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Stories about science and religion:

A Scientist Who Believes in God!
Francis Collins, former head of the Human Genome Project, has been named by President Obama to head the National Institutes of Health. What makes this news is the breathtaking idea that someone could be both a scientist and a believer in God.
John G. Stackhouse Jr., Holy Post, National Post, July 12

Story of Charles Darwin to open TIFF
Festival breaks with tradition of opening with a Canadian film by choosing Creation, from British film maker Jon Amiel
Globe and Mail, July 14

Earlier: Stories about the evolution debate

Stories about "human rights" tribunals and the Catholic Church:

Jennifer Lynch fires back: Russ Hiebert needs to get his facts straight
MP Russ Hiebert urges readers to determine who is misinformed about the issues he raises about the work of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC). I agree, and welcome the opportunity to clarify these issues.
Jennifer Lynch, Full Comment, National Post, July 10

Gay altar server contests firing
A gay man has filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal against a Catholic bishop after he was removed from his volunteer job as an altar server because of his sexual orientation. The case is the latest involving the human rights tribunal to address whether Church doctrine should be subject to review by a secular body.
Charles Lewis, National Post, July 14

Neo-Nazi hate, courtesy of the CHRC
Last month, a parliamentary committee invited Jennifer Lynch, the head of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, to answer questions about her agency's conduct. She refused to attend, sending in her place a deputy who could not answer key questions put to him by MP Russ Hiebert. Now that Parliament is safely on summer holidays, Lynch has bravely emerged from her bunker -- the CHRC office actually is a bulletproof bunker -- to accuse Hiebert of getting his facts wrong. But it's Lynch's version that's false.
Ezra Levant, National Post, July 15

The Catholic Church vs. our rights commissions
It did, as it were, have to happen. A human rights body taking on the Roman Catholic Church. In this case the issues are still murky and confused, but it appears that an openly gay man who has been living with his partner for 19 years has been dismissed as an altar server in his Peterborough parish. Several long-standing parishioners complained, and local Bishop Nicola De Angelis, one of the gentlest and kindest priests you are likely to meet, decided that the situation was inappropriate.
Michael Coren, National Post, July 16

Earlier: Stories about "human rights" tribunals and commissions

Stories about euthanasia in Quebec:

Quebec physicians tentatively propose legal euthanasia
College's task force on ethics believes province's society has evolved to the point that it would be acceptable in limited circumstances
Globe and Mail, July 15

Quebec keeps 'open mind' on euthanasia
The Quebec government says it is open to debating the legalization of euthanasia, reigniting a polarizing national debate that the Conservative federal government says it has no interest in revisiting.
Globe and Mail, July 15

Earlier: Stories about abortion and euthanasia

Stories about the polygamy court case:

Judge delays decision on whether polygamy charges will stand until Sept
The case against two men accused of polygamy has been put on hold until September when a B.C. Supreme Court judge will consider a defence argument to toss out the charges. Winston Blackmore and James Oler, leaders of separate factions in the controversial B.C. community of Bountiful, were arrested earlier this year and charged with one count each of polygamy.
Canadian Press, July 9

Ruling on stay of polygamy charges delayed
There will be no decision until September on whether charges of polygamy against two B.C. men will be stayed because of a misuse of process.
Vancouver Sun, July 10

Earlier: Stories about the polygamy court case

Other stories from the past week:

Two major Christian thinkers in Vancouver this week
Marcus Borg (below left), arguably the most famous progressive Christian theologian and Bible scholar in North America today, will give a free public talk on the evening of Friday, July 17th at St. Mary's Anglican Church in Kerrisdale, plus a Saturday workshop at St. Mary's organized by Vancouver School of Theology. Prior to that, Mark Noll (right), one of the most important church historians and evangelical thinkers on the continent, will give a public talk on Monday, July 13 at Regent College, also next to the UBC campus.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, July 10

500 Years Of Calvin
Calvinism gave us the Puritan Revolution, the English Civil War and possibly even the American Revolution.
William Klempa, National Post, July 10

Continue article >>

Like Dan Brown with brains
If there were any justice in the world of letters, Piers Paul Read would be spoken of with Amis, Barnes, Rushdie and the rest of the dominant literary class whenever the great contemporary British novelists were mentioned. Not that he is some anonymous figure writing away in the dusty corners of the publishing world: He has won several prestigious prizes for his fiction, his non-fiction is highly regarded and he wrote the authorized biography of Sir Alec Guinness. But he's not quite accepted within the inner sanctums and his novels have never been given quite the prestige they overwhelmingly deserve, partly because Read is considered to be politically and theologically unfashionable.
Michael Coren, National Post, July 10

Healed by monk's divine intervention?
After a man close to dying recovers miraculously, church begins to investigate role of a priest
Vancouver Sun, July 11

Fixing non-believers, live on TV
The theist club is at it again. Now they've hijacked the power of television. As reported recently, a Turkish television station is creating a game show that will attempt to turn atheistic infidels into pious believers. The reward for conversion: A glorious afterlife, God's love and forgiveness and, of course, a paid trip to a religious holy site.
Justin Trottier, Holy Post, National Post, July 11

Rabbi Joseph Kelman dedicated himself to helping people with special needs
'He saw in vulnerable individuals a potential that very few people saw'
Globe and Mail, July 13

A week as a Buddhist monk
For one week, a dozen boys give up everything to experience the life of Buddha
Toronto Star, July 13

Finding "God" is . . . no walk in the park
"We are talking far too much about God these days, and what we say is often facile." That's the opening line of the uncorrected proof of the new book, The Case for God, by acclaimed British author Karen Armstrong, who will be one of the shining lights in Vancouver on Sunday, Sept. 29 as part of the Dalai Lama Peace Summit.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, July 13

Hallelujah no more
Leonard Cohen says it's time to retire his oft-covered song
Globe and Mail, July 14

Gay marriage is OK (Jesus says so)
His new book, Jesus Was A Liberal, maps out the belief system of progressive Christians -- the liberal wing that constitutes at least 20% of the U. S. population. According to McLennan, Jesus's message was one of love and kindness, of charity, forgiveness and peace. For him, Christianity isn't about fire and brimstone, damnation and hell; it's about how people get along with one another. Oh, and saving the environment, too.
Yoni Goldstein, Full Comment, National Post, July 14

Teen's death fuels debate on religion's ban
A teenage Jehovah's Witness who triggered a cross-country court battle when she refused blood transfusions as part of her cancer therapy has died, renewing debate about the religion's blood ban and its impact on children. Sarah Bahris, 19, died earlier this month in Vernon, B. C., four years after her case captured national attention, with the young patient eventually ending up in a New York City hospital that offers bloodless chemotherapy.
National Post, July 15
Earlier: Stories about Jehovah's Witnesses and blood transfusions

Lambros puts talent, faith, pedigree on display
Rookie Argos receiver will see lots of familiar sights when Toronto travels to Calgary this weekend
Globe and Mail, July 15

Muslims fight for the right burial rites
When Ashfaq Abdul Razzak's father became deathly ill before a long weekend, he prayed his father would hold out another few days. As a Muslim, he had to be buried within 24 hours. But the cemetery in Pickering where his family had purchased a plot was unable to do the burial on Good Friday. Razzak's father died at dawn on Friday, but it wasn't until Saturday -- more than 30 hours later -- that he was buried.
Toronto Star, July 15

N.B. anti-abortion group says SCOC ruling should help in fight to post ads
The New Brunswick Right to Life Association believes a ruling from the country's highest court should back up its claim that it is being discriminated against by the city of Fredericton. The Supreme Court ruled last week that transit officials in B.C. were on the wrong side of the Charter of Rights by refusing to carry political messages on the sides of buses.
Canadian Press, July 15

Taxation or charity?
"I don't believe that any taxes are good." This is a common expression among some liberty-loving North Americans, especially in Western Canada and parts of the U.S. The most recent person to express it is Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The line above is a direct quote from an interview he gave in early July.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, July 15

Communism's first last stand
It's been 15 years since I first came here, and Europe's loveliest city has very much returned to the normality it was denied for much of 20th century. If there's a worldwide economic crisis, it is not readily apparent here, with the streets full of Cracovians and tourists -- including, regrettably, a large number of Britain's nastiest export, the lager louts who hardly seem to need alcohol to be boorish. Poland, like most northern European countries, has discovered that proper cuisine requires either a Mediterranean or Indian touch, and so it is now easier to get kebabs in Krakow than borscht and perogies. Good for the Poles who, in this globalized economy, really should not have to eat Polish food any more than Brits should have to eat British food.
Father Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, July 16

July 17/2009