Religion News Service | Beliefs | Christian

Chuck Colson’s memorial steeped in prison themes

Adelle M. Banks | May 16, 2012

WASHINGTON (RNS) Prison Fellowship founder and former Nixon aide Chuck Colson was memorialized Wednesday (May 16) at Washington National Cathedral in a service steeped in Scripture and prayers about prison and redemption. By Adelle M. Banks.
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Church softball league calls a foul on bisexual pastor

Tim Townsend / The Post-Dispatch | May 16, 2012

ST. CLAIR, Mo. (RNS) A league of six church softball teams shrank to five when the pastors of three Baptist churches told one of the member churches that their teams would no longer take the field against that church's team because the pastor is bisexual. By Tim Townsend.
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N.T. Wright asks: Have we gotten heaven all wrong?

John Murawski | May 16, 2012

(RNS) Christian apologist N.T. Wright's insistence that Christianity has got it all wrong seems to mark a turning point for the serious rethinking of heaven. He's not another academic iconoclast debunking Christian myths, but rather takes his creeds very seriously. By John Murawski.
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Black churches conflicted on Obama’s gay marriage decision

Dennis Cauchon / USA Today | May 14, 2012

(RNS) The pulpits of the nation's black churches took measure Sunday of President Obama's decision to support gay marriage, and the result was conflicted. By Dennis Cauchon.
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Syrian Christians live in uneasy alliance with Bashar Assad

Stephen Starr and S. Akminas / USA Today | May 11, 2012

DAMASCUS, Syria (RNS) Many of Syria's Christians continue to stand by Bashar Assad's regime not out of support but out of fear of civil war if rebels gain strength, or worse, if they win and install an Islamist government hostile to religious minorities. By Stephen Starr and S. Akminas.
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Richard Mouw, evangelical leader, says engaging Mormonism isn’t just about being nice

Peggy Fletcher Stack / The Salt Lake Tribune | May 11, 2012

SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) In his new book, evangelical scholar and seminary president Richard Mouw argues that understanding Mormonism isn’t just about being nice, it’s a Christian mandate. By Peggy Fletcher Stack.
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Mitt Romney heads to Liberty University to woo evangelicals

Jackie Kucinich / USA Today | May 11, 2012

(RNS) Mitt Romney, who struggled to gain the support of evangelicals during the primaries, will deliver a commencement address Saturday at Liberty University, one of the largest Christian universities in the country. By Jackie Kucinich.
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Stuttering clergy spread the Word

Lauren Markoe | May 11, 2012

(RNS) A stuttering priest can sound like the beginning of a bad joke, but clergy who stutter are increasingly willing to talk about their stuttering, and how a profession that rewards particularly inspiring speech can be open to those with speech impediments. By Lauren Markoe.
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All the BIble’s Prophets in Seven Words or Less

Jana Riess | May 10, 2012

Now that I've almost finished tweeting the Old Testament (now with 68% more humor!), it's time to share some of the shortcuts I've learned. So here is every prophetic book in seven words or less. I'm just sure that this will revolutionize theological education.
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Obama and gay marriage: In U.S. religion, the Golden Rule rules

David Gibson | May 10, 2012

(RNS) As pundits and politicians gauge the political fallout from President Obama’s sudden endorsement of gay marriage, one thing has become clear: the Golden Rule invoked by Obama to support his change of heart is the closest thing Americans have to a common religious law, and that has implications beyond the battle for gay rights. By David Gibson.
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