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In his annual State of the Union address last night, President Bush did not let the absence of former chief speechwriter and Wheaton College graduate Michael Gerson keep him from talking about religion. Bush has been accused of allowing Gerson to slip in “code words” and phrases that allow him to secretly pander to America’s religious right, but this time Bush’s religiously oriented words caught the attention of a different audience.
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.
Anyone watching the aftermath of Sunday night’s amazing AFC Championship game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots couldn’t help but be struck by the religious overtones in the language. Everyone, that is, except for the media, which seem to have so far ignored the religious elements of the story. I know that every other athlete credits God for their victories and accomplishments, but in this case, the story runs deeper and is genuinely more significant.
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.
People ask me that question all of the time, usually in the midst of a conversation — face to face or online — that goes something like this.
How delightful is it that both Hillary Clinton and Sam Brownback officially announced their plans to run for the presidency on the same sunny Saturday? Not that the announcements come as a surprise to anyone, but there is a slight irony that these two would share the spotlight.
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.
