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Associated Press Jerusalem – A 215-year-old Jewish manuscript stolen from a Tel Aviv library a decade ago will be returned by the German library where it surfaced, an Israeli official said Tuesday. Israeli Embassy officials are currently arranging the manuscript’s transfer from the German National Library in Berlin back to Israel, said Avigdor Levin, the…

Associated Press St. Paul, Minnesota – Muslim cab drivers whose religious beliefs go against driving passengers who carry alcohol have lost another round in court. The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday against the cab drivers’ attempt to block penalties for refusing service. An ordinance adopted by the Metropolitan Airports Commission last year revokes a…

The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio – September 8, 2008 Sep. 8–Three former Internal Revenue Service executives plan to file a complaint today against a coalition of Christian lawyers who they say are unethically encouraging pastors nationwide to talk about political candidates from the pulpit. The complainants, including a former IRS commissioner, are challenging the Alliance Defense…

Associated Press – September 8, 2008 DOTHAN, Ala. – Larry Blumberg is looking for a few good Jews to move to his corner of the Bible Belt. Blumberg is chairman of an organization offering Jewish families as much as $50,000 to relocate to Dothan, an overwhelmingly Christian town of 58,000 that calls itself the Peanut…

Associated Press – September 7, 2008 WASHINGTON – Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama acknowledged Sunday that he was probably too flip when he said it was “above my pay grade” to answer a question about when is a baby entitled to human rights. Obama gave his answer last month at a nationally televised religious forum…

By Tim Murphy Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) While Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s staunch evangelical conservatism may appeal to her party’s Christian base, the Alaska governor’s home state ranks among the nation’s least religious. According to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, Alaskans are less likely to believe in God, pray,…

By Steve Rabey c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) “The Shack,” a novel of horror and healing that was rejected by more than a dozen publishers, has sold more than 2 million copies to become the bestselling religion book of the past year. Author William P. Young, who goes by Paul, says he wasn’t writing…

By Bill Graves c. 2008 Religion News Service COOS BAY, Ore. — Kitzen and Jeni Branting have been in a committed lesbian relationship since high school and plan to get legally married in Oregon next spring. True, voters amended the state Constitution in 2004 to allow marriage only between a man and a woman. And…

Associated Press Los Angeles – The departure of a key figure in a record $660 million clergy sexual abuse settlement has endangered part of the deal that some plaintiffs consider more important than the money: the promise by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles to allow the release of accused priests’ confidential files. More…

By Eric Gorski and Rachel Zoll Associated Press St. Paul, Minnesota – Sarah Palin often identifies herself simply as Christian. Yet John McCain’s running mate has deep roots in Pentecostalism, a spirit-filled Christian tradition that is one of the fastest growing in the world. It’s often derided by outsiders and Bible-believers alike. Palin was baptized…

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