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Every college basketball fan knows Bruce Pearl. The University of Tennessee men’s head coach is famous for turning around losing programs and his brash, outsized persona; at a woman’s basketball game last year, he painted his face and chest orange, wore a headband, and sat in the student section.
I think it’s tremendously interesting when the local newspaper gives a local story a completely different angle than the non-local news source. Case in point is the difference between the Watertown Daily Times coverage of their town’s attempt to crackdown on Old Order Amish home builders for violating housing codes (think no smoke detectors) and the Associated Press.
Before I sign off for the day, let me make note of a provocative essay by Father James Martin, a Jesuit, over at Slate.com. The headline tells you what this is all about: “Happy Crossmas! Why Easter stubbornly resists the commercialism that swallowed Christmas.”
To all GetReligion readers who are part of the Western church, let me say, “Happy Easter.” I hope you are all having a meaningful day discussing the resurrection power of Barack Obama’s recent speech on racism and its impact on healing the American soul.
After that big Pew study came out, Catholic leaders wondered why their members are leaving the faith. Inside Catholic devoted a whole forum to the issue, while Catholic intellectuals such as Thomas Reese, S.J. commented about it.
You know you’re a journalist who cares about religion when you based your NCAA Tournament Bracket picks on the religion of the school. I tend to use some combination of my head and my heart, which usually leads to utter disaster and ruin. A more successful way I’ve observed is to pick teams based on a hypothetical match-up between the two schools mascots.
The Easter Vigil, held tonight, is one of my favorite services of the church year. At my church, we gather outside, bless a new Paschal Candle, offer prayers for those who will be baptized, and proceed into the darkened sanctuary. The smell of lilies, the holding of the candle before the darkened altar, the lengthy Scripture readings. But my favorite part is when catechumens are baptized and others are confirmed or transferred into membership.
Anyone who spends any time studying the history of journalism, especially the American model of the press, knows that reporters and editors really, really, really love what they call “facts.” Some historians have even said that journalists worship “facts.”
It’s great when reporters take theology seriously. Some of my favorite newspaper stories are about the political and moral implications of, say, premillennial dispensation. These stories give readers a rare window into understanding the world.
