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So if it’s Monday, that must mean I write about something from The New York Times Sunday Magazine. And so I will. Mark Oppenheimer used the hook of a nondenominational university in Arkansas permitting dance for the first time as a way to explore some Christians’ view of dancing. The piece is ridiculously smooth and well-written and looks at the issue from a number of angles.
As the reigning (three-time) champion of my newsroom’s Oscar pool, I’ve been preparing for the coming battle by watching as many Oscar-contending films as possible. The Queen was definitely one of the best movies of the year. Helen Mirren is amazing. Unfortunately Peter Morgan’s Oscar-nominated screenplay was tampered with a bit by some censors. The Associated Press’ Giovanna Dell’Orto reports:
So a gay pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America faces a disciplinary hearing. Not because he’s gay, but because he’s not celibate. The denomination has permitted homosexual clergy since 1991, and debates have raged within the church body since then over whether to bless homosexual unions or permit gay clergy to have sexual relationships. I’m surprised the story hasn’t gotten more coverage, considering how obsessed the media are over the Episcopal Church’s significant issues with homosexuality and how to interpret Scripture.
In preparation for the 34th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, The New York Times Sunday Magazine had a lengthy feature on how post-abortion syndrome doesn’t exist. I’m sure you are as shocked as I am that the paper would come down quickly and easily on this side of the debate.
Frank Lockwood, the religion editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, did what The Washington Post‘s Alan Cooperman didn’t do last week. He did what I didn’t do last week. He actually cracked open the Institute for Religion and Democracy’s booklet analyzing the funding of the National Council of Churches (disclosure notices here, here and here). The National Council of Churches is an association of 35 mainline denominations. IRD accuses the NCC of being beholden to liberal foundations more than the denominations it represents. Last week I disagreed with the way the Post handled IRD’s charges.
The 2006 elections were marked in part by the successes of more than a few pro-life Democrats. Some have wondered how their rhetoric will match up with their voting records. When the House passed a recent bill to expand federal funding of stem-cell research that destroys embryos, 16 pro-life Democrats, including the newly elected Heath Shuler, joined 158 Republicans in voting against it.
I was not alone in enjoying David Gonazalez’s first piece on a Pentecostal storefront church in New York City. Although I do note that our posts always receive many more comments when we criticize something than when we praise something. Why is that? I also must note with regret that I haven’t yet read the subsequent installments.
David Gonzalez has a fantastic story in the Sunday New York Times on a Pentecostal storefront church in Harlem. It’s the first of three articles exploring life in the church, called Ark of Salvation. The two future installments will look at the struggles of pastor Danilo Florian, a factory worker by day, and the church’s efforts to reach out to the next generation.
The other day in the National Press Club I happened to stroll by a press conference held by the Institute on Religion and Democracy while I was on my way to another press conference. I was able to catch a few minutes of the press conference before mine started and I resolved to look at how the mainstream media treated the story.
