Last night, the Presbyterian Church (USA) amended its constitution to allow practicing homosexuals to be ordained as ministers. Before the amendment, the constitution required clergy to live “in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness.” The amendment instead requires ministers to “submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life.”
-
-
N.T. Wright and Rowan Williams Criticize Bin Laden Killing
Rowan Williams and N.T. Wright have some strong words criticizing the recent execution of Osama Bin Laden. I do not agree with either of them, but here they are nonetheless. First, Rowan Williams:
-
Intel Used To Find Bin Laden Came from Waterboarding
It looks like the debate over so-called “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques” will be reinvigorated by the death of Osama Bin Laden. Brian Williams of NBC News interviewed the Director of the CIA yesterday, and “Leon Panetta confirms that the intelligence needed to find Osama bin Laden was gained, in part, by interrogation techniques that included water-boarding.” Here’s a transcript of the relevant portion of the interview.
-
The Kids with George W. Bush on 9/11
TIME magazine has a fascinating story on the children who were with President Bush on 9-11 when he received the news that America was under attack. They are all very appreciative of his calm response and that he didn’t immediately storm out of the room. One student described it this way: “I’ll always remember watching his face turn red. He got really serious all of a sudden. But I was clueless. I was just seven. I’m just glad he didn’t get up and leave because then I would have been more scared and confused.
-
Some Thoughts on the Death of Bin Laden
On Sunday, we all learned that U.S. special forces killed Osama Bin Laden as he was hiding out in a mansion in Pakistan. The reaction to the news across the U.S. has been remarkable. I cannot remember another instance in my lifetime when throngs of people gathered spontaneously in the streets of our major cities to celebrate, but that is indeed what happened. How should we as Christians react to the news? Here are a few thoughts:
-
Details of the Attack
NBC News produced a video giving details about the attack that killed Bin Laden. See above.
-
President’s live address announcing the death of Osama Bin Laden
-
Video of the Alabama Storm
As of this writing, The New York Times is reporting that at least 173 people have died in the Alabama storm. This loss of life is horrific, and we may find out that there are more. The video above is from someone in Tuscaloosa who let himself get too close to the storm (HT: Timmy Brister). He survived, and his camera tells the story. At about 3 minutes into the video, you will see how close a call it was. Pray for the people of Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and beyond. This storm has wreaked havoc on these communities.
-
Tuscaloosa Tornado Brushes Stadium
This video shows one of the twisters passing very near Alabama Crimson Tide football’s Bryant-Denny Stadium. (HT: Clay Hasenfuss)
-
Newsflash: Obama Born in the USA
Time to break out the Springstein anthem. President Obama was in fact born in the USA. Just this morning, the White House released the President’s long form birth certificate to allay any remaining doubts about the President’s birthplace. If this is news to you, well then…now you know. In remarks after the release, the President said that the country didn’t need to be distracted by “sideshows” and “carnival barkers.” I couldn’t agree more with his characterization because that’s exactly what this birther issue was.