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News for: July 14, 2002
A View from the Experts: Patriotism and religion are separate, group says
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, as its name would imply, is pleased about the court ruling that inclusion of God in the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional...Membership runs the gamut from Christians, Jews and Pagans to atheists or nonbelievers.
CALIFORNIA
Legal row over teaching of Islam
BBC News
"A California school district has denounced moves by a Christian law firm to sue it for allegedly violating the US constitution by teaching the Islamic religion to students. The lawsuit has been filed in a federal court in San Francisco by the Thomas More Centre for Law and Justice, based in Michigan."
Mom: Girl Has No Problem With Pledge
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO -- The 8-year-old girl whose father successfully sued to have the Pledge of Allegiance declared unconstitutional has no problem with reciting the pledge at school, her mother said Thursday.
ILLINOIS
All he's saying is . . .
The Chicago Sun-Times
The Maharishi is tired of waiting for secular world leaders to bring about peace and has decided to take matters into his own hands, the 84-year-old father of Transcendental Meditation and guru to the Beatles announced Wednesday.
MASSACHUSETTS
New Moon is rising on Rt. 31
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
PRINCETON -- At the corner of Manning Street and Route 31 in Holden, there is a coincidence of equidistance. Exactly three miles to the south on Route 31 is a church. At the same distance to the north, just past the Princeton line, there is something that many would consider exactly the opposite -- the New Moon, a Wicca, pagan and New Age store.
MICHIGAN
Catholic student sues school district
Says officials violated rights by muzzling criticism of homosexuality
WorldNetDaily.com
A Michigan-based Christian law center has filed suit in U.S. district court against the Ann Arbor Public School District on behalf of a Catholic student who claims she was prevented by school officials from expressing criticism of homosexual curricula.
Fire at LDS Church Suspected to Be Arson
The Associated Press
EAST LANSING -- Investigators believe a fire that destroyed a Mormon church was set deliberately. The church was leveled in the June 30 blaze. Officials with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints say the building and its contents were worth more than $5 million. The church didn't have a fire alarm, according to firefighters.
MISSOURI
Religion scholars debate value of Gospels not included in Bible
The Associated Press
What if we had 34 Gospels telling us about Jesus instead of only that famous quartet of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? Well, there were 34, says Charles Hedrick of Southwest Missouri State University, writing in Bible Review magazine. Others could provide even longer lists.
PENNSYLVANIA
Psychic couldn't foresee trouble
Tribune-Review
The future appears cloudy for a Latrobe-area psychic charged with fortunetelling for allegedly reading a police officer's palm.
TEXAS
New Muslim school will require children to memorize whole text
The Dallas Morning News
A new elementary school will add a Q to the traditional three Rs. Students will be expected to memorize the Quran - in addition to learning the basic skills offered at secular schools.
WASHINGTON
Suspicious blaze destroys Jehovah's Witnesses church
The News Tribune
TUMWATER -- A suspicious fire destroyed the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Tumwater, a fire department spokesman said Friday. No was injured in the blaze Thursday night that caused an estimated $250,000 damage, said Battalion Chief John Carpenter of the Tumwater Fire Department.
CANADA
Second family probed for spanking
Church of God followers told CBC they used 'objects'
National Post
"The children's aid society of St. Thomas, Ont., has descended upon another fundamentalist Christian family from the nearby town of Aylmer. The parents from this family, who appeared on a recent CBC-TV show to discuss the use of "objects" in disciplining their five children, were summoned to a meeting last night at the children's aid headquarters."
Dying teen upset with ruling
Girl who fought blood transfusions based on religious grounds loses Canada's top court bid
The Canadian Press
CALGARY -- A dying teenager who fought blood transfusions on religious grounds was disheartened yesterday after losing her bid for Canada's top court to consider the medical rights of mature minors.
IRELAND
More to Senegal than slaughtering chickens, says Cisse
The Irish Examiner
Birmingham City's new signing Aliou Cisse has rubbished claims that voodoo was responsible for Senegal's success in the World Cup finals.
KENYA
Boy Shot As Police Fight Mungiki Members
The East African Standard
NAIROBI -- A 13-year-old boy sustained serious injuries when he was struck by a stray bullet fired by police officers who were fighting Mungiki sect followers at the Makongeni area of Thika District on Friday.
NIGERIA
Osun College of Tech Expels 289 Students
This Day
LAGOS -- No fewer than 289 students of the Osun State College of Technology, Esa Oke, have been expelled for various offences ranging from cultism, to presentation of fake results for admission.
FEATURE
Much of modern world indebted to Swedenborg
The Dallas Morning News
"As we question and weigh the teachings of religion, each of us embraces the old or the new, as our heart leads us. Yet as we seek for that often elusive thing called meaning, we mustn't forget that we stand on the shoulders of giants."
