Professor Stephen Hawking smiles during a news conference at the University of Potsdam, near Berlin, Germany, on July 21, 1999. Hawking, whose brilliant mind ranged across time and space though his body was paralyzed by disease, has died, a family spokesman said early Wednesday, March 14, 2018.(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Need to know: Thursday, March 15, 2018
A brief history of Stephen Hawking’s atheism
“What could define God (is thinking of God) as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of that God,” Hawking said.
Vatican doctors photo of Benedict’s praise for Francis
The manipulation changed the meaning of the image in a way that violated photojournalist industry standards.
Why did former sheriff’s deputy allegedly try to bomb a Minnesota mosque?
The purported ringleader in the bombing of a Minnesota mosque emerges in court documents as a sometimes-threatening figure with anti-government views who also wrote books and attracted others into his shadowy group.
Horrifying videos show racist moms teaching kids to be patriots by vandalizing a mosque
In one outlandish scene, two women lead the children to trespass onto the mosque’s private property after one delivers a hateful lecture on Muslims during the car trip there.
‘Rethinking Incarceration’ author on justice, race and the fact Jesus was incarcerated
Both slavery and incarceration are means of racial and social control, said author Dominique DuBois Gilliard.
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American Bible Society’s .bible domain policies restrict religious freedom online, critics say
Scholars say the American Bible Society’s limitations on the domain — excluding critics of Christianity and non-Judeo-Christian religions — violate internet freedoms.
Lightning kills 15 worshippers in Rwanda, as government cracks down on unsafe churches
The strike occurred as the Rwandan government continues to shut down houses of worship it deems unsafe and dissenters accuse it of trampling on religious rights.
The ’Splainer: Why are Catholic bishops backing unions at the Supreme Court?
The bishops’ involvement with Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees prompts the question: Where does this affinity between Catholic bishops and labor movements come from?
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Hallelujah! Mormon women’s garments just got a lot better
(RNS) — Mormon sisters, if you have ever dared to dream of a Goldilocks Garment that would neither dwarf you with its saggy enormity nor confine your bosoms to a relentless straitjacket, you might try this new stretch cotton version.
Young people to talk with Pope Francis about future of the church
(RNS) — By meeting next week with 300 young people from around the world, Pope Francis shows he understands that a bunch of old, celibate bishops are not going to come up with solutions for the Catholic Church’s failure to attract or keep young people.
Can former journalist Lee Strobel make a convincing case for miracles?
Former editor for "The Chicago Tribune" compiles evidence to prove miracles. But is it effective to build a logical case for a mystical event?
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