Sydney Churches Burn

Australia's riots spread to churches:

1. Now churches are targeted | Four churches in Sydney's southwest have been attacked in 24 hours as the city's riots spread from race to religion (The Australian)
   
   
2. Church fire follows beach riot | A church hall was set ablaze and shots were fired near a primary school in Sydney yesterday, fuelling fears of an escalation in violence between ethnic Arabs and whites (The Times, London)
   
   
3. Religious leaders call for calm | Religious leaders are calling for unity and calm after a spate of attacks on places of worship linked to days of race-fuelled violence in Sydney (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
   
   
4. More coverage: Anglican Media Sydney
   
   

War & terrorism:

1. U.S. activists rebuffed at Guantanamo | Members of the Christian-oriented Witness Against Torture began a hunger strike at the checkpoint on Monday after a five-day march from the eastern Cuban city of Santiago (Associated Press)
   
   
2. Living non-violence not for the weak | Are those who practise non-violence really prepared to sacrifice their lives? (Nicole Langlois, The London Free Press, Ont.)
   
   

Israel:

1. Presbyterians hold back on divestment | Chicagoans to revisit question in February (Chicago Tribune)
   
   
2. Bethlehem mayor asks pilgrims to visit | The mayor of Jesus' traditional birthplace on Wednesday asked pilgrims to visit in large numbers during Christmas and help pressure Israel to dismantle the barrier that separates the city from Jerusalem (Associated Press)
   
   

Persecution:

1. The Mid-East's beleaguered Christians | Few issues are so sensitive as the position of Christians in the Middle East (BBC)
   
   
2. Also: Guide: Christians in the Middle East | Click on the map to read about Christian populations around the region (BBC)
   
   
3. Chaput says anti-Christian sentiment growing | Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput said the October murder of three Christian girls in Indonesia was an example of growing violence against Christians by Muslims across the world (The Denver Post)
   
   
4. Christian persecution growing | The chief villains in a "Christmas Under Siege Around the World" panel at the Capitol were Indonesia, China, Uzbekistan, Iran and North Korea (The Washington Times)
   
   

Religious freedom:

1. A small church's worries | I'm glad that there are still religious people in America concerned about religious liberty, like the Adventists. I only wish more would speak up (Kevin Eigelbach, The Cincinnati Post)
   
   
2. Freedom to believe | Iran's Christians have a high price to pay (Kenneth R. Timmerman, National Review Online)
   
   

Human rights:

1. Pope condemns both terror and violations of Geneva Pact | Apparently in a reference to allegations the U.S. tortured terror suspects, the pope condemned lack of respect for international law (The New York Times)
   
   

1. Angolan radio station faults limits on range | Broadcast restriction on Catholic station seen curb on freedom (The Boston Globe)
   
   
2. In a shift, anti-prostitution effort targets pimps and johns | Behind the scenes, an unlikely coalition of evangelicals, feminists, liberal activists and conservative human rights advocates are pushing the issue (The Washington Post)
   
   

Crime:

1. Piecemakers plead not guilty to misdemeanor charges | The three could face from 18 to 30 months each in jail for running a restaurant without a permit and resisting officials (The Orange County Register)
   
   
2. Parish business manager faces charge he stole over $600,000 | Police say he took collections, other funds to bet on slots (Chicago Tribune)
   
   
3. Cape traders upset by 'adrenaline evangelism' | Law enforcement officers were called in to defuse a row between members of a "militant church" and traders in St George's Mall yesterday (Cape Argus, Cape Town, South Africa)
   
   
4. Amish man lost thousands in sex scam | A 75-year-old Amish widower, afraid his church community would find out about him seeking sex from a prostitute, was scammed out of more than $67,000 from the prostitute and her boyfriend, a prosecutor says (Associated Press)
   
   
5. Ex-priest is given probation in porn case | Victims group calls prosecutor weak (The Washington Post)
   
   
6. NY priest jailed for 15 months for child porn | A Catholic priest in New York state was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to possessing child pornography (Reuters)
   
   
7. That's way too much for an exorcism | A German woman lost more than 5,000 euros ($6,000) after a would-be soothsayer convinced her she was possessed by evil spirits and prescribed an expensive exorcism as a remedy, authorities said Wednesday (Reuters)
   
   

Abuse:

1. Eight who said priest abused them can testify | Eight men may testify that Michael Edward Wempe sexually abused them decades ago to bolster charges that the Roman Catholic priest molested a boy at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the early 1990s, a judge ruled Wednesday (Los Angeles Times)
   
   
2. Jesuit defends secrecy in priest sex case | In a previous post, SU leader didn't report abuse (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
   
   

Catholicism:

1. Priest resigns post over Vatican document | A priest at St. John's University said he was resigning his leadership position because of the Vatican's latest statement that homosexuals should be barred from entering the Roman Catholic priesthood (Associated Press)
   
   

1. Catholic priests in Belleville demand changes from bishop | Nearly half the priests in the Diocese of Belleville voted Wednesday to demand changes in the way Bishop Edward K. Braxton is running the diocese (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Mo.)
   
   
2. One faith fits all -- or else | A rise in Protestantism has drawn a backlash from Mexican Catholics. Some use their positions of authority to enforce religious traditions (Los Angeles Times)
   
   
3. San Bernardino diocese tries priest on heresy, schism charges | The intent is to defrock the Rev. Ned Reidy, who left the church to form his own Catholic parish (Los Angeles Times)
   
   
4. Clergyman tried for heresy by diocese | A rare heresy trial was held Tuesday for a Roman Catholic priest who joined a denomination that doesn't accept papal infallibility and has ordained women clergy (Associated Press)
   
   
5. Religion Today: Megachurch, Catholic style | Unlike the Protestant churches that use high-profile, evangelistic campaigns to grow, dioceses say too few priests and too many worshippers drive their expansion (The Washington Post)
   
   
6. Pope appoints new archbishop to San Francisco | George Niederauer, 69, formerly archbishop of Salt Lake City, replaces William Levada (Associated Press)
   
   
7. Gay clergy issue letter on Vatican policy | The message, an open letter in which the priests said they felt like the church's "unloved and unwanted children," was posted on the Web site of the Italian Catholic news agency Adista (Associated Press)
   
   
8. Priest sues church after losing position | A Catholic priest sued the Newark archdiocese for $5 million yesterday, contending he was removed from his position as a school director in 2003 because he publicly criticized Catholic bishops for cover- ups related to the clergy sex scandal (The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J)
   
   
9. Menino's Catholic fallacies | In an odd historical twist, cartoon Catholicism and the crudest caricatures of Catholic belief are often promoted today by Catholic political leaders (George Weigel, The Boston Globe)
   
   
10. Power and the pulpit | Calling the ministers to meetings at the Parkman House is not going to solve this problem, not this week, or next week, or anytime soon. (Adrian Walker, The Boston Globe)
    
    

Anglican Communion:

1. Court rules all saints' parish owns property | More than a year after its highly publicized split from the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and the national church in favor of Ugandan leadership, a judge ruled this week that All Saints' Church is entitled to keep its Belmont Heights property (Long Beach Gazette, Ca.)
   
   

1. Sydney Anglicans defiant on colonizing outsiders | Sydney's Anglican diocese has defied the national church over whether it should be able to colonize other dioceses with its evangelical brand of Christianity in a move that could see rival Anglican churches operating in the same towns (The Australian)
   
   
2. Church to sell bishops' 13th century castle | After 140 years of deliberation, the Church of England has decided to sell 800-year-old Hartlebury Castle, home of bishops of Worcester since the 13th century (The Guardian, London)
   
   

Church life:

1. 'We're made for more than success' | In his best-selling book, Rick Warren explored the purpose-driven life. Now the popular pastor is tackling global poverty and disease (Newsweek)
   
   
2. Wanted: Lion cub for mane event of church sermon | He may just have to use a golden retriever (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
   
   
3. Foreclosure begun on 2 of minister's churches | A prominent DeKalb County minister faces foreclosure of two of his three churches on a debt of more than $6 million, according to legal notices (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
   
   
4. Black pastors celebrate progress in banking | The Collective Banking Group -- an organization started in Prince George's County 10 years ago to help black pastors use their financial resources to get better bank loans -- celebrated its anniversary and $150 million in loans last weekend (The Washington Post)
   
   
5. 'Jesus' DVD on way to Mecklenburg homes | Project organizers say those who don't want 1979 film can toss it out (The Charlotte Observer, N.C.)
   
   
6. For more teens, Jesus is way cool | Youth ministries try to attract more teens by making Christianity more edgy (Good Morning America, ABC News)
   
   
7. Agrarian Christianity | Filipinos started early this morning the traditional "Simbang Gabi" [Dawn Mass] that has so become their habit that they have forgotten the ritual's origins and significance (Editorial, Philippine Daily Inquirer)
   
   
8. It's cool to be Christian | God and his teachings are on a roll, enjoying a surge in public support (Jill Rowbotham, The Australian)
   
   

Closing church on Christmas:

1. Some churches join Christmas closings | With the holiday on a Sunday, others plan less drastic changes (St.
   
   
2. PetersburgTimes, Fla.)
   
   
3. Christmas controversy | Some megachurches cancel Dec. 25 services (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Tex.)
   
   
4. Churches closing on Christmas worrisome | Ministers plan big Christmas Eve services—and issue DVDs for Sunday (Kevin Leininger, The News-Sentinel, Ft. Wayne, Ind.)
   
   

1. Between the stay-at-homes and the shout-it-outs, Christians diminish Christmas | Now, I'm all for modernizing church. I can abide liturgical dancing, 1,001 ministries to address the storms of life, and even, on occasion, some hip-hop gospel singing. But canceling Christmas services? (Betty Bayé, The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.)
   
   

Christmas wars:

1. Barnegat church mounts sign campaign to reinforce religious nature of Christmas | On Wednesday, Volker, a Stafford Township resident, was assembling signs at St. Mary's in Barnegat that read "Keep Christ in Christmas! Merry Christmas!" (Press of Atlantic City, N.J.)
   
   
2. Mason's Christmas kvetch | The phrase "Happy Holidays" is an insult, comedian Jackie Mason kvetched yesterday. He wasn't joking (Newsday)
   
   
3. 'Soldiers' gear up to defend Christmas | 832 lawyers are ready to charge any municipality or public school that dares excise the mention or observance of the world's most widely celebrated holiday (The Washington Times)
   
   
4. 'Happy Holidays' also rooted in religious meaning | The irony is that while the White House, along with other government officials and retailers this year, opts to use the word "holiday" as its generic, non-religious alternative to "Christmas," linguists point out that the word "holiday" itself has religious etymological roots (Chicago Tribune)
   
   
5. America's right rally to protect a Christmas 'under siege' | The appearance of Santa Clauses, fir trees and fairy lights are a sure sign that it is combat season once more in America's culture war. But this time it is a do-or-die battle, some of the nation's best-known conservatives are warning (The Guardian, London)
   
   
6. Activist judge cancels Christmas | Liberal Judge Stephen Reinhardt ruled that the celebration of Christmas, and any directly related good cheer, is unconstitutional (The Onion, satire)
   
   
7. Talking points | There is no "liberal plot" against the holiday. But there is a growing respect for America's religious diversity (Editorial, The New York Times)
   
   
8. The Christmas complex has spread to other faiths | The fight over the greeting 'Merry Christmas' vs. 'Happy Holidays' may only be solved by speaking Spanish (Julia Gorin, The Christian Science Monitor)
   
   
9. Merry Christmas to all | (Even you, Fox News!) (Joe Conason, The New York Observer)
   
   
10. Santa assaulted left and right | The self-appointed culture warriors now view this issue (and the growing backlash) as a sword to be wielded in future political skirmishes (Vinay Menon, The Toronto Star)
    
    

1. Eliminating Christian words causes more bad feeling than it prevents | In my experience, the great majority of the Jews I know — I know very few Muslims — are thoroughly used to the appearance of Christian expressions in all sorts of oral and written communications, and take no serious offense at them (William Rusher, The Canton Repository, Oh.)
   
   
2. Uncool yule duel over holiday messages makes for unhappy Christmas | Instead of arguing, live the spirit of Christmas, or Hanukkah, or the winter solstice, or the bleak chasm of atheism -- whatever you prefer (Mark O'Brien, Pensacola News Journal, Fla.)
   
   

Christmas wars: Right's fault:

1. Christmas culture war grows edgier and angrier | This year, Christian groups are claiming the offensive (NBC Nightly News)
   
   
2. "The War Against Christmas" | So complete is their martyrdom-like passion for this myth that you'd think we lived in a time when Christians were regularly being fed to Coliseum lions (Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation)
   
   
3. There is no war on Christmas | Political correctness gone amuck is not the persecution of Christians (Jeff Adair, Ashland TAB, Mass.)
   
   
4. There is no 'war on Christmas' | Some of the loudest voices droning on about the phony "war on Christmas" have often dropped coded words that suggest subtle anti-Semitism (Editorial, J.)
   
   
5. About time to sanitize the holiday | What's with those darn Christians anyway, trying to monopolize on the holiday with their extremist views? (Bill Wimbiscus, The Herald News, Joliet, Ill.)
   
   
6. Not so silent night | How many of the self-proclaimed defenders of Christmas appear meek? (Cal Thomas, The Washington Times)
   
   
7. The crusade against 'Happy holidays' | How right-wing grinches try to steal Christmas (Rhonda Chriss Lokeman, The Kansas City Star)
   
   

Interfaith Christmas:

1. A happy hipster Hanukkah | An increasing amount of irreverent and sometimes R-rated Hanukkah productions are popping up, largely in reaction to what many Jews say is an overwhelming amount of Christmas hoopla (The New York Times)
   
   
2. Interfaith families, inlaws can make holiday peace | For only the third time in 100 years, Christmas and the start of Hanukkah fall on the same date. For some interfaith families, this may be an inconvenience. For others, it may be a downright catastrophe (The Boston Globe)
   
   
3. Singing a different tune: Inclusive pageant a hit | Just a few weeks before Christmas, kids in a church performed "Sing of Chanukah," "Hanukkah, O Hanukkah" and "Turn to Allah" (Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times)
   
   

Celebratory style:

1. Spiritual or spectacle? | Lavish Christmas extravaganzas appeal to some, offend others who prefer humble celebrations (San Diego Union-Tribune)
   
   
2. Cathedral gets offspring of ancient tree | The National Cathedral will celebrate the holidays this year with an unusual Christmas tree: a pine seedling whose parent is said to be the oldest known tree on earth (Associated Press)
   
   
3. Macabre Christmas display makes statement | It's usually easy to tell where a person stands in the culture wars, but whose side is someone on when his Christmas decor is a blood-spattered Santa Claus holding a severed head? (Associated Press)
   
   
4. In U.S., Christmas bows to the dollar | You want to show allegiance to the Jesus in the manger? Then take Santa down from the throne from which he rules as a presence more real and adored than the God in our churches (Carl Hoover, Waco Tribune-Herald)
   
   

Christmas at school:

1. PISD wants O'Reilly retraction | District says host wrong about red-green policy; attorney defends show (The Dallas Morning News)
   
   
2. On a 'Christmas' crusade | Parent 'fed up with the political correctness' in schools (South Bend Tribune)
   
   
3. Religious neutrality is not hostility | Springfield schools handle faith issues well (Editorial, Springfield News-Leader, Mo.)
   
   
4. Court nullified strict separation | It is utterly ridiculous the words "Christmas" and "Easter" were removed from the Springfield schools calendar. It is time to put it back (Dee Wampler, Springfield News-Leader, Mo.)
   
   

Christmas & state:

1. Nativity scene joins Wellington display | It's not a holiday miracle, just good planning, say village officials after erecting the village's first Nativity scene Wednesday less than 24 hours after its approval (Palm Beach Post, Fla.)
   
   
2. Christmas battle of global import erupts in capital | As the hype over secularists' "War Against Christmas" reaches fever pitch, a Christmas battle of sorts will be fought today on Capitol Hill between Senators Santorum and Kennedy over the holiday's meaning (The New York Sun)
   
   
3. 'Political climate' bugs Sir Cliff | "I was so upset when they said they were going to call the lights in London winter lights." (PA, U.K.)
   
   
4. The game of 'Whose holiday is it?' is especially wacky this year | A tree is a tree is a tree, unless of course it's the 65-foot Engelmann spruce sitting in front of the US Capitol. Then it's a political football. (Dante Chinni, The Christian Science Monitor)
   
   

Church & state:

1. Bible monument case thumps its way through courts | The court's ruling in the case is expected within a month (Austin Chronicle, Tex.)
   
   

1. FEMA finds faith | Storm relief funds earmarked for faith groups (Bill Berkowitz, WorkingForChange)
   
   

Prayer in the Indiana House:

1. Bosma appealing House prayer ban | Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma said he will use "all legal means" to ensure prayer continues in the Indiana House, including going to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary (The Journal Gazette, Ft. Wayne, Ind.)
   
   
2. Prayer ruling appeal in works | Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma said Wednesday a legal team would ask U.S. District Court Judge David F. Hamilton to reconsider his ruling barring sectarian references in the official prayers opening House sessions (Courier & Press, Evansville, Ind.)
   
   
3. The politics of prayer | There is no religious issue or constitutional crisis in the great Indiana House debate (Editorial, The News-Sentinel, Ft. Wayne, Ind.)
   
   

Bush petitioned to protect chaplains' rights:

1. Bush asked to protect chaplains' rights | House lawmakers concerned that proposed military guidelines are restricting some Christian chaplains' abilities to pray said Wednesday they will deliver a 6-inch-thick petition to President Bush this week asking him to intervene (Associated Press)
   
   
2. Prayer petition now has 160,000 names | Congressmen seeking an executive order to permit Christian chaplains to pray according to their faith announced Wednesday that they had collected about 160,000 signatures in a petition they hope to deliver to the White House (Air Force Times)
   
   

Religious protests against budget:

1. 'Christmas scandal' outcry | Hundreds of Christian activists gather in D.C. to protest bills granting tax cuts for the wealthy while slashing programs for low-income people (Chicago Tribune)
   
   
2. Budget cuts protested | More than 100 religious leaders and activists were arrested yesterday for blocking the entrance to a congressional office building in protest of budget cuts they considered "immoral" and oppressive to the poor (The Washington Times)
   
   
3. More than 100 arrested in Capitol protest | Jim Wallis's group leads anti-budget call (Associated Press)
   
   
4. A religious protest largely from the left | Conservative Christians say fighting cuts in poverty programs is not a priority (The Washington Post)
   
   

Democrats take heat for Christian fish joke:

1. Democrats under fire over fish parody | The state Democratic Party is catching heat for posting an item on its Web site that parodies the popular Christian fish symbol commonly seen on the back of cars (The Seattle Times)
   
   

1. Wash. Democrats apologize for magnet | The state's Democratic chairman has apologized for a political gimcrack that parodied a popular Christian automobile adornment (Associated Press)
   
   
2. Hateful ads taint Democratic site | It's "fun" to openly ridicule the Christian faith and the God Christians call Savior? (Carol Van Drie, Lansing State Journal, Mi.)
   
   

Religion & politics:

1. Senator's interest in Africa turns into a campaign weapon | The road to the White House typically leads through Iowa and New Hampshire. For Sen. Sam Brownback, it's led to a desolate refugee camp in the hills of eastern Congo (Knight Ridder)
   
   
2. US Jews feel threatened by religious right | U.S. Jewish leaders say they are increasingly worried that Christian conservatives want to turn America politically and culturally into a country that tolerates only their brand of Christianity (Reuters)
   
   
3. Is America ready to elect a Mormon as its President? | Saviour of the Salt Lake City Olympics has greater ambitions (The Times, London)
   
   
4. Democrats trying harder to appeal to the faithful | Looking for religious voters, some Democrats are finding God. (Knight Ridder)
   
   
5. Abramoff charity's claims disputed | Groups listed as beneficiaries of more than $330,000 in gifts, including Taylor University, say they never got them (Austin American-Statesman, Tex.)
   
   
6. Congo Catholic group urges "No" to new constitution | An influential Catholic group in the Democratic Republic of Congo has backed calls to reject a new constitution in Sunday's referendum, adding to fears the poll may force renegotiation of the peace process (Reuters)
   
   
7. Remember gay marriage? | Issue disappears until it's time to head to the polls (Jay Bookman, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
   
   
8. Rethinking an unholy alliance | George W. Bush's declining fortunes just may have an unanticipated domestic consequence: Influential Jewish leaders are openly questioning their community's alliance with evangelist Christians in support of Israel (Shira Herzog, The Globe and Mail, Toronto)
   
   
9. The real reason liberal Jews fear evangelical Christians | Today it is leftists and liberals, not conservative Christians, who threaten the existence of the Jews as a people and who stand in opposition to various aspects of Judaism (Levi Sokolic, The Jewish Press)
   
   

Abortion & life ethics:

1. Groups concerned by grants promoting pregnancy over abortion | With Texas soon to award $5 million in grants to crisis pregnancy centers that promote childbirth over abortion, some abortion rights groups complain the money is being taken from clinics that provide medical care and contraception (Associated Press)
   
   

1. No charges to be filed in clash between abortion protesters and parade-goers | The question of who was naughty and nice at Granite City's Santa parade this year won't be answered by Madison County prosecutors (Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.)
   
   
2. One in four pregnancies terminated | The first national abortion figures show more than 84,000 pregnancies are terminated each year, or one in four pregnancies (The Australian)
   
   
3. What's Plan B, governor? | Not surprisingly, the pharmacist rule has led to a legal showdown. We doubt that's what Gov. Rod Blagojevich envisioned when he made Illinois the only state in the nation to have such a rule (Editorial, Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.)
   
   

Cloning:

1. Korean scientist said to admit fabrication in a cloning study | The South Korean scientist who claimed a series of advances in cloning and stem cell research has admitted that critical parts of one discovery had been fabricated (The New York Times)
   
   
2. Also: Clone scandal: 'A tragic turn' for science | Scientists and ethicists caution that the full story is not in, but they are staggered by how the research has unraveled so far (The New York Times)
   
   
3. Charges of fabrication target cloning pioneer | News reports raise doubts on research (The Boston Globe)
   
   

Intelligent design & evolution:

1. U.S. court to weigh evolution disclaimer | A federal appeals court is set to consider whether stickers on text books calling evolution a theory, not fact, were unconstitutional (Associated Press)
   
   
2. Kansas, where hankering for the past is the future | Beside the interstate highway that stretches from the snow-covered peaks of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado down into the vast prairie of Kansas one battle in America's culture wars is being fought (Michael Gawenda, The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
   
   

Education:

1. Teacher settles lawsuit over curriculum content | A social studies teacher who claimed that his First Amendment rights were violated when he was reprimanded for teaching about non-Christian civilizations has settled his federal lawsuit against his Aroostook County school district (Associated Press)
   
   
2. Student-run radio station fighting for air | Since October, the FCC has been reviewing public comment after it tentatively awarded WAVM's frequency to Living Proof Inc., a Christian broadcaster based in Bishop, Calif. (The Boston Globe)
   
   
3. Parents upset over sex-ed speaker | Evangelical to talk today at Berkley High about abstinence (Detroit Free Press)
   
   

1. God and admission requirements | If you want to go to public schools — such as any of the UC campuses — the requirement is that students share some common principles, facts and operating principles, and that's where UC is right and Calvary is wrong (Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times)
   
   

Christian higher ed:

1. Christian colleges rebound | Enrollment has increased 70.6% since 1990 (USA Today)
   
   
2. Flames' dreams flicker | Liberty's evangelical mission hasn't prevented most of its teams from making I-A grade, but football remains far short of the goal (The Baltimore Sun)
   
   

Charity:

1. America's charities impressed by donors | Donor fatigue? Not this year. Even after the outpouring of donations for the Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, holiday giving is robust this season and 2005 could well set an overall record, U.S. charity officials are reporting (Associated Press)
   
   
2. A double standard in charity | Giving to the poor lags this year despite a rise in donations to hospitals and religious groups (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
   
   

Money & business:

1. Boycotts come in many flavors, results uncertain | Tackling corporate America these days on issues ranging from triple-X video sales to taking Christmas out of Christmas can be as easy as clicking on a Web site. But whether the campaigns do any real damage is hard to measure, experts say (Reuters)
   
   
2. Christian right exhorts consumer crusades | The mere mention of the Rev. Donald Wildmon's name sends ripples of anxiety through corporate boardrooms (Newsday)
   
   
3. The holy capitalists | The Catholic Church nurtured one of the most impressive economic takeoffs in human history (David Brooks, The New York Times)
   
   
4. The media hears the sermon | The Christian Right has notched some high-profile victories lately. But are companies bowing to pressure or just pleasing their customers? (Bill Symonds, Business Week)
   
   

Ford backs down, will advertise in gay publications:

1. Ford, reversing decision, will run ads in gay press | The decision followed a wave of criticism from gay rights groups (The New York Times)
   
   
2. Ford to advertise in gay press | Reversal follows condemnation (The Washington Post)
   
   
3. Ford to run ads in gay publications | The company's ads in the publications will promote all of its lines (Associated Press)
   
   

Same-sex & plural marriage:

1. Gays sue Iowa for right to 'marry' | Six Iowa same-sex couples who want to "marry" filed a lawsuit yesterday, while three Iowa lawmakers pledged to work to pass a constitutional amendment to uphold traditional marriage (The Washington Times)
   
   

1. Latvia alters constitution, blocking gay marriage | Latvian lawmakers blocked same-sex marriages by changing the Baltic state's constitution on Thursday, infuriating gay rights activists who said they may take their case to the European Court of Human Rights (Reuters)
   
   
2. Polygamists' lawyer offers freedom of religion as defense | Pretrial motions point to plural marriages (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
   
   

People:

1. Pat Robertson says pie not delicious (The Onion, satire)
   
   
2. Illusionist puts wine-from-water and other biblical accounts to the test | Nashville illusionist Brock Gill will host the three-hour special, "Miracles of Jesus," which will be shown on the Discovery Channel on Christmas Eve (Associated Press)
   
   
3. To the church, he's public enemy No. 1 | Researcher of religion's link to social ills comes under withering attack (MSNBC)
   
   
4. Bethany Hamilton: Triumph of a free spirit | In 2003, 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton's arm was ripped off by a huge shark. Weeks later she was back in the water. Now she's riding high (The Independent, London)
   
   

Television & film:

1. Hallmark unit agrees to deal to avoid suit | Crown Media Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards Inc. and operator of the cable network Hallmark Channel, has agreed to produce a number of television shows, specials and movies to avoid a lawsuit from a religious coalition (Associated Press)
   
   
2. Cable relents on channels for the family | Yielding to pressure from regulators, lawmakers and interest groups, the country's biggest cable companies say they expect to introduce packages of family-friendly channels as early as the first quarter of 2006 (The New York Times)
   
   
3. Christians roared over 'Passion' but not 'Narnia' | It's big. Just not Gibson big. (Des Moines Register, Ia.)
   
   
4. Oh Davey, Oh Goliath! | Or how the leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church shattered my belief in faith-based talking animals (Bill Forman, Metro Santa Cruz, Ca.)
   
   

Books:

1. Bart Ehrman's 'Misquoting Jesus' | Scholar Bart Ehrman's new book explores how scribes -- through both omission and intention -- changed the Bible. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why is the result of years of reading the texts in their original languages (Fresh Air, NPR)
   
   
2. The wardrobe in the classroom | Even though it's a Christian allegory, the Chronicles of Narnia are taught in U.S. public schools without controversy—mostly (Beliefnet)
   
   

Spirituality:

1. The religious and other beliefs of Americans 2005 | That very large majorities of the American public believe in God, miracles, the survival of the soul after death, heaven, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the Virgin birth will come as no great surprise. What may be more surprising is that significant minorities believe in ghosts, UFOs, witches, astrology, and in reincarnation (press release, The Harris Poll)
   
   

1. Gallup: Poll finds Americans' belief in God remains strong | A new Gallup survey released today finds that four decades after the "God Is Dead" controversy was first noted, Americans retain a strong belief in a higher power. Some 94% think God exists. (Editor & Publisher)
   
   
2. "Happy Holidays" rings hollow for most Americans | One-third bothered by the generic greeting (The Gallup Poll)
   
   

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

Suggest links and stories by sending e-mail to weblog@christianitytoday.com

What is Weblog?

See our past Weblog updates:

December 14 | 12

December 9 | 7 | 6

December 2b | 2a | November 30

November 23 | 22 | 21

November 18 | 17 | 16b | 16 | 15

November 11 | 10 | 8