News & Ideas

Wednesday's News & Ideas - 12/4/2024

  • Musk as ‘prophet-in-chief’

  • Arlington monastery extinct

  • Trump at Notre Dame

  • Limits of speech & religion

  • Rise in young Muslims

  • The bodies glaciers preserve


How Elon Musk became ‘prophet-in-chief’ of tech's Trump-leaning conservatism 
Religion News Service: Since becoming a Trump supporter, the tech billionaire has arrived at a new stage in his evolution from insisting science and religion cannot coexist.

Vatican says Arlington monastery is ‘extinct’ after nuns were dismissed from religious life*
Fort Worth Star-Telegram: A year-long battle between the Fort Worth Diocese and a group of cloistered nuns ends with the Vatican saying it no longer recognizes the monastery. But an attorney for the nuns accused the Fort Worth bishop of harassing the nuns.

Trump says he’ll attend Notre Dame Cathedral reopening celebration in Paris this weekend
AP: Despite Trump and Macron’s complicated relationship, Trump says it is “an honor” to attend the reopening of the Cathedral, which was devastated by a massive fire during his first term.

Samuel Paty’s beheading and the limits of speech and religion 
Religion Unplugged: Much of France is focused on the trial of eight people stemming from the 2020 beheading of French schoolteacher Samuel Paty by Abdoullah Anzorov, an 18-year-old Muslim immigrant from Chechnya. It remains to be seen if calling someone a blasphemer will be seen as a criminal act.

At mosques steps from campus, young Muslims take the lead 
Religion News Service: Mosques that serve young Muslim communities are springing up on and around American college campuses.

The Spark

Bear-leather shoes and Roman ‘good-luck’ coins: The lost worlds emerging from glaciers   
As glaciers and ice patches melt, they reveal untold stories of human skill, adventure, faith – and deadly conflict, writes Sophie Hardach for the BBC.

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Advent and Christmas resource guide

From music and visual arts inspiration to children’s book recommendations, this guide from the Calvin Institute of Chrisitan Worship provides Advent and Christmas worship planning resources.

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