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Earlier this week in Haiti, a group of Christians ran a group of Vodou followers away from a pavilion where they were trying to conjure spirits as part of a memorial service to honor their deceased brethren. The Christians pelted the worshipers with rocks and accused the Vodou followers of being responsible for dangerous aftershocks that had hit Haiti since the devastating earthquake a month ago.
If you’ve heard about the exclusive story that will be in tomorrow’s Haaretz’s Weekend Magazine, the news that for more than a decade a Hamas founder’s son served as a spy to Israel’s security agency, then you’ve almost certainly heard a component of the story that’s two obvious for the media to miss. In fact, this element of the story was its own story — and a good story at that — in 2008.
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A group of 13 clergy in Ohio petitioned the IRS to investigate the organization that owns a red brick townhouse on Capitol Hill. The C Streeters claim a tax exemption as a church but the clergy group say it’s more an “exclusive club for elected officials” than a church. I wasn’t elated with the early reporting I saw on the claim but this NPR story is particularly notable. Here’s how it begins:
I’ve long been fascinated by the “new evidence” stories. These are the sensationalized religion stories about how, you know, Jesus walked on an ice floe (not water), that he wasn’t crucified in the manner in which people think, that Jesus’ father was a Roman soldier . . . named Pantera, and so on.
O Canada. Thanks to the Winter Games, I know more about the maple leaf country than I ever did before. Who knew, for instance, that Winnipeg is just one state and a border west of my house? On occasion, it’s fun to look at Canadian coverage of issues that pop up from time to time in the U.S. For instance, take a look at this Vancouver Sun article about how a Winnipeg politician said no federal money should go to a Christian group called Youth For Christ.
I have a friend who is an Army doctor. Turns out he knew Major Nidal Hasan back when they started school together. I asked him if he was surprised to find his former classmate accused of killing 13 Fort Hood soldiers. He told me that while he was completely shocked — as were all the other colleagues who knew him years ago — the ones who had continued their studies with him or who had worked with him more recently were in no way shocked. Apparently they felt that he’d become completely radicalized.
From the very first days of this weblog’s existence, and up to the recent past, your GetReligionistas have been asking mainstream journalists to meditate on the following passage found in the Associated Press Stylebook:
My husband and I have been blessed with two wonderful children and we hope to have more. Sometimes I reflect on how grateful I am that we were able to conceive these children without any trouble. I have more than a few friends that have been unable to procreate and I know it has been terribly difficult for them.
