New post: Friday tidbits
It never gets boring covering the religion beat.
Here’s a round-up of the latest news and information, just a few thought-provoking tidbits I thought to share:
MSN.com: Jesus in Wal-Mart receipt
USA Today’s Faith & Reason blog: “Alert, Dudes: ‘The Big Lebowski’ Gets a Bible” 
Washington Post’s On Faith blog: “Rick Perry’s Pastor Problem?”
Associated Baptist Press: “Gaddy Chastises TV station for belitting Mormonism”
Albert Mohler’s (Southern Baptist seminary leader) blog: “Reparative Theraphy, Homosexuality and the Gospel of Jesus Christ”
NOTE: It’s important to note that I am not personally endorsing any of the ideas and thoughts expressed in these stories and commentary. I am merely passing them on because the topics are interesting.
Have a good Friday and a good weekend.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Coach with Bible as playbook
USA Today’s religion blog had an interesting posting today about former Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel.
The blog described Tressel (pictured in a March AP photo) as a “Bible is my playbook” coach. 
It’s an interesting commentary about ethics, faith and sports.
Since I know I’m not the only sports fan in these here parts, I thought I’d share the USA Today link with you so you can read the commentary for yourselves.
USA Today’s Faith & Reason Blog: “Is Tressel’s OSU exit a scandal for evangelism via athletics as well?.”
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Rose Day 2011 activities curtailed
Rose Day 2011, the popular sanctity-of-life event held at the state Capitol, has been canceled for Wednesday (Feb. 9). 
A spokeswoman with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, said the event can not be held because the state Capitol building will not be open on Wednesday due to a predicted snowstorm.
Rose Day draws hundreds of the faithful to the state Capitol each year as they seek to discuss sanctity-of-life issues and legislation with their state legislators. They present red roses, which symbolize the sanctity of the unborn, to their legislators.
This year’s featured speaker was to be Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director whose new book “Unplanned” was just released.
No word yet if Rose Day activities will be scheduled for a later date.
(File Photo by Jaconna Aguirre, The Oklahoman: Brenda Arambula with St. James Catholic School prepares to deliver roses to legislators during the 2008 Rose Day activities at the state Capitol. )
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Cartoons, religion and TV
Several of my worlds collided last night when I finally sat down to watch one of my favorite television shows.
“The Good Wife,” starring Julianna Margulies (pictured) and Chris Noth, featured an episode about a newspaper being sued for negligence because it ran a cartoon image of the Prophet Mohammad. One of the newspapers editors was killed when someone threw a bomb in the newspaper building. A radical Islamic terrorist group claimed responsibility for the fatal bombing.
Now, the new episode aired on Tuesday, but I didn’t get to see it until Thursday because of my busy schedule. I sat there slack-jawed because I couldn’t believe that my effort to escape into a TV show had been tharted. It just goes to show that religion permeates every part of our society these days.
I was especially intrigued about the ethical questions that surrounded the whole issue of the cartoon. Should a newspaper or any media entity be held liable if it prints a cartoon of a religious figure and the cartoon incites violence?
Then, another question arose: Is it ethical for a newspaper or media outlet to print or air something solely for the shock value (and the resulting spike in circulation), even knowing that it might stir violence or put someone in serious jeapardy? Is there a sensitivity to religion and religious figures that should come in to play when these questions are being debated?
Some news folks would argue that those kinds of questions come up everyday and that there are many stories that wield that potential power and influence.
What is different in the case of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad is the threat of violence from radical Islamic extremists.
A prime example of this is what happened in mid-April when the Comedy Central TV show “South Park” aired an episode featuring the Prophet Mohammad.
The animated show showed the religious figure hidden in a bear suit, so his actual image wasn’t depicted per se. The show did, however, portray Jesus and Buddha in such a way that many Christians and Buddhists were probably offended by.
Should the Prophet Mohammad have received similar treatment? Should the Islamic religious figure have been treated with kid gloves as Comedy Central obviously chose to do? In a world where fear of terrorists is very real (with good reason), were the Comedy Central leaders doing the right thing by pushing their censorship button?
All these provocative questions came to mind as I watched ”The Good Wife,” trying to relax a bit.
What do you think?
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
P.S. If you are interested, here’s more on the “South Park” episode: South Park censorship. And here’s some more: Forbes.com. Also: Christian Science Monitor.
Speaking out on abortion doctor’s murder
Numerous leaders of faith groups and anti-abortion organizations have been speaking out on the murder of Dr. George Tiller, who was shot dead at his church on Sunday.
Probably the most extreme comment I’ve read thus far is the one reportedly made by the Rev. Wiley Drake, a Southern Baptist pastor in Buena Park, Calif.
“I’m glad George Tiller is dead,” Drake was quoted in an Associated Baptist Press story today.
According to the story, Drake, a former Southern Baptist Convention second vice president, made the comments Monday on his Crusade Radio broadcast.
“There may be a lot who would say, ‘Oh that is mean. You shouldn’t be that way,” Drake said. “Well, no, it’s an answer to prayer.”
Tiller, who attended Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kan., was well-known as an abortion provider, particularly of partial-birth abortions.
Among the leaders of faith groups and anti-abortion organizations around the country sharing their comments is an Oklahoma Roman Catholic leader, the Most Rev. Edward Slattery, bishop of the Tulsa Diocese. Slattery, like many of the leaders, condemned Tiller’s slaying.
“Dr. Tiller was one of three doctors in America who was willing to perform late-term abortions. The news of his murder saddens all the members of the pro-life movement in America since it is just such violence that we deplore,” Slattery said.
“For this reason, I want to be among the many in the pro-life movement to publicly condemn this violent action against life,” he wrote in a prepared statement.
“Such violence does nothing to further the cause of life. Rather, it sullies our effort and allows others to dismiss us as terrorists.”
Here are a few other comments from leaders across the country:
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberties Commission: “Murdering someone is a grotesque and bizarre way to emphasize one’s commitment to the sanctity of human life. People who truly believe in the sanctity of human life believe in the sanctity of the lives of abortion providers as well as the unborn babies who are aborted. … Clearly the killing of abortion profiders is unbiblical, unchristian and un-American. Such callous disregard for human beings brutalizes everyone.”
Melinda Delahoyde, president of Care Net, which runs a network of more than 1,100 pregnancy centers providing help and support to those facing unplanned pregnancies: “Care Net strongly condemns the brutal act of violence that ended the life of Dr. George Tiller on Sunday. It is never consistent with the pro-life ethic to take the life of another human being made in the image of God.”
Rick Scarborough, president of Vision America, part of the “Values Voter” movement: Our hearts go out to his family and friends. May they find comfort in their hour of grief. We condemn this heinous crime in the strongest possible terms and hope the person responsible for Dr. Tiller’s death is brought to justice speedily.”
Andrea Lafferty, executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition: “The pro-life movement is non-violent and does not encouage vigilante justice against abortionists. We seek to bring an end to abortion through peaceful and legal means. As evil as Tiller was in killing late-term babies for profit, he did not deserve to be executived by a vigilante.”
The Rev. Galen Guengerich, board chairman of the Interfaith Alliance, a group which celebrates religious freedom by championing individual rights: “The abortion issue evokes deep passion from people on all sides, but resorting to murder should never be an option. The fact that it happened at a church is all the more distressing.”
The Rev. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life: “I am saddened to hear of the killing of George Tiller this morning. … Whatever the motives, we at Priests for Life continue to insist on a culture in which violence is never seen as the solution to any problem. Every life has to be protected, without regard to their age or views or actions.”
Shaun Kenney, executive director of the American Life League: “Leaders within the pro-life movement often discuss justice in connection with our mission to end the tragedy of abortion. Today, Dr. George Tiller’s life ended in an act defying those principles.”
(AP PHOTO above: Kip Bloss, of Wichita, Kan., prays outside Women’s Health Care Services in Wichita, Kan., today. Bloss, an anti-abortion demonstrator, was making his regular weekly appearance at the clinic which was owned by Dr. George Tiller who was gunned down during church services Sunday. )
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Notre Dame students plan counter assembly
Some members of Notre Dame University’s senior class have decided not to attend their own graduation, opting instead to hold the Class of 2009 Vigil for Life on the college campus.
Today, Priests for Life, a national pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia, issued a news release that said the Vigil for Life will feature Priests for Life director the Rev. Frank Pavone (pictured at right) as guest speaker. The vigil is set for Sunday, the day of the university’s commencement.
This is related to the controversy surrounding Pres. Barack Obama’s scheduled plans to deliver the commencement address at Notre Dame, a Catholic university in South Bend, Ind. Many Roman Catholics, particularly bishops, have expressed outrage that Obama, who is pro-choice, was asked to deliver the graduation speech.
The bishops, including the archbishop of the archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the bishop of Tulsa, said the selection of Obama flies in the face of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s stance on abortion and embryonic stem cell research.
In his statement released today, Pavone said he has joined with the students groups that comprise the ND Response in calling all the faithful to pray a million rosaries in reparation for the “scandal” that has arisen with Notre Dame’s decision to honor Obama.
In response to his invitation to speak at Sunday’s vigil, Pavone said “In standing with these students, I am standing with the true spirit of Notre Dame: a pro-life spirit, in harmony with human reason and Catholic faith. The scandal that has been generated does not represent what Notre Dame is all about; it represents a radical betrayal of what Notre Dame is all about.”
Pavone also urged graduating seniors to take control of the situation by showing up at the vigil instead of their commencement.
“The seniors who do this are manifesting the real meaning of commencement: they are carrying out the witness to truth and service that their hard-earned degrees have prepared them to give in the world.”
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Call for fasting causes Passover concern
An Army chaplain is being criticized for calling a day of prayer and fasting today, the first day of Passover.
The Religion News Service reports that Maj. Gen. Douglas Carver, a Southern Baptist and Army Chief of Chaplains, issued his call for prayer and fasting in response to the rising suicide rates among soldiers.
Last year, the RNS reported, the Army reported the highest suicide rate since record-keeping began in 1980.
“I therefore call the Chaplaincy to a Day of Prayer and Fasting, in keeping with your religious traditions, to be observed on 8 April 2009 that the united cry of our Corps will be heard and answered regarding the protection, preservation, and peace for our Soldiers and Families,” Carver said in his proclamation, which was issued March 2.
The RNS reported that Carver told Baptist Press, the Southern Baptist Convention’s official news agency, that “April 8 is a Wednesday and prayer meeting night for Southern Baptists, so we really encourage not only Baptists but all local churches to pray for the military.”
The Religion News Service pointed out that Carver, as chief of chaplains, has oversight of Army chaplains of all faiths, including Jewish rabbis.
The news service said dozens of Jewish soldiers and chaplains have filed complaints with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a watchdog group that advocates religious neutrality in the military. Mikey Weinstein, president of the group, told the RNS that there has been a “tsunami” of complaints against the Day of Prayer, and believes the conflict with Passover is inexcusable.
“The fact that this would fall on this same day is not just wrong or bad, but unforgivable, and Carver should be severely disciplined,” Weinstein said.
Weinstein’s group is currently suing the Department of Defense for a “pernicious and pervasive pattern and practice of unconstitutional rape of the precious religious freedoms” of those in the military, and the group believes the Day of Prayer is just the latest example, the RNS reported.
The Jewish holiday of Passover begins at sundown. It commemorates the Israelites exodus from Egypt. A seder, a ceremonial meal traditionally held during Passover, is typically held on the first and second nights of the holiday.
(PHOTO above taken by Jaconna Aguirre, The Oklahoman)
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Another Madoff fraud victim
I’ve been fortunate to have met many famous people in my journalism career and particularly in my role as religion editor.
Evangelist Billy Graham comes to mind as I write this posting.
I did not personally meet Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel when he spoke at Oklahoma City University several years ago during activities related to the 10th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. However, as part of my job, I attended Wiesel’s presentation and was moved by his speech.
Wiesel, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and the author of the acclaimed book “Night,” is in the news this week because he and his wife were apparently victims of Bernie Madoff’s alleged fraudulent investment scheme that has made headlines in recent months.
CNN recently reported that Wiesel said he invested $15.2 million from his charitable foundation with Madoff. For people interested in learning what Wiesel had to say about Madoff’s alleged scheme and its impact on Wiesel’s charitable endeavors, see CNN’s report on the issue: Elie Wiesel speaks out about Madoff.
(PHOTO AT RIGHT: Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner.)
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
New faith-based council head speaks
News has circulated that President Barack Obama has chosen Joshua DuBois to lead the President’s Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
According to a story by The Associated Press, DuBois is a political strategist who was religious affairs director in the Obama campaign.
Those who wish to learn more about DuBois, can check out the Religion & Ethics Newsweekly “One Nation” Religion and politics blog which features a report by managing editor Kim Lawton about DuBois selection, reaction to his selection and challenges his council will face.
To see the report, click here: Joshua Dubois.
On TV: What the candidates believe
Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, the PBS news magazine, will feature a report called “2008 Campaign: Privacy and Media Ethics” at 2:30 p.m. Sunday on OETA Channel 13 (Cox Channel 14).
Bob Abernethy will moderate a discussion on the ethics of covering a candidate’s personal and religious life featuring PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler, Kelly McBride with the Poynter Institute and Tom Rosenstiel from the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
On the same program, Kim Lawton will take a look at the religious beliefs of John McCain, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
