News & Ideas

Thursday's News & Ideas - 11/7/2019

  • Crist accused of harassment
  • UMC jurisdiction will protect LGBTQ
  • Politics of denying communion
  • Why colleges are closing
  • Operation Christmas Child suspicion
  • Case for spoilers

Comedian John Crist cancels tour over sexual harassment allegations
Christianity Today: The viral entertainer confesses “sexual sin and addiction” following Charisma investigation.
Charisma News: John Crist cancels 2019 tour dates after reports of sexting, harassment, manipulation

United Methodist division declares itself a ‘safe harbor’ for LGBTQ clergy
NBC: The declaration by UMC’s Western Jurisdiction comes two months ahead of the denomination’s planned strengthening of its gay marriage and clergy ban.

Has denying Communion lost its political luster?
Religion News Service: When Catholic bishops threatened to deny Communion to John Kerry in 2004 over his abortion stance, frenzy struck the media. But this year, when Joe Biden was denied Communion for roughly the same reasons, coverage barely lasted a week.

Here’s why colleges are being forced to close their doors -- and what they can do to stay open
The Conversation: One study found that about 800 of the approximately 2,300 four-year public and nonprofit private colleges in the nation exhibited characteristics that put them at financial risk.

Franklin Graham, toxic charity concerns send churches packing from Operation Christmas Child
Baptist News Global: Years of viral news articles describing Operation Christmas Child as a form of toxic charity have contributed to a movement of churches away from the Samaritan’s Purse ministry.

The Spark

The case for spoilers
Some people avoid them at all costs. Alissa Wilkinson seeks them out -- and she’s not alone, she writes at Vox.

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