PORTLAND, Ore. -- Martin Luther King Jr. graces one page, Angelina Jolie the next. A photo of a man on fire opens the Book of Revelation. And laid across a two-page image of gasoline spilling from a pump is the quote that begins, "The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast."

It''''''''''''''''s not the good book some may remember.

While the Bible has been recreated and repackaged innumerable times, publishers of the newest editions are using some distinctly unique formats to capture the attention of readers.

"In general, Bible publishers have always been creative, but now they are scrambling to meet a culture where people are moving away from print reading," said Paul Gutjahr, an associate professor of English and adjunct associate professor in religious studies at Indiana University.

Secular as well as traditional religious Bible publishers are getting in on the act. Dozens of different versions of the Bible come out each year for various niches: the outdoorsman, the married couple, business leaders. There are electronic Bibles available for the Kindle, iPods and handheld devices. There are graphic novel and comic book interpretations. There''''''''''''''''s even a new chronological version of the Bible coming out this fall.

It''''''''''''''''s difficult to capture how many different versions of the Bible are sold each year. But the Book Industry Study Group estimates that Bibles, testaments, hymnals and prayer books were a $795.2 million market in 2007.

-Article continues Off Site, courtesy The Washington Post.

The prosecution of an Oregon couple who allegedly tried to heal their dying son with prayer has focused attention on laws that, in some cases, allow parents to treat their children with faith.
Jeffrey Dean Beagley, 50, and Marci Rae Beagley, 46, pleaded not guilty on Friday to criminally negligent homicide charges in the death of their son, 16-year-old Neil Jeffrey Beagley.
Neil died June 17 from complications of a urinary tract blockage, according to medical examiners. The condition, which doctors say is easily treatable, caused kidney and heart failure.
The Beagleys belong to a religious sect known as the Followers of Christ Church, which rejects medical treatment and, instead, relies on prayer. Several relatives who were with Neil Beagley at the time of his death told police that he had refused medical care, according to the Gladstone, Ore., police.

-Article with video continues Off Site, courtesy ABC News.

The Supreme Court begins its term on Monday, and the indications so far are that it could be a quiet year. There will be at least a few high-profile cases, on issues ranging from obscenity to church-state separation, but the swing vote of Justice Anthony Kennedy is likely to keep the court on a generally centrist path. The real excitement this fall is occurring on the outside — in a presidential race that could shape the court for years to come.

...This term’s docket includes Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, a challenge by broadcasters to the F.C.C.’s policy on “fleeting expletives.” The commission, in a sharp reversal, started imposing large fines for television programming with brief profanities — like a Golden Globe awards show in which the singer Bono uttered a single offending word. A federal appeals court rightly struck down the policy, which seriously infringes on free speech. We hope the court sides with the broadcasters.

The court will also consider, in Pleasant Grove City v. Summum, whether a Utah municipality that allows a privately donated Ten Commandments monument to be displayed on public property must let another religion put up its own statue of similar size. The court should rule that the Constitution does not allow government to favor one religion over another....

-See the Complete Article Off Site. Courtesy The New York Times.

Christian creationists have long railed against the theory of evolution. But you may not have heard anything yet.

A new Canadian paper in the journal Science suggests that Christianity itself may be a function of evolution.

In a review article that is sure to prove controversial, University of British Columbia researchers say that the world''''''''s great religions may have emerged as a codification of cultural traits that allowed people to be more successful breeders.

"We''re setting aside the question of whether religions are true in a metaphysical sense," says Ara Norenzayan, a UBC psychologist and lead author of the paper. He and his team reviewed dozens of studies on the emergence of religions from disciplines as diverse as psychology, history, sociology, anthropology, economics and ethnography.

"We''re trying to understand what religion is and explain it in terms of human nature and human culture."

The paper argues that social co-operation and altruism conferred an evolutionary advantage as populations grew larger, and that moralizing religions were key to creating large-scale cohesion.

-Article continues Off Site. Courtesy: The Toronto Star.

The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, dominated by critics of the liberal direction of their denomination nationally, today voted to leave the U.S. Episcopal Church and to become a part of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, which includes the nations of South America from Peru south. The leadership of the Pittsburgh Diocese had many criticisms of the national church, but the precipitating event for the split was the denomination''s approval of the election of a gay priest, the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, to be bishop of New Hampshire. A statement from the Rev. Peter Frank, director of communications for the diocese:

“We deeply value our shared heritage and years of friendship with those still within that denomination, but this diocese could not in good conscience continue down the road away from mainstream Christianity that the leadership of The Episcopal Church is so determined to follow."

The decision will likely lead to a battle for control of the church buildings. The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, told the Episcopal News Service that she plans to re-establish an Episcopal diocese in Pittsburgh:

-Article with links continues Off Site, courtesy The Boston Globe.

A number of Islamic associations have put a quick end to their collaboration with a professor -- and trainer of people who are supposed to teach Islam in German high schools -- who has expressed his doubt that Muhammad ever lived. Islam scholar Michael Marx spoke with SPIEGEL ONLINE about what lies behind the debate and the historical person of the Prophet.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Marx, someone studying Islam learns that the Prophet Muhammad was born on the Arabian Peninsula in A.D. 570 and died in Medina in A.D. 632. Is there any reason for doubting that this is true?

Michael Marx: Those are provisional dates that we should hold on to until there are better figures. The Islamic sources are rich with material about the person of the Prophet and his life story. Some of it is has elements that are somewhat mystical. But we can generally rely on the solid core of Islamic tradition.

-Article Continues Off Site

Oct. 1, 2008 -- A team of scientists led by renowned French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio recently announced that they have found a bowl, dating to between the late 2nd century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D., that is engraved with what they believe could be the world''s first known reference to Christ. If the word "Christ" refers to the Biblical Jesus Christ, as is speculated, then the discovery may provide evidence that Christianity and paganism at times intertwined in the ancient world. The full engraving on the bowl reads, "DIA CHRSTOU O GOISTAIS," which has been interpreted by the excavation team to mean either, "by Christ the magician" or, "the magician by Christ." "It could very well be a reference to Jesus Christ, in that he was once the primary exponent of white magic," Goddio, co-founder of the Oxford Center of Maritime Archaeology, said. -Article Continues Off Site

Every day in every Texas public school, students pledge allegiance to the U.S. and Texas flags and sit through a moment of silence so they can pray, meditate, daydream or twiddle their thumbs. The quiet time, mandated by the Legislature since 2003, has survived one federal court challenge, but a pending appeal seeks to scrap the practice as an improper religious exercise. "It''s clear if you watch the video and read the transcripts of the legislative debates that the main purpose of this law is to create school-sponsored silent prayer, and that with a wink and a nod they''re just sort of calling it a moment of silence," said David Croft, a suburban Dallas parent and atheist who seeks to overturn the law. In 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed moments of silence in public schools when the practice is motivated by a secular purpose. In the years since, almost every lawsuit challenging the practice has failed. The first challenge to the Texas law by David Croft and his wife, Shannon, failed in January when U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn found a nonreligious purpose for the quiet time, though she said that she had to hunt for it. -Article Continues Off Site

NEWBERG, Ore. - A Christian university in Oregon said Tuesday it has punished four students who confessed to hanging a likeness of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama from a tree on campus. George Fox University broke the news to students and staff Tuesday afternoon at an all-campus meeting. About 1,000 people attended, said Rob Felton, a university spokesman. A statement from the school said the penalties against the four students were "immediate long-term suspension and public service." The school cited federal privacy rules in not disclosing more about the students or their punishment. The FBI is investigating whether any civil rights were violated. "A criminal investigation is much more rigorous than an academic one, obviously," said Beth Anne Steele, an FBI spokeswoman. She could not say when the investigation would be complete. -Article Continues Off Site

Two Orange County ministers were among dozens across the country taking politics to the pulpit Sunday in hopes of influencing the Nov. 4 presidential election. Unlike some pastors elsewhere who endorsed Republican John McCain during "Pulpit Freedom Sunday," the two ministers stopped short of explicitly recommending that worshipers vote for either McCain or Democrat Barack Obama. But they were not shy about raising politics in church. Pastor Stephen B. Orman urged those attending his Warner Avenue Baptist Church service in Huntington Beach to use the Bible as a voters'''''''' guide and evaluate candidates and issues on the basis of Christian scripture. The Rev. Wiley S. Drake suggested that those at his First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park vote for him -- and for his presidential running mate on the American Independent Party ticket, Alan Keyes. Drake asked his congregation to support the challenge to the federal ban on political campaigning by nonprofit groups. -Article Continues Off Site

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