TRUTH AND BEAUTY: “St. John’s Bible Features Hand-Drawn Images, Calligraphy; Apostles Edition To Be Gifted To The Morgan Library And Museum.”

Vodpod videos no longer available.

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UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: “The Death of Christianity in the Middle East.”

Peter Leithart posted on the phenomenon of de-Christianization in the Middle East, citing insights from a number of observers. What is interesting is that US involvement has accelerated the problem…

Emphasis added.

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RELATED: “Foreign Policy and the First Freedom.”

The liberal critics of George W. Bush were right about one thing: The President did help usher in a theocracy.

The reason the progressives didn’t seem to notice—or seem to care—was that the theocracy wasn’t being lead by Dominionists in Idaho but by Islamicists in Kabul. It was, in other words, a genuine theocracy, the kind that never seems to bother them.

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NAME HIM AND SHAME HIM: “Anonymous Senator Holding Religious Freedom Commission ‘Hostage.’”

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a small commission that monitors religious freedom. Last month, the House of Representatives voted 391–21 to reauthorize the USCIRF. The Senate, however, has not voted because one anonymous U.S. Senator is blocking a vote. If the Senate fails to act by November 18, the USCIRF will cease to exist.

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ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT: “With the Rise of Militant Secularism, Rome and Moscow Make Common Cause.”

The European religious press is abuzz over recent developments in Orthodox – Catholic relations that indicate both Churches are moving closer together. The diplomatic centerpiece of the activity would be a meeting of Pope Benedict and Patriarch Kyrill of the Russian Orthodox Church that was first proposed by Pope John Paul II but never realized. Some look to a meeting in 2013 which would mark the 1,700th anniversary of the signing of the Edict of Milan when Constantine lifted the persecution of Christians. It would be the first visit between the Pope of Rome and Patriarch of Moscow in history.

A few short years ago a visit between Pope and Patriarch seemed impossible because of lingering problems between the two Churches as they reasserted territorial claims and began the revival of the faith in post-Soviet Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere. The relationship grew tense at times and while far from resolved, a spirit of deepening cooperation has nevertheless emerged.  Both Benedict and Kyrill share the conviction that European culture must rediscover its Christian roots to turn back the secularism that threatens moral collapse.

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GOOD FOR THEM! Muslim Scholars Issue Fatwa Declaring No Conflict Between Islamic Law And U.S. Constitution

“As a body of Islamic scholars, we the members of FCNA believe that it is false and misleading to suggest that there is a contradiction between being faithful Muslims committed to God (Allah) and being loyal American citizens,” the fatwa declared.

“Islamic teachings require respect of the laws of the land where Muslims live as minorities, including the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, so long as there is no conflict with Muslims’ obligation for obedience to God. We do not see any such conflict with the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. The primacy of obedience to God is a commonly held position of many practicing Jews and Christians as well.”

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NOT A GOOD IDEA AT ALL: “Pastors hope for a louder, unrestricted voice in 2012 election.”

When Pastor Jim Garlow took to the pulpit September 28, he was thinking two things.

He first thought that the sermon he was about to give, a sermon in which he was going to endorse a handful of 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls, might earn him a letter from the IRS, possibly even a visit from an agent. By endorsing candidates, Garlow was about to violate the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits tax-exempt churches from engaging in political activity.

But according to Garlow, the senior pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in La Mesa, California, the conviction that “our nation, economically and morally, is in such a condition that America as we have known it for its 200-plus years is on the verge of disappearing” was enough of an impetus to break the rules.

Garlow’s sermon was part of a wider effort by the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal organization that since 2008 has hosted Pulpit Freedom Sunday, a day when they encourage and promise to protect pastors who willfully violate the Johnson Amendment and endorse from the pulpit.

The movement is growing. While it started with 33 churches in 2008, 539 churches participated in 2011.

Here are my $.02 worth on this topic: (1) We don’t need a politicized pulpit. (2) Most pastors do not have the relevant training or experience to address public policy matters in anything like a competent way, so they’re just expressing their personal opinions, not the Word of God. And (3) it’s not a good idea to endanger your church’s tax-exempt status just so you can exercise your First Amendment rights.

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NOT WHAT SOCIOLOGISTS THINK: “What Do We Pray For?”

So, back to my question: why should sociologists care what people are doing when they pray? Because our assumptions about what prayer consists of can influence our fieldwork and our interpretation of survey items. The question “How often do you pray?” may be an easy question to put on a survey, but it tells us nothing about what type of prayer people engage in. So if we think that in our consumer culture many people approach God primarily to ask for things, then why don’t we simply ask, “How often do ask God to help with your needs?” And, just to see how many people are grateful, let’s also ask “How often do you give thanks to God?”

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THE NEW SADNESS: “The New Singleness.”

Sex has been divorced from meaning. Men are not being raised to be good family men, and women are not being raised to appreciate good family men. And men are failing to become the kind of men women want. Porn is available for all as a substitute for life.

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I CAN REFUTE YOU WITH ONE WORD: DETROIT. “A Complete Guide To The Ponzi Scheme That Is Suburban America.”

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“IT’S KIND OF FUN”—HUNTING, THAT IS: “Kagan on faith, the high court and hunting.”

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IS ANYONE SURPRISED BY THIS? “The Times Endorses Religious Prejudice Against Mormons.”

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GOOD QUESTION: “If Corporations Arent’s People, How Can They Be Greedy?”