Thursday's News & Ideas - 3/31/2022

Franklin Graham writes to Putin, Zelenskyy to ask for a cease-fire during Holy Week
Religion News Service: Samaritan’s Purse, Graham’s humanitarian relief organization, is pushing farther east and plans to open a second emergency field hospital in Ukraine by this weekend.

Americans distrust religious objectors. But they don’t want them fired
Deseret News: A new Pew Research Center survey further complicates the debate over religious exemption requests to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Pew Research Center: Americans skeptical about religious objections to COVID-19 vaccines, but oppose employer mandates

A Jan. 6 pastor divides his Tennessee community with increasingly extremist views*
The Washington Post: Locke and his ministry have divided a quiet town on the outskirts of Nashville with many residents distressed at the thousands who flock to hear him and the attention he attracts, most recently with a book burning.

Praying the imprecatory psalms is an act of nonviolence
Sojourners: “In a world where white supremacy and other violent ideologies run deep, I don’t think it’s enough to pray imprecatory psalms against particular individuals who cause suffering.”

This is my blood, donated for you*
The Christian Century: “When my arm is stretched out and blood is trickling out of me, I find myself thinking of Jesus.”

The Spark

Mexico City and the pitfalls of becoming a remote work destination
The city has become a remote work playground for expats. Meanwhile, rising housing prices and inflation have made it more unaffordable for locals, says Vox.

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