As Seen on TV

Moving today on the RNS wire (available to subscribers to Religion News Service) is a story on the growth of electronic churches. Pastor Craig Groeschel, for example, preaches at 23 services on most weekends, all but five of which are delivered electronically. Check out his website here.

Also moving on the wire today, a commentary by Rabbi A. James Rudin on the Dalai Lama.

UPDATE: We're also moving a story from Rome on the renewal of ecumenical dialogue between the Orthodox Churches and the Vatican. A representative of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, spiritual leader of the Orthodox world, met with Pope Benedict XVI today.

Civil vs Religious

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin

"In no church, no synagogue, no mosque, no temple, no religious house will those who disagree with same-sex unions be compelled to perform them. Period. This legislation is about civil marriage, not religious marriage."

-- Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, seeking to calm fears over legislation passed Tuesday (June 28) that allows gay marriage across Canada. He was quoted by The Washington Post.

The Supreme Court Decision

Supreme Court Issues Split Decision on Ten Commandments Cases

RNS' article of the week looks at the Supreme Court's split decision on displays of the Ten Commandments.

Key quote: Taken together, the decisions indicate the justices' determination that there are instances -- taken on a case-by-base basis -- where the biblical laws may be placed in a government context.

And check out the sidebar, at the bottom of the piece, with reactions to the decision.

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Thou shalt not steal

John W. Styll, of the Gospel Music Association

"The gospel music community joins the rest of the music industry in thanking the Supreme Court for its thoughtful, and we believe, correct decision. ... Today, gospel music artists and everyone making its livelihood in our industry rests easier, knowing that we can continue to create uplifting and edifying music knowing the highest court in our land has declared, `Thou shalt not steal.'"

-- John W. Styll, president of the Gospel Music Association, in a statement regarding the Monday (June 27) Supreme Court ruling in support of copyright protection.

A deeper understanding of the Bible

Suhaila Tawfik, a Veterinarian in Baghdad

"I'm thirsty for this kind of church. I want to go deep in understanding the Bible."

-- Suhaila Tawfik, who attends National Evangelical Baptist Church, one of at least seven new Christian churches that emerged in Iraq during the past two years. Tawfik was quoted by The Washington Post.

From the courthouse to the jailhouse

Ben Chaney, Brother of Civil Rights Slaying Victim

"I want to thank God that today we saw Preacher Killen in a prison uniform taken from the courthouse to the jailhouse."

-- Ben Chaney, younger brother of black Mississippian James Chaney, one of three civil rights workers who was slain in 1964. Chaney was reacting to the 60-year prison sentence given Thursday (June 23) to former Ku Klux Klansman and preacher Edgar Ray Killen for his role in the case. He was quoted by The Washington Post.

Christian family relations

Quote of the Day: William Franklin Graham IV, Billy Graham's grandson

"We're a Christian family. ... The only way to the father is through the son, not through the grandson."

-- William Franklin Graham IV, the grandson of evangelist Billy Graham, jokingly explaining his response when people ask him if they can meet his famous grandfather. He addressed Southern Baptists on Wednesday (June 22) at the denomination's annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn.

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RNS Article of the Week

Party Hearty Festivals Create New Evangelism Model

The RNS article of the week takes a look at Luis Palau festivals, and compares them to a Billy Graham crusade.

Key quote: Palau -- a youthful 70 -- has reached more than 4.4 million people with a party approach to evangelism featuring a slogan of "Great Music. Good News." It has been so successful in attracting young people that some see it defining evangelism in the early part of this century as Graham shaped it in the latter part of the last century.

Religion: "Back with a vengeance"

John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge of The Economist

"Back in the 1960s, it was axiomatic amongst the elite that religion was doomed. In 'The Secular City' (1965), Harvey Cox argued that Christianity had to come to terms with a secular culture. Now religion of the most basic sort is back with a vengeance. The president, his secretary of state, the House speaker and Senate majority leader are all evangelical Christians. Ted Haggard, the head of the 30 million-strong National Association of Evangelicals, jokes that the only disagreement between himself and the leader of the Western world is automotive: Mr. Bush drives a Ford pickup, whereas he prefers a Chevy."

-- John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge in an editorial for The Wall Street Journal. They co-authored "The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America."

Promise Keeper

Michael Schiavo

"I kept my promise."

-- Michael Schiavo's inscription on a grave marker for his wife, Terri Schiavo, a woman at the center of an end-of-life controversy. It refers to the promise he said he made to not keep her alive artificially. Her cremated remains were buried Monday (June 20) amid reports that Terri Schiavo's parents were outraged by the inscription.

Geeks for God

Sociologist and 'Bowling Alone' Author Robert Putnam

"The mountain bikers for God, the geeks for God, the small group for people who have breast cancer or whose spouses have breast cancer," Putnam says. "In the context of a very big organization, everybody feels connected to some very small group. If someone is sick, they'll bring them chicken soup. ... In some sense, they're replacing the Kiwanis."

-- Sociologist and 'Bowling Alone' author Robert Putnam, discussing how megachurches have created social connections through various internal small groups. He was quoted by USA Today.

Never say never

Evangelist Billy Graham

"In my mind, it is. I wouldn't like to say `never.' Never is a bad word."

-- Evangelist Billy Graham in an interview with the Associated Press, stating that he thinks his last crusade may be the one he will lead June 24-26 in New York.

Gitmo = gulag?

Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin

"If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime -- Pol Pot or others -- that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, this is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners."

-- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., after reading an email from an FBI agent describing the U.S. military's treatment of Guantanamo Bay prisoners. Durbin was quoted in The Washington Times.

New Article of the Week Posted

In Cosmopolitan New York, Graham to Preach One Gospel to Many Ethnic Groups

Excerpt: "It's massive. The publicity, the trainings, the arrangements," said Graham language coordinator John Sowers, whose cubicle is now dwarfed by piles of Graham's tracts in Urdu and Cantonese. "It's shocking how diverse this city is."

Christian Media

Christians flocking to religious media

Interesting piece by Colleen McCain Nelson of The Dallas Morning News on Christian media.

Quote: "I'm not saying I don't trust CNN," Kolbe said. "But I have a tendency to trust Christians."

Via MediaBistro.

Pretty much a white Christian party

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean

“You know, the Republicans are not very friendly to different kinds of people. They're a pretty monolithic party. Pretty much, they all behave the same, and they all look the same. ... It's pretty much a white Christian party.”

--Howard Dean, former presidential hopeful and Vermont governor, speaking at a roundtable event Monday (June 6) with minority leaders and journalists in San Francisco. He was quoted by The San Francisco Chronicle.

For more, click here.

RNS Article of the Week...

Christian Emphasis on Evangelism at Heart of Air Force Academy Scandal

...has been posted. Click the link above.

From the story: It's a classic battle between evangelical Christians, who say they are commanded to share their beliefs, and people of other faiths or no faith, who say they shouldn't have to tolerate constant proselytizing or harassment.

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