film and Best Director (Reuters)

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Music:

‘We’re all in a process’ | Amy Grant talks to us about pop music, her upcoming tour, the Bush family and why she never bashed Madonna (Beliefnet)
A child shall lead them on the organ | At Armenian Church in New Britain, next generation plays a key role (The Hartford Courant, Conn.)

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Business & economics:

Economists are getting religion | Can organized faith be explained by supply and demand? They think so (Business Week)
Christian stores facing big-box competition | The burgeoning popularity of Christian books and music, such as the New York Times bestseller The Purpose-Driven Life and albums by musical group Third Day, mean big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy are cutting into what once was a niche market (The Shreveport Times, La.)
Are you invested in your values? | An analysis of your portfolio might reveal your money is working against your beliefs (The Charlotte Observer, N.C.)

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Giant Jesus:

Giant Jesus makes many stop | If motorists on Interstate 75 want a heavenly vision, all they have to do is look to the side of the road (The Cincinnati Enquirer)
Sit at feet of 7-ton Jesus | Larger-than-life saints draw faithful, curious to Cross in the Woods (Associated Press)

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Other articles of interest:

Prayer under a microscope | At Thanksgiving, a time to rethink research on prayer (Editorial, The Christian Science Monitor)
The use and abuse of labels | Various liberal constituencies contort word meanings to slander conservatives and Christians (David Limbaugh, The Washington Times)
Save us from all this spiritual spam | Analysts have noticed the volume of “spiritual spam”—messages offering salvation by e-mail—is growing (The Telegraph, London)
True mysticism at the heart of Christian faith | Christianity, like the Jewish faith out of which it sprang, and also like the later Islam, understands itself as a revealed religion (Geoffrey Rowell, The Times, London)
Reopening the Jonestown files | The full story of Jonestown has never been told (Editorial, The Guyana Chronicle)
Religion news in brief | More on Zacharias and Mouw at the Mormon Tabernacle, Virginia convention will seek membership in Baptist World Alliance, Hawaiians win permit for chapel, bogus weddings in Tennessee, and other stories (Associated Press)

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Weblog: Launched in 1999, Christianity Today’s Weblog was not just one of the first religion-oriented weblogs, but one of the first published by a media organization. (Hence its rather bland title.) Mostly compiled by then-online editor Ted Olsen, Weblog rounded up religion news and opinion pieces from publications around the world. As Christianity Today’s website grew, it launched other blogs. Olsen took on management responsibilities, and the Weblog feature as such was mothballed. But CT’s efforts to round up important news and opinion from around the web continues, especially on our Gleanings feature.