January 18, 2006

the morning's news

Supreme Court says federal drug laws can't be used to stop assisted suicide

The ruling does not establish a constitutional "right to die." But in deciding Gonzales v. Oregon (No. 04-623), the court said the attorney general cannot interpret a federal drug-control law to effectively override the Oregon Death With Dignity Act. That legislation, which Oregon voters passed in 1994 and reaffirmed in 1997, is the nation's first and only law allowing physician-assisted suicide.
California school district agrees to settle intelligent-design suit
Americans United for Separation of Church and State announced Jan. 17 that the El Tejon Unified School District, located in the mountains about 65 miles north of Los Angeles, has agreed to stop teaching a course called "Philosophy of Design" at its only high school, Frazier Mountain High in the town of Lebec.
Giving to Protestant churches drops to 2.6% of income, study finds
If American Christians tithed, churches could gain $156 billion a year, a recent study found.And if denominations allocated a greater percentage of their receipts to international human needs, they could make strides in eliminating poverty-related child deaths, researchers concluded.
Baptist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian youth gather at Disney for worship, challenge
“What Moses and Esther did is what you and I have to do -- set people free,” Matthews said. "… You and I are part of the problem. We are part of the oppressive system. When you pay $75 for a pair of jeans because of the label instead of spending $25 for jeans and sending the other $50 to fight poverty, you are the oppressor.”
I like following the Associated Baptist Press. Admittedly there is a particular slant, but that slant can educate us all. What are baptists interested in? Well, that's good to know because it may be a barometer for what many people of faith are paying attention to...and what they are not. Just think, Falwell and I read the same paper. That may represent a pretty wide swath of American religious life. Heh.

Posted by tripp at January 18, 2006 08:16 AM
Comments

"What are baptists interested in? Well, that's good to know because it may be a barometer for what many people of faith are paying attention to...and what they are not."

I'm curious -- are you suggesting that Baptists are a particularly good barometer? Better than the media outlets of other denominations within Christianity? How about people of non-Christian faiths?

Posted by: Megan at January 18, 2006 07:02 PM

Um, no.

I only suggest what I said in my post. It's a good barometer. That's all. It is not a "better news outlet" or to be prefered over non-religious press. But, as with any institution, if you want to know where their concerns rest, read their news.

Posted by: Tripp at January 19, 2006 08:01 AM

That wasn't what I asked, or what I suggested.

If you look at your quote again, you'll see that you say that the Baptists are a good barometer for what "people of faith" are concerned about or are not concerned about.

I think that presumes too much about what Jewish people might be concerned about, or Hindu people, or people of any other non-Christian faith.

My instinct says that Baptists are likely to be a good barometer for what center/right organized Christians in the U.S. might be concerned about or not concerned about, but I don't think they're a good barometer for "people of faith" in general -- and that's not even getting into "people of faith" who don't participate in an organized religion. But, this is largely talking out of an orifice that isn't ordinarily used for speech, since I didn't follow your link(s). :-)

Posted by: Meeegan at January 19, 2006 12:59 PM

The bias of my blog uncovered yet again! Egads!

You know, I wonder what the Hindus think about ID...Hmmm...

I don't know any. Do you?

Posted by: Tripp at January 19, 2006 01:05 PM

Yes, but I don't discuss intelligent design with them. I don't really discuss intelligent design with anybody -- it leads all too easily to the presumption that all Christians are idiots, and I just don't have the patience for that these days.

Posted by: Megan at January 19, 2006 04:44 PM