The FPL News Reel is a daily round-up of the top faith and politics stories in the news. You can sign up for the email version of the News Reel here, subscribe to the RSS feed here, and follow it on twitter at @FPLNewsreel.
House Bill Offers Aid Cuts to Save Military Spending By Jonathan Weisman — New York Times
The Republican-led House this week will lay bare the choice between social programs and Pentagon spending in an age of austerity when it takes up legislation to slice $261 billion from food stamps, Medicaid, social services and other programs for struggling Americans over the next decade to stave off more than $50 billion in military spending cuts scheduled to take effect next year.
GOP: Shield Pentagon, cut poverty programs By David Rogers — Politico
Setting the stage for an emotional floor fight Thursday, House Republicans pushed ahead Monday evening with plans to protect increased defense spending without raising taxes, largely by cutting more from domestic programs, including aid to the poor.
Austerity as a bridge to nowhere By Eugene Robinson — Washington Post, Opinion
It is obvious that deficits, debt loads and entitlement spending have to be brought under control — but equally obvious that the necessary adjustments should be made when the economy is going great guns, not when it’s gasping for air.
Desmond Tutu: ‘We need to be able to listen’ By Desmond Tutu — Washington Post, On Faith
“Because we live in a pluralistic, global world we need to be able to listen to other viewpoints, place ourselves in the shoes of others, and respond fairly, magnanimously and pragmatically. I am not speaking theoretically, but practically. These are concepts that apply between nations and regions, but equally in communities and among neighbors.”
Conservative Catholics blast upcoming appearance by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at Georgetown University By David Gibson — Religion News Service
The flagship Jesuit university has announced that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, a Catholic who has angered conservatives and bishops for overseeing the Obama administration’s contraception insurance mandate and other controversial policies, will address the policy institute’s graduating class at commencement on May 18.
Liberals Steer Outside Money to Grass-Roots Organizing By Nicholas Confessore — New York Times
…in interviews, donors and strategists involved in the effort said they also did not believe they could match advertising spending by leading conservative groups like American Crossroads and Americans for Prosperity, and instead wanted to exploit what they see as the Democrats’ advantage in grass-roots organizing.
Alabama state senators could vote today on immigration law revisions By Kim Chandler — Birmingham News
…legislative leaders and lawyers met for more than 11 hours last week discussing how much to change various sections of Alabama’s law — including the “reasonable suspicion” section that would allow police officers to question and detain suspected illegal immigrants.
Amendment 1 vote in NC could ban gay marriage By Associated Press
The national debate over gay marriage turns its attention South on Tuesday, as North Carolina could be on the verge of becoming the next state to pass a constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman.
Biden comments on same-sex marriage expose internal White House divisions By Peter Wallsten and Dan Eggen — Washington Post
As more top officials in his administration speak out in favor of same-sex marriage, Obama is facing increasing pressure to take sides in one of the most emotional and polarizing social policy debates of the modern era.
No guarantee Colorado civil unions bill will get a final vote By Lynne Bartels — Denver Post
Today is D-Day for a civil unions bill that has turned the waning days of the legislative session into a dramatic roller-coaster ride for social conservatives determined to stop it and champions who believe history is on their side.
Last week, North Carolina pastor Sean Harris suggested in his sermon that parents should physically abuse their children if they start acting out of accordance with traditional gender norms.
Outraged to see Christianity abused to justify violence, over 10,000 people have already signed Faithful America’s statement condemning Pastor Harris’s comments and sending a clear message of support to LGBT youth.
The statement reads:
Faithful Christians are appalled by Pastor Sean Harris’s hateful tirade urging violence against gay and lesbian youth. Violence and child abuse can never be justified by the teachings of Jesus Christ. All young people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, should be assured in church that they are beloved children of God.
The FPL News Reel is a daily round-up of the top faith and politics stories in the news. You can sign up for the email version of the News Reel here, subscribe to the RSS feed here, and follow it on twitter at @FPLNewsreel.
House GOP plan cuts social programs to stave off Pentagon cuts By Andrew Taylor — Associated Press
The Republicans who control the House are using cuts to food aid, health care and social services like Meals on Wheels to protect the Pentagon from a wave of budget cuts come January.
Historic campaign collision of race and religion likely to arouse both pride and prejudice By Associated Press
Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney, an African-American and a white Mormon, representatives of two groups and that have endured oppression to carve out a place in the United States. How much progress has America made against bigotry? By November, we should have some idea.
New form of Christian civic engagement By Jonathan Merritt — USA Today
Christian Millennials are now coming of age and recognizing the flawed strategies and broken agendas embraced by their forebears.
Do as I Do, Not as I Say By T. M. Luhrmann — New York Times
If Democrats want to reach more evangelical voters, they should use a political language that evangelicals can hear. They should talk about the kind of people we are aiming to be and about the transformational journey that any choice will take us on.
Muslim Organizer Uses Faith to Unite Coalitions of Religions By Samuel G. Freedman — New York Times
A Muslim trained by a Jewish agency to work with a coalition largely composed of Christian churches, Ms. Ali is not just the poster child for monotheism. She forms part of a vanguard of faith-based community organizers who have been selected in part for their religious devotion and then trained to cross denominational lines in pursuit of common cause.
Are Americans in Rome behind the nuns crackdown? By David Gibson — Religion News Service
Now it turns out that conservative American churchmen living in Rome — including disgraced former Boston Cardinal Bernard Law — were key players in pushing the hostile takeover of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
Love Does No Harm to a Neighbor By Rev. Fred L Hammond — A Unitarian Universalist Minister in the South
No harm. That is the criteria in which to obey the laws of government, the Bible states. Yet, HB 56 does do harm to our neighbors.
Biden’s support for gay marriage matches most Catholics’ views By Dan Gilgoff — CNN, Belief Blog
Feelings about gay marriage correlate to various religious traditions and levels of religiosity…It’s worth noting the dramatic recent shifts on the issue among Roman Catholics, whose ranks include Biden.
Mormon-Bashing Bryan Fischer says He’s “More Mormon” than Mitt Romney By Joanna Brooks — Religion Dispatches
What Fischer is trying to do is to find in Mormon doctrine some claim that will help him embarrass Romney for bringing Richard Grenell (who is gay and out) onto his foreign policy team.
Muslim woman wins $5 million verdict from AT&T for discrimination By Carey Gillam — Reuters
A Kansas City woman who converted from Christianity to Islam has been awarded $5 million in punitive damages by a jury who found the telecommunications giant AT&T created a “hostile work environment” after her conversion…
Last week, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley said this of the religious demonstrators who engaged in civil disobedience in protest of the state’s harsh anti-immigrant law, HB 56:
“If they read what I read in the Bible, the Bible says you always obey the law”
Noticing that this statement contradicts a long history of religious activism, Unitarian Universalist minister Rev. Fred L Hammond wrote this response on his blog:
Governor Bentley is in need of some Bible lessons. If his statement is true, then Jesus would not have stopped the stoning of the woman caught in adultery because the law must always be obeyed. If his statement is true, then Jesus would not have healed on the Sabbath because the law must always be obeyed. If his statements are true then the Boston Tea Party in 1773 by the colonists would not have happened because the law must always be obeyed. If his statements are true, then the Declaration of Independence would never have been written or signed because the law must always be obeyed.
If his statements are true then Alabama’s Governor George Wallace’s statement of “Segregation now, Segregation tomorrow, and Segregation forever” would still be the law of Alabama because the law must always be followed. Thank God for people of conscience who recognize an unjust law and deliberately disobey to overturn that law.
If his statement is true then Paul, who authored the text that Governor Bentley is referring, would never have confronted the emperor regarding Christianity because the Christian faith was considered illegal, an act of treason. So even Paul did not believe one must always obey the law.
This statement of Bentley’s reveals that he has no understanding of his own faith tradition of Christianity. His own faith as a Baptist came about because people of conscience disobeyed the law. It was illegal to be of any other faith than Anglican when John Smyth declared his Baptist faith. But if Governor Bentley is correct that the Bible says you always obey the law, then his own faith is illegal, twice over because John Smyth broke the English law decreeing the Church of England as the one faith and the Church of England broke the law when it severed ties with the Roman Catholic Church over the doctrine of divorce–another law that according to Bentley’s argument must be obeyed. Remember that church law and civil law were one and the same in the time of the reformation. There was no separation of church and state.
The context of Romans 13 which Bentley refers also includes Romans 13: 6 and following: “This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Love does no harm to a neighbor. No harm. That is the criteria in which to obey the laws of government, the Bible states. Yet, HB 56 does do harm to our neighbors. Our Immigrant neighbors are working hard, paying taxes, building up the community, creating businesses which strengthen the economy. Immigrant neighbors with the same expressed dreams for a better life for their children. This law seeks to rid our communities of people who are doing no harm, who are loving and caring for their community. Governor Bentley noted this in his commemoration speech regarding the anniversary of Tornado recovery efforts in Tuscaloosa when he referred to the status of citizenship of those who were first responders. Governor Bentley loves undocumented people when they are of usefulness to him but otherwise he has disdain for his neighbors who seek to make Tuscaloosa a better place for all to live.
This law has encouraged people to express their bigotry and prejudice against their neighbor. Therefore any law that causes harm to their neighbor, using Bentley’s argument of always following what the Bible says, is not a law that is to be obeyed. Such a law must be disobeyed. It must be broken time and time again because it goes against a higher law, which is the law of Love. I choose to stand on the side of Love.
