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Main Entry: bal-kan-ize …Inflected Form(s): bal-kan-ized; bal-kan-iz-ing … Etymology: Balkan Peninsula … 1: to break up (as a region or group) into smaller and often hostile units
Your GetReligionistas have, from time to time, asked editors and reporters to ask the “Why?” question in that old journalistic sequence, “who, what, when, where, why and how.” That question can be pretty hard — hellish even — in some stories linked to tragedy and disaster.
A few readers sent along an excellent story by Neela Banerjee in the New York Times. She looked at custody disputes across the country where religion comes into play. The story is fantastic. Wonderfully balanced, very informative and full of excellent reporting:
One of the big questions that religion writers discuss when they are in private and speak freely is this one: Are we supposed to challenge people when they claim that they have had some kind of unique, supernatural spiritual experience? Do we, somehow, try to dig into the details and challenge this kind of account?
On Friday, we looked at some of the media coverage of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams’ suggestion that some aspects of sharia should be formally introduced in England. On Monday, we looked at some of the responses Williams’ speech has engendered.
Remember that little discussion of “theodicy” that we had last weekend? This is actual a topic that journalists, as a rule, do not mind digging into from time to time. They enjoy putting God in the dock whenever there is a great tragedy, especially natural disasters.
The story starts in a church, with a minister trying to figure out how to step into the pulpit and tell his congregation about a great, and seemingly senseless, tragedy in the congregation. Four people were dead and the worshippers were going to ask, “Why?”
Each year, I like to look at what stories the mainstream media publish for Lent. The papers that noted Ash Wednesday, such as the Indianapolis Star, Newsday and the Orange County Register, published brief stories about the imposition of ashes.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams gave an interview to the BBC this week that is sending shockwaves throughout England. Here’s a relevant excerpt from the full interview, in which he advocates that aspects of sharia law be introduced to England:
