BAY MINETTE, Ala. (RNS) An alternative sentencing plan that would give
inmates the choice between time in jail or a year in church will be
delayed for several weeks while lawyers review it to make sure there are
no legal issues.
LONDON (RNS) British Christians are incensed after the state-funded BBC
decided to jettison the terms B.C. and A.D. in favor of B.C.E. and C.E.
in historical date references.
LOS ANGELES (RNS) A group of Muslim students who were convicted Friday
(Sept. 23) of disrupting a speech by the Israeli ambassador plan to
appeal as Muslim community leaders call the high-profile free speech
case a civil rights moment.
(RNS) For pastors with ambitions to reach huge audiences, there's often
no better platform than the megachurch, which has given rise to
powerhouse media empires from T.D. Jakes to Max Lucado to Joel Osteen
and many others.
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A new report by the Irish branch of Amnesty
International says the sexual abuse of children by Ireland's Roman
Catholic priests "included acts that amounted to torture and inhuman and
degrading treatment."
Wellington, New Zealand, September 26 (ENInews)--A suicide bomber blew himself up on the porch of an Indonesian church packed with hundreds of worshippers on 25 September, injuring 28 people, some critically.
GRANDVILLE, Mich. (RNS) Megachurch pastor Rob Bell, whose best-selling
book raised evangelical eyebrows by questioning traditional beliefs on
hell, knew it was time to address the "giant, glowing, loud" elephant in
the room on Sunday (Sept. 25) morning.
(RNS) A leading Catholic anti-abortion group whose leader is under
scrutiny for failing to disclose financial details reported a $1.4
million deficit in 2010 despite collecting tens of millions of dollars
in donations during recent years.
BAY MINETTE, Ala. (RNS) A new alternative sentencing program that offers
first-time, nonviolent offenders a choice of a year in church or jail
time and fines is drawing national attention, including fire from the
American Civil Liberties Union.
Pope Benedict xvi's recent visit to Germany featured an ecumenical
worship service in the town of Erfurt that was meant to reach out to
German Protestants, but for many it felt like a missed opportunity.
WASHINGTON (RNS) White evangelicals and Tea Party members are less
likely to believe in evolution and climate change than most Americans, a
finding that could pose a particular problem for Republican presidential
hopefuls.
Washington, D.C., September 22 (ENInews)--The 21 September release of
U.S. hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal from an Iranian prison "affirms
the importance of the role of religious dialogue and its end product in
this case, public diplomacy, as we seek ways to define common ground
between our two countries," said Episcopal Diocese of Washington Bishop
John Chane, who returned from a weeklong visit to Iran on 19 September.
Richard J. Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary and current president of the Association of Theological Schools, has written about the importance of public civility as well as dialogue between Christians of differing views.
NEW YORK (RNS) The nation's top Catholic bishop issued a stern challenge
to the Obama administration's decision not to support a federal ban on
gay marriage, and warned the president that his policies could
"precipitate a national conflict between church and state of enormous
proportions."
