Friday's News & Ideas - 8/13/2021

She wanted to help Ravi Zacharias save the world but ended up defending an abuser
Religion News Service: Longtime RZIM spokesperson Ruth Malhotra was fired last month, after being told her colleagues felt unsafe around her. Malhotra has accused RZIM’s leaders of covering up abuse by the organization’s founder, the late Ravi Zacharias.

The future of the Black church looks more like dancing in the streets than sitting in the pews*
The Washington Post: Some people believe that the Spirit only moves and encircles Black bodies in sanctuaries adorned with images of Jesus. But Black faith never was confined to a building. It was always wherever we found our bodies.

NY let childhood sex abuse victims sue; 9,000 went to court
Associated Press: For two years, New York temporarily set aside its usual time limit on civil lawsuits in order to allow victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue churches, hospitals, schools, camps, scout groups and other institutions.

What’s missing from popular discussions of today’s Christian Nationalism?
Religion Dispatches: If you want to know where the Republican Party is headed, you need to set aside your assumptions and simply listen to what its leaders and activists say — especially when they’re talking amongst themselves.

How religious fervor and anti-regulation zealotry laid the groundwork for America’s $36 billion supplement industry
The Conversation: How did products with questionable benefits and expensive prices become so mainstream?

The Spark

After 21 years in prison, former No Limit rapper Mac Phipps is figuring out what it means to be free
The Louisiana governor granted Mac Phipps clemency years after investigations raised questions about his conviction for manslaughter, The Undefeated says.

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