News - March, 2012

News

What Would Jesus Brew? Lots, beer makers say

Mar 23, 2012 by Amanda Greene

c. 2012 Religion News Service WILMINGTON, N.C.(RNS) All this talk of beer was making the former seminarian thirsty.

"Cheers," said assistant brewer Christopher McGarvey, taking a sip from his pint of golden ale. Then he continued his lecture on the history of beer in ancient Samaria to a crowd of about 90 on the third floor of this city's Front Street Brewery.

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Pope tells Cubans to look beyond Marxism

Mar 23, 2012 by Alessandro Speciale

c. 2012 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI on Friday (March 23) urged Cuba's communist government to look for "new models" beyond its "Marxist ideology," saying it is clear that Marxism "no longer responds to reality."

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Franklin Graham meets with black church leaders

Mar 22, 2012 by Adelle M. Banks

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) Religious leaders from the NAACP met with evangelist Franklin Graham Tuesday (March 20), less than a month after they accused him of "bearing false witness" when he questioned President Obama's Christian faith.

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Film traces real-life story of abortion 'survivor'

Mar 22, 2012 by Annalisa Musarra

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) A new movie confronts a controversial topic by highlighting two words that don't typically go together: "abortion" and "survivor."

"We didn't know there was such a thing," said Jon Erwin, who wrote and co-directed "October Baby" with his brother, Andrew.

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'Blue Like Jazz' films aims to be Christian, not 'cheesy'

Mar 22, 2012 by Rebecca Cusey

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) Do not confuse the upcoming film "Blue Like Jazz" with Christian market movies like "Fireproof" or "Courageous."

"A Christian movie genre has formed. Our first goal with this movie is that we didn't fit into this genre," said director Steve Taylor.

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Churches lost $1.2 billion in recession

Mar 22, 2012 by Annalisa Musarra

c. 2012 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) Even as membership remains relatively stable in U.S. churches, the effects of the recession have caused contributions to drop by $1.2 billion.

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Hate crimes law used to prosecute Amish beard attacks

Mar 22, 2012 by Harlan Spector

c. 2012 Religion News Service CLEVELAND (RNS) A pair of scissors transported across state lines has emerged as a controversial element in Ohio's first case under a landmark 2009 federal law that expanded government powers to prosecute hate crimes.

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Report says anti-Semitism on the rise in Europe

Mar 22, 2012 by Lauren Markoe

c. 2012 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) Days after a lone gunman murdered a rabbi and three children at a Jewish school in Toulouse, France, a new study reports widespread anti-Semitism in France and across Europe.

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Pastor's introduction of Santorum goes viral

Mar 22, 2012 by Bob Allen

BATON ROUGE, La. (ABP) – A Southern Baptist pastor in Louisiana became an Internet celebrity when his fiery introduction at a rally for presidential candidate Rick Santorum went viral on YouTube and news websites.

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Anti-Shariah movement loses steam in state legislatures

Mar 22, 2012 by Omar Sacirbey

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) At this point in 2011, 22 state legislatures had either passed or were considering bills to prohibit judges from considering either Islamic law, known as Shariah, or foreign law in their decisions.

What a difference a year can make.

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Nonbelievers to rally for unbelief in Washington

Mar 21, 2012 by Kimberly Winston

c. 2012 Religion News Service (RNS) Thousands of atheists and nonbelievers will gather this Saturday (March 24) on the National Mall in Washington for the "Reason Rally," a daylong event featuring speakers, music and comedy to promote secular values.

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Son says sibling rivalry fueled cathedral troubles

Mar 21, 2012 by Adelle M. Banks

As the Crystal Cathedral tries to find its footing without any members of founder Robert H. Schuller's family at the helm, the only son and onetime successor says "sibling rivalry" played a key role in the California megachurch's decline.

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Turkey put on 'worst' list for religious freedom

Mar 21, 2012 by Lauren Markoe

Turkey, a key U.S. and NATO ally, stands as a new and controversial addition to an annual list of the worst offenders of religious freedom by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Four of nine commissioners objected to putting Turkey among "Countries of Particular Concern"—a who's who of dictatorships and closed societies.

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Catholics eye Cleveland closures for national precedent

Mar 21, 2012 by Michael O'Malley

c. 2012 Religion News Service CLEVELAND (RNS) Before a recent prayer service in a shuttered Catholic church in Holyoke, Mass., parishioner Victor Anop stood before 120 people and made an urgent announcement: "The Vatican has ordered the bishop of Cleveland to reopen 13 closed churches."

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Judge rules for breakaway church in St. Louis

Mar 20, 2012 by Tim Townsend

c. 2012 St. Louis Post-Dispatch ST. LOUIS (RNS) Wading into sensitive church-state territory, a Missouri judge has ruled in favor of an independent-minded Catholic church that claims ownership of its property and autonomy from the Archdiocese of St. Louis.