The Guardian has a really interesting story (“Cross and bed found in Anglo-Saxon grave shed new light on ‘dark ages’“) about how Cambridge archaeologists are thrilled by their recent discovery of a 7th century grave with body of young woman on a bed with an ornate gold cross:
Scaring people away from religious freedom
I guess it was only a month or so ago that I had the weird experience of watching a nightly newscast and screaming. What sent me over the edge was an ABC News piece that was so riddled with errors and bias it enraged me.
Crying lone wolf in Toulouse killings
One of the more tragic religion news stories of recent weeks has been the murder of three Jewish children and a rabbi at a school in Toulouse, France. The shooting earlier this week was quickly linked to the killing of French paratroopers a week prior. Some of the journalism surrounding these events has been great. I particularly liked this Associated Press piece on how people are grieving the deaths. It does a great job of weaving religious practice into a brief update. I also loved this CNN Belief blog piece on why the dead were flown to Israel for burials. It covers everything fro the scriptural basis to the practice to the costs of same. A great piece.
AP vs. AP on Pope's Mexico visit
Working hard to avoid religious freedom
Last week, the New York Times published a poll showing serious declines in support for President Obama. The story mentioned that the poll showed female Republican primary voters were supporting Rick Santorum. The story also claimed that “women were split as to whether health insurance plans should cover the costs of birth control and whether employers with religious objections should be able to opt out.”
Got news? Destroy all churches!
Saudi Arabia is known for its brutal repression of religious freedom. Here’s how the State Department has put it:
Completing the Torah
Patrick Wade of the Champaign News-Gazette had a fascinating story about the creation of a new Torah by hand. Here’s how it begins:
A curious case of Old Testament proof texting
The Associated Press has a story about a child in Morocco who killed herself after she was forced to marry her rapist. Amina Filali was raped when she was 15 and was 16 when she took her own life. She had complained to her mother that she was being beaten during her five-month marriage and we’re told that the mother counseled patience. Here’s the top of the story:
