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December 29th, 2011
05:48 PM ET
Bill Maher takes on Tim Tebow and feels the wrathBy Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor (CNN)– On Christmas Eve the Denver Broncos were getting destroyed by the Buffalo Bills* on the football field and comedian, liberal commentator, and religious provocateur Bill Maher couldn't help but tweet about it.
People quickly responded to Maher on Twitter and called him (in summary) a hell bound atheist piece of trash. Maher's social media jab was picked up by the media too and landed in newspapers, websites and TVs everywhere. Pundits and twitter users called for a boycott of Maher's HBO show Real Time, and threatened to cancel their HBO subscriptions.  A clean shaven Matisyahu raps at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. The Hasidic reggae star recently shaved his beard.
December 29th, 2011
01:51 PM ET
Beardless Matisyahu still rocks hard, with dreidel mirror ballBy Eric Weisbrod, CNN (CNN)-– He may be clean shaven, but Orthodox Jewish reggae star Matisyahu still has the energy, passion and talent as when he donned a traditional Hasidic beard. Playing at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC Wednesday night on his “Festival of Light” tour, Matisyahu’s set included his hits “King Without a Crown,” “Jerusalem” and his Hanukkah song "Miracle.” The stage featured a giant rotating disco ball in the shape of a dreidel, the four-sided spinning top played during Hanukkah.  Activists of the right-wing Hindu organization Shiv Sena burn a Russian flag in India on December 26, 2011.
December 29th, 2011
11:05 AM ET
Russian court rejects petition to ban Hindu scriptureBy Moni Basu, CNN (CNN) - A Russian court has rejected a petition that sought to ban a Russian translation of the Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism's most important texts. Hindus around the world expressed outrage after prosecutors in the Siberian city of Tomsk said the scripture promoted extremism and social discord. The billion-plus adherents of Hinduism consider the 700-verse Gita, written as a message from God taught by Lord Krishna, as sacred.  The Bible presents us with an evolving story, writes John Shelby Spong.
December 29th, 2011
09:10 AM ET
My Take: The 3 biggest biblical misconceptions
By John Shelby Spong, Special to CNN The Bible is both a reservoir of spiritual insight and a cultural icon to which lip service is still paid in the Western world. Yet when the Bible is talked about in public by both believers and critics, it becomes clear that misconceptions abound. To me, three misconceptions stand out and serve to make the Bible hard to comprehend. First, people assume the Bible accurately reflects history. That is absolutely not so, and every biblical scholar recognizes it.
December 29th, 2011
04:29 AM ET
Belief Blog's Morning Speed Read for Thursday, December 29
By Dan Merica, CNN Here's the Belief Blog’s morning rundown of the top faith-angle stories from around the United States and around the world. Click the headlines for the full stories. From the Blog: CNN: Police storm Church of the Nativity to break up brawling priests  The face of Judaism in America is changing, as the community becomes more diverse through intermarriage, adoption, immigration and conversion. CNN: Increasing diversity redefining America’s Jewry 
December 29th, 2011
04:06 AM ET
Nigerian churches call Christmas bombings 'declaration of war'By Soni Irabor for CNN Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) - Nigeria's Christians are losing faith that the government will protect them from attacks by Islamic extremists and will "respond appropriately" to future killings, the country's leading church group warned Wednesday. In a public message to President Goodluck Jonathan, the Christian Association of Nigeria called the Christmas Day targeting of churches in several cities "a declaration of war on Christians and Nigeria as an entity." The group also criticized its Muslim counterparts for failing to condemn the Islamic militants blamed for Sunday's attacks, calling their responses "unacceptable." "The Christian community is fast losing confidence in government's ability to protect our rights to religious liberties and life," its president, Pentecostal pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, said in the statement. "The consensus is that the Christian community nationwide would be left with no other option than to respond appropriately if there are any further attacks on our members, churches and properties." FULL STORY |
  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: John Shelby Spong, a former Episcopal bishop of Newark, New Jersey, is author of "
