Religion
Sufi singer faces death for blasphemy
This much is clear: Kano State authorities in northern Nigeria accused the Sufi Muslim singer Yahaya Sharif-Aminu of circulating social media messages containing lyrics they said attacked the Prophet Muhammad. What did the song say? It’s impossible to find direct quotations, although his accusers say he sang praises for his Sufi faith and, thus, spread…
Read MoreTim Keller: A witty outsider who came to New York to stay
ON RELIGION By Terry Mattingly On the Sunday after 9/11, thousands of New Yorkers went to church, with many joining a line stretching outside the Redeemer Presbyterian services in a Hunter College auditorium. The Rev. Tim Keller asked his staff if they could manage a second service — doubling the day’s attendance to 5,300. Keller’s…
Read MoreSome worshippers switching congregations amid United Methodist split over LGBTQ issues
PETER SMITH and HOLLY MEYER Associated Press The Rev. Bill Farmer reached the point where he couldn’t stay in the United Methodist Church anymore — but the congregation he attended was staying. Michael Hahn always wanted to stay in the UMC — but his congregation was leaving it. Each has found new church homes, and…
Read MoreGlobal South starts cutting ties with Canterbury (Part II)
ON RELIGION By Terry Mattingly Want to know how to cause a church split? The deepest fault lines — sex, money and pride — have been obvious for centuries, said Archbishop Kanishka Raffel of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Australia. “We use nationality or age or gender or wealth or clothing or accent or profession…
Read MorePope speaks of secret peace ‘mission,’ help Ukraine kids
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday revealed that a secret peace “mission” in Russia’s war in Ukraine was under way, though he gave no details, and said the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war. “I’m available to do anything,” Francis…
Read MoreTemple restores rare Torah for Holocaust Remembrance Day
DJ SIMMONS The Charlotte Observer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — When the pandemic hit, Rabbi Asher Knight used one of Temple Beth El’s sacred Torahs during the high holidays — chosen because it symbolized perseverance. The artifact was among 1,500 Czech Memorial Scrolls that survived Nazi Germany’s invasion of Czechoslovakia during the Holocaust. It was later…
Read MoreMassacres and miracles: Who will tell these stories?
Terry Mattingly In one of her first encounters with violence linked to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Deann Alford heard, or felt, a bullet pass and slam into a door frame, with shrapnel striking a nearby woman and child. The future journalist was both shocked and inspired by her contact with Christians caught…
Read MorePope washes feet in Holy Thursday rite at Rome youth prison
FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — In a Holy Thursday ritual symbolizing humility, Pope Francis washed and dried the feet of a dozen residents of a Rome juvenile prison, assuring them of their dignity and telling them “any of us” can fall into sin. The Casal del Marmo facility on the outskirts of…
Read MoreCovenant’s pastor preached on grief before the attack
Terry Mattingly The Bible’s shortest verse — “Jesus wept” — is also one of its most important. That was the message delivered by the Rev. Chad Scruggs in a March 5 sermon — “Death’s Conqueror” — as the faithful at Nashville’s Covenant Presbyterian Church continued their Lenten journey toward Holy Week and Easter’s promise of…
Read MoreUK’s religion-free speech debates enter ‘thoughtcrime’ zone
Terry Mattingly Wherever he goes, Father Sean Gough prays for the people he encounters — sometimes out loud and often silently. This isn’t unusual, since he is a priest in the Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, England. Gough was praying silently when he was arrested near an abortion facility in a Public Spaces Protection Order protected…
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