Zenit, from Rome: "Matthew Parris, writing in the July 23 issue of the Spectator magazine...says the... divi-sions between religions, such as whether or not they instruct followers to kill innocent people, is of little importance. For Muriel Gray, writing in the Scottish newspaper Sunday Herald, 'The cause of all this misery, mayhem, violence, terror and ignorance is of course religion itself.' Gray lumped together extremist Islam with 'fundamentalist Christian insanity' and described all religion as 'Dark Ages nonsense.' 'For the government of a secular country such as ours to treat religion as if it had real merit instead of re-garding it as a ridiculous anachronism, which education, wisdom and experience can overcome in time, is one of the most depressing developments of the 21st century.'"

Albert Mohler in Crosswalk: "For at least half a cen-tury, researchers have been observing massive shifts in Western cultures. The increasingly secular shape of European civilization has been evident for some time.... When Brian Kenny reported, 'I don't go to church, and I don't know one person who does,' he understood that something had changed. 'Fifteen years ago, I didn't know one person who didn't,' he reflected. The statistics documenting European secularization are now impossi-ble to ignore. Ireland, still one of the least secular na-tions in Western Europe, has seen church attendance fall by at least 25 percent over the last three decades. Ireland is predominantly Roman Catholic...but...'Not one priest will be ordained this year in Dublin.' On the Prot-estant side, the picture is not much better....Throughout the...continent, Islam is the only religion growing....."

Nicholas J. Xenakis in NRO: "if read closely, Tocque-ville doesn't deny the possibility of an Islamic democra-tic society, he just raises questions about its longevity and believes that Christianity is better suited to demo-cracy. One has to wonder whether Tocqueville could have dreamed of the current state of affairs in the Middle East. And the question lingers of whether his theories still apply in a framework of democracy promotion — something that many recent scholars have argued has a tenuous connection with the Founder's original intentions. Whether an Islamic democratic society is possible and what it might look like depends on what is occurring in Iraq at this very moment. One doesn't have to take Tocqueville's word as gospel. It is quite possible that 'Democracy in Iraq' is just waiting to be written."

Don Feder in Human Events: "a conservative Jewish activist told me recently of the ADL's National Director and principal spokesman, 'Abe Foxman has a problem with Christianity'—unfortunate in...a country that's over 80% Christian. Foxman's latest foray in political cor-rectness was an attack on Rev. Jerry Falwell when the latter included an 'I Vote Christian' sticker in a fundrais-ing mailing. Falwell's sticker is 'directly at odds with the American ideal, and should be rejected,' Foxman lect-ured. 'Understanding the danger of combining religion and politics, our founding fathers wisely created a polit-ical system based on individual merit and religious in-clusiveness.' Abe has been reading Al Franken's Intro-duction to U.S. History. His is a fantasy version of the American saga soothing to the secular left...."

Christian Post: “The response in terms of donations has been great as Americans have been showing sympathy for the victims. The Salvation Army reported that donations for its organization jumped from $4.4 million to $15.5 million in one day. Organizations have indicated that donating money is more convenient at this point. "Money is what is most needed," said Baptist World Alliance Aid Director Paul Montacute according to Baptist World Alliance. "All agencies are saying this, and we need to avoid the dumping of inappropriate goods that could in fact hinder the relief work." Relief efforts have also been carried out by the local government. This included taking thousands of refugees out of New Orleans in state provided buses.... Convoy of Hope spokesperson Jeff Nene felt the essentials were vital. ”

E. Ray Moore Jr., in The State: "There have been more than a dozen cases since 1947’s Everson case based partially on Hugo Black’s reasoning. This case has prov-en to be one of the most socially, academically and con-stitutionally destructive cases in U.S. history. To use Ms. McCarthy’s terminology, it was Justice Hugo Black who used this then-novel interpretation of the separation of church and state to make an 'end run' around the Consti-tution. This view has been used to make Christians’ be-liefs such as creationism or intelligent design second-class or unworthy ideas in public education. It was also used to exclude prayer and Bible reading in 1962 and 1963 Supreme Court cases. Yes, all Christians believe that the government and church must be administratively distinct, but neither the U.S. Constitution nor the found-ers intended to set up a secular state...."  

Marlboro Express: "Benedict used general principles to press his point...He asked them not to see religion as a 'consumer product' where people choose only what they want...and disregard rules that are sometimes difficult to observe. 'Religion constructed on a "do-it-yourself" basis cannot ultimately help us,' he said. 'It may be comfortable but at times of crisis we are left to ourselves....Freedom is not simply about enjoying life in total autonomy, but rather living by the measure of truth and goodness, so that we ourselves can become true and good,' he said. Asked what he felt about the Pope's words warning against pick-and-choose Catholicism, Malte Schubert, a 19-year-old German, said: 'That means no sex, basically, doesn't it? He has to say that. He is the Pope, but I think people should make their own choices.' There were also many in the crowd who agreed with the Pope.”

Terry Mattingly, Scripps Howard Syndicate: "re-searchers from the Democracy Corp in Washington, D.C., found that voters in Middle America are worried about Iraq and they are mad about rising health costs. That's good for Democrats. Many of them fiercely op-pose abortion on demand and gay marriage. That's good news for Republicans. But the researchers also mapped a political fault line that cuts into the soul of Middle America. 'Regardless of voters' attitudes on the role of religion in public life or their position on touchstone is-sues such as abortion and gay marriage or even their personal religious faith, they all see Republicans as a party with a clear and consistent position on cultural is-sues and an abiding respect for the importance of faith and traditional social norms," said the researchers, in sobering document released earlier this month...."

AR religion writer Rachel Zoll: "evangelical leaders say conservative Protestants and Roman Catholics continue to be maligned by some of the most influential institutions in the country—the media, public schools, universities and Hollywood—and they argue that socie-tal demands for tolerance are extended to every group but them. 'There is an attempt by the secularists to take Jesus Christ and to take God out of every aspect of our society,' said the Rev. Franklin Graham... in a recent interview with the Associated Press. This worldview was on display this month at the 'Justice Sunday: II' event, which enlisted Christians in the fight for more sympa-thetic federal judges....William Donohue, head of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, told the crowd he was 'tired of being told' that if faith informs your thinking 'you're a second-class citizen.'"  

Gaylon Parker in Gulflive: "National Review Online re-cently reported that Smithsonian Institute scientist Richard Von Sternberg, holder of two PhDs, has suffer-ed a hostile work environment because he published a piece on intelligent design in a biology journal. NRO said the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency, told Von Sternberg 'Our...investigation indicates that retaliation [against Sternberg by collea-gues] came...in the form of attempts to change your working conditions.... During the process you were per-sonally investigated and your professional competence was attacked. Misinformation was disseminated throughout the SI [Smithsonian Institution] and outside. ...The allegations against you were later determined false. It's also clear that a hostile work environment was created with the goal of forcing you out of the SI.'"

Christian Post: "The suit claims that UC admissions instituted a policy that would refuse to accept high school science courses and textbooks that challenged Darwinian evolution. Among the courses not approved the suit alleges are 'Christianity's Influence in American History,' 'Christianity and Morality in American Litera-ture' and 'Special Providence: American Government.' Ravi Poorsina, a spokeswoman for the UC said... the university had a right to set requirements for incoming students, according to the LA Times. 'What we're doing is for the benefit of the students,' she said. 'These re-quirements were established...to ensure that students who come here are fully prepared with broad knowledge and the critical thinking skills necessary to succeed.'... The university was also accused of approving courses from...Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism..."

Sher Zieve in American Daily: "one of the New Demo-crat leadership’s constant mantras is: ‘The reason you don’t have enough and will never have enough is be-cause of those nasty conservatives and Republicans! We hate Republicans!’ This mean-spirited rhetoric is to be expected from all true-blue New Democrats.... The chilling bit of ice-up-the-back, surrounding the above comments, is that this is the way most tyrannical lead-erships have historically begun, when they have had no solutions to problems—scapegoating others.... more al-arming is that the New secular Democrats, who already blame Christians for their problems, have moved back in time and are now holding the most famous scapegoat race in history to blame—the Jews. Barely reported by the mainstream press, anti-Semitism is and has been on the rise in the Democrat Party for some time."

A.Mohler in Christian News: "Newsweek sees some-thing else behind TIME's article. The 1966 TIME cover story didn't even consider what was going on be-yond the liberal Protestant denominations. Henry Luce's TIME was, in Newsweek's analysis, obsessed 'with the experience of a handful of the most prestigious Protes-tant denominations.' Accordingly, 'no one looked for God in the Pentecostal churches of East Los Angeles or among the backwoods Baptists of Arkansas.' Furth-ermore, the magazine was not concerned with Mus-lims, Hindus, or Buddhists. Newsweek documents that the 'angst-ridden intellectuals in TIME..never did sweep the nation.' Instead, the years after 1966 saw the nation involved in various waves of religious and spiritual fervor. ...the rise to prominence of Pentecostals and the devel-opment of a vast evangelical network...."

Ted Olsen, Christianity Today weblog: "it's a mis-take to see CBN as Pat Robertson's only source of in-come. CBN was not...part of Freedom Gold Ltd., his mining operation in Liberia....Nor was it part of his oil refinery company. Nor his horseracing interests. Robert-son is willing to fight for these interests. He may call for the assassination of Chavez, but he'll brook no criticism of his business partners, even former Liberian president Charles Taylor....[who] was indicted for war crimes. Na-tional sovereignty isn't the only principle Robertson is willing to compromise for business purposes. While try-ing to negotiate a CBN presence in China, he defended the country's one-child policy....But Robertson's financ-ial holdings are relatively permanent and multinational
....He doesn't need you. He doesn't need your money. He doesn't need America."

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