Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
Faith Groups Launch Campaign to Counter Controversial ‘Defeat Jihad’ Ad
posted on October 9, 2012For CNN Kristina Sgueglia profiles three organizations that have launched ad campaigns to counter the controversial ‘Defeat Jihad’ ads displayed in some New York subway stations. Rabbi Jill Jacobs, of Rabbis for Human Rights, one of the organizations behind the counter ads, says, “Neither rabbis nor the mainstream Jewish community support this dehumanization.”
Obama’s Bible Issue
posted on October 9, 2012At National Review, Kathryn Jean Lopez profiles Bible publishers who do not receive an exemption from the HHS contraceptive mandate because the government does not recognize them as religious organizations. Mark Taylor, president of the Bible publisher Tyndale House Publishers, which has filed a lawsuit against the mandate, believes that Bible publishers exist “for an explicitly religious purpose.” Taylor continues, “out of our religious conscience we have chosen not to comply with aspects of the mandate that promote abortion-inducing pills …That is why Tyndale was left with no alternative but to go to court.”
Einstein Letter Calling Biblical Stories ‘Pretty Childish’ to Be Auctioned on eBay
posted on October 9, 2012The Atlantic’s Rebecca Rosen reports that a letter written by Albert Einstein, which offers insights into his thoughts on religion, will be auctioned off on eBay. In the letter, Einstein claims the Bible contains “primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.” Einstein believed that God was greater than religion. “He took the idea of God very seriously, elevating it above a religious conception to a mathematical one,” explains Rosen.
Hundreds of Pastors Back Political Candidates, Defy Tax Rules
posted on October 9, 2012Nanette Byrnes reports for Reuters about this past weekend’s “Pulpit Freedom Sunday.” In defiance of IRS tax code that forbids non-profits like religious institutions from backing political candidates or parties, some 1,500 religious leaders endorsed or denounced political candidates from the pulpit. “Preachers at services across the United States are flouting a law they see as an incursion on freedom of religion and speech,” writes Byrnes. Meanwhile, “critics say the movement threatens the U.S. constitutional principle of separation of church and state.”
One Miracle at a Time
posted on October 9, 2012At Patheos, Xarissa Holdaway writes about the decision to allow women to serve missions beginning at the age of 19, an announcement that was made at the LDS Church’s biannual General Conference. Currently, women are only allowed to begin serving missions at the age of 21. “Young men, who have always been able to go at nineteen … will now be able to go at eighteen,” writes Holdaway. “It’s not perfect parity, but it’s a lot closer to it.” Holdaway hopes that such changes to gender disparities continue. “[W]ill an increased capacity for church governance, directed by women, be the next miracle?”
Cranbrook Rector Bound for D.C. Talks Religion, Politics
posted on October 8, 2012Detroit Free Press’ Niraj Warikoo profiles the Reverend Gary Hall, the former rector of Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan’s largest Episcopal church. Last week, Hall was installed as “dean of Washington National Cathedral, the national seat of the Episcopal Church and considered America’s house of worship,” writes Warikoo. Known for his liberal views, Hall hopes to make the National Cathedral a leading site for interfaith dialogue and “conversation topics about the role of religion in public life,” Hall said.
The Campaign Against Scandinavian Jewry
posted on October 8, 2012Tablet’s Adam Chandler describes growing levels of anti-Semitism in many European countries. Chandler focuses on Sweden and other parts of Scandinavia where, he writes, Jews are under increased persecution, even from governmental officials. “If one zooms out just a little further,” writes Chandler, “between talks of kippah bans in France, discussions of a ban on ritual slaughter in the Netherlands, and a court ruling against circumcision in Germany (coupled with seemingly countless attacks and desecrations), [Jewish Europe] is facing a new wave of threats against it.”
Mexico Finds 50 Skulls in Ceremonial Center of Aztec Empire; Shows Clues for Ritual Mysteries
posted on October 8, 2012Reporting for the Associated Press, Adriana Gomez Licon writes that last week, “Mexican archaeologists … [announced] they uncovered the largest number of skulls ever found in one offering at the most sacred temple of the Aztec empire dating back more than 500 years.” “Underneath the sacrificial stone, we found an offering of five skulls,” said archaeologist Raul Barrera of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History. “These skulls were pierced with a stick.”
Mormon Leader Decries Divorce, Abortion, Same-sex Parents
posted on October 8, 2012Lisa Schencker reports for The Salt Lake Tribune that, at the LDS Church’s biannual General Conference in Salt Lake City, “LDS apostle Dallin H. Oaks urged Mormons and non-Mormons alike … to protect children, decrying abortion, divorce, abuse, cohabitation and single and same-sex parenthood as harmful to their welfare.” In denouncing divorce, Oaks said, “[d]ivorcing parents inevitably teach a negative lesson … There are surely cases when a divorce is necessary for the good of the children, but those circumstances are exceptional.”
French Police Kill One in Raid Linked to Jewish Market Attack
posted on October 8, 2012Gilbert Reilhac and Alexandria Sage report for Reuters that, during an anti-terrorist raid, French police killed “[a]n Islamist suspected of a grenade attack on a Jewish market.” French prosecutor Francois Milons stated that the suspect killed was a 33-year-old French citizen named Jeremie Sidney. “Sidney appeared to be a delinquent converted to radical Islam who belonged to a group suspected, without certainty, to want to enter into jihad,” Milons said.