Claremont church Nativity scene replaces Jesus with Trayvon Martin

On the lawn of a Claremont church, just like at many churches at this time of year, cutouts of wise men on camelback head toward a makeshift stable, a meager wooden structure where Mary and Joseph have huddled inside. For several years, Zachary has brought his artistic interpretations of the Nativity - as well as the occasional controversy - to the church, as he used a scene that traditionally conveys themes of joy and innocence to spread messages of social justice. Ever since the Nativity got national attention last week, when a local newspaper's story went viral, the church has been bombarded with phone calls, emails and Facebook messages. The Rev. Dan Lewis, a pastor at the church, said he feared many of those complaining had seen only the photographs that had spread online but hadn't read the statement by Zachary on a placard next to it, explaining his vision.
Source: LOS ANGELES TIMES


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Philippine typhoon victims seek solace at church

For the first time since the monster storm swept through the central Philippines on Nov. 8, the 22-year-old nurse washed and dressed for church. As a priest offered prayers for the storm's victims, Cabiao sat at the back of Santo Niño Church, fighting back tears. Survivors of one of the worst storms on record, many of them homeless and grieving over lost loved ones, sought solace Sunday at ruined churches in Tacloban and other hard-hit cities. When the storm hit, Cabiao sought shelter with her sister-in-law and two nieces at Tacloban's Astrodome sports stadium.
Source: LOS ANGELES TIMES


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Mexico seminary joins list of extortion callers' targets

MEXICO CITY - It is a distressingly common part of life in modern Mexico: the bullying phone call demanding that the person who answers pay up - or else. In a sermon Sunday, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera announced that a vice rector at the Conciliar Seminary of Mexico received a number of threatening phone calls Nov. 20-21. The callers, the cardinal said, demanded 60,000 pesos - about $4,500 - "In exchange for respecting the lives of the superiors of that institution," according to a statement issued Sunday evening by the Archdiocese of Mexico. Cardinal Rivera, according to the archdiocese, instructed the rector of the Mexico City seminary to report the threatening phone calls to officials.
Source: LOS ANGELES TIMES


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How An 18-Year-Old Code Was Cracked On The Web In 13 Minutes

Hide captionThis undated family photo shows the back of an index card on which Dorothy Holm wrote before her death in 1996. "Eighteen years later, the puzzle has been solved after one of Holm's granddaughters posted images of a card online. In just 13 minutes, a MetaFilter.com user figured out that as Dorothy Holm was dying, she was writing out prayers." Janna Holm, the granddaughter who posted about Dorothy Holm's index cards Monday at 4:13 p.m. CT, was astounded to see that solution pop up on the MetaFilter thread at 4:26 p.m. the same day. Why did Dorothy Holm spend time during the final weeks of her life in 1996 filling 20 index cards with capital letters?
Source: NPR


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Texas Overhauls Textbook Approval To Ease Tensions Over Evolution

The fight over the teaching of evolution has been particularly fierce in Texas, which because of its size influences many textbook publishers. The Texas Board of Education, which has long been an ideological battleground for the teaching of evolution, says it will limit the use of citizen review panels and instead give priority to teachers in determining science and history curricula. Science curricula in particular have become a source of tension over the past 30 years amid moves to downplay the teaching of evolution or to include biblically inspired creationism or "Intelligent design." Among the changes approved by the state on Friday was "a mandate for teachers and professors to be given priority for serving on textbook review panels for subjects in their areas of expertise. They also enable the board to appoint outside experts to check objections that review panels raise," The Associated Press says.
Source: NPR


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Which Are The Most, And Least, 'Bible-Minded' Cities In The U.S?

Hide captionA new study ranks 100 American cities according to how "Bible-minded" they are. A new study gives us an idea of which cities can be considered to be part of that tradition - and which cities aren't. Las Vegas, the town often called Sin City, ranked 90th. Another city known for debauchery, New Orleans, came in at No. 35. That's according to the American Bible Society, which ranked the cities after conducting interviews by phone and online over a period of seven years.
Source: NPR


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In Jahi McMath saga, science and religion clash

The legal logistics were resolved Friday, when the family and hospital officials met in court and reached an agreement that will allow Jahi to remain on the ventilator while she is transferred to another facility. Jahi's family's determined crusade reflects our collective cultural discomfort with unpalatable end-of-life choices - and our tendency to arm for battle, rather than aim for understanding. "The family is going to talk, going to pray, going to cry.... We have to handle that family respectfully and with as much dignity as we can." He would have convened a team of physicians, social workers, grief counselors and clergy to walk Jahi's family through the process: to explain why a twitch when you touch your daughter isn't a sign of life, to help the family focus on saying goodbye instead of holding on.
Source: LOS ANGELES TIMES


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