Monthly Archives: January 2005
NEWS STORY: Private Faith, Public Religion, Merge at Bush Inauguration
By RNS Blog Editor — January 21, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Presidential inaugurations tend to be sober affairs with benign overtures to national unity and American pride. References to God tend to be generic and genteel. But after a bitterly fought presidential campaign in which religion played a larger-than-expected role, President Bush’s second inauguration took on a distinctive spiritual […]
COMMENTARY: This Disaster Fosters an Immature Religion
By RNS Blog Editor — January 21, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The tsunami had a peculiar impact in America. Many who had just celebrated Christmas demanding that religion keep silent in national life suddenly demanded that religion speak up to explain how the disaster fit into God’s plan, if God exists, that is, and if He has a plan. Even […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 21, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Catholic and Sikh Leaders Urge Canada to Not Legalize Same-Sex Marriage TORONTO (RNS) Aloysius Cardinal Ambrozic, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Toronto, has sent an open letter to Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin urging “caution” on the issue of impending same-sex marriage legislation. In another religious warning, Sikhism’s leading cleric, […]
NEWS FEATURE: Conservative Christian Groups Say SpongeBob Video Promotes Gay Families
By RNS Blog Editor — January 21, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Conservative Christian groups are criticizing a multicultural children’s video featuring SpongeBob SquarePants and other TV characters, claiming it promotes acceptance of gay and lesbian families. The video, “We Are Family,” was created by Nile Rodgers, who wrote a 1970s disco hit of the same title. After 9-11, Rodgers formed […]
COMMENTARY: Amber Frey Alerts Us to a Collective Loss of Decency
By RNS Blog Editor — January 20, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) No surprise here. Schadenfreude sells. Amber Frey’s book on her affair gone awry with Scott Peterson hit the top of every best-seller list in its first week of distribution. Frey cooperated with police to bring Peterson to justice when she was alerted to the manifestly obvious: He had murdered […]
NEWS FEATURE: Animated Characters Provide Modern-Day Parables of Morality and Immorality
By Bob Smietana — January 20, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) When he was growing up, Mike Mignola had two great loves _ monster movies and superheroes. So when Dark Horse Comics offered him the chance to write and illustrate his own comic book, Mignola decided to combine the two. The result is Hellboy, a wisecracking, good-hearted, old-fashioned superhero with […]
NEWS STORY: In Wake of Tsunami, Relief Groups Plant Seeds of Faith for Later Growth
By RNS Blog Editor — January 20, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) When the Rev. Dr. Tim Dearborn journeyed to tsunami-plundered Thailand in early January to encourage a team of Christian missionaries there, he reaffirmed what has become a standard vow for faith-inspired relief workers: we don’t proselytize those we serve. Refusing to proselytize, however, doesn’t mean stifling hopes for church […]
COMMENTARY: Charitable Giving Releases God’s Blessing on the Giver
By RNS Blog Editor — January 20, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) When people knock on our door to collect charity, my husband and I give our children dollar bills that they can each give to the collector. Although we could simply write a check (we often do that as well), we want the children to become accustomed to the notion […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 20, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Supreme Court Denies Atheist’s Request to Ban Inaugural Prayer WASHINGTON (RNS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday (Jan. 19) rejected atheist Michael Newdow’s plea to prohibit clergy-led prayer at President Bush’s inauguration Thursday. Nonetheless, Newdow said he hasn’t given up his fight to block prayer at the swearing-in ceremony. After Chief […]
NEWS STORY: Lutheran Panel Says No to Changes on Gay Clergy, Same-Sex Unions
By Kein Eckstrom — January 19, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) A Lutheran task force on Thursday (Jan. 13) recommended no change to church rules that ban gay clergy and same-sex unions, saying a majority of the church does not support “wholesale change” to existing gay policy. But the 13-member panel of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America proposed that […]
RNS Weekly Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 19, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Religious Leaders Urge Bush to Address Middle East Conflict (RNS) Representing 28 religious organizations, a diverse group of leaders appealed Thursday (Jan. 13) to President Bush to make every effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his second term. The National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East […]
COMMENTARY:
By RNS Blog Editor — January 19, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service AYLMER, Ontario _ Over three days in this community of 6,500, I talked with several dozen Canadians: all Baptists, down-to-earth folks who work hard, make good chili and are concerned about politico-religious events south of their border. One told of visiting family in Florida and encountering a conservatism that bewildered […]
NEWS STORY: Ohio, Prepare Ye the Way of the Southern Baptists
By RNS Blog Editor — January 19, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service CLEVELAND _ The nation’s largest Protestant church is coming into the heart of one of the nation’s most Catholic regions with a two-year, approximately $2.5 million evangelistic effort to win souls in Northeast Ohio. The 16.3 million-member Southern Baptist Convention selected Cleveland as its Strategic Focus City in the United […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 19, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service Kidnapped and Released Iraqi Bishop Says Church Not a Target VATICAN CITY (RNS) A Catholic archbishop held by kidnappers for 20 hours in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul said on his unharmed release Tuesday (Jan. 18) that no ransom was paid and he does not believe the church was […]
Conservative Christians Want More from Bush This Time
By Jeff Diamant — January 19, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) They pushed hard for his re-election, and now that President Bush is starting his second term this week, conservative Christian leaders across the country want their agenda put in motion as soon as possible. They demonstrated that victory would not be quiet for them when they pounced in fury, […]
