Monthly Archives: September 2007
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — September 15, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Vatican Says Food `Obligatory’ for Vegetative Patients VATICAN CITY (RNS) In an apparent response to the controversial death of a brain-damaged Florida woman more than two years ago, the Vatican on Friday (Sept. 14) declared it “morally obligatory” to feed patients in a “vegetative state,” even when their recovery appears […]
Episcopalians Head to High-Stakes Meeting in New Orleans
By Daniel Burke — September 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The years-long strife in the Anglican Communion could reach a breaking point in New Orleans next week (Sept. 20-24) when Episcopal bishops consider a Sept. 30 deadline to change their church or face “consequences.” The Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion, was given until the end […]
COMMENTARY: On the Record With Maimonides and Ben Franklin
By James Rudin — September 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) It was quite a surprise when two famous people recently jumped out of the history books to join me in a fascinating conversation. Here’s the transcript of the encounter between Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) and Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). Although they lived about 600 years apart, it’s clear they share many […]
Wal-Mart Tests Bible Figures in a Sliver of the Bible Belt
By Mary Warner — September 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service HARRISBURG, Pa. _ Jesus and Moses were sold out, but you could still head to the checkout counter with Mary, Noah, David and a ferocious-looking Samson, packaged with Delilah in hot pink. The world of posable action figures has traditionally belonged to hulking heroes such as Spider-Man and He-Man. But […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — September 14, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service No Public Memorials Scheduled for Amish School Shootings (RNS) The Amish community of Nickel Mines, Pa., will conduct no public memorials next month to mark the one-year anniversary of a massacre in an Amish schoolhouse that left five young girls dead and five more seriously injured. But the new school […]
RELIGION BEST-SELLERS
By RNS Blog Editor — September 14, 2007
RELIGION BEST-SELLERS (Editor’s note: This September list is compiled by Publishers Weekly magazine from data received from general independent bookstores, chain stores and wholesalers within the month of August. Copyright 2007 Publishers Weekly. Distributed by Religion News Service.) HARDCOVER 1. “Reposition Yourself,” by T.D. Jakes. (Atria, $24.00) 2. “God Is Not Great,” by Christopher Hitchens. […]
The Amish “Anabaptist Escalator”
By RNS Blog Editor — September 13, 2007
Growth of Evangelicals Has Some Amish Leaders Worried RNS’s Daniel Burke examines challenges to the traditional Amish understanding of faith coming from an “evangelical uprising,” in this week’s full text article, linked above. Quote: With his talk of supernatural healings and events, [Steve] Lapp seems more at home-at least theologically-in Pentecostal churches than among the […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — September 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service AME Church Leaders Join Protest of `Jena Six’ Case (RNS) Top leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church have joined protests of the prosecution of six black teenagers in Jena, La., who have been charged with the alleged beating of a white schoolmate. “We in no way condone fighting … […]
Sample Questions from 7th Heaven
By RNS Blog Editor — September 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service CLEVELAND _ Got interfaith game? Seeking a fun way to help people learn about the faith of their neighbors, John Cooper, a mechanical engineer from Lincoln, Neb., created 7th Heaven, a board game that tests players’ knowledge of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. The design is simple. A board contains spaces […]
10 Minutes On … The Iraq War
By RNS Blog Editor — September 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ All eyes were on Capitol Hill this week as Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker made their much-anticipated report to Congress on the success of President Bush’s military “surge” strategy. When the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, many theologians said the war failed to meet “Just War” […]
At Yom Kippur, a Simple Garment Shrouds Jews in `Holiness’
By Ansley Roan — September 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service NEW YORK _ When Rabbi Amy Small arrives at the Beth Hatikvah synagogue in Summit, N.J., on Sept. 21, she will not follow her usual routine because Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins at sundown. In preparation for the special services she’ll lead that night, she’ll put on a […]
Game Seeks to Build Interfaith Understanding
By RNS Blog Editor — September 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service CLEVELAND _ According to Islam, do humans carry the sins of their ancestors? What is more important in Judaism _ the self or the community? What does “70 x 7” refer to in the Bible? If you answered “no,” “the community” and “how often Jesus says we are to forgive […]
COMMENTARY: Missing the Boat on Mother Teresa
By Phyllis Zagano — September 13, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Mother Teresa’s detractors are swarming again, led by atheist author Christopher Hitchens, whose dark diatribe against religion, “God is Not Great,” is especially critical of people who think God is, in fact, great. In 1995, Hitchens wrote a scathingly critical book about Mother Teresa called “The Missionary Position,” charging […]
RNS Weekly Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — September 12, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service Texas Court Strikes Down State Rules on Seminaries (RNS) A Texas court has struck down a state requirement that religious higher education institutions must meet specific standards before they can call themselves a “seminary” or use certain terminology to describe their degrees. The Texas Supreme Court ruled Aug. 31 in […]
Extra Prayers During Ramadan Test Patience, Endurance
By Omar Sacirbey — September 12, 2007
c. 2007 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Every night during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Kamran Riaz and his younger brother, Rehan, perform a sort of spiritual sound-check, each listening to the other’s recitation of verses from the Quran and offering corrections as needed. When the fine_tuning is complete, the Riaz brothers will leave their […]
