The latest news on Haiti Aid, Haiti Aftermath, King Day, Massachusetts Election & Health Care, FBI & Phone Records, Iran, Chile Election, and Select Op-Eds. | Sojourners

The latest news on Haiti Aid, Haiti Aftermath, King Day, Massachusetts Election & Health Care, FBI & Phone Records, Iran, Chile Election, and Select Op-Eds.

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Quote of the Day. "It's like we've got more going on in our parking lot than we do within the walls of the church." Craig Goodwin, pastor of Millwood (WA) Community Presbyterian Church. When the church was told it would have to close its farmers' market on the church parking lot or the lot could no longer be claimed as tax-exempt, it decided to keep the market and pay the $700 in annual taxes. (New York Times)

FAITH IN THE NEWS

As Haitians Flee, the Dead Go Uncounted "Along with everything else stolen by last week's earthquake, Haitians must now add another loss: the ability to identify and bury the dead. Funeral rites are among the most sacred of all ceremonies to Haitians."

Compassion more widespread than violence in Haiti, say Mennonites "Acts of compassion -- Haitians working together to help neighbours and strangers -- is far more prevalent than the incidents of violence that are reported on the international media, say Mennonite aid workers."

Obama speaks from pulpit, noting progress and difficulty in America "President Obama, speaking Sunday from the pulpit of a church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. sometimes spoke, called on the congregation to rally around the spirit that had helped their ancestors pursue a long road to freedom."

Radio Show for Focus on the Family Founder "Dr. James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family and an influential voice for Christian conservatives, is about to depart from the organization he created and is starting a radio program that will give him greater leeway to hold forth on politics."

Visiting Rome synagogue, pope honors memory of Holocaust victims "Laying a wreath at a memorial to Roman Jews rounded up by the Nazis in 1943 and joining in a standing ovation to a dwindling group of Holocaust survivors, Pope Benedict XVI broke the ice with Rome's Jewish community even before he began to speak." Pope welcomed to Rome synagogue despite tensions "This was only the second papal trip to the Rome synagogue, after John Paul II's groundbreaking visit in April 1986. Benedict was greeted warmly, including an emotional reunion with the former Chief Rabbi of Rome, Elio Toaf, who hosted John Paul twenty-four years ago."

U.S. Military Weapons Inscribed With Secret 'Jesus' Bible Codes "Coded references to New Testament Bible passages about Jesus Christ are inscribed on high-powered rifle sights provided to the United States military by a Michigan company, an ABC News investigation has found."

Religious Violence Erupts in Nigeria "Religious violence between Christians and Muslims erupted again Tuesday in Nigeria, as security forces issued a 24-hour curfew for the city of Jos where rioters have burned homes and killed at least 27 people."

Opinion: Haiti, Pat Robertson, and the instinct to explain evil (David Gushee, Associated Baptist Press) "It is not wrong to ask such questions. But most explanations create more theological problems than they solve, and involve making claims beyond the competence of the human mind, as the book of Job so clearly shows. The best response to evil seems to be to weep with those who weep, while working alongside them to repair broken lives, broken societies, and our broken world."

TOP NEWS

Haiti Aid. US starts aid airdrops into Haiti "The US military has begun airdropping food and water supplies into earthquake-hit Haiti. Some 14,000 ready-to-eat meals and 15,000 litres of water were dropped north-east of the capital, Port-au-Prince," Haiti earthquake relief is stifled by chaos in Port-au-Prince "Security has emerged as one of the most formidable challenges in this earthquake-shattered capital, officials said Monday, limiting the ability of the United Nations and relief officials from elsewhere to distribute the food and medicine beginning to pile up at the airport." Haitian quake victims wait in the shadow of international aid "But until those in charge figure out how to distribute it, all that emergency aid remains out of reach for those living almost under the flight path." Escaping the Capital as Help Is Arriving "