Christianity

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Miley 'Closer to the Lord' Thanks to Boy Toy

Gaston 'really made me read my Bible,' Cyrus, 16, gushes of beau, 20

(Newser) - Miley Cyrus’ 20-year-old beau Justin Gaston has brought her “closer to the Lord,” the 16-year-old pop star tells Rachel Ray in an interview airing tomorrow. “He’s really made me read my Bible,” she said. “He’s made me actually read the stories in the...

Calif. Gunman Kills 1 at Christian Retreat

Shooter targeted wife, according to calls to cops

(Newser) - At least one person was killed and four seriously injured last night when a gunman opened fire at a Korean Christian retreat in southern California, reports the AP. The gunman was believed to be one of the injured. It wasn't immediately clear what sparked the carnage, but a phone call...

Pope Must Hide Cross at Jerusalem Site: Rabbi

'I wouldn't go into a church wearing Jewish symbols,' Rabinovitch says

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI plans to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem next month as a show of mutual understanding and sensitivity between Catholicism and Judaism—but a request from a prominent rabbi almost ensures he’ll offend someone, Time reports. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch said the pontiff should remove the cross...

Turkey Battles Over Christian Monastery

Dispute over ancient monastery's land could derail country's EU bid

(Newser) - A battle over an ancient Christian monastery could deal a fresh blow to Turkey's bid to join the European Union, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Syrian Orthodox Mor Gabriel monastery, built in southeast Turkey in 397 AD, is one of the oldest functioning monasteries in the world—but government...

Christian Films Tempt $$$-Hungry Hollywood

(Newser) - Lurking behind the mainstream film industry is a low-budget, high-return business poised to break through: the world of Christian filmmaking, NPR reports. Fireproof, a tale of marital woes and redemption, was the highest-grossing independent feature of 2008—a fact trumpeted at a Christian film festival in San Antonio last...

Vatican Makes Peace With Darwin
Vatican Makes Peace With Darwin

Vatican Makes Peace With Darwin

Church officials now say evolution theory fits with beliefs

(Newser) - The Vatican is clarifying that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is compatible with its doctrine after all, the Times of London reports. The Church never officially condemned Darwin, but his views have been controversial with some because they present a radically different image of the origins of species than what's...

China Secretly Meets With Long-Banned Churches

Only state-backed religious groups legal; 100M worship in secret

(Newser) - Inching toward reconciliation after decades of opposition, China’s government invited leaders of the country’s banned Protestant churches to secret talks, the Times of London reports. The government is hoping to smooth relations as it celebrates its 60th year in power and aims for stability amid economic turmoil. Beijing...

'Cowboy Church' Lassos New Followers

Baptists see success with services that feature rodeo riding

(Newser) - Rodeo competitions and baptisms in horse troughs are on offer at the Cowboy Church of Ellis County, Texas, part of a movement that uses an unconventional approach to draw worshippers to the flock, the AP reports. Cowboy churches have existed for 40 years but have grown in popularity in the...

No Time For Faith? Try a Podcast

Practitioners of all stripes distill religious teaching for on-the-go Americans

(Newser) - Overscheduled Americans are fueling a boom in devotional books and media that mete out bite-sized doses of faith, the Los Angeles Times reports. An editor at a Christian book house calls its One Minute Bible “a ready-made, quick little devotion they can do every day.” But it’s...

Xmas Spirit Translates Better in Foreign Tongue: Keillor

Writer 'feels the religious fervor' at Spanish mass

(Newser) - Garrison Keillor is no Scrooge, but can find it hard to get the Christmas spirit, he writes for Salon. In New York for “the general dazzlement and variety,” and a holiday unbound by obligations of small-town homogeny, Keillor finds Yuletide spirit in a Spanish-language mass at St. Patrick’...

I'm Anti-Gay Marriage, Not Anti-Gay: Warren

Controversial pastor aims to dampen criticism, civilize discourse

(Newser) - Rick Warren continues to refine his stance on gays and gay marriage, saying he is “not opposed to gays having their partnership,” and that his anti-gay marriage stance doesn’t make him anti-gay, the AP reports. “I’m opposed to gays using the term marriage for their...

Time to Give Joseph His Due
 Time to Give Joseph His Due  
opinion

Time to Give Joseph His Due

Priest sees stolid husband to Jesus's mother as a role model

(Newser) - Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and even the Three Kings come to mind at Christmastime, but rarely do Christians think of humble Joseph. James Martin, a Jesuit priest, writes in Slate that forgetting the man who raised Jesus—the reason for the season—is unfair. "It's time to take a...

Etheridge's Wife Defends Warren
 Etheridge's Wife 
 Defends Warren 
OPINION

Etheridge's Wife Defends Warren

Tammy Lynn Michaels extends olive branch to controversial evangelist

(Newser) - Melissa Etheridge's significant other goes to bat for right-wing pastor Rick Warren, calling him "the man the media has made our latest 'HE HATES YOU!' target." In fact, he doesn't hate gays, Tammy Lynn Michaels writes on her Hollywood Farm Girl blog. Melissa, who recently met him,...

Christians Secretly Target Converts in North Africa

Islamic leaders oppose 'unethical' tactics

(Newser) - Islamic leaders in north Africa say they are incensed by the tactics of Christians bent on secretly converting their followers, Reuters reports. Religious authorities gripe that missionaries in Morocco and Algeria are using “unethical” methods, such as spreading false information and preying on the weak. “People respond positively...

Newsweek in Hot Water Over Gay-Bible Story

Social conservatives denounce 'attack' article as 'full of holes'

(Newser) - Social conservatives are lashing out against Newsweek’s current cover story, “The Religious Case for Gay Marriage,” for what they say is a flawed take on both the Bible and the root of their argument against such unions. The story was “yet another attack on orthodox Christianity”...

The 11th Commandment: 'Thou Shalt Not Forge'

Unscrupulous scholars fake history to make a buck

(Newser) - Fraudulent biblical artifacts come a dime a dozen, but reputable archaeologists are turning out to be far less common, Nina Burleigh writes in the Los Angeles Times. The latest example involves an Israeli collector who claimed to have relics from the time of Christ. Declaring the items forgeries, authorities prosecuted...

Billy Graham Done Advising Presidents: Son

But influential pastor supports and would like to pray with Obama

(Newser) - Billy Graham, the pastor who has advised every president since Eisenhower, won’t be counseling Barack Obama, the AP reports. Graham, who turns 90 today and is in failing health, “feels like his time and day for that is over," said Graham’s son Franklin. "He would...

UK Group Raises $80K for Atheist Bus Ads

Fundraising target far surpassed, campaign may expand nationwide

(Newser) - A campaign to plaster London buses with agnostic advertising has far exceeded its fundraising goal, the Guardian reports. The ads, aimed to counter what one writer sees as overbearing Christian messages, will say, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Organizers have raised...

Pentecostal Questions Haunt Palin
Pentecostal Questions
Haunt Palin

Pentecostal Questions Haunt Palin

McCain may be avoiding pastor attacks to avoid focus on Palin's beliefs

(Newser) - John McCain has so far avoided attacking Barack Obama's controversial pastor in what may be a strategy to keep Sarah Palin's preachers out of the spotlight, Time reports. Palin officially left her Pentecostal church before campaigning for lieutenant governor but has made many return visits—including one in 2005 when...

Episcopal Priest Faces Ban for Practicing Islam

Seattle cleric considers faiths compatible

(Newser) - An Episcopal priest who also practices Islam will likely be defrocked, the Seattle Times reports. "I'm still following Jesus in being a Muslim," said Ann Holmes Redding, who has been a priest for almost 25 years. "I have not abandoned that." But the local bishop...

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