A year after a member of the Canadian Parliament proposed a bill that Christians say could censor Scripture, the mainstream media are finally catching up.
New Democratic Party MP Svend Robinson, sponsor of the hate crime bill, says there's no way a pastor would be prosecuted for preaching against homosexuality on the basis of the Bible.
"There's not an attorney general in the country anywhere at any level who would consent to the prosecution of an individual for quoting from the Bible," he told a House of Commons committee, according to Reuters. "An attorney general who tried something like that would be run out of town on a rail."
But just because the attorneys general wouldn't prosecute doesn't mean it wouldn't be illegal. Five months ago, a Saskatchewan court ruled under a different human rights law, that a pastor's quoting of Leviticus "exposes homosexuals to hatred."
For more on this story, check out ChristianWeek's archives. The Canadian newspaper's stories are a bit older than the Reuters piece, but no less current.
Anatomy professor Morris Goodman, one of the study's authors, admits that part of his motivation for the change is political advocacy. "The loss of the [wild] chimp and gorilla seems imminent," he says. "Moving chimps into the human genus might help us to realize our very great likeness, and therefore treasure more and treat humanely our closest relative."
Well, now that we've decided that fetuses aren't really human, there's some extra room in our definition anyway. Come on in!
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New Sweden church poisoning:
Police: Poisoner did not act alone | Authorities say two or more people were involved in a plot to poison members of a New Sweden church last month, and they have narrowed their focus to six to 10 parishioners as possible suspects (Portland Press Herald)
Ongoing investigation weighs heavily in New Sweden | Almost three weeks after the nation's worst case of mass arsenic poisoning, the stoic residents of tiny New Sweden remain mystified, anxious for answers about who committed the crime and why (Portland Press Herald)
Antidote from WWI aids New Sweden victims | Eighty-five years later, a drug created to counter gas attacks is being used to treat arsenic poisoning. (Portland Press Herald)
Faith and spirituality:
Finding grace on death row | My mother hated my father for giving her AIDS. I blamed them both, until a visit with a brutal murderer taught me to forgive (Diana Keough, Beliefnet)
Evangelism's place in Christianity | If Christianity is to thrive into the new millennium, it seems clear that it will do so only if it responds in the same way it has in previous periods of history, and that is by a deep and searching commitment to evangelism (Gregory Elder, Redlands Daily Facts, California)
A heated debate flares in Unitarian Universalism | The president of the Unitarian Universalist Association sparked quite a reaction when he asked members of the noncreedal movement to reclaim "a vocabulary of reverence." (The New York Times)
Church joins university 'milk round' in hunt for young vicars | The Church of England is planning to compete with Britain's largest corporations by taking part in the university "milk round" as it attempts to recruit young vicars (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Silence of the Quakers | Heartland Friends is the largest of several unprogrammed Quaker groups in Wichita and the only one to have its own meetinghouse (Wichita Eagle)
Clergy sex abuse:
Accused cleric put on leave | Thomas David James has been superintendent of the church's Northwest district for the past 2 1/2 years (The Oregonian)
His People and his shame | A sex scandal involving a church leader considered a pillar of moral virtue has rocked the His People Christian Church in Goodwood, which strongly backs traditional family values (Norman Joseph, Cape Argus, South Africa)
Churchman 'raped and sexually assaulted his flock' | Douglas Goodman sexually assaulted four woman as he took advantage of his position as a father figure and spiritual leader, said prosecutor Nicholas Corsellis (PA News, U.K.)
Many Catholic dioceses fight abuse claims | They have been challenging claims from alleged victims and resisting prosecutors' demands for personnel files, arguing both violate the constitutional separation of church and state (Associated Press)
Sexual ethics:
1 in 5 teenagers has sex before 15, study finds | The report, an analysis of studies conducted in the late 1990's, offers a comprehensive look at the sexual activities of 12- to 14-year-olds (The New York Times)
Church mired in debate over ordaining gays | Homosexuality in the church has divided the nation's largest Presbyterian body for 25 years, and the issue shows no signs of going away (The Denver Post)
Movie stars need God more than ever | Pastor John Bright Anodebe of Star World Fellowship has now written and produced a movie which he says is a "great explosion" (Vanguard, Nigeria)
TV networks clean up 'family hour' programs | "Dramatic decrease" in sexual content was the first decline noted by Parents Television Council in its eight-year history (The Washington Times)
File under Rock/Pop | When X-Men is more Christian than gospel music (Mark Gauvreau Judge, Breakpoint)
Mexico's Mennonite rocker bucks tradition | Martin Thulin does not practice the religion, but he flaunts his Mennonite roots when he performs, wearing traditional dress including denim overalls and a wide-brimmed hat (Reuters)
Islam is hardly the only religion with extremists | Yeah, sure, some Muslims kill people. But Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell said bad things about Islam, and that's just about as bad! (Anant Rambachan, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.)
Conservatives ask Christians to learn more about Islam | America's religious leaders have been "stuck on two extremes of over simplification," said Diane Knippers, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy (Canton Repository, Ohio)
While we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
Jude has strong words for immorality in the church. Yet he advocates for mercy for those who doubt.
How Christian outreach has come to look like the YMCA, call center ministries, and the “Christward” movement model.
