In Brief...May 8-14

Marketing a False Gospel: The prophet Ezekiel denounced spiritual leaders who made merchandise off people and fed them with a false "prosperity gospel". There is too much of this today among evangelical ministers in the large mega-church movement. I will have more to say about this in another post. Meanwhile read this article in Business Week for an analysis of this corner of religion in America.

Scalia A Possible Chief Justice: The importance of the American judiciary in shaping the social landscape is highlighted in this analysis of a possible appointment of Justice Antonin Scalia as a future Chief Justice.

U. S. Federal Judge Rejects Gay-Marriage Ban: In November of 2000 seventy percent of Nebraskans voted for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and woman. Today a federal judge ruled the amendment unconstitutional. Another example of the importance of the debate taking place in the United States Senate over the confirmation of judicial appointees. This issue is going to get bigger.

Alarm Spreads as North Korea Speeds Up Nuclear Drive: North Korea is getting closer to testing a nuclear bomb according to a report on Wednesday. Could China be the key to stopping this from happening? Some think so. The fact it has not pressured North Korea to halt its plans is seen as a means of reducing American influence in the region, a long term goal of China's policy.