Thursday's News & Ideas - 2/6/2025

How my dad reconciled his God and his gay son*
The New York Times: When I came out, it shook his faith and fractured his church. But it never separated us. I wanted to understand how. So I read his journals, Timothy White writes.

Report details 17 cases of abuse by IHOPKC founder Mike Bickle
Religion News Service: “His actions not only violated the sanctity of his role but also caused profound harm to those he was meant to guide and protect,” the report said.

To keep aid coming, Ukraine appeals to Trump allies: Conservative Christians*
The New York Times: A Ukrainian delegation to the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington will make the case that Russia threatens the religious freedom of Christians who don’t follow the Russian Orthodox Church.

Despite the GOP devolving into a white Christian nationalist party, majority of US does not support Christian nationalism
Religion Dispatches: Only 3-in-10 Americans support Christian nationalism.

Pro-Trump Arab American group changes its name after the president’s Gaza ‘Riviera’ comments
The Associated Press: A group that played a key role in Donald Trump’s voter outreach to the Arab American community alongside his allies is rebranding itself after the president said that the U.S. would “take over” the Gaza Strip.

The Spark

The long quest for artificial blood
One of the most valuable substances in the world has never been replicated,* The New Yorker says. Are we close?

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