Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: French anti-Semitism, Russia and Islam, and the US Episcopal Church installs its first black presiding bishop.
AROUND THE WORLD
Vatican Arrests 2 in Connection With Leaked Documents
by Elisabetta Povoledo
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/world/europe/vatican-arrests-leaked-documents.html?ref=todayspaper
The Vatican announced Monday that two members of a commission set up by Pope Francis to study financial operations at the Holy See had been arrested on suspicion of leaking confidential documents to journalists.
On Nazis and Palestinians, Netanyahu is Wrong for the Right Reasons
by Richard Cohen
New York Times op-ed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/on-nazis-and-palestinians-netanyahu-is-wrong-for-the-right-reasons/2015/11/02/3c64e962-818c-11e5-a7ca-6ab6ec20f839_story.html
Behind his recent and widely condemned statement that it was a Palestinian who gave Hitler the idea for the Holocaust lurks an emotional truth. Netanyahu knew he was wrong. He felt, though, that he was right.
Interfaith Peace Building Could Be Key in Ending Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
by Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-chuck-currie/interfaith-peace-building_b_8439088.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
The co-directors of The Abraham Fund traveled this past week from Jerusalem to Pacific University in Oregon to present on their efforts at peace building between Jews and Arabs in Israel. The Abraham Fund's efforts, led by Jews and Muslims working side-by-side, represent a ray of hope in a region that too often lacks hope.
To Tackle Jihadis, French Activist Says, Ditch Reason and Religion
Reuters FaithWorld
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/11/03/to-tackle-jihadis-french-activist-says-ditch-reason-and-religion/
Anthropologist Dounia Bouzar used to try religious arguments to turn young people away from militant Islam – and failed. So the 51-year-old grandmother developed her own techniques along the lines of Alcoholics Anonymous. Her main rule: Don’t try to reason with people.
How to Be a Jew in France: Léon Blum and Anti-Semitism
by Lisa Moses Leff
Foreign Affairs
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/how-be-jew-france
For the past 15 years, anti-Semitism has seemed to be on the rise in France. Long-standing economic and social problems fan the flames of interethnic tension in the modest communities where, since the 1960s, Jewish and Muslim immigrants used to live together in peace.
Putin’s Muslim Nightmare
by Marvin Kalb
Foreign Policy
https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/02/putins-muslim-nightmare-syria-assad-iran/
The Russian president’s intervention in Syria is driven by fear of Islamic extremism among his country’s own Muslim minority. But rather than squelching the threat, it’s poised to make it worse.
Myanmar’s Disenfranchised Rohingya
by U Shwe Maung
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/opinion/myanmar-election-disenfranchised-rohingya.html?ref=world
A central issue in the upcoming election has been the deliberate exclusion of Myanmar’s Muslim minority, including my people, the Rohingya. The Rohingya have suffered under years of repressive military rule. Today the pseudo-democratic government continues to treat the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, even though they have been in Myanmar for centuries.
DOMESTIC
How Should Conservative Christians Handle a Rapidly Changing Culture?
By Michael Gerson
Washington Post op-ed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-should-conservative-christians-handle-a-rapidly-changing-culture/2015/11/02/8c03f8d4-818f-11e5-a7ca-6ab6ec20f839_story.html
Suffice it to say that conservative Christians have been lately pondering their relationship to American culture. When the court rejected traditional sexual ethics as a permissible basis for laws defining marriage, many conservative believers felt a cultural milestone had been reached.
In Religious Arbitration, Scripture Is the Rule of Law
by Michael Corkery and Jessica Silver-Greenberg
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/business/dealbook/in-religious-arbitration-scripture-is-the-rule-of-law.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0
For generations, religious tribunals have been used in the United States to settle family disputes and spiritual debates. But through arbitration, religion is being used to sort out secular problems like claims of financial fraud and wrongful death.
U.S. Episcopal Church Installs Its First Black Presiding Bishop
Reuters FaithWorld
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/11/02/u-s-episcopal-church-installs-its-first-black-presiding-bishop/
Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina was inducted on Sunday as the first black leader of the U.S. Episcopal Church during a ceremony in the nation’s capital where he called for economic and racial unity.
Donald Trump’s Biggest Vulnerability Is the Bible
by Michael Daly
Daily Beast
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/30/donald-trump-s-biggest-vulnerability-is-the-bible.html
The Donald’s great hustle took him to the top of the GOP presidential field. But a closer look at his waffling on Bible passages and non-attendance at church isn’t going to please the base.
Vatican Arrests 2 in Connection With Leaked Documents
by Elisabetta Povoledo
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/world/europe/vatican-arrests-leaked-documents.html?ref=todayspaper
The Vatican announced Monday that two members of a commission set up by Pope Francis to study financial operations at the Holy See had been arrested on suspicion of leaking confidential documents to journalists.
On Nazis and Palestinians, Netanyahu is Wrong for the Right Reasons
by Richard Cohen
New York Times op-ed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/on-nazis-and-palestinians-netanyahu-is-wrong-for-the-right-reasons/2015/11/02/3c64e962-818c-11e5-a7ca-6ab6ec20f839_story.html
Behind his recent and widely condemned statement that it was a Palestinian who gave Hitler the idea for the Holocaust lurks an emotional truth. Netanyahu knew he was wrong. He felt, though, that he was right.
Interfaith Peace Building Could Be Key in Ending Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
by Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-chuck-currie/interfaith-peace-building_b_8439088.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
The co-directors of The Abraham Fund traveled this past week from Jerusalem to Pacific University in Oregon to present on their efforts at peace building between Jews and Arabs in Israel. The Abraham Fund's efforts, led by Jews and Muslims working side-by-side, represent a ray of hope in a region that too often lacks hope.
To Tackle Jihadis, French Activist Says, Ditch Reason and Religion
Reuters FaithWorld
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/11/03/to-tackle-jihadis-french-activist-says-ditch-reason-and-religion/
Anthropologist Dounia Bouzar used to try religious arguments to turn young people away from militant Islam – and failed. So the 51-year-old grandmother developed her own techniques along the lines of Alcoholics Anonymous. Her main rule: Don’t try to reason with people.
How to Be a Jew in France: Léon Blum and Anti-Semitism
by Lisa Moses Leff
Foreign Affairs
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/how-be-jew-france
For the past 15 years, anti-Semitism has seemed to be on the rise in France. Long-standing economic and social problems fan the flames of interethnic tension in the modest communities where, since the 1960s, Jewish and Muslim immigrants used to live together in peace.
Putin’s Muslim Nightmare
by Marvin Kalb
Foreign Policy
https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/02/putins-muslim-nightmare-syria-assad-iran/
The Russian president’s intervention in Syria is driven by fear of Islamic extremism among his country’s own Muslim minority. But rather than squelching the threat, it’s poised to make it worse.
Myanmar’s Disenfranchised Rohingya
by U Shwe Maung
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/opinion/myanmar-election-disenfranchised-rohingya.html?ref=world
A central issue in the upcoming election has been the deliberate exclusion of Myanmar’s Muslim minority, including my people, the Rohingya. The Rohingya have suffered under years of repressive military rule. Today the pseudo-democratic government continues to treat the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, even though they have been in Myanmar for centuries.
DOMESTIC
How Should Conservative Christians Handle a Rapidly Changing Culture?
By Michael Gerson
Washington Post op-ed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-should-conservative-christians-handle-a-rapidly-changing-culture/2015/11/02/8c03f8d4-818f-11e5-a7ca-6ab6ec20f839_story.html
Suffice it to say that conservative Christians have been lately pondering their relationship to American culture. When the court rejected traditional sexual ethics as a permissible basis for laws defining marriage, many conservative believers felt a cultural milestone had been reached.
In Religious Arbitration, Scripture Is the Rule of Law
by Michael Corkery and Jessica Silver-Greenberg
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/business/dealbook/in-religious-arbitration-scripture-is-the-rule-of-law.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0
For generations, religious tribunals have been used in the United States to settle family disputes and spiritual debates. But through arbitration, religion is being used to sort out secular problems like claims of financial fraud and wrongful death.
U.S. Episcopal Church Installs Its First Black Presiding Bishop
Reuters FaithWorld
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/11/02/u-s-episcopal-church-installs-its-first-black-presiding-bishop/
Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina was inducted on Sunday as the first black leader of the U.S. Episcopal Church during a ceremony in the nation’s capital where he called for economic and racial unity.
Donald Trump’s Biggest Vulnerability Is the Bible
by Michael Daly
Daily Beast
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/30/donald-trump-s-biggest-vulnerability-is-the-bible.html
The Donald’s great hustle took him to the top of the GOP presidential field. But a closer look at his waffling on Bible passages and non-attendance at church isn’t going to please the base.
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