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Unsolicited Advice: What should Mitt Romney say at Liberty University?We asked a couple of Christian college presidents to give some unsolicited advice to Mitt Romney ahead of his commencement speech at Liberty University on Saturday. The school, founded by Jerry Falwell, will offer Romney a big "evangelical moment." Here's how the leaders responded:
Good leaders put other people first. So I would encourage Romney to see this commencement address more as an opportunity to serve the students of Liberty University than as a chance to advance his presidential campaign. Portugal cancels holidays after Vatican talksBy Sofia Fernandes and Richard Allen Greene (CNN) – Portugal is eliminating four holidays to try to boost its economy, the government announced - but only after getting the agreement of the Vatican. The economically struggling European country will stop giving workers a day off for Corpus Christi and All Saints' Day, starting next year, the government said. It will also eliminate two civil holidays to be fair, the statement said Tuesday. North Carolina votes on marriage amendement Tuesday(CNN)–As voters head to the polls on a controversial marriage amendment, a North Carolina pastor and an openly gay mayor each explain their side of the debate to CNN's Carol Costello. On Tuesday, voters will vote on Amendment One, whether or not to amend the state constitution to say that "Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State." While North Carolina already has a law banning same sex marriage, the passage of the amendment would effectively ban same civil unions and domestic partnerships. ![]() Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' invitation to speak at Georgetown has drawn the ire of a Catholic group. Sebelius speech at Georgetown draws fire from Catholic groupBy Sally Holland, CNN Washington (CNN) - Georgetown University holds ten official commencements and 18 other awards ceremonies every spring, but on Friday, when the Catholic school announced its 2012 speakers, one drew immediate criticism from a group of conservative Catholics. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, a member of President Obama's cabinet, is set to speak at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute's awards event. "Secretary Sebelius was chosen by our GPPI students to bring her message of congratulations as they begin their careers in public service and public policy," the school said in a statement. "As an academic community, Georgetown regularly hosts a variety of high profile speakers." My Faith: Returning to church, despite my doubts
By Andrea Palpant Dilley, Special to CNN During my junior year in college, I took a butter knife from my mother’s kitchen and scraped the Christian fish decal off the back bumper of the Plymouth hatchback I’d inherited from my older brother. Stripping off that sticker foreshadowed the day, a few years later, that I would walk out of church. The reasons for my discontent were complicated. By most standards, I had a healthy childhood. I grew up the daughter of Quaker missionaries in a rural Kenyan community that laid the foundation for my faith. I spent the rest of my childhood in the Pacific Northwest, raised in a stable Presbyterian church that gave me hymns and mission trips and potluck dinners. I was surrounded by smart, conscientious Christians, the kind of people who read 19th century Russian novels and took meatloaf to firefighters when much of eastern Washington state went up in flames in the fall of 1991. Bible reading marathon wraps up in WashingtonBy David Ruff, CNN The Bible marathon began with a reading of Genesis 1:1 at 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 27. For 23 years, a small nonprofit group called the International Bible Reading Association has one purpose: "To encourage reading the Bible, both publicly and privately," says the Washington organizer Michael Hall, senior pastor of People's Church in Washington. Volunteers take turns reading through the text 24 hours a day for five days. The group relies on the security of the Capital Hill Police, who are stationed all around the Capitol. Hall says the readers have never had any problems or threats from onlookers or other groups. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories Prisoners play Jesus and disciples(CNN) – A cast with an armed robber as Jesus and a convicted murderer as the disciple who betrays him takes the stage in a production of "The Life of Jesus Christ" at the largest-maximum security prison in the United States. Prisoners at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola have been working on the play for more than a year with inmates from the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women. The play runs through Saturday at the Angola prison. Bobby Wallace, who has been behind bars for 21 years as part of a 66-year sentence for armed robbery, has the title role, reports CNN affiliate WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge. North Carolina pastor retracts sermon remarks about punching gay kidsBy Stephen Walsh, CNN (CNN) – A Fayetteville, North Carolina, pastor has retracted controversial language used during a weekend sermon in which he instructed parents to hit children who exhibited behavior associated with homosexuality. “I apologize to anyone I have unintentionally offended,” Sean Harris, pastor of Berean Baptist Church wrote in a statement on his church’s website. “I did not say anything to intentionally offend anyone in the LGBT community. “My intent was to communicate the truth of the Word of God concerning marriage,” the statement continued. “My words were not scripted. It is unfortunate I was not more careful and deliberate.” |
About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Dan Gilgoff and Eric Marrapodi, with daily contributions from CNN's worldwide newsgathering team and frequent posts from religion scholar and author Stephen Prothero. |
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