News 10
data and concluded that the smarter you are, the less likely you are to believe in God. But Lillian Daniel, a pastor and author of When ‘Spiritual But Not Religious’ is Not Enough (Jericho Books, 2013), said many intelligent people are comfortable with “the metaphor and mystery” of faith. “It’s not that intelligence leads to atheism, or education leads to loss of faith,” she said. “But I think there is a certain peer pressure as one moves up the educational ladder to dismiss all religion as fundamentalism. It’s one of the last acceptable biases in an environment that prides itself on being open-minded.”
10 years for Bibles
Authorities in northern Iran have closed some Christian churches and sentenced one Iranian Christian convert to 10 years in prison for dis-
tributing Bibles, reported the Vati- can missionary news agency Fides. Mohammad-Hadi Bordhar was first arrested in December for distributing thousands of pocket-sized Bibles. Bordhar, who ran a house church in Rasht, was accused of “crimes against state security.” He had been previously arrested and released in 2009 for apostasy. Christians make up less than 1 percent of the country’s population.
Size matters How you view racial inequalities cor- relates with the size of your congre- gation, researchers at Baylor Univer- sity, Waco, Texas, and the University of Southern California, Los Ange- les, found. Unlike most in smaller congregations, members of “very large” churches don’t tend to attri- bute racial inequalities “to discrimi-
nation or lack of quality education, but to something other than struc- tural failings in society,” research- ers reported. However, African- Americans in megachurches were “more aware of systemic racism than their white counterparts,” they said. USC researcher Ryon Cobb said they found congregational size “matters above and beyond denominational affiliations, religious traditions and political beliefs.”
Reader call: Pastor Hope? Perhaps you know someone whose name fits his or her profession. Harry the hair stylist? Dr. Molar the dentist? What about a pastor or other church leader? Send your (brief, 200-word) story about a clergy name that fits to
julie.sevig@
thelutheran.org or The Lutheran, 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chi- cago, IL, 60631, by Oct. 15.
Solar panel savings Peace Lutheran Church, Peoria, Ariz., committed itself to caring for God’s creation through energy conservation. The parish
installed solar panels over three of its roofs, costing $460,000 (leased, and expected to last 25 to 30 years). Arizona Public Service estimates that 95 percent to 98 percent of the church’s electricity needs will be met through the spring and fall production of sunlight. Because of the savings, money will be freed up for mission, said Dale Kvittem-Bar, parish administrator.
12 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
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