Thursday's News & Ideas - 9/28/2023

U.S. immigration policies are harming persecuted Christians, evangelical leaders warn
Baptist News Global: The United States can help alleviate the suffering of persecuted Christians worldwide by restoring its refugee resettlement program to pre-Trump levels and restoring due process to its asylum system, World Relief and Open Doors US said in a new report.
Religion News Service: Faith-based resettlement orgs celebrate moves to maintain refugee cap

AI has no place in the pulpit*
Christianity Today: Technology can serve the church. But it can’t replace the good, frustrating, endless work of ministry.

The dark side of courtship*
New York Magazine: Shannon Harris’s relationship was held up as a model for millions of evangelicals. Now, she’s reclaiming her story.

Victims march to Rome to demand ‘zero tolerance’ on church abuse
Reuters: A group of Catholic Church abuse victims and their advocates on Wednesday called on Pope Francis to enforce “zero tolerance” against clerical sex abuse, after completing a six-day pilgrimage to Rome carrying a large wooden cross.

As psychedelic-assisted therapy grows, so does interest from a new group: chaplains
NPR: While some chaplains are exploring psychedelic-assisted therapy because of their deep well of experience providing a non-judgmental presence to help make sense of life’s difficult moments, many are also drawn to it because people taking these drugs often report what’s described as a mystical experience.

The Spark

24 hours in an invisible epidemic
Watch 24 hours of an American day, and the invisible crisis hiding in plain sight, in a visual essay from The Pudding.

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