Today

A reversal on a televised execution leads a crowded day across the churches

By The FaithDaily Desk

Good morning. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the Pentagon will not livestream the execution of the Fort Hood shooter, Religion News Service reported. The outlet said he backed away from the proposal after widespread pushback from prominent religious leaders.

The question of executions surfaced again in a different register. Charisma News reported that former CNN host Chris Cuomo, in a discussion of the botched execution of Christa Pike, told Rep. Tim Burchett, "I've always found it interesting that the more Christian a culture is, the more they wanna kill people." The two stories are separate; only the subject is shared.

A larger institutional story ran alongside. Charisma News reported that Highland Park United Methodist Church, a Dallas congregation of more than 15,000 members, is considering leaving the United Methodist Church as a legal battle between the two escalates. What began in court, the outlet said, could end in a denominational departure.

Two further disputes centred on access to public venues. Charisma News reported that a presentation defending Christianity at Baylor University was postponed after organizers received an $8,500 security bill — more than three times an earlier estimate — according to the apologist Frank Turek, who is accusing the historically Baptist university over the charge. The same outlet reported that Liberty Counsel says a Christian farming ministry was barred from the National FFA Convention and Expo after decades of exhibiting, and that the group is demanding the National FFA Organization reverse the rejection.

The courts and the Vatican also drew notice. Religion News Service, carrying a piece from The Conversation, reported that the Supreme Court will decide in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy whether religious preschools may take public funding while claiming exemptions from nondiscrimination rules. Religion News Service also carried an Associated Press report examining who governs the Catholic Church when a pope is sick or unconscious; the answer, it found, is the pope himself. A separate Religion News Service column argued that attacks on a Kansas Democrat's religion are not working.

Away from the disputes, Charisma News reported that an inscribed stone near an Egyptian farmer's home led archaeologists to the remains of a colossal statue of Ramses II, a pharaoh some link to the biblical Exodus, along with a second royal statue. Christianity Today reported on street-level job training through The Hub in the Binghampton neighbourhood of Memphis, and on a longer argument about whether the Declaration of Independence is a Christian document. The Gospel Coalition published a conversation with Randy Alcorn on misconceptions about heaven and an article questioning the use of AI in sermon preparation.

Zoom out: Capital punishment ran through two of the day's stories, a presidential reversal and a discussion of a botched execution.

What we're following

Sources

15,000-Member Texas Megachurch Weighs United Methodist Church Exit as Legal Battle Escalates Charisma News
After religious pushback, Trump says Pentagon won’t livestream execution Religion News Service
Gleaning on the Streets of Memphis Christianity Today
Heaven: Do We Know Enough to Want to Go? (with Randy Alcorn) The Gospel Coalition
Former CNN Host Chris Cuomo Suggests Christians Want to ‘Kill People’ Charisma News
Attacking the Democrat’s religion isn’t working in Kansas Religion News Service
Religious preschools want public funding, but exemptions from nondiscrimination rules – the Supreme Court will decide if that’s constitutional Religion News Service
Who’s in charge when the pope is unconscious and unable to govern? The pope Religion News Service
Frank Turek Says Baylor University More Than Tripled Security Fee for Christian Event Charisma News
Have Christians been getting Jesus’ most famous sermon wrong for 2,000 years? Religion News Service
Egyptian Farmer’s Find Reveals Giant Statue of Pharaoh Linked to Biblical Exodus Charisma News
Liberty Counsel: Christian Farmers Barred From FFA Convention Over Their Faith Charisma News
Is the Declaration of Independence a Christian Document? Christianity Today
AI Makes Sermon Prep Effortless. That’s the Problem. The Gospel Coalition

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