c. 2005 Religion News Service Update: Falwell Out of the Hospital

(RNS) The Rev. Jerry Falwell was released from the hospital Wednesday (April 6) after a stay of more than a week to recover from respiratory arrest.

“He’s received a very positive bill of health right now,” said Ron Godwin, president of Jerry Falwell Ministries, in an interview.

“He’s been feeling well enough to go home for the last several days, but they kept him there in order to run tests.”

The founder of the conservative Moral Majority entered Lynchburg General Hospital in Virginia on March 28. He had been on a ventilator but greatly improved during his hospital stay, his second in less than two months.

Falwell, 71, the chancellor of Liberty University in Lynchburg, spent 13 days in the hospital with pneumonia in late February and early March.

Godwin said Falwell is expected to speak at a Friday convocation at the university and is “likely” to preach Sunday at his Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg.

“He did not have a recurrence of pneumonia so he rebounded much more strongly and quickly this time,” Godwin said.

“He’s feeling very well right now, and he’s ready to get back to his normal routine.”

But Godwin said there will be some changes.

“He’ll be doing some travel but not as much as perhaps in the past,” he predicted.

_ Adelle M. Banks

Russian Chief Rabbi Says Reform Judaism Not `Religion’

(RNS) An article by Rabbi Berel Lazar, a top Russian rabbi and the leading Lubavitch Hasidic rabbi in the former Soviet Union, has sparked controversy because of its dim view of Reform Judaism.

Lazar, writing in the February issue of the Orthodox magazine “L’Chayim,” said that Reform Judaism, which is a theologically progressive branch of Judaism, does not qualify under the definition of “religion.”

Reform Judaism “personifies an approach … which is opposite to the approach of the Torah,” he wrote. “Reform Judaism can’t be labeled as religion if we take religion seriously!”

The Lubavitch organization, or Chabad, is known for its outreach to Jews of all levels of observance, urging them to adhere more strictly to the teachings of the Torah. But tensions have simmered recently in Russia between Orthodox and Reform Jews. The World Union for Progressive Judaism, an international Reform organization, says that it represents the largest body of affiliated Jews in the world, and it plans to hold a major meeting in Russia this summer.

U.S. Reform leaders expressed disappointment with Lazar’s comments.

“Rabbi Lazar cannot request American Jewish support for his work and profess to speak in the name of all Russian Jews while simultaneously proclaiming that Reform Judaism is not Judaism and Reform rabbis are not rabbis,” said Rabbi Eric Yoffie, who is the president of the Union for Reform Judaism.

Chabad declined comment on the controversy. But Boruch Gorin, the editor of the magazine, released a statement saying that Lazar’s comments were not meant to be divisive.

Lazar “is motivated by a powerful love for every single Jew, regardless of level of observance,” Gorin said.

At the same time, though, Gorin emphasized that there are genuine differences in philosophy and theology between Orthodox and Reform Jews.

“If intra-Jewish harmony is important _ and it must be if we are to set foundations for the Jewish future _ Jewish religious and communal leaders need to do all they can to respect the standards that have preserved us as a unified community since Sinai,” Gorin said.

_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi

Religious Recordings Selected for Library of Congress Registry

(RNS) A spoken-word recording of the King James Bible, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s performance of Handel’s “Messiah” and several gospel recordings are among this year’s selections for the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.

The National Recording Preservation Act, which passed in 2000, stipulates that the Library of Congress should choose 50 recordings annually that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” to be inducted into the registry. Recordings must be at least 10 years old.

The King James version of the Bible, recorded in 1966 by bass-voiced actor Alexander Scourby, was among the inductees. Recorded for the American Foundation for the Blind, the Bible took four years for the actor to record and was a best-seller when it was released.

The famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s 1958 recording of Handel’s “Messiah” was also chosen. The best-selling recording was made at a concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra, which has had an association with the choir since 1936.

In a statement, the choir’s music director Craig Jessop said that the recognition was an honor, and that the recording “set a standard for classical music recordings that has been unparalleled.”

Other religious inductees to the registry included “Tuskegee Institute Choir Sings Spirituals,” a 1955 recording of spirituals arranged by William L. Dawson; “Peace Be Still,” a 1962 recording by gospel singer the Rev. James Cleveland; and “Down by the Riverside,” a 1944 recording by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who blended gospel, blues and jazz.

_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi

Lutheran Denominations Continue to Disagree About Gay Church Leaders

(RNS) The president of the country’s second-largest Lutheran denomination says the larger Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has taken an unbiblical approach in a report that recommends gays be allowed to serve in church leadership.

At an annual meeting with ELCA leaders on March 29, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod President Gerald B. Kieschnick released a pastoral letter critiquing an ELCA proposal that would allow gays and lesbians to serve as pastors without discipline.

“The report does not speak clearly and authoritatively regarding homosexual behavior and the ordination of those who are openly involved in such behavior,” Kieschnick’s letter said. “This goes contrary to the historic and universal understanding of the Christian church regarding what the Holy Scriptures teach about homosexual behavior as contrary to God’s will and about the biblical qualifications for holding the pastoral office.”

In January, the ELCA released the report of a sexuality task force that offered measured recommendations for continued openness toward homosexuality within the church.

Though the report said homosexual relationships should not be blessed and that homosexual ministers should abstain from sexual relationships, it allowed for pastors who want to “provide pastoral care for gay and lesbian Lutherans.” The report also said the ELCA may choose not to discipline gay and lesbian ministers who are in committed relationships.

The ELCA, with 5 million members, and the LCMS, with 2.5 million members, are the largest Lutheran church bodies in the United States and have repeatedly disagreed about homosexuality.

_ Shawna Gamache

Quote of the Day: Suzanne Vitadamo, sister of the late Terri Schiavo

(RNS) “You didn’t want to give up but God called you home, and he loves you more than we do.”

_ Suzanne Vitadamo, speaking at a Tuesday (April 5) funeral Mass for her sister Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman who died after a long battle between her husband and parents over whether her feeding tube should be removed. Vitadamo was quoted by the Associated Press.

MO/PH END RNS