Religion News: Obama tackles radical Muslim rumors
Obama the Christian
Barack Obama is stepping up his effort to correct the misconception that he's a Muslim.
"I've been to the same church - the same Christian church - for almost 20 years," Obama said during a rally in South Carolina. "I was sworn in with my hand on the family Bible. Whenever I'm in the United States Senate, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. So if you get some silly e-mail ... send it back to whoever sent it and tell them this is all crazy. Educate."
Obama is referring to a debunked chain e-mail circulating widely on the Internet that suggests he is hiding his Islamic roots and may be a terrorist in disguise.
His campaign has been pushing back against the false rumors all year. His aides decried an incorrect news report that Obama was educated in a Muslim madrassa and a section of his Web site is devoted to correct that and other false rumors circulating on the Internet.
Gay Jesus
A controversial play that depicts Jesus being seduced by Judas and conducting a gay marriage for two apostles has been condemned by church leaders ahead of its opening in Sydney.
The Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth, expressed his outrage at the plot of "Corpus Christi," calling the play "historical nonsense."
Set to open Feb. 7 as part of Sydney's annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival, "Corpus Christi" depicts Jesus and his followers as gay, and ends with Jesus being crucified. Despite critical acclaim, the play provoked protests and bomb threats when it was performed in the United States. - Reuters
Survey Says
Among religious groups, white evangelical Protestants are most opposed to abortion. Less than a third (31 percent) believe that it should be legal, while two-thirds believe it should be illegal in most (39 percent) or all (26 percent) cases. Majorities in most other major religious groups support legalized abortion, including white Catholics (51 percent), white mainline Protestants (63 percent), black Protestants (60 percent) and the unaffiliated (68 percent). - Pew Forum
Quote of Note
"We're serious about taking the Bible to the masses in a way the public can understand and engage. We've always said we publish for every age and every stage, and we do that unapologetically."
Paul Caminiti, a vice president of Bible publisher Zondervan. The company stokes demand by making sure God's word looks hip, sounds relevant and is advertised all over. Zondervan has produced limited-edition, one-season-only scripture including a thin checkbook-shaped Bible with jazzy blue and silver stripes for $30, and a square Bible in meadow green for $35, a pocket-size edition in soft browns and oranges for $20. -- San Francisco Chronicle
Get to Know
Joseph Smith Jr. (1805 - 1844) founded the Latter Day Saint movement, also known as Mormonism. Smith's followers declared him to be the first and true latter-day prophet, whose mission was to restore the original Christian church. This restoration included the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the publication of the Book of Mormon. Adherents to denominations originating from Joseph Smith's teachings number between 13 million and 14 million.
Good Book?
"My Utmost for His Highest," written by Oswald Chambers, is a compilation of Chambers' Christian preachings. Published in England in 1927, and in the U.S. in 1935, the book is a devotional, broken down in 365 sections for each day of the year, meant to be read daily for inspiration. - amazon.com
The Word
Acolyte: From a Greek word for "follower." A layperson who performs minor duties during a religious service. -- Religioustolerance.org
Religion Around the World
Religious makeup of New Zealand
Anglican 14.9 percent
Roman Catholic 12.4 percent
Presbyterian 10.9 percent
Methodist 2.9 percent
Pentecostal 1.7 percent
Baptist 1.3 percent
Other Christian 9.4 percent
Other 3.3 percent
Unspecified 17.2 percent
None 26 percent
- CIA Factbook
GateHouse News Service