Katherine Kersten writes in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights, MN. Though charter schools are public schools and by law must not endorse or promote religion, a one-time substitute teacher informed Kersten that TIZA seems to requires daily prayer from students (led by a full-time TIZA employee) and an "Islamic Studies" class at the end of the day. TIZA received $65,260 in government funds last year. World Magazine reports that the ACLU has apparently taken the right side on this one: In a letter to principal … [Read more...] about A Muslim Charter School in Minnesota
Archives for April 2008
Theological Liberalism Weakens Seminaries
Dr. Albert Mohler insightfully comments on a NYT article which chronicles the financial and numerical turmoil of seminaries that embrace theological liberalism. Weak seminaries are the result of weak denominations and weak denominations are the inevitable fruit of theological liberalism (United Church of Christ, Presbyterian Church USA, The Episcopal Church USA, etc.). The upshot is fascinating:"The nation has 165 seminaries, but 39 percent of seminary students attend just 20 of them. The 20 large institutions, all but two evangelical Christian, raise substantial money, have big endowments … [Read more...] about Theological Liberalism Weakens Seminaries
Impact of Religion on Sexuality at College Campuses
Donna Freitas, author of forthcoming Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America's College Campuses (Oxford University Press, April 11, 2008), writes an excellent article in today's Wall Street Journal on the impact of religion on the dating and sexual habits of college students: After conducting a national college survey of over 2,500 students, I found that among those who reported "hooking up" -- a range of sexually intimate acts, from kissing to intercourse, that occur outside a committed relationship -- at Catholic and nonreligious private and … [Read more...] about Impact of Religion on Sexuality at College Campuses
Faith Comes By Hearing
In a new IVP Academic book entitled Faith Comes by Hearing: A Response to Inclusivism, editors Christopher W. Morgan (Associate Dean and Professor of theology at California Baptist University, and senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Barstow, CA) and Robert Peterson (Professor of systematic theology at Covenant Theological Seminary and a teaching elder in the PCA) offer a new spectrum for classifying responses to the important question, "Is there any basis for hope that those who do not hear of Christ in this life will be saved?" The traditional classification puts responses into three … [Read more...] about Faith Comes By Hearing
Gender Imbalance in Higher Education
Nancy Gibbs writes a short, provocative essay in Time Magazine on a troubling topic that many are reluctant to discuss: female college students are generally both more numerous and of a higher quality than their male counterparts. This leads to a widespread imbalance: Roughly 58% of undergraduates nationally are female, and the girl-boy ratio will probably tip past 60-40 in a few years. The divide is even worse for black males, who are outnumbered on campus by black females 2 to 1.The response? Lower standards for male applicants is not uncommon. U.S. News & World Report found that the … [Read more...] about Gender Imbalance in Higher Education
The Boundless Show
The Boundless Show is a weekly podcast that has now run its tenth program. Host Lisa Anderson leads a 45 minute (or so) discussion that consists of engaging segments relevant to young adults interspersed with catchy music. From a March 31 press release: The Young Adults team at Focus on the Family recently launched “The Boundless Show,” the audio companion to the already popular Boundless webzine and Boundless Line blog for singles and young adults. The first ten episodes are now available online. “The Boundless Show” is a magazine-format weekly podcast that releases a new episode each … [Read more...] about The Boundless Show