Author: Staff Writer

Source: AFP

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gx82ftet4H2W9CQ3S1gj8arJnmSA

ran has arrested six adherents of the banned Bahai faith and a Christian for alleged propaganda against the Islamic republic and insulting Islam, the judiciary spokesman said on Tuesday.

"These people were not arrested for their faith. The six Bahais are accused of insulting religious sanctities and...

Author: Martin E. Marty

Source: Ponderings On a Faith Journey

http://pastorbobcornwall.blogspot.com/2009/01/inaugural-jesus-sightings.html

The apostle Paul claimed that Jesus, in the form of "Christ crucified," was "a stumbling block [skandalon=scandal=offence] to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles." (I Corinthians 1:23) Jews+Gentiles=pretty much everybody. You may ask, "What is Jesus doing in Sightings," given this column's...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7852446.stm

A Devon council has voted to continue saying prayers at the start of one of its monthly meetings following a debate over whether to scrap the tradition.

The vote was taken by Dartmouth Town Council after Councillor Brian Boughton, who is an atheist, wore his iPod earphones during prayers.

He denies playing his iPod at the time but says the...

Author: Jane Macartney

Source: The Times Online

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article5587017.ece

A secret meeting between Chinese officials and leaders of the banned underground Protestant Church has marked the first significant step towards reconciliation in decades.

The discussions, which were held in an office in Beijing, were the first time that members of the Government and stalwarts of the outlawed...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: United Press International

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/01/26/Pastors_say_China_easing_up_on_churches/UPI-98991232990027/

Protestant pastors in China say they are negotiating a reconciliation with the government that would allow "house churches" to operate openly.

Recent meetings between government officials and leaders of banned underground Protestant house...

Author: Marti Maguire

Source: The News...

Author: Ayegba Israel Ebije

Source: AllAfrica.com

http://allafrica.com/stories/200901230406.html

The Nigeria Inter Religious Council (NIREC) has concluded plans to train 250 youths on how to overcome the issue of reli-gious crisis in Nigeria that has led to the loss of so many lives in Nigeria.

The national coordinator, Pro-fessor Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed this in Minna yesterday in an address he delivered at the first Nigerian youths summit on...

Author: Al Webb

Source: Religion News Service

http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=17392

Rejecting protests by Christian groups, Britain's advertising watchdog agency has given the go-ahead to a campaign to plaster atheist signs on hundreds of buses and other vehicles across the country.

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the campaign, which uses the slogan "There's probably no God," was unlikely to mislead or "cause...

Author: Ibon Villelabeitia

Source: Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE50L08720090122

In a remote village near the Turkish-Syrian border, a land dispute with neighboring villages is threatening the future of one of the world's oldest functioning Christian monasteries.

Critics say the dispute, which has become a rallying cry for Christian church groups across Europe, is a new chapter in the long history of...

Author: Michael Paulson

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2009/01/21/controversial_evangelist_warren_asks_for_civility_humility/

His arms outstretched and his head bowed in prayer, the Rev. Rick Warren opened the inauguration of President Barack H. Obama yesterday with an explicitly Christian prayer calling for "a more just, a more healthy,...

Author: Suzanne Sataline

Source: The Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123249891036400529.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

The Rev. Rick Warren, by invoking the name of Jesus as he's known in several faiths, heralded the historic presidency Tuesday of an African-American man elected by Americans of multiple races, ethnicities and cultures.

Mr. Warren, one of the country's most prominent evangelical ministers...

Author: Rachel Zoll

Source: The Associated Press

Author: Diana L. Eck

Source: Politico

http://www.politico.com/arena/perm/Diana_Eck_BF022A9C-D543-4407-B0DA-DA3E3103BB82.html

As a latecomer to this discussion, here is a word about Rick Warren's address to the annual meeting of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Long Beach on Saturday, December 20. When MPAC announced that Warren would speak at its annual conference, I found it even more astonishing than Obama's...

Author: Duke Helfand

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-me-beliefs19-2009jan19,0,5650037.story

Like so many presidents before him, Barack Obama has invited a revered guest to his inauguration: God.

Although the Constitution forbids the government from establishing religion, faith is once again figuring prominently into the nation's grandest political pageant, just as it...

Author: Rik Myslewski

Source: The Register

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/19/vatican_youtube/

The Vatican this Friday will announce details of a partnership with Google to launch the Holy See's own YouTube channel.

According to The Telegraph, the channel will offer "video footage and audio of addresses by Pope Benedict XVI," the current occupant of the Papal Apartments in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.

This won't be...