[ad_1] (RNS) — The chief ethicist for the nation’s largest Protestant denomination wants the federal government to clamp down on in-vitro fertilization, saying it causes harm to children and their mothers. Many infertile couples who undergo IVF treatment are unaware of the moral danger it poses, Brent Leatherwood, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics […]

[ad_1] (RNS) — This week, the Louisiana Legislature passed a bill requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in every public and charter school classroom in the state. Once signed, as expected, by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, the statute will, of course, be challenged in court. We’ve been here before.  Forty-four years ago, the Supreme […]

[ad_1] BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana could soon become the first state to require that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom — in another expansion of religion into day-to-day life by a Republican-dominated legislature. The legislation received final approval from the state’s GOP-dominated Legislature earlier this week and is headed […]

[ad_1] (RNS) — A new film by Raja Choudhury, titled “America’s First Guru,” will be released to worldwide audiences on almost 200 PBS stations Friday (May 31). The documentary-style film tells the story of Swami Vivekananda, the young monk who brought Vedanta Hinduism to the Western world. “When I first came to the U.S. in […]

[ad_1] (The Conversation) — An important piece of early Christian history, the Crosby-Schøyen Codex, is up for auction at Christie’s in London. This codex is a mid-fourth century book from Egypt containing a combination of biblical and other early Christian texts. The Crosby-Schøyen Codex was discovered alongside more than 20 other codices near Dishna, Egypt, […]

[ad_1] (RNS) — For the past almost 40 years, I had not thought about him; nor had I even heard his name. I had almost forgotten about him; I suspect I was not alone. But then, there it was in The New York Times: “Ivan F. Boesky, rogue trader in 1980s Wall Street scandal, dies […]

[ad_1] JUBA, South Sudan (RNS) — The recent mysterious disappearance of the Rev. Luke Yugue and his driver, Michael Gbeko, in South Sudan has left many Christians in the central African country worried about their safety and afraid to carry out ministry work across the troubled nation. The two are believed to have been kidnapped […]

[ad_1] (RNS) — In an interview with CBS News that lasted more than an hour, Pope Francis came across as an intelligent, friendly and compassionate pastor still clearly capable of leading the Catholic Church. The interview was broadcast in two parts, with some of the anchor Norah O’Donnell’s interview airing Sunday evening (May 19) on […]

[ad_1] (RNS) — A former Southern Baptist seminary professor and interim provost has been indicted on a charge of obstructing justice in a sexual misconduct case, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday (May 21).  Matt Queen, who was previously an administrator and professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, allegedly gave the FBI falsified notes during […]

[ad_1] CAIRO (AP) — Human rights experts working for the United Nations on Monday urged Yemen’s Houthi rebels to release five people from the country’s Baha’i religious minority who have been in detention for a year. The five are among 17 Baha’i followers detained last May when the Houthis raided a Baha’i gathering in the […]