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January 12th, 2011
11:01 PM ET
Monks make, donate casket for youngest victim in Arizona shootingBy Eric Marrapodi and Kara Devlin A group of Trappist monks in Iowa have donated a handmade casket to bury 9-year-old Christina Green, the youngest victim in the Saturday attack that killed six and wounded 13 others in Arizona. Sam Mulgrew, the general manager of Trappist Caskets in Peosta, Iowa, told CNN a family representative of the Greens reached out to the monks at New Melleray Abbey near Dubuque after her death. The custom-made casket arrived in Tucson, Arizona, Wednesday morning. "We didn't want to send an adult coffin that would be too big, we wanted something just for her," said Mulgrew, who is not a monk but who manages the 11-year-old casket business that is part of the abbey.
January 12th, 2011
04:34 PM ET
My Take: Sarah Palin's bogus persecution complex
By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN Just when you thought American political rhetoric couldn't get any more toxic, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin is taking us to a new low, casting herself on her Facebook page not just as a victim of the liberal media elite but as a victim of "blood libel." For those who do not know - and I can only pray that Palin is among them - "blood libel” refers to the anti-semitic myth that Jews were in the business of murdering Christians (often children) and then ritually drinking their blood - a myth that led over the years to the death of tens of thousands of innocent Jews. 
January 12th, 2011
03:01 PM ET
Palin criticized for using 'blood libel'The Anti-Defamation League, the organization that combats anti-Semitism, says Sarah Palin should have used a different phrase than "blood libel" to characterize attempts to link her discourse to the Arizona shootings, the latest in a series of criticisms leveled at the former Alaska governor Monday over her use of the controversial term. "We wish that Palin had not invoked the phrase "blood-libel" in reference to the actions of journalists and pundits in placing blame for the shooting in Tucson on others," said ADL National Director Abraham Foxman in a statement. "While the term 'blood-libel' has become part of the English parlance to refer to someone being falsely accused, we wish that Palin had used another phrase, instead of one so fraught with pain in Jewish history." Read the full story
January 12th, 2011
02:42 PM ET
Palin's use of 'blood libel' invokes ancient myth about JewsBy Dan Gilgoff and Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editors When Sarah Palin said that efforts to connect statements by her or others to last weekend's Arizona shootings amount to a "blood libel," the controversial political figure set off yet another firestorm, invoking a powerful term with deep and terrifying reverberations in Jewish history. There are many variations on blood libel, but the myth almost always involves accusing Jews of murdering non-Jews and then drinking their blood for ritual purposes, according to Boston University religion professor Stephen Prothero. Blood libel has been invoked throughout Jewish history as a pretext for violence against Jews. The myth has historically been associated with the Jewish holiday of Passover, which coincides with the Easter season commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
January 12th, 2011
07:00 AM ET
My Take: Is Arizona shooting an individual or shared sin?
By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN After the shooting, the vitriol. First came the thunder from the left, blasting the right for creating a climate of hatred in which taking out your Glock and aiming it at a congresswoman might seem to be the next logical thing to do. Then came the thunder from the right, blasting liberals for blaming conservatives for what was obviously the illogical act of a confused young man shipwrecked on an island of his own imagining. Then came Jon Stewart of Comedy Central and David Brooks of the New York Times, with more measured efforts to claim that what on the face of it would seem to be a political assassination attempt has nothing whatsoever to do with politics or, for that matter, even with ideas. |
  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 Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Editor's Note: Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar and author of "God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World," is a regular CNN Belief Blog contributor.