Toluu

BibleBeltBlogger

Religion editor Frank Lockwood's spirituality blog

Kentucky legislators support Bible class in schoolsToday

The lawmakers argue that the Bible is the most influential book in Western civilization and that biblical literacy is a worthy academic pursuit for the students of Kentucky.

An atheist activist, predictably, is up in arms about the proposal. For more, click here.

North Korea to release U.S. missionaryFebruary 5

American walked across North Korean border intentionally. Now he’s getting a Pyongyang Get Out of Jail Free card.

By JEAN H. LEE
Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A “repentant” American missionary set to be freed from North Korea after being arrested at the border on Christmas said he was ashamed of the “biased” view he once held of the communist nation, Pyongyang’s state media said Friday. There was no way to verify if the missionary was speaking freely or under duress from his captors.
Breaking its silence about Robert Park’s fate, North Korea announced Friday that the American would be released from custody after admitting to entering the country illegally and showing “sincere repentance” for the transgression.
Park, 28, slipped across the frozen Tumen River from China into North Korea carrying letters calling on leader Kim Jong Il to close the country’s notoriously brutal prison camps and to step down from power — acts that could risk a death sentence in the totalitarian nation.
However, the government “decided to leniently forgive and release him, taking his admission and sincere repentance of his wrong doings into consideration,” the official Korean Central News Agency said. Details of his release were not immediately available.
Park, 28, of Tucson, Arizona, appeared healthy if a bit gaunt in photos released by KCNA during what it called an interview with the Amer

Correction of the day.February 5

From the Winfield United Methodist Church newsletter in Little Rock, Ark.

“Mistakes happen and there area few in our new ["Fruit of the Spirit"] cookbook. On page 108 in Jackie’s recipe for Apple Crisp please add 1 cup of sugar.

On page 90, Anna Faye Dawson’s recipe for Spinach Fandango add the following to the end of the directions.

Pour into casserole, top with cheese and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Ex-con pastor, ex-Christian reporter team upFebruary 3

Phenomenally talented journalist William Lobdell, formerly religion reporter at theLos Angeles Times, has launched an investigative journalism site with ex-con Barry Minkow, who turned from a life of crime to a life of Christian ministry.

Lobdell wrote Losing My Religion in 2009 about his conversion from evangelical Christian to atheist. His new project is unprecedented — and risky.

The journalism will be funded by short-selling stocks in the companies that Lobdell writes about. This means the outfit will benefit financially by undermining public confidence in the companies it rights about. And if iBusiness Reporting messes up, there’ll be libel lawyers circling overhead.

More information about the endeavor is available here.

Judge gives criminal option: Jail or churchFebruary 3

“I don’t know what’s worse, church or jail.” — Idgie Threadgoode, Fried Green Tomatoes.

Question: Did Circuit Judge Timothy Pickard improperly mix church and state by giving this option to a Michigan youth?

Read the story (below) and then let me know what you think of the unconventional sentencing option. I’ll post my two cents worth at the bottom…

Judge’s order lets Tecumseh teen avoid jail if he apologizes, attends church
ADRIAN, Mich. (AP) — Go to jail or go to church.
Given that choice by a Lenawee County judge, a Tecumseh teenager who pleaded guilty to trying to break into a church opted for the latter.
Circuit Judge Timothy Pickard told 17-year-old Dylan Patrick Karle last week that he could avoid jail if he would apologize to the congregation of the United Methodist Church in Tecumseh and attend services there for the next three Sundays.
Karle, who is a member of the church, promptly accepted Pickard’s offer. The judge also placed Karle on probation, but his felony conviction will be expunged if he stays out of trouble for three years.
Karle was among several juveniles arrested Sept. 27 while trying to break into the church in the town 45 miles southwest of Detroit.

“Church or jail” have been around for a long time. Here’s an example from the August 3, 1959 issue of Time magazine. The A