AP: NAE president, megachurch pastor Haggard may run for Congress
Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals and pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, might run for Congress in 2006 if incumbent Joel Hefley retires, the Associated Press reported Friday.

"He said he would consider a run only if Hefley steps down and he couldn't comfortably support another candidate," the AP said.

Haggard has received a huge amount of media attention lately, especially after Harper's magazine called New Life "America's most powerful megachurch." "No pastor in America holds more sway over the political direction of evangelicalism than does Pastor Ted," Jeff Sharlet wrote in that piece.

Maybe (D. James Kennedy, Charles Stanley, or others might disagree). But one of the things made clear in the Harper's profile and much of the media attention since then is that Haggard's tongue is a bit less guarded than those of some other evangelicals.

Haggard's comments to the AP, then, could be just off-the-cuff and not go anywhere. It'd be nice to read the full exchange between the reporter and Haggard. Who initiated the conversation about Congress? There's a world of difference between Haggard saying he might run for Congress if the question was "Under what circumstances might you run for political office?" or "Have you thought about running for Congress" than a question like "What's in the future for Ted Haggard?"

Oh, and for the record, for now, Hefley says he's not retiring.

Is it unethical to ever mention Hitler?
Godwin's Law famously states, "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1 (i.e. certainty)."

The basic idea is that once someone mentions Nazis or Hitler, the debate is for all intents and purposes over, and the person who invoked the Nazis or Hitler has lost.

But what it also means is that alluding to the Nazis is inevitable and common in debate — so it's a bit surprising to see all the uproar over James Dobson's Focus on the Family August 3 broadcast comments on Nazi experimentation and embryonic stem-cell research:

You know, the thing that means so much to me here on this issue is that people talk about the potential for good that can come from destroying these little embryos and how we might be able to solve the problem of juvenile diabetes. There's no indication yet that they're going to do that, but people say that, or spinal cord injuries or such things. But I have to ask this question: In World War II, the Nazis experimented on human beings in horrible ways in the concentration camps, and I imagine, if you wanted to take the time to read about it, there would have been some discoveries there that benefited mankind. You know, if you take a utilitarian approach, that if something results in good, then it is good. But that's obviously not true. We condemn what the Nazis did because there are some things that we always could do but we haven't done, because science always has to be guided by ethics and by morality. And you remove ethics and morality, and you get what happened in Nazi Germany. That's why to Frist and the others who are saying, "Look what may be accomplished." Yeah, but there's another issue, there's a higher order of ethics here.

Dobson's comments were attacked by the Anti-Defamation League (an equal opportunity critic on such matters: the ADL complains almost any time someone suggests that Nazi attitudes, behaviors, and motivations were not a historic anomaly), U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, newspaper editorials, editorial cartoons, columnists, and liberal groups smelling blood in the water. (Dobson defended his remarks in Friday's broadcast.)

But there's a significant difference between Dobson's comments and, say, those of Harry Belafonte over the weekend, comparing blacks in the Bush administration to Jews in Nazi Germany.

Dobson is not making an ad hominem attack. He's not directly comparing stem-cell researchers to Josef Mengele. He's drawing a historical lesson.

Certainly it's not an airtight lesson, but no historical allusion is going to perfectly translate. There is plenty of room to disagree with Dobson on his argument—as anyone who does not believe that personhood is imputed to a blastocyst surely will.

But the criticism of Dobson in this case seems more driven by personal animus than by what he actually said.

"Such rhetoric serves only to provoke others and inflame any debate, usually obscuring the real issues at hand and short-circuiting useful dialogue," said a Denver Post editorial Saturday. "Indiscriminate use of the word [Nazi] cheapens the meaning of the Holocaust."

Indiscriminate use, indeed. But Dobson was not being indiscriminate; he's asking people to remember and learn from others' atrocities and from the justifications they used to commit them. Are we forbidden from learning lessons from that horror? Is "Never Forget" becoming "Never Remember"?

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Stem cells | Abortion | Pro-abortion vandalism | Australia's Maria Korp | Euthanasia in Netherlands | Life ethics | Catholicism & the Supreme Court | Supreme Court confirmation | John Roberts | Roberts's work on gay-rights case | Same-sex marriage | Marriage & family | Homosexuality | ELCA to vote on ordaining gays | Church life | Marketing Jesus | Baptists | Church buildings | Denominational life | Antiochians leave NCC | VBS | Promise Keepers | Missions & ministry | Habitat's new leader | Divestment | Northern Ireland | War & terrorism | Religious freedom | Sudan | Zimbabwe | Zambia | South Africa | Religion & politics | Church & state | Education | Teaching ID | ID reporters | Creation & evolution | ID & politics | Bush & ID | Catholicism, creation, and evolution | Catholicism | Pope Benedict XVI | Abuse | Crime | Arson attempt | Archaeology | People | Spirituality and morals | Other religions | Scientology | Latter-Day Saints | Music | Games | Books | More articles of interest

More on stem cells:

• Evangelicals don't change their minds | Frist faces one of two choices: Either he can continue to think, or he can fall back in line and get the 2008 GOP presidential nomination (Jim Ketchum, The Times Herald, Port Huron, Mi.)
  
  
• Crossing the stem cell line | Why would anyone oppose Bill Frist's new position? Because Americans can't let human life be created just to use it and then kill it (David Gelernter, Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Option to stem cells found | Pitt experts say placental cells offer palatable alternative (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
  
  
• Pluripotent | Bill Frist's reversal on stem cells may be opportunistic, but who cares? (Editorial, The New Republic)
  
  
• Cell lines, moral lines | Research should expand -- with a key limit (Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post)
  
  
• US scientists find flexible stem cells in placenta | Scientists looking for easier and less-controversial alternatives to stem cells from human embryos said on Friday they found a potential source in placentas saved during childbirth (Reuters)
  
  

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Abortion:

• The public life of the fetus | Images of the human fetus appear on everything from CD covers to t-shirts to pro-life billboards. How has this public imagery influenced the way we think about reproduction? (Odyssey, NPR)
  
  
• White House backs new abortion curb | Brief filed in N.H. notification case (The Washington Post)
  
  
• White House sides with N.H. on abortion | The Justice Department said New Hampshire's parental notification law for minors seeking abortion does not violate the Constitution, and urged justices to uphold it (Associated Press)
  
  
• Abortion drop applauded | Both sides of issue view decrease as progress (The Grand Rapids Press, Mi.)
  
  
• Bishop ban targets pro-abortion, gay rights politicians | Catholic move mutes speeches at churches (The Arizona Republic)
  
  
• Abortion debate far from 'settled' | If Leahy's litmus test is that justices should be unwilling to consider changing current laws because they are settled laws, then he would also condemn the fitness of those who agreed to change slavery laws and to give women the right to vote — or those who ruled on Roe or Brown to begin with (Ernesto Burden, Rutland Herald, Vt.)
  
  
• Firm ordered abortion, ex-employee says | April Thompson says she was fired by Piedmont Management Associates, a homeowners association management firm, for refusing to get an abortion (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
  
  
• Suits filed on abortion ballot item | Both sides are accused of submitting misleading wording for the voter pamphlet on the plan to require notification of minors' parents (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Doctor charged with killing fetus | A Sydney doctor accused of inducing a late-term abortion has become the first medical practitioner in NSW to be charged over a termination since 1971 (The Sydney Morning Herald)
  
  
• Rapper's abortion-themed video is striking a chord | Nick Cannon says he wasn't trying to kick up a fuss last month when he dropped his new single and accompanying video, "Can I Live," a compelling tale of a young, pregnant woman's decision about whether to abort her unborn child. He was simply trying to share his mother's story (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
  
  

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Pro-abortion vandalism:

• Anti-abortion display defaced | A group of Ascension Lutheran Church members spent Saturday morning resetting up hundreds of crosses that were knocked over Friday by a vandal who apparently disagreed with the church's anti-abortion display (The Courier, Waterloo, Ia.)
  
  
• Vandals trash controversial church display | Vandal left note: "Says this is private property, you can't set up on private property, please remove immediately." The display was on church property (KWWL, Waterloo, Ia.)
  
  

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Australia's Maria Korp:

• The right to live — or die | The decision to remove Maria Korp's feeding tube has sparked a flood of debate (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
  
  
• Family tensions rise over Maria Korp's burial | The funeral of Maria Korp has sparked further tension among relatives who are now engaged in an unseemly public tug-of-war over how she should be laid to rest (The Sydney Morning Herald)
  
  
• Cremation for Maria Korp her 'greatest fear' | Maria Korp's body will be cremated after her funeral on Friday, despite claims that being cremated was her one of her "greatest fears" (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
  
  

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Euthanasia in Netherlands:

• Study examines euthanasia in Netherlands | Nearly one in eight adult patients who requested mercy killings decided not to go through with it. Nearly half of the euthanasia requests were carried out (Associated Press)
  
  
• Granted, undecided, withdrawn, and refused requests for euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (Archives of Internal Medicine)
  
  
• Related: Assessing physician compliance with the rules for euthanasia and assisted suicide (Editorial, Archives of Internal Medicine)
  
  

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Life ethics:

• County weighs in on morning-after pill | State bill would ensure access to Plan B (San Francisco Examiner)
  
  
• Bill easing rules on pill is vetoed by Pataki | In his veto message, the governor emphasized that his main concern was that the measure would not prevent minors from getting the drug before they consulted a doctor or other medical professional (The New York Times)
  
  
• Designing your own baby | With the Gender Mentor Kit, a new issue enters many prospective parents' minds: Do we want to have a child of this sex? Or should we try again? (Osagie K. Obasogie, The Boston Globe)
  
  
• U.S. sacrifices science on the altar of religion | This country is led by a cult of religious fundamentalists who wish to impose their narrow thinking on the rest of us (Cynthia Tucker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
  
  

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Catholicism & the Supreme Court:

• Stopping a judicial conflict of interest | If the bishops repeat or confirm their threats, the Senate Judiciary Committee should draft legislation calling for the automatic recusal of Catholic judges from cases citing Roe v. Wade as a precedent (Christopher D. Morris, The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Catholics and the court | Probing of John G. Roberts's religious views and their implications for his rulings strikes some Catholics as reminiscent of a more prejudiced time (The New York Times)
  
  
• Judging while Catholic | Do journalists understand that the Constitution prohibits religious tests for officeholders? (Manuel Miranda, The Wall Street Journal)
  
  
• Judging while Catholic—II | Democrats attack Christian judges, defeat themselves (Manuel Miranda, The Wall Street Journal)
  
  
• Faithful interpretations | Is there a Catholic way to read the Constitution? (Drake Bennett, The Boston Globe)
  
  

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Supreme Court confirmation:

• Religious background enters Supreme Court nominee debate | Republicans are two-faced. They've made an issue out of religion while accusing Democrats of bigotry (Paul Waldman, The Dallas Morning News)
  
  
• Not all liberals are pro-choice and anti-Roberts | Yet I don't want a justice I've predetermined will always agree with me (Derek Maul, The Christian Science Monitor)
  
  

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John Roberts:

• In private practice, Roberts's record is mixed | Some Cases run counter to conservative image, but activists on the right say his past is irrelevant (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Religion has no role in judge's rulings | It's Democrats who are out of line. Judge Roberts' religion has nothing to do with his rulings (William Donohue, The Dallas Morning News)
  
  
• Ignore religion when judging Roberts' fitness | The sudden concern over Roberts' religion is a symbol of the extent to which our ideology-driven politics has lost its way today (John Farmer, The Star Ledger, Newark, N.J.)
  
  
• Are Roberts's religious beliefs an appropriate area of inquiry? | The Vatican has criticized Catholic governors and legislators for supporting abortion rights. Should the same scrutiny apply to Catholic judges? (Meet the Press, NBC)
  
  
• Ad campaign says Roberts backed violent protesters | Judge's allies defend his work on abortion case (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Pro-choice group hits Roberts in ad | NARAL Pro-Choice America yesterday began airing nationwide a TV advertisement criticizing federal Judge John G. Roberts Jr.'s involvement in an abortion case (The Washington Times)
  
  
• A look at ad by pro-choice interest group | Details of a television ad released Monday by the liberal interest group NARAL Pro-Choice America opposing President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, John G. Roberts (Associated Press)
  
  
• The real Roberts? | The spectacle of conservative groups and the White House rushing to assure their constituencies that Roberts is not -- really and truly -- a tolerant man is both repulsive and absurd (Richard Cohen, The Washington Post)
  
  

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Roberts's work on gay-rights case:

• Roberts' gay bias case role debated | Report of nominee's work on behalf of activists unsettles some notions of the jurist (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Court nominee advised group on gay rights | Judge John G. Roberts Jr. helped advocates for gay rights win a landmark 1996 ruling protecting homosexuals from discrimination (The New York Times)
  
  
• Roberts' gay bias case role debated | Report of nominee's work on behalf of activists unsettles some notions of the jurist (Chicago Tribune)
  
  
• Right downplays Roberts' gay aid | White House supporters said yesterday the hysteria over Judge Roberts' involvement in the homosexual rights case has been fostered by liberals hoping to split the right's support for the nominee among conservatives (The Washington Times)
  
  
• Conservatives remain steady in support of Roberts | Work on gay rights case fails to change stance on nomination (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Evangelicals see Roberts' halo go awry | The fire-breathing anti-gay leaders of Focus on the Family issued a statement that was so measured in its tone, they could almost be accused of preaching tolerance (Diane Carman, The Denver Post)
  
  

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Same-sex marriage:

• Venues block 'gay wedding' ceremonies | Up to a quarter of hotels, banqueting halls, manor houses - and some register offices - say they are not willing to host "wedding" ceremonies for same-sex couples (The Telegraph, London)
  
  
• The ways gay marriage undercuts human rights | Although gay marriage proponents saw their AB 19 decisively voted down this summer in California's Assembly, they have used a rule-bending shortcut to advance their bill to the Senate anyway as AB 849 (Tim Leslie, The Sacramento Bee, Ca.)
  
  

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Marriage & family:

• A gender gap for the devout | A new look at women who describe themselves as conservative Christians suggests that their work choices make them vulnerable in this divorce-prone culture (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
  
  
• Wedded to marriage | Invest now or pay later? (Wade F. Horn, National Review Online)
  
  

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Homosexuality:

• A new church for gay Pentecostals | Jubilee Fellowship to hold open house at Lexington site (Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.)
  
  
• Language of hate puts all at risk | Federal judge William Pryor is trying to kill me because I'm gay (Marc Paige, South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
  
  
• Christian group speaks out against Gay Pride protests | There is "no moral justification" for the planned protests against Belfast's annual Gay Pride festival, a Christian organisation said yesterday (The Belfast Telegraph)
  
  
• All happy families | The looming battle over gay parenting (Julian Sanchez, Reason)
  
  
• Gay clergy to defy bishops over no-sex 'marriages' | The Church of England's crisis over homosexuality deepened yesterday after gay clergy said that they would defy their bishops over civil partnerships. Some told The Daily Telegraph that they had no intention of assuring their bishops that they will be sexually abstinent when they "marry" their partners (The Telegraph, London)
  
  
• Also: One vicar's revolt | 'I am not prepared to give assurances to anybody about my relationship' (The Telegraph, London)
  
  

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ELCA to vote on ordaining gays:

• Lutherans tackle issue of sexuality, gay clergy | NE Ohio Synod opposes proposal (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland)
  
  
• Lutherans face vote on gay clergy | Assembly latest to tackle same-sex marriage issue (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
  
  
• Lutherans to vote on ordaining gays | The most divisive issue in American Protestantism will move to the forefront again this week as the 4.9 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America takes a key vote on what role gays should have in the denomination (Associated Press)
  
  
• Protestants struggle with gay policy | A description of how the debate is playing out in major American churches (Associated Press)
  
  
• Lutherans to face divisive issues | Votes on gay clergy and same-sex unions are key for delegates in Orlando (The Orlando Sentinel)
  
  
• An unquiet week in Lake Wobegon | Lutherans debate gay ordination (David C. Steinmetz, The Orlando Sentinel)
  
  
• A divided ELCA at crossroads | Lutheran group to address gay ordination, same-sex marriage (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.)
  
  
• Lutherans turn attention to gay unions, ordination | The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America this week wades into the thicket of human sexuality, a wrenching debate that has convulsed other Christian denominations (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
  
  
• N.E. bishop at center of Lutherans' gay debate | Margaret G. Payne, the bishop of the New England synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has chaired the denomination's task force on sexuality for the last three years (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Worcester prelate resigns from sexuality study committee | The leader of the Evangelical Lutheran Church's New England Synod has stepped down as head of the denomination's sexuality study committee (Associated Press)
  
  
• Lutheran leader hopes for focus at meeting | Divisions over homosexuality threaten to overshadow other major concerns within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, its leader said Monday as a churchwide assembly began that will take up the issue of gays' role in the clergy (Associated Press)
  
  
• Same-sex issues face Evangelical Lutheran vote | Blessing of unions, homosexual ordination could splinter church (Chicago Tribune)
  
  

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Church life:

• Christian believers in a hostile century | While Europe and U.S. go slack, others carry on with faith and courage (Tom Ashcraft, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.)
  
  
• Spiritual reserves at $88B | The country's estimated 350,000 churches, synagogues and mosques, and their various agencies, collected at least $88.3 billion in their last reporting year, according to the latest figures compiled by the Foundation Center in midtown Manhattan (Charles W. Bell, New York Daily News)
  
  
• Prime minister | Joel Osteen's Houston gigachurch has a congregation of more than 30,000. His television show is the highest-rated religious broadcast in the country. His first book has already sold nearly three million copies. How did the former TV producer become the World's most talked about "pastorpreneur"? He is who he says he is. He has what he says he has. He can do what he says he can do (Texas Monthly)
  
  
• Big churches use technology to branch out | Some mega-churches are trying to reverse the "mega" trend by creating smaller satellite "campuses" (All Things Considered, NPR)
  
  
• Moving to a spiritual beat | Drumming grows in worship services (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
  
  
• 'Emergent' churches seek a looser approach | A shift in focus away from salvation (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
  
  
• From reverence to relevance | Vermont evangelicals fill ranks, reach out to new followers (Vermont Guardian)
  
  
• Religion in the News: Preparing clergy for the worst | While clergy routinely respond to family tragedies, many have never faced large-scale disasters that affect entire communities. So Connecticut is using a federal grant to bring a specialist to lead disaster preparedness workshops for clergy (Associated Press)
  
  
• The iGod | In a phenomenon which has amazed the clergy, thousands of worshippers are using their iPods to listen to sermons (The Telegraph, London)
  
  
• Risky business | There is a small community of people who are verbally thrashing pastor Willie Wilson as if he had betrayed his calling. (Deborah Simmons, The Washington Times)
  
  
• New York job tempts bishop away from Detroit | Detroit Lutheran Bishop Robert Rimbo has announced that he's moving to New York to become the pastor of a parish near Central Park, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (Detroit Free Press)
  
  
• Church du Soleil | The Rev. Schuller's daughter puts on a show. Very cool puppets rule (OC Weekly, Ca.)
  
  

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Marketing Jesus:

• $250,000 campaign to market Jesus | The state's Christian churches will spend $250,000 of parishioner donations on a marketing campaign to spell out the relevance of Christianity in today's society (The Advertiser, Adelaide, Australia)
  
  
• Christians kick off national ad campaign (Australian Broadcasting Corp.)
  
  

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Baptists:

• Mr. and Mrs. Pastor | A Southern Baptist couple have overcome skepticism, even opposition. Now their Daytona Beach church thrives (The Orlando Sentinel)
  
  
• Oh, those Baptist fatwas of yesteryear | I'm beginning to wonder if the fundamentalist Baptist church I attended as a child in the backwoods of north Georgia was an offshoot of Islam (Philip Gailey, St. Petersburg Times, Fla.)
  
  

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Church buildings:

• Shopping for salvation, architecturally | Church buildings pose query: Should God fit into our lives, or should we fit into God's? (The Charlotte Observer, N.C.)
  
  
• Church dispute heats up | The St. Andrew's expansion plan heads to the Newport Beach City Council Thursday (Daily Pilot, Newport Beach, Ca.)
  
  
• Church-state separation issues delay action on concourse lease | A decision on leasing San Diego's Community Concourse and Golden Hall to a church subsidiary, which the city attorney says could raise constitutional and legal problems for the city, will wait until September (San Diego Union-Tribune)
  
  
• Neighbors protest church's expansion | St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church plans to add a youth center, classrooms and underground parking (The Orange County Register, Ca.)
  
  
• Without Walls church makes $15 million purchase | Without Walls, the fastest- growing Protestant church in the country, purchased the 9,000-seat Lakeland sanctuary and 75-acre property for $9 million in cash plus its 3,000- seat Auburndale satellite church, valued at $6 million (Tampa Tribune, Fla.)
  
  
• Designed with God in mind | Simple but sturdy church near Ames has won many awards for its rural-friendly architecture (Des Moines Register, Ia.)
  
  
• The Lord looks in illustrative ways | What color is God's eye? (The New York Times)
  
  

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Denominational life:

• Akinola's demand to 'suspend' C of E viewed with caution | The reported call, from the Most Revd Peter Akinola, Primate of Nigeria, appeared in a Sunday Times story at the weekend. The printed version appeared simply as a news brief, and contained no names nor quotes (Church Times)
  
  
• CRC names director to replace minister who was forced out | Despite the stunning resignation of its top administrator over an allegedly inappropriate relationship with a female colleague, the Christian Reformed Church will recover and heal, Peter Borgdorff, the CRC's newly named executive director, said Wednesday (Muskegon Chronicle, Mi.)
  
  
• Greek Church's Holy Synod unanimously votes to dismiss embattled Metropolitan | Members of the Church of Greece's Holy Synod on Monday unanimously voted to sack embattled Metropolitan of Attica Panteleimon, a high-ranking cleric already suspended since February on allegations of improper and prurient behaviour (Athens News Agency)
  
  

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Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese leaves NCC:

• Antiochian archdiocese votes to leave church council | Move prompted by gulf with NCC over views (The Toledo Blade, Oh.)
  
  
• Summer is the season for hot religious discussions | Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese leaves NCC, citing issues such as same-sex marriage, abortion, war (Terry Mattingly, Scripps Howard News Service)
  
  

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VBS:

• Spiritual summers | In more than 100 years, Vacation Bible school hasn't changed all that much (Rockford Register Star, Ill.)
  
  
• Fewer churches offering Vacation Bible School | The Barna Research Group estimates that 38,000 fewer churches are conducting Vacation Bible School this summer than in 1997 (Associated Press)
  
  

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Promise Keepers:

• Battle plan to win men's souls | Local religious leaders strategize on how to fill Nassau Coliseum for Promise Keepers event (Newsday)
  
  
• Bringing men to God, in Nassau | They did not look like your stereotypic gathering of evangelical Christians (Newsday)
  
  

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Missions & ministry:

• Preaching in town streets banned to curb conflict | Street preaching has been banned in Malindi Town, unless sanctioned by police (The Nation, Kenya)
  
  
• Local pastors rally around Proposition 36 | Defend treatment programs for drug addicts (Pasadena Star-News, Ca.)
  
  
• Religious asked to aid homeless | Mayor calls for churches, mosques and synagogues to come to aid of families (Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
  
  
• US churches try to help ex-prisoners stay straight | State and local authorities are increasingly turning to churches for help to reduce recidivism (Reuters)
  
  
• Anglicare cries poor as operating deficit hits $5m | Anglicare Sydney, one of the state's biggest church charities, is about to post a $5 million operational deficit, triggering service cuts and calls for more help from local parishes (The Sydney Morning Herald)
  
  
• Asia's oldest Protestant church to be restored | The 287-year old 'New Jerusalem Church', Asia's oldest Protestant church, at Tamil Nadu's Tranquebar near here, is all set to be restored and beautified in connection with the ter-centennial celebrations of the arrival of Danish missionary, Bartholomeus Ziegenbalg to Tranquebar (PTI, India)
  
  
• Church leaders test for HIV | Twenty-five spiritual leaders tested for HIV at the beginning of a four-day HIV/AIDS workshop on Wednesday (Mmegi, Botswana)
  
  
• Church group aims for lasting presence in Codman Square | At the end of a peaceful, weeklong occupation of a trouble-plagued Dorchester neighborhood, the pastor and parishioners from Global Ministries Christian Church announced a plan for their next, more permanent occupation (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Pastor would be new kid on block | His weeklong occupation of a crime-ridden Codman Square street complete, the Rev. Bruce Wall is working to give his church a more permanent presence there (Boston Herald)
  
  

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Habitat names new leader:

• Habitat names its new leader | Former President Carter praises choice for CEO (Ledger-Examiner, Columbus, Oh.)
  
  
• Habitat for Humanity appoints new CEO | Soon after his name was announced, Reckford sought to address the fallout from the flap, which included threats from some longTime supporters to cut off donations and concerns that Fuller's new homebuilding charity would undercut fundraising (Associated Press)
  
  
• Habitat will be at home anywhere | Habitat for Humanity International, the Americus-based organization that has made decent, affordable housing a fact of life for a multitude of needy people around the World, is changing. Its mission has not been altered, but the leadership has been and its home address could be (Editorial, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
  
  
• Habitat for Humanity names new CEO | Reckford takes the helm after several tumultuous months (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
  
  
• Habitat for Humanity picks new leader amid turmoil | Jonathan T. M. Reckford, who becomes the charity's chief executive, has a résumé that includes stints at Goldman, Sachs & Company, the Walt Disney Company, Best Buy Inc. and most recently as executive pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church in Edina, Minnesota (The New York Times)
  
  

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Divestment:

• Threat to divest is church tool in Israeli fight | The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. announced Friday that it would press four American corporations to stop providing military equipment and technology to Israel for use in the occupation of the Palestinian territories, and that if the companies did not comply, the church would take a vote to divest its stock in them (The New York Times)
  
  
• Presbyterians: Firms foster Mideast woes | A Presbyterian committee accused five companies Friday of contributing to "ongoing violence that plagues Israel and Palestine" and pledged to use the church's multimillion-dollar stock holdings in the businesses to pressure them to stop (Associated Press)
  
  
• Disciples of Christ to Israel: Drop dead | After reading this document it's hard not to conclude that these members have, while remaining fully in touch with their emotions, completely lost touch with "the abstract facts" of real life (Susan Blatt, The Jerusalem Post)
  
  

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Northern Ireland:

• God save Northern Ireland | Why the IRA's historic renunciation of violence has opened up an unprecedented opportunity for clergy and churches to expand faith-based reconciliation (Norbert Gasaj, Institute for Global Engagement)
  
  
• 40 police injured during Protestant riot | The mob, which dispersed from Belfast's Crumlin Road and Shankill Road areas around 1 a.m. Friday, claimed to be venting their anger over recent police raids on the homes of Protestant paramilitary figures in the area (Associated Press)
  
  
• The churches and that IRA statement | Few topics are being currently analyzed in such depth as the Provisional IRA ceasefire, but amid the hubbub the voices of the churches have been somewhat crowded out (The Belfast Telegraph)
  
  

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War & terrorism:

• What are the limits of tolerance? | Are willing to endure terrorist attacks rather than compromise our ideals of tolerance? (Robert Seidenberg, The Washington Times)
  
  
• For an Iraq 'beyond ideology' | Priest argues against a religious regime (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
  
  
• God, man, and the common weal | A great democratic experiment is taking place in Iraq (Reuel Marc Gerecht, The Wall Street Journal)
  
  
• The redemption of Shane Paul O'Doherty | He was a teenage terrorist. He tried to kill a bishop. After 14 years in prison, he got married. Now the Catholic Church wants him to become a priest. Is no man beyond salvation? (The Boston Globe Magazine)
  
  
• Is ACLU promoting deaths to curtail war? | I firmly believe that the ACLU wants more Americans to die so that the war will end (Michael Reagan, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, Fla.)
  
  

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Religious freedom:

• Pakistani court rules against Islamic bill | It would empower religious police to ensure that residents of the province comply with Islamic values (The New York Times)
  
  
• Faith groups' fears add to ID card trouble | Mounting concerns over the government's plans to introduce compulsory ID cards were given fresh impetus yesterday after it emerged that Britain's major religions oppose the scheme (The Guardian, London)
  
  
• Necessary restrictions | Restrictions on perverted religious behavior aren't violations of individual or group rights; they affirm rights of the peaceful majority to safety and security for whole societies inclusive of many different religions willing to abide by the law, which prohibits murder and maiming (Editorial, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)
  
  
• Two Americans among dozens of Christians arrested in China | Two American theology students were arrested and roughed up along with dozens of Chinese Christians in central China last week, a US-based religious watchdog said (AFX)
  
  
• American tourists mistreated | Arrested house church pastors tortured in prison Shanghai house church faces forced closure (Press release, China Aid Association)
  
  

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Sudan:

• Uganda says cause of Garang death unclear | "I myself will not rule out anything. It may be an accident, it may be something else. I am looking at all possibilities," President Museveni told mourners (Reuters)
  
  
• Uniting in prayer and action on Darfur | Genocide galvanizes wide array of congregations to push U.S. response (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Why Darfur can't be left to Africa | More than one year after it took on the Darfur mission, the African Union has deployed only roughly 3,000 troops to cover an area the size of Texas (Susan E. Rice, The Washington Post)
  
  
• Unsettled in Sudan | Whether Garang was the victim of political murder or bad luck, there are few more pressing peace-building missions in the World today than to preserve the peace agreement he signed for southern Sudan in January (Editorial, The Boston Globe)
  
  

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Zimbabwe:

• Zimbabwe's Mugabe rejects calls for talks | In a clear reference to neighboring South Africa, Mugabe said he is getting pressure to hold talks with opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai from "quarters that should know better" (Associated Press)
  
  
• Bishop calls for dialogue in Zimbabwe | President of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe, Bishop Trevor Manhanga has said that there is need for political parties in Zimbabwe to sit down and discuss their differences and reach a consensus (Mmegi, Botswana)
  
  

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Former Zambia president asks for prayer over court case:

• Asking for prayers is not wrong—Chiluba | Former president Frederick Chiluba yesterday said there is nothing wrong in him asking for prayers over his court cases but that at no time did he ask Catholics to pray for him so that his court cases could close (The Post, Zambia)
  
  
• Pray for Chiluba | Frederick Chiluba's request to the Catholics to pray for him over his court cases deserves a favourable consideration (Editorial, The Post, Zambia)
  
  
• Chiluba needs spiritual help, says Bishop Chisha | In an interview yesterday, Bishop Chisha said the request to pray for former president Frederick Chiluba during the centenary celebrations of Lubwe Mission was his own initiative after he realised that Chiluba was in trouble (The Post, Zambia)
  
  

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South African clergy offended by mayor's aide's racist comments:

• Clergymen offended by Ngoro's comments | The Equality Court may soon be faced with another complaint against the Cape Town mayor's controversial media adviser, Roderick Blackman Ngoro (Cape Times, South Africa)
  
  
• Fire Ngoro, Cape pastors tell mayor | A group of coloured pastors - representing thousands of worshippers - have begged Cape Town mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo to "demonstrate her commitment to racial harmony" by firing media adviser Blackman Ngoro for his racist comments about coloured people (Cape Argus, South Africa)
  
  

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Religion & politics:

• Romney backs church disclosure | Vows to consider controversial bill (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Christian groups press Bush about North Korea | A sobering exhibit at a Christian music festival in Texas was part of a growing movement to press the White House on human rights in North Korea (The New York Times)
  
  
• Shouldn't 'Christian nation' act more like one? | If America is a Christian nation, as many claim, what does that mean? (James L. Evans, Montgomery Advertiser, Ala.)
  
  
• Perfecting a public lexicon | Catholics and Protestants have something each camp could use (Joel Belz, World)
  
  
• Hyde endorses Roskam | Wheaton lawmaker seeks Congress seat; so does Wheaton professor (Chicago Tribune)
  
  
• South Park vs. Ann Coulter | A jaw-dropping moment with one of conservatism's leading lights (Marvin Olasky, World)
  
  
• Quien es Libre? | The U.S. government tightens its Cuban embargo policy by restricting fringe religion-related travel there (Matt Welch, Reason)
  
  
• FCC hires anti-porn advocate as adviser | Penny Nance, who previously ran the "Kids First Coalition" which advocates on the issues of adoption, crime, pornography, abortion and computer safety, has been hired as a part-time adviser in the FCC's Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis (Associated Press)
  
  

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Church & state:

• Suit: Residents harassed into Bible study | Residents of a Westmont public housing complex for seniors said in a federal lawsuit filed Monday that they were coerced and harassed by management into practicing Christianity and pressured to attend Bible study classes (Chicago Sun-Times)
  
  
• Prisoners' faith often a matter of balance | As Indiana prison officials herald new programs to encourage religious practice for inmates, they will continue to run into issues that face prison managers nationwide: What constitutes a religion and what's the right balance between allowing religious expression and institutional safety? (Courier & Press, Evansville, Ind.)
  
  
• Fixing N.C.'s oath | In response to this lawsuit, state should say, 'You're right' (Editorial, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.)
  
  
• Should more Ten Commandments monuments be installed on public grounds? | Readers respond (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Eminent domain: Seize a church, build a mall? | Supreme Court ruling worries some religious groups because tax-exempt houses of worship are inviting targets to tax-hungry municipalities (Charles C. Haynes, First Amendment Center)
  
  
• Separate: Churches, courtrooms already too much alike | Both have solemn atmospheres. Both can cost you a bundle. Both can have too much politics. Both have plenty of people sitting on pews, trying to look serious, even as they're sometimes lulled to sleep by long-winded speakers. And both can have more than their share of hypocrisy (John Railey, Winston-Salem Journal, N.C.)
  
  
• Trial by self-reproach | The judge who apologized for the Salem witch trials (Michael Philips, The Wall Street Journal)
  
  
• Some religions don't have a prayer | On May 18, the Texas state comptroller ruled that the Red River Unitarian Universalist Church was not a "religious organization" for tax purposes. The comptroller based her denial of tax-exempt status on the fact that "the church does not have one system of belief" and does not require belief in a deity (Sheila Suess Kennedy, The Indianapolis Star)
  
  
• The ACLU's 30 years war | Will the Boy Scouts ever hold their Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill again? (Scott Johnson, The Weekly Standard)
  
  

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Education:

• Bible class has Odessa board in a mess | When the Paradise board of education sidestepped setting up an elective Bible study course at Paradise High School it also sidestepped what has turned into a major brouhaha that the Odessa, Texas, school board now finds itself involved in (Editorial, Paradise Post, Ca.)
  
  
• Event fosters Christianity in public schools | Redeem the Vote turns to promoting acceptable expression (Montgomery Advertiser, Ala.)
  
  
• Religious parent in Springs argues his case | But District 20 teaches standard brand of science (Rocky Mountain News, Denver)
  
  
• Divide on doctrine fuels fight between Va. college, ousted clerk | Jeremy Hunley was forced to resign from Patrick Henry College because his belief that baptism is necessary for salvation contradicted school doctrine (The New York Times)
  
  
• City schools could be front for evangelists | Fears grow over fundamentalism in new academies (The Observer, London)
  
  
• If only we could all be so smart | Since the rise of the evangelical movement in this country, I've watched in amazement as disinformation about sex has been disseminated as freely and indiscriminately as Hare Krishna pamphlets are at the local airport (Bruce Kluger, USA Today)
  
  
• Law school that upholds Roman Catholic values wins full accreditation | The American Bar Association granted full accreditation on Monday to the Ave Maria School of Law, a Roman Catholic institution opened five years ago by the founder of Domino's Pizza (The Chronicle of Higher Education, sub. req'd.)
  
  
• Also: Ave Maria gets high sign from ABA (Inside Higher Ed)
  
  

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Teaching ID:

• Religion and science are best taught separately | The president, like so many other people, tries to draw an equivalence where there is none. Evolution is a scientific theory whereas intelligent design is a religious belief (Editorial, The Asheville Citizen-Times, N.C.)
  
  
• Why God's in a class by himself | Teach science in science classes and religion in religion classes (Michael Shermer, Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• God vs. Darwin: no contest | To make science classrooms a platform for a pseudoscience whose sole intent is to counter ''godless" natural selection is a travesty of both science and faith (Cathy Young, The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Specter: Teach intelligent design, too | Agreeing with Bush, he said let students hear all sides. Though he also said: "I'm with Darwin" (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
  
  
• Faith in science | Children deserve the truth (Editorial, The Observer, London)
  
  
• Science and religion can co-exist | Schools don't have to teach such recognition of God's presence as scientific fact. But they won't be doing their job if young people aren't taught, at a minimum, that many of us believe it to be a fact (Bill Wineke, Wisconsin State Journal)
  
  

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York, Pa, reporters can be deposed in ID case:

• Reporters can be deposed in intelligent-design case | But federal judge says attorneys for Pennsylvania school board can't have access to journalists' notes, e-mails (Associated Press)
  
  
• Intelligent Design: Papers fight court decision | The York Daily Record/Sunday News is appealing a judge's decision Tuesday that freelance reporters for the Daily Record and The York Dispatch could be deposed in a court case over intelligent design in the Dover Area School District (York Daily Record, Pa.)
  
  

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Creation & evolution:

• Priests in lab coats | Philosopher Michael Ruse is an ardent evolutionist who thinks creationism is claptrap. So why is he accusing atheistic scientists like Richard Dawkins of being as religious as born-again Bible thumpers? (Andrew O'Hehirm, Salon.com)
  
  
• Cloaking religion in scientific terms | Creationists put a sensible gloss on an outrageous claim (Marie Cocco, The Toronto Star)
  
  
• Museum exhibits a creationist viewpoint | New front opens in debate over origins (Chicago Tribune)
  
  
• Looking for ID | Intelligent design in America (Kathleen Parker, The Orlando Sentinel)
  
  
• When the lines were drawn | How the Scopes trial reshaped science, religion and politics (Christopher Levenick, The Wall Street Journal)
  
  
• Design for confusion | All intelligent design has to do to be effective is create confusion about the validity of evolutionary theory (Paul Krugman, The New York Times)
  
  
• Creation crusade marches again, under new banner | Intelligent design has arrived in Australia (The Age, Melbourne, Australia)
  
  

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ID & politics:

• Biden: Religion and politics don't mix | Delaware senator criticizes president's support of 'intelligent design' (News Journal, Del.)
  
  
• Can you believe in God and evolution? | Four experts with very different views weigh in on the underlying question (Time)
  
  
• Face-Off: Darwinians vs. Anti-Darwinians | The two sides rarely see eye to eye, but their opposing point of view come into particularly sharp focus when they try to explain how the eye itself came to be (Time)
  
  
• Coast-to-coast challenges | An info-graphic (Time)
  
  
• Monkey see, monkey do | Offering ID as an alternative to evolution is a cruel joke. It walks and talks like science but in the lab performs worse than medieval alchemy (Jonathan Alter, Newsweek)
  
  
• Faith vs. evidence | Politicians' support for what they call "balance" still damages both science and faith (Editorial, Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Senator recasts science stance | Santorum said evolution's 'holes' should be taught instead of intelligent design (York Daily Record, Pa.)
  
  

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Bush & ID:

• Bush pushes very hot button | President's comments embolden anti-evolutionists (San Francisco Chronicle)
  
  
• Thumbs up | President Bush is right about evolution and design (Peter Wood, National Review Online)
  
  
• Intelligent design stirrings | Our secular popular culture is throwing a fit over President Bush's endorsement of teaching in public schools the controversies surrounding Darwinian theory (David Limbaugh, The Washington Times)
  
  
• The evolution wars | When Bush joined the fray last week, the question grew hotter: Is "intelligent design" a real science? And should it be taught in schools? (Time)
  
  
• Designing an intelligent debate | What the president actually said was hardly enough to shake the earth (Suzanne Fields, The Washington Times)
  
  
• Bush evolution comment roils long-standing battle | President Bush's call for schools to discuss "intelligent design" alongside evolution is the latest shot in a long-standing war between religion and secularism in the United States in which religion now seems to be making broad advances (Reuters)
  
  
• Bad science | Whether or not Mr. Bush's remarks were motivated by politics, his embrace of intelligent design could undercut his educational program (Editorial, The Baltimore Sun)
  
  
• Leading Republican differs with Bush on evolution | Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, a possible 2008 presidential contender who faces a tough re-election fight next year in Pennsylvania, said intelligent design, which is backed by many religious conservatives, lacked scientific credibility and should not be taught in science classes (Associated Press)
  
  

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Catholicism, creation, and evolution:

• Church wrangle over Darwin | The Vatican's astronomer has rebuffed a cardinal's attack on Darwinism, causing a new war of words in the Catholic Church over evolution (The New Zealand Herald)
  
  
• Schönborn and evolution | He's making a philosophical point, not a scientific one. In the end, he's warning that Christianity cannot accept a universe without God, and it's fairly difficult to argue with that (John L. Allen Jr., The National Catholic Reporter)
  
  
• Is the Catholic Church rethinking its view of evolution? | An influential cardinal recently suggested that the contemporary understanding of evolution conflicts with Catholic beliefs, sparking fears that new tensions may develop between science and the Catholic Church at a Time when the President and other Christians are also challenging the scientific establishment (The Boston Globe)
  
  

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Catholicism:

• Offering pilgrims a helping held | Thousands of volunteers are busy preparing Cologne for World Youth Day, which begins Aug. 16. It's also a chance for them to get to know different approaches to Catholicism around the globe (Deutsche Welle, Germany)
  
  
• Beatification begun for five Argentines | The archbishop of Buenos Aires started the beatification process for three priests and two seminarians killed in the 1970s during Argentina's "Dirty War," (Associated Press)
  
  
• Mel Gibson offered role in Pope's visit | Mel Gibson will be asked to re-create the final journey of Christ in the streets of Sydney if the Pope visits here in 2008 (The Sydney Morning Herald)
  
  
• Bill would force church to disclose its finances | Attitude shifts on Beacon Hill (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Renewing spirits at St. Albert's | After the last Mass on Aug. 29, parishioners refused to leave the pews, and remained there in shifts until July 2, after the archdiocese reversed its decision and the church officially reopened (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• St. Jeremiah plea rejected, but O'Malley allows Mass | Baptism planned as vigil continues (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Status unclear of parishes converted into chapels | For some, change creates tension (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Novak's sect appeal | Does Bob Novak owe his uncanny capacity for secrecy to the right-wing Catholic sect Opus Dei? (Radar)
  
  

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Pope Benedict XVI:

• Pope visits brother who got pacemaker | Pope Benedict XVI arrived at the hospital Friday where his older brother has been recovering since getting a pacemaker implanted because of an irregular heartbeat (Associated Press)
  
  
• Near 'the edge of the abyss' | The new pontiff has offered clues to the ways in which he will lead the church and, he hopes, change Europe (Newsweek)
  
  
• The quality of courage | For a sense of the Christian values Pope Benedict hopes to champion, look to the past and a little town called Nonantola (Newsweek International)
  
  
• Pope to offer special indulgences in Germany | Martin Luther may well be turning in his grave on Monday after his modern-day compatriot, Pope Benedict, decided to grant indulgences to Catholics during his trip to his native Germany this month (Reuters)
  
  

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Abuse:

• Behind a priest's suicide | Father Chevedden 's family says his reports of sexual abuse by a fellow Jesuit were brushed aside. The church cites his mental problems (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• U.S. archbishop subpoenaed ahead of mass | Archbishop William Levada, soon to be the highest ranking American at the Vatican, was welcomed to his final Sunday Mass here by thousands of admiring parishioners, a few critics and a subpoena compelling him to testify about sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church (Associated Press)
  
  
• Church victim offered compensation | The Anglican Church has offered a six-figure compensation deal to the woman whose claims of child sexual abuse against a priest brought down a governor-general (The Daily Telegraph, NSW, Australia)
  
  
• More cite sex abuse by priest | A dozen men have now accused Robert White of molesting them as boys. One is White's godson (The Denver Post)
  
  
• Jury nixes priest's defamation suit | Alleged abuse victim vindicated (The Capital Times, Madison, Wi.)
  
  
• Calif. church settles abuse suits for $56M | The Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland has agreed to pay $56 million to settle lawsuits filed by 56 alleged victims of priest sexual abuse, the diocese said (Associated Press)
  
  
• Protests and praise mark archbishop's departure | Archbishop William Levada said goodbye Sunday to 3,500 enthusiastic supporters who filled St. Mary's Cathedral while more than 100 clergy sexual-abuse protesters stood vigil in front of the church (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Plaintiffs' attorneys subpoena former archbishop of Portland | William J. Levada receives notice he must testify in the Portland Archdiocese abuse case as he's preparing for Mass (The Oregonian)
  
  
• Defrocked priest still saying mass | Man convicted of abuse might have violated probation (Detroit Free Press)
  
  

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Crime:

• Poor spellers suspects in church vandalism | Vandals who wrote "Santin" probably are probably teens, not Satanists (The Tennessean, Nashville)
  
  
• Two men of god in trouble: One with his church the other with the law | A Mid-Michigan Episcopal priest has been given the ultimate penalty for not following church guidelines. A Baptist pastor is busted for marijuana (WNEM, Bay City, Mi.)
  
  
• Family finds Shelbyville home trashed | A family that bought a 14-bedroom home built for missionaries who raised 28 adopted Haitian children found it strewn with trash, garbage and human waste after the former residents were evicted, a newspaper reported (Associated Press)
  
  
• Signature case file closed | DA's office saw no 'intent to injure' in church declaration (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Scottsdale church pastor is arrested | Police on Monday arrested a pastor who is accused of using about $60,000 in church funds for personal expenses (The Arizona Republic)
  
  

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Arson attempt fails at Catholic parish:

• Arson attempt shakes up church congregation | The lingering smell of gasoline greeted parishioners as they entered St. Mark's Catholic Church on Sunday (KING, Seattle, video)
  
  
• Failed firebombing probed at Shoreline Catholic church | Church officials found shattered glass and smelled gasoline in the church's sanctuary at 6:30 a.m. Sunday during preparations for the 7:30 a.m. Mass (The Seattle Times)
  
  
• Would-be fire bomb thrown at Shoreline church | An apparent fire bomb thrown through a church window here fell apart before entering the building and didn't cause major damage, King County arson investigators said (Associated Press)
  
  

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Archaeology:

• Biblical pool uncovered in Jerusalem | The reservoir served as a gathering place for Jews making pilgrimages and is said in the Gospel of John to be the site where Jesus cured a blind man (Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• King David's palace is found, archaeologist says | An Israeli archaeologist says she has uncovered in East Jerusalem what may be the fabled palace of the biblical King David (The New York Times)
  
  
• Remains of ancient church found in Egypt | The remains of an ancient church and monks' retreats that date back to the early years of monasticism have been discovered in a Coptic Christian monastery in the Red Sea area, officials said Saturday (Associated Press)
  
  
• Also: Renovators in Egypt say they find oldest monk cell | Renovators working in an ancient Egyptian monastery have unearthed the oldest example of a building housing Christian monks, a member of the restoration project near the country's Red Sea coast told Reuters on Monday (Reuters)
  
  
• Bones of contention | The epilogue to St. Mark's life remains shrouded in mythical lore. Following his story from Alexandria to Venice raises more questions than it answers (Egypt Today)
  
  
• Archeologists discover medieval monastery in Kyrgyzstan | Monastery at Lake Issyk-Kul was built around the 14th century and is designed in a style similar to medieval Armenian Christian monasteries (Radio Free Europe)
  
  

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People:

• Diversity and the deity | 1st black to lead area Mormon church reflects effort to overcome racist past (The Clarion Ledger, Jackson, Miss.)
  
  
• Meet evangelist Tony Campolo | "To be a Christian in today's world is to be opposed to America," says the Baptist minister (The Progressive)
  
  
• Rev. Dr. Theodore Gill, 85, of John Jay College, dies | In his teaching and writings, Dr. Gill stressed the links between religion and the arts. He also served as managing editor of The Christian Century (The New York Times)
  
  
• After lost chances, pastor's wife forged a success of her own | Had Jewell Kees Smith been born in a different time or place, how different would her life have been? (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Ex-Mavs center Ralph Drollinger is now living by the book | Minister to legislators shunned riches, let faith govern his ways (The Dallas Morning News)
  
  
• An evangelical preacher's life in San Francisco holds surprises | Bishop Donald Green is a fundamentalist preacher who opposes abortion and frequently rails against the idea of gay marriage (SF Gate)
  
  

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Spirituality and morals:

• Bible provides texts for living today | Once people actually read their Bibles, they get beyond the well-known texts on sexuality and discover that the heart of the Old Testament isn't a few verses on sex, but entire books on freedom, justice and mercy (Tom Ehrich, The Indianapolis Star)
  
  
• The virtues of virtue | America is becoming more virtuous (David Brooks, The New York Times)
  
  
• Soul survival | Is "the new neuromorality" a threat to traditional views of right and wrong? (Cathy Young, Reason)
  
  
• Leave me out of your petty games—love, God | A gripe from a higher plane (Peta Bee, The Guardian, London)
  
  
• God help us | If every human being chose to set up his or her own moral program, there would never be a consensus of what is proper and what is not. There would never be universal outrage over terrorism or terrible crimes (Bill O'Reilly)
  
  

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Other religions:

• Bishop caught in battle over living Buddha | The Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, was at the centre of an unholy row last night after he participated in an exotic spiritual ceremony with a disputed living Buddha (The Telegraph, London)
  
  
• A rebuilding congregation seeks members, and its incentives abound | Congregation Beth Israel offers help in buying a home. It's not alone among religious bodies (The New York Times)
  
  
• God visits the house of the people | Not anyone can hire the Great Hall of Parliament. Just ask the Dalai Lama (Marion Maddox, The Sydney Morning Herald)
  
  

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Scientology:

• A celeb-seeker's quest: Scientology brunch vs. hot Kabbalah women | After two seasons of making sitcom pilots that didn't land on the fall schedule, I needed a new religion to further my Hollywood career (Joel Stein, Los Angeles Times)
  
  
• Cruise almost rejected sect's acts | When it comes to evangelizing, Tom Cruise today stands as the Jimmy Swaggart of Scientology. But there was a time, say insiders, when the controversial church almost lost the star (New York Daily News)
  
  

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Latter-Day Saints:

• Mormons excommunicate Australian author | Southerton said he was excommunicated for "having an inappropriate relationship with a woman," but believes church concerns about his writing are the underlying reason (Associated Press)
  
  
• Polygamy, white booties and fiberglass oxen | Are Mormons Christian? (Diane Winston, Los Angeles Times)
  
  

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Music:

• For rockers, 'Christian' blessing can be fickle | Rocker Sufjan Stevens frequently channels faith through his music, but falls short of the standards of the Christian Music Trade Association -- a key U.S. gatekeeper in deciding what music is "Christian" (Reuters)
  
  
• Without a prayer | Like other religious artists before him, Sufjan Stevens puts his faith in craft (Village Voice)
  
  
• At SoulFest, Christian youth rock on | Festival draws 12,000 faithful (Concord Monitor, N.H.)
  
  
• Hip-hop prophet | For 16 years, Bert Bocachica has been preaching the gospel of rap—and rapping about the gospel (Newsweek)
  
  
• I bling because I'm happy | There's a disconnect between the New Black Church and the hip-hop generation (PopMatters)
  
  
• ZOEgirl is pop music with a Christian message (The Express-Times, Easton, Pa.)
  
  
• Spirit-filled 'fest | 'Idol' Clay Aiken puts his faith center stage (The Express-Times, Easton, Pa.)
  
  

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Games:

• 'Left Behind' creator looks ahead | The first game based on the popular "Left Behind" Christian book series will be a real-time strategy title (The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wa.)
  
  
• 'Bible Games' instead of 'Grand Theft Auto?' | Christian video games market Jesus as an alternative to guts and gore (NBC News)
  
  

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Books:

• Albright writes book about religion, U.S. policy | The Mighty and the Almighty: God and Religion in American Foreign Policy will be published next spring and Harper Collins said it would be a "very provocative" and personal analysis of the subject (Reuters)
  
  
• When reason energized a nation | Reason is what separates Franklin's generation from ours. Religion hasn't driven reason from the public square, but it has gained political leverage it never enjoyed in the days of the Founding. H.W. Brands reviews Philip Dray's Stealing God's Thunder (The Washington Post)
  
  
• N.Y. court rules Brown didn't copy 'Da Vinci Code' | Lewis Perdue claimed Brown's 2003 book infringed the copyright of his novels "Daughter of God" (2000) and "The Da Vinci Legacy" (1983) (Reuters)
  
  

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More articles of interest:

• BBC's Thought for the Day is 'too jolly' | The Catholic Church in Scotland says BBC Radio Scotland's morning religious slot is suffering from "I. M. Jolly syndrome" and that it has been marginalised because it is "dull and boring" (The Scotsman)
  
  
• The risks of giving God a seat in the boardroom | Praying about a decision was a defining moment in Gary Daichendt's short tenure at Nortel (Gordon Pitts)
  
  
• 'I want to be 1st woman to interview the messiah' | Studying Jerusalem Syndrome (The Jerusalem Post)
  
  
• Pat Day to stay busy with chaplaincy | Will travel to help Race Track Chaplaincy of America expand (The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.)
  
  
• Edinburgh churchgoers in attempt to close Dungeon, claiming it spreads Satanism | It's one of Scotland's biggest tourist attractions (Scotland on Sunday)
  
  

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