Thursday's News & Ideas - 10/26/2023
- Women voting at Vatican
- New speaker’s evangelical ties
- What people mean by ‘holy war’
- China’s policies on religion
- Poet converted by her own poetry
- Difficulty of soundbites on war
Women will vote at a Vatican meeting for the first time*
The New York Times: Some women participating in a conference on sensitive church issues said they feel heartened by the discussions taking place, though change may remain slow.
Mike Johnson, pedigreed evangelical, suggests his election as House speaker ordained by God
Religion News Service: Johnson, who peppered his first speech as speaker with religious references, has a history of challenging interpretations of the separation of church and state.
What does it mean when people say Israel and Hamas are fighting a ‘holy war?’*
Forward: Some Christians are interpreting the violence as the culmination of prophecies about the End Times.
10 things to know about China’s policies on religion
Pew Research Center: Earlier this year, China issued new rules on religious activity that tighten oversight of clergy and congregations.
A poet converted by her own writing*
The Christian Century: Denise Levertov’s intuitive grasp of incarnation drove her politics, her poetry, and eventually her religious discernment.
The Spark
No human being can exist
A Palestinian writer describes being interviewed by Western media for n+1 magazine, “How can a person make up for seven decades of misrepresentation and willful distortion in the time allotted to a sound bite?”
*access is limited for nonsubscribers
