The online editorial staff comprises Betsy Shirley, Jenna Barnett, Josiah R. Daniels, Mitchell Atencio, Heather Brady, Kierra Bennning, and Zachary Lee.
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Verse of the Day: Return of the Unclean Spirit
"When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting-place, but not finding any, it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'" - Luke 11:24
Court: Pharmacists Can’t Be Forced to Dispense Morning-after Pill
A federal court has struck down a Washington state rule that requires pharmacists to dispense the morning-after pill even if it violates their religious beliefs.
Religious liberty advocates cheered the decision. They have decried the 2007 state regulation as a violation of pharmacists' First Amendment rights, which guarantee freedom of religion.
Call to "Tone Down Religious Rhetoric"
In an op-ed published today in the Charlotte Observer, Mike Daisley calls for Christians to "tone down the religious rhetoric."
Of course, the influence of religious belief on political discourse is nothing new. In the Bill of Rights, the very first phrase of the First Amendment contemplates the delicate balance of church and state. It has been challenging us ever since.
The issue of school prayer is but one example. Never mind that the Supreme Court on numerous occasions has ruled that only government-coerced prayer or state-sponsored prayer is unconstitutional. This fact has failed to dissuade numerous conservative groups from raising millions by suggesting that little Johnny could be taken away in handcuffs if the godless secularists who "outlawed prayer in schools" aren't stopped.
Afternoon News Bytes: Feb. 24, 2012
More U.S. Kids Living In High-Poverty Areas: Study; Debunking Poverty Myths And Racial Stereotypes; How Does A Conservative Evangelical Become A Corporate Tool Supporting A System That Coerces Apple's Suppliers' Workers To Have Abortions? (OPINION); Gingrich Joins With Arizona Faith Leaders To Court Latinos; Why Are Young People Leaving Evangelical Christianity?
Prayer of the Day: Guidance
Lord, you are my God, my refuge and strength. Thank you for guiding me through this week, for being with me always. Amen.
Voice of the Day: C.S Lewis
"If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort, you will get neither comfort nor truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair." - C.S Lewis
Verse of the Day: Eating With the Poor
"[Jesus] said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’" - Luke 14:12-14
Voice of the Day: Kahlil Gibran
"Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy." - Kahlil Gibran
Prayer of the Day: Humility
God, grant me humility, that I might have wisdom and that I might be able to seek you more and more. Amen.
Verse of the Day: Heed Admonition, Gain Understanding
"Those who ignore instruction despise themselves,but those who heed admonition gain understanding. The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility goes before honor." - Proverbs 15:32-33
Afternoon News Bytes: Feb. 22, 2012
Religion And Politics Don't Mix, Major Religious Groups Tell Presidential Candidates; 25 Percent Of Super PAC Money Coming From Just 5 Rich Donors; POLL: Men, Evangelicals Boost Santorum; Southern Baptist Leaders OK 'Great Commission'; Obama Budget: Grow Prisons and Keep Gitmo; The Failure Of Austerity Politics (OPINION); Atheist Alain de Botton Insists Society Needs Guidance From Religion; Access To Good, Healthy Food Should Be A Basic Human Right; Protesters To GOP Candidates: Don't DREAM Halfway.
Voice of the Day: Emily Vizzo
"Carefully I crafted a loop with the string and tossed it into the river. / I never caught a fish with buttercups or a knotted string. / But I saw them swimming by in fleets of flashing silver / And for me, that was enough." - Emily Vizzo
Prayer of the Day: Ash Wednesday
O Lord, protect us in our struggle against evil. As we begin the Lenten journey, make this season holy by our self-denial. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever. Amen. adapted from International Committee on English in the Liturgy (ICEL)
Verse of the Day: 'Blot Out All My Iniquities'
"You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities." - Psalm 51:6-9
Afternoon News Bytes: Feb. 21, 2012
The Problem With Rick Santorum’s Holy War; Rick Santorum: 'If Government Is Going To Get Smaller, Then People Have To Get Bigger'; G.O.P. Campaigns Grow More Dependent On ‘Super PAC’ Aid; The Real Defense Budget; EU To Vote On Oil Sands Pollution; Christians Should Not Be Political Pacifists, Says Megachurch Pastor; Latino Mormons Speaking Out Against Romney Over Immigration Issue; Training Afghani Imams To End Violence Against Women (OPINION); Franklin Graham: Obama May Secretly Be A Muslim, Santorum And Gingrich Are Definitely Christian.
TRANSCRIPT: Obama's 2006 Sojourners/Call to Renewal Address on Faith and Politics
Barack Obama speaks at Sojourners/Call to Renewal's 2006 conference in DC on 6/26/06. By Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Shutterstock.
Editor's Note: Following here below is the text of Barack Obama's keynote address at the Sojourners/Call to Renewal "Building a Covenant for a New America" conference in Washington, D.C., as he delivered it on June 26, 2006.
Voice of the Day: Gayle Brandeis
"Come back to the heartbeat, the pulse, the rhythm we all walk to, regardless of nation or color. Come back to the breath – inhale, take the world deep into your lungs; exhale, give yourself back fully. This is what the body says: release the peace that lives within your skin." - Gayle Brandeis from, The Body Politic of Peace
Prayer of the Day: Honduran Families
God, we pray today for the families of those who died in the prison fire last week in Honduras. Comfort all in their time of mourning and distress. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.
Verse of the Day: Seeds of Purpose
"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it." - Isaiah 55:10-11
Afternoon News Bytes: Feb. 20, 2012
The Surprising Faith Of 8 American Presidents (OPINION); Santorum Questions Obama's 'World View,' Not Faith; Educating Two Generations (OPINION); The Inside Story On Climate Scientists Under Siege; Obama's 'Radical' Option For America's Nuclear Future; Pain Without GainFacing Death, A Top Pastor Rethinks What It Means To Be Christian; The End Of Church (OPINION).