Christianity Today readers, or those like them, may have more success keeping those quick-to-fade (and out of vogue?) New Year's resolutions than secular or "spiritual but not religious" peers. That's the conclusion of John Tierney's recent New York Times piece about the high correlation between personal religiosity and self-control.

Michael McCullough and Brian Willoughby are two psychologists at the University of Miami interested in religion professionally but who "personally . . . don't get down on the field much," quips McCullough. They just published the results of their 8-year study testing the hypothesis that religion gives people internal strength in Psychological Bulletin. McCullough and Willoughby concluded that the "controls" of religious belief typically used to explain religious folk's emphasis on morality - guilt, fear of punishment, exclusion from a worshiping community - do not fully account for their ability to resist temptation.

"Brain-scan studies have shown that when people pray or meditate, there's a lot of activity in two parts of the brain that are important for self-regulation and control of attention and emotion," McCullough said. "The rituals that religions have been encouraging for thousands of years seem to be a kind of anaerobic workout for self-control."

According to McCullough, even individuals who go along with a worshiping community's organized rituals, but who don't necessarily subscribe to the beliefs taught there (the "extrinsically religious"), will not be able to practice self-discipline as much as those who go but actually absorb what is taught ("intrinsically religious").

So the conclusion of this study: Those who believe their actions, words, and decisions have meaning beyond immediate ramifications and what's now visible put more weight on their actions, words, and decisions. Makes sense to this terribly unscientific thinker.

Read the study here, and take CT's poll on New Year's resolutions.

The Rev. Robert J. Marshall, who led the former Lutheran Church in America and helped lay the groundwork for the church's merger with two other denominations to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, died Dec. 22. He was 90.

Marshall, a dedicated ecumenist, was elected president of the Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S., in 1968, according to the ELCA.

He served as president for a decade, helping prepare the LCA to merge with the American Lutheran Church and Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in 1987 to form the 5 million-member ELCA.

Current ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson recalled Marshall as a steady soul who led Lutherans through turbulent times.

"To God we give thanks for the service of the Reverend Dr. Robert James Marshall, who himself became one of those giants among Lutheran leaders who served in the 20th century," Hanson said in a statement.

Colorado-based Focus on the Family has pulled an online interview with conservative television host Glenn Beck after concerns were raised about Beck's Mormon faith.

Gary Schneeberger, vice president of media and public relations for Focus on the Family Action, said that "differences in the Mormon faith and the historical evangelical faith are not inconsequential."

"We can, and do, gladly cooperate with friends outside of the evangelical heritage on common causes; but in no case do we intend to alter our clear distinction as unwaveringly grounded in evangelical theology."

Beck has appeared on Focus on the Family founder James Dobson's radio program, and has hosted Dobson on his own former CNN show. Beck is scheduled to debut a new program on Fox News on Jan. 19. Both Dobson and Beck advocated for Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California.

Beck's interview with CitizenLink.org, Focus on the Family Action's Web site, touched on his Christmas memories and his recent bestselling book, "The Christmas Sweater."

On Dec. 22, Underground Apologetics, a Wisconsin-based group dedicated to helping Christians "defend their faith," criticized Focus on the Family for not mentioning Beck's membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its online interview.

"While Glenn's social views are compatible with many Christian views, his beliefs in Mormonism are not. Clearly, Mormonism is a cult," the press release said.

Schneeberger said the criticism from Underground Apologetics had "nothing to do with our decision to pull the article from publication" but admitted that "some from our base" were concerned that the interview aimed to "signal theological compromise."

"We regret having communicated in a way that has caused some confusion both from some within our evangelical base as well as from our friends, like Mr. Beck, who hold a sincere and devout Mormon faith," Schneeberger said. "We intended no insult; we merely miscalculated on
how best to feature Glenn."

Beck said in a statement, "Whatever your beliefs about my religion, the concept of religious tolerance is too important to be sacrificed in response to special interest groups, especially when it means bowing to censorship."

Beck, who has struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, credits his faith with redeeming him from past misdeeds and saving him from the brink of suicide.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney has decided, for "budgetary and logistical reasons," not to co-produce and co-finance The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the next film in the Chronicles of Narnia series.

Disney had partnered with Walden Media for the first two films, 2005's The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and this year's Prince Caspian.

As recently as a few weeks ago, two Walden Media employees had told CT Movies that plans for Dawn Treader were moving forward, with filming to start in the spring. Neither employee hinted that the plug might be pulled.

Walden, which owns the film rights to the Narnia stories, can still move forward with the films, but with production budgets approaching $200 million per film, it will be a difficult task. If Dawn Treader is to happen, Walden will likely have to partner with a studio willing to put up some hefty cash. They'll probably first look to Fox, its production and distribution partner on every other Walden film.

Talent for Dawn Treader--including director Michael Apted and star Ben Barnes, who plays Caspian--were already in place and ready to roll. It is too early to speculate what might, or might not, happen with the film, or if the rest of the series is to be scrapped altogether.

Walden Media has had a hit-and-miss record at the box office, with its latest release, City of Ember, bombing, prompting industry observers to wonder if Walden might be in trouble. Some have speculated that Fox might end its partnership with Walden, which would surely put the studio in a difficult position.

For more details, read the whole story in The Hollywood Reporter. CT Movies will stay on top of the story as it develops.

President Bush's focus on denying nuclear weapons to the megalomaniacal regime in Pyongyang needs to be broadened, according to Jay Lefkowitz, the outgoing administration's special envoy for human rights in North Korea. There is good precedent, according to Lefkowitz:

Beginning in the mid-1970s, the West and the Eastern Bloc began a long dialogue on security, economic and human-rights issues. The key to the negotiations that ensued -- known as the Helsinki Process -- was explicit linkage between these three "baskets," with the West insisting on verifiable progress in each area as a condition of financial aid or international recognition.

...

Today, a Helsinki-style model should be replicated with North Korea, and the U.S. should promote linkage among security, economic and human-rights issues. Significant economic assistance to North Korea should be offered, including development assistance, World Bank loans, trade access and food aid, but it must be given only in return for tangible, verifiable progress on all issues on the agenda. And human-rights progress should not be measured by bureaucrats meeting and reading prepared statements, but by tangible steps that move North Korea closer to the norms of the international community.

Lefkowitz says such a shift presents an opportunity for the Obama administration:

To be sure, the policy I am proposing is diplomacy with our adversaries. But President-elect Obama has made that one of his goals. And if we pursue a comprehensive approach to North Korea, we may find that we'll not only advance our security objectives, but also help some of the world's most abused people.

And the human rights needs are great. According to the Voice of America:

Religious and human rights groups estimate that 150,000 to 200,000 people are believed to be held in political prison camps in remote areas of North Korea, some for religious reasons. Prison conditions are harsh, and refugees and defectors who have been in prison said that prisoners held on the basis of their religious beliefs generally are treated worse than other inmates.

For recent Christianity Today coverage of North Korea, click here.

The global economic troubles are an opportunity to emerge from the spiral of debt and me-first consumption, says the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. He complained to the BBC last week that such "moral questions" are not being considered as the government plans jump start the economy.

Rather than restart old habits of mass consumption, Williams said, "I'd like to think that in this sort of crisis, people would be reflecting more on how we develop a volunteer culture, where people are willing to put their services at the service of the needs of others so that there can be a more active and vital civil society."

But Prime Minister Gordon Brown is having none of the Archbishop's criticism. Brown is taking the argument to Williams's own turf by recalling the parable of the Good Samaritan. "Every time someone becomes unemployed or loses their home or a small business fails it is our duty to act, and we should not walk by on the other side when people are facing problems."

Sunday Adelaja has been a controversial figure in Kyiv church life for some time. The senior pastor of Embassy of God megachurch has drawn criticism for allegedly overreporting attendance, preaching a prosperity gospel, exaggerating his role in the Orange Revolution, and for his church's relatively flamboyant cultural engagement.

But this time, he faces allegations of criminal misbehavior. Charisma ran a long article about accusations that Adelaja was at the center of a scam that bilked investors - many of them congregants - of $100 million.

Pentecostal leaders allege Adelaja encouraged church members to invest in King's Capital,

But last month, several church members went to authorities saying they were unable to recover the money they invested, which left many of them bankrupt. Police later arrested one of King's Capital leaders, Aleksandr Bandurchenko, on suspicion of fraud.

So far, it's unclear whether King's Capital was a legitimate venture that failed, as Adelaja claims, or a pyramid scheme.

The press release on Embassy of God's website sends some mixed messages, quoting Nehemiah 6:3 ("I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down"), John 8:7 ("If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her"), and Micah 7:8 (Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise). But Adelaja denies he had anything "to do with the King's Capital management, administration, and moreover finances."

Update (April 19, 2013): The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that The Falls Church, a "3,000-member congregation [that] voted in 2006 to leave the Episcopal Church did not have the right to keep the sprawling property known as the Falls Church."

The ruling, which came yesterday, affirmed a lower court’s decision in favor of the denomination, but also "said some of the nearly $3 million in church coffers belongs to the Falls Church Anglican congregation."

CT previously reported on this case in 2010, when the Virginia Supreme Court overturned an earlier win for the congregation.
----

Early this week, I caught word that the judge in Virginia would issue an important ruling today in the church property dispute involving the Episcopal Diocese of Virgina, the national Episcopal Church, and break-away congregations organized into the Anglican District of Virginia.

Here's the press release, which I received about 15 minutes ago:

FAIRFAX, Va. (December 19, 2008) ? The judge presiding in the church property trial between the Episcopal Church and eleven former congregations, now affiliated with the Anglican District of Virginia (ADV), ruled in the congregations' favor today. The final rulings in this case concerned whether four parcels of property owned by the Anglican congregations were covered by the congregations' Division petitions.

"We welcome these final, favorable rulings in this case. This has been a long process and we are grateful that the court has agreed with us," said Jim Oakes, vice-chairman of ADV. "It is gratifying to see the court recognize that the true owner of The Historic Falls Church is The Falls Church's congregation, not the denomination, and that the building is protected by the Division Statute. The Falls Church has held and cared for this property for over 200 years."

"We hope that The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia will realize that it is time to stop this legal battle. In these economic times, we should be focused on helping our communities and spreading the Gospel, not spending millions of dollars on ongoing legal battles. The money we have been forced to spend to keep our property from being forcibly taken away from us is money that could have been spent in more productive ways.

"While the judge ruled that issues surrounding The Falls Church Endowment Fund will be heard at a later date, ADV is confident that we will prevail on this last outstanding issue," Oakes said.

On April 3, 2008, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows issued a landmark ruling that acknowledged a division within The Episcopal Church, the Diocese of Virginia and the larger Anglican Communion. Judge Bellows affirmed that the Anglican congregations in Virginia could invoke the Virginia Division Statute (Virginia Code ? 57-9) in their defense. The Virginia Division Statute states that majority rule should apply when a division in a denomination or diocese results in the disaffiliation of an organized group of congregations. On June 27, 2008, Judge Bellows issued a ruling that confirmed the constitutionality of Virginia Division Statute (Virginia Code ? 57-9) under the First Amendment. On August 22, 2008, he issued a ruling that upheld the constitutionality of the Division Statute under the Contracts Clause of the Constitution.

"We hope that the Diocese will reconsider its previous promises to appeal. While we are prepared to continue to defend ourselves, we are ready to put this litigation behind us so we can focus our time, money and effort on the work of the Gospel," Oakes concluded.

The Episcopal Church (TEC) and the Diocese abruptly broke off settlement negotiations with the Anglican congregations in January 2007 and filed lawsuits against the Virginia churches, their ministers and their vestries. The decision of The Episcopal Church and the Diocese to redefine and reinterpret Scripture caused 11 Anglican churches in Virginia to sever their ties with TEC and the Virginia Diocese.

For conservative Anglicans, this is a day to rejoice. It's an early Christmas present. But while one battle is won, the war (so to speak) seems far from over. It is widely expected that Episcopal church lawyers will file an appeal very soon.

Here's what Anglican Bishop Martyn Minns, from Truro Church and the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, had to say:

Hollywood Elsewhere's Jeffrey Wells isn't alone in his dislike for the recent remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. He's also not alone in his disdain for Christians.

But Wells might be alone in saying that the new movie isn't very good because it was made by a Christian.

In a recent blog post titled "Thou Shalt Not," Wells writes, "On top of his other allegiances, The Day The Earth Stood Still director Scott Derrickson is an avowed Christian. Which has clouded his vision."

Huh? Wells is certainly free to question Derrickson's vision; that's what movie buffs and film critics do. But to blame it on the guy's faith? Wow.

The inaugural gathering of The Jesus Project, a group of biblical scholars and academics in related disciplines embarking on a five-year quest to unearth the historical Jesus, took place in Amherst, N.Y. December 5th through 7th. Historian R. Joseph Hoffman, Chair of The Scientific Committee for the Study of Religion (CSER), the Jesus Project's sponsor, describes the group's intent and operating principles on its website.

The Jesus Project, as CSER has named the new effort, is the first methodologically agnostic approach to the question of Jesus' historical existence. But we are not neutral, let alone willfully ambiguous, about the objectives of the project itself. We believe in assessing the quality of the evidence available for looking at this question before seeing what the evidence has to tell us. We do not believe the task is to produce a "plausible" portrait of Jesus prior to considering the motives and goals of the Gospel writers in telling his story. We think the history and culture of the times provide many significant clues about the character of figures similar to Jesus. We believe the mixing of theological motives and historical inquiry is impermissible. We regard previous attempts to rule the question out of court as vestiges of a time when the Church controlled the boundaries of permissible inquiry into its sacred books. More directly, we regard the question of the historical Jesus as a testable hypothesis, and we are committed to no prior conclusions about the outcome of our inquiry. This is a statement of our principles, and we intend to stick to them.

The project was devised more than two years ago, and officially launched at a January 2007 conference, "Scripture and Skepticism," at the University of California at Davis.

CSER's website provides a list of notable attendees at this December's gathering, as well as a schedule of proceedings, and a follow-up report.

Public radio WBFO 88.7 FM in Buffalo interviewed one scholar involved in the project, Robert M. Price, two days before the event. According to his website bio, Price attended a fundamentalist (his word) Baptist church early in life, was involved in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship during his time at Montclair State College, and received an MTS degree in New Testament from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in the late ''70s. Since this time Price has distanced himself from evangelical Christianity, collected two PhDs, moved in and out of various forms of institutionalized liberal religion, and written numerous books. A 2007 release, Jesus is Dead, argues, according to its back cover, that

(1) not only is there no good reason to think that Jesus ever rose from the dead, (2) there is no good reason to think that he ever lived or died at all.

The publisher also notes that readers of the book

will have ammunition with which to counter the arguments of muscular apologists such as Gary Habermas, N.T. Wright, or William Lane Craig.

Price's inclusion in a study group premised on the belief that "the mixing of theological motives and historical inquiry is impermissible" has not been lost on Dan Wallace, professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary and Executive Director for the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts. Blogging at PrimeTimeJesus, Wallace writes:

No one is neutral when it comes to Jesus, and we might as well all admit that fact. It is beyond my comprehension how a man who has explicitly and frequently written that the historical Jesus is a myth could be a part of this project.

The Jesus Project's next conference is tentatively scheduled for May 2009 in Chicago. Papers from the December 2008 conference will be published in 2009 by Prometheus Books under the title Sources of the Jesus Tradition: An Inquiry.

We are ten days away from Christmas Day 2008 and India's Christians confess to being more than a little worried over the outbreak of new violence.

The Christmas season 2007 was the occasion for widespread attacks on Christians inside India. Last week, church leaders met with India's minister of Home Affairs:

Fr Joseph Babu, spokesman for the Bishops' Conference of India, expressed "great apprehension" in a meeting Wednesday between a Catholic Church delegation and Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram over a possible repeat this year of last year's anti-Christian violence during Christmas celebrations. In response Union Home Affairs minister reassured the delegation that the state would ensure protection for Christians and their property in Orissa.
Attacks against churches and the murder of Christians is not a problem limited to Orissa. Case in point: on Tuesday the All Indian Christian Council (AICC) released a report on anti-Christian violence in the state of Karnataka.

In light of the terrorism in Mumbai and the extensive attacks in Orissa, Christians cannot presume that a) the government can protect lives; or, b) there is no group currently planning a fresh attack on churches or Christian villlages.

This afternoon, I received an email from a Christian leader (living elsewhere in Asia) who expects to be visiting family inside India during the next three weeks or so.

I asked him about church leaders and their preparation; and he replied:

"They are taking precautions, but the poor and innocent always suffer. Church leaders can't do much against organized mobs that are supported tacitly by the government and police."

This kind of comment is not idle speculation. There is clear indication that in some areas the police in India look the other way when mobs target Christians, their homes, or churches.

Praying for peace on earth and good will toward men is no idle petition to all-mighty God.

The Rev. Robert A. Schuller has resigned as senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral in Southern California after his father, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, said his son would no longer be the sole preacher on the church's "Hour of Power" television program.

In October, the elder Schuller said differences between the two men over the "direction and the vision" of the megachurch and its related television broadcast had led them to "part ways." At that time, the younger Schuller remained as the church's senior pastor while the elder Schuller hosted the broadcast and invited a range of guest speakers to the pulpit.

A statement on Crystal Cathedral's Web site says its executive team has accepted the younger Schuller's resignation and he remains a member of the Reformed Church in America, the denomination with which the church is affiliated.

"It is expected that Robert will make an announcement soon regarding plans for his new ministry," reads the statement. "The leadership and congregation wishes him all the best as his plans unfold."

The Rev. Juan Carlos Ortiz, founder of Crystal Cathedral Hispanic Ministry, has been named interim senior pastor.

Crystal Cathedral spokesman John Charles said the elder Schuller's role has not changed at the ministry. The pulpit is being filled by a rotation of pastors around the country, he said.

As of Monday (Dec. 15), Charles said the younger Schuller had not yet announced his future plans.

Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., best known among evangelicals for his ecumenical work with Evangelicals and Catholics Together, died at 6:30 this morning at a Jesuit infirmary in Bronx, New York, first reported by In All Things, the blog of national Catholic weekly America. His health had been failing from the effects of childhood polio. He was 90 years old.

Dulles was widely considered to be one of America's top Catholic theologians, rising to the position of cardinal in 2001 without having first been a bishop, and was personally visited by Pope Benedict XVI in April.

An account of Dulles' ascendancy to cardinal can be found here. Collections of Dulles' work can be found here and here.

Update: Reactions from ECT evangelicals.

Dulles was the preeminent Catholic theologian in North America for generations and deeply informed Catholic, evangelical and ecumenical theology, said Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School and longtime participant in Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT).

"It's a great loss to the Church," said George. "He's irreplaceable. There's nobody in Catholic theology near his stature."

"This is a very serious blow to the whole Christian movement," said Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship and co-founder of ECT. "I am deeply grieved by Cardinal Dulles' passing."

Dulles had been highly active in ECT, an ecumenical group of 10 evangelical and 10 Catholic theologians first convened by Colson and Richard Neuhaus in 1994, since its inception and never missed a meeting until last year, said George. Even after a stroke left Dulles unable to speak, the cardinal attended ECT meetings and participated in discussions via keyboard.

George, who worked directly with Dulles on drafts of ECT statements, said the cardinal was skilled at keeping the ecumenical group focused on its goals and reframing discussions to move past impasses.

"He's been especially encouraging to evangelicals?. He saw the importance of evangelicals and Catholics working together for unity," said George.

Dulles will remain influential as the ecumenical movement moves on. "We have a lot of wisdom still to garner from his writings. He will continue to be a major figure we refer to in the future," said George. "We will continue to follow in his train as best we can with the Lord's help."

Richard Cizik resigned Wednesday night as vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals.

Christianity Today has posted a news story on its main site and an interview with Leith Anderson, president of the NAE.

The election topped religion news stories of the year lists.

Here is Time magazine's David Van Biema's take.

1. The Economy Trumps Religion
2. Never Count the Mormons Out
3. The Pope Wows the States
4. The Canterbury non-Tale
5. America's Unfaithful Faith
6. Tibet's Monks Rebel
7. The Birth of the New Evangelicalism
8. The Challenge of Recession
9. When Kosher Wasn't Kosher
10. Extraterrestrials May Already be Saved

Religion News Service's Kevin Eckstrom focuses on the election, Pope Benedict XVI's visit, gay marriage ballots, the Anglican division, the FLDS raid, a church-state case at the Supreme Court, and interfaith relations.

You will get Christianity Today's top 10 (with an evangelical bent) from in your December issue, and it was posted online today.

1. Election 2008: Democrats woo evangelical vote, making only slight gains from Bush era.
2. Voters turn back California Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision.
3. Christians in Orissa, India, again become scapegoats for Hindu extremists.
4. Anglican Communion continues to implode in slow motion.
5. Christians flee Iraq and Gaza.
6. Candidates' religious associations come under scrutiny.
7. Ministries hold their breath as financial crisis threatens the global economy.
8. Muslim and Christian interfaith dialogues get serious.
9. Todd Bentley's Florida Outpouring divides charismatic movement.
10. Texas authorities raid FLDS ranch.

You can vote on the top story here today.

Sunday's Daily Mail and yesterday's Telegraph covered the removal of words associated with Christianity (and therefore, British history), fairy tales, and nature in the latest edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary.

Words such as disciple, devil, monk, fern, elf, pasture, and willow have been removed from the 10,000-word dictionary and replaced with words such as MP3 player, blog, tolerant, democratic, and biodegradable - all to reflect England's multicultural, technological ethos, says publisher Oxford University Press.

Vineeta Gupta, head of children's dictionaries at Oxford, told the Telegraph, "Nowadays, the environment has changed. We are also much more multicultural. People don't go to Church as often as before. Our understanding of religion is within multiculturalism, which is why some words such as Pentecost or Whitsun would have been in 20 years ago but not now."

(That was probably a good call on Whitsun.)

It's a little unclear why both papers are reporting on the changes now, as the newest edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary came out in 2007. Both papers cite an Irish mother of four, Lisa Saunders, who compared six editions of the dictionary from the last 30 years and was "horrified" by the number of words that had been removed.

"The Christian faith still has a strong following," Saunders told the Daily Mail. "To eradicate so many words associated with the Christianity will have a big effect on the numerous primary schools who use it."

The Atlantic's Ross Douthat aptly noted that the removal of animals like gerbil and porcupine from a children's dictionary is particularly perplexing, perhaps more so than the removal of churchy words. Vox Day of World Net Daily, on the other hand, sees the word-swaps as warning signs of the destruction of Western culture due to immigration and pluralism.

If your family is anything like mine, you probably have an Advent calendar sitting around. Let's be honest: The chocolate ones really are the best.

The Church of England recently released a video Advent calendar as digital Advent calendars become more and more popular.

There's even an Advent calendar application for the iPhone. I am not cool enough to have an iPhone, so I asked our news intern Ruth Moon to spare .99 cents to review it for me. Here's what she says:

The calendar is organized in the shape of a cross, with the four Sundays of Advent as the points. Each day features a painting related to Advent or Bible history; day one's painting is Rembrandt's "Moses Smashing the Tablets of the Law." The day's meditation consists of a Scripture-based opening liturgy, with Bible verses compiled from this year's Advent liturgy.
Several verses from a hymn constitute the Meditation, and Day One concludes with an Old Testament Advent reading from Isaiah and a prayer incorporating the day's readings and the Lord's Prayer.

The application is not incredible - it would be nice for it to include mp3s of the hymns quoted, and the meditations have a few too many exclamation points for this reviewer's taste, but for $0.99, the application is a convenient and affordable way to have an Advent liturgy within a finger's reach this season.

You can also listen to some songs for free through Sojourn Artists (h/t Justin Taylor).

Last but not least, Susan Wunderink has been putting together compelling images and liturgy for Christianity Today's online Advent calendar.

Alexy II, the Moscow Russian Orthodox patriarch who presided since 1990, died last night. The church has not revealed the immediate cause of his death and may take up several months to induct a new patriarch, according to the Associated Press.

The Russian union of Evangelical Christian-Baptists (RUECB) released a statement with portions of a letter of condolence from their chairman, Yuri Sipko: "During [the '90s] the voice of the Russian Orthodox Church was the voice of peace and hope. We highly value the courage and endurance, which Patriarch Alexy showed in the period of the formation of a new Russia."

A key figure in the resurgence of religion in post-Soviet Russia, Alexy II both unified Orthodox groups and discouraged other denominations from evangelizing. The East-West Report lists several examples of him urging legislation to limit non-Orthodox denominations and regulate religious activity in Russia.

In spite of this, he engaged in some discussions with other denominations, including the Baptists.

Despite their tense relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church, the Vatican released a statement saying that, "His personal commitment to improving relations with the Catholic Church, in spite of the difficulties and tensions which from time to time have emerged, has never been in doubt."

Alexy II also had a complicated relationship with the state, as did many pastors and priests. Most obituaries mention that he has been accused of collaborating with the Soviet authorities, and the BBC calls him a favorite of the KGB. The Orthodox church denies any connection. He is as well known for denouncing a KGB plot against Gorbachev. His relationship with Russia's current president, Medvedev, showed how close Russia's leaders and the church and the church have become in the last few years.

Before short-term missions became all the rage in evangelical global outreach, the standard was career missions, where cross-cultural workers would spend decades learning the language and culture of a people in order to share the gospel. In the 19th century many missionaries to Africa, for example, came with their own coffins, never expecting to leave.

Lucette Lagnado's article in the Wall Street Journal on Judaism's Chabad Movement brought to mind some similarities:

Perhaps the most telling story I've heard about Chabad emissaries is that some will buy burial plots once they arrive at their distant outposts: It is a gesture to the community -- and perhaps also to themselves -- that they have come to stay.

Lagnado opens a window to a fascinating and important development in today's Judaism.

David Briggs, the religion reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer for the past decade, was among those laid off by the paper this week, the Cleveland Leader reports. His writing also appeared often in Religion News Service, and he had served as president of the Religion Newswriters Association. Before coming to the Plain Dealer, Briggs was a national religion writer for The Associated Press in the 1990s.

We've lost a lot of full-time religion reporter positions lately, as well as a lot of longtime religion journalists. I'm not sure if The Orlando Sentinel, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, San Diego Union Tribune, East Valley (Ariz.) Tribune, and other papers have replaced the religion reporters there who have been laid off or bought out, but I don't think so.

In related news, U.S. News & World Report religion reporter/pundit Jay Tolson has left the magazine to become director of central news at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Christian book publisher Thomas Nelson cut 10 percent of its workforce today, Michael S. Hyatt, President and CEO of the company wrote on his blog.

The company laid off 54 employees, the second round of layoffs at Thomas Nelson this year.

Wendy Lee writes at The Tennessean that sales of religious books alone have declined by 8.9 percent year to date, according to Subtext, a newsletter published by Open Book Publishing Inc.

In April, the company cut roughly 60 of its 600-plus employees at the time as it trimmed the number of book titles it publishes by half.

The decline in religious book sales follows a robust period for the sector from 2002 to 2006.

Another Christian publishing company, Zondervan, cut 18 positions earlier this year.

The Boston Globe has a great story and video about a company it calls "Microsoft of altar bread."

Mark Arsenault writes about the Cavanagh Company in Rhode Island, which makes 25 million Communion wafers each week and boasts of an 80 percent market share in the United States. Even in a recession, the company's CEO says that sales are up as much as 5 percent this year.

The company noticed a dip in Catholic Church attendance reflected in lower sales in the early part of this decade after the church sex abuse scandal broke.

"We're cautiously optimistic that the numbers have bottomed out and are on the way back up," he said. He thinks the increases may be due to the economy. He also cited the pope's US visit last April, in which the pontiff expressed regret for the scandal.

The Cavanagh Co. also provides wafers for other denominations, such as Lutheran and Episcopal churches, the family said. They bake an entirely different style of altar bread for Southern Baptist churches. Those breads are small white squares. "They probably would double as a great soup cracker," said Andy.

In that spirit, the family revealed last week that they are experimenting with a new, semisecret product line - a secular cracker. Not for dipping in wine, this cracker would be dipped in dip.

Here's a video by the Globe's Scott LaPierre:

Looking to get into the wafer business? The company sells a box of 1,000 standard wafers at $12 or more, twice the wholesale price.

(h/t Michael Paulson)

For more than 30 years, federal law has protected the rights of doctors and nurses to refuse to perform abortions. Now, in his last weeks in office, President Bush is expected to announce a "right of conscience" rule that would clarify and possibly extend what healthcare workers may refuse to provide based on moral convictions.

The rule, supported by the Christian Medical Association (CMA) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, would
(1) clarify that healthcare workers not only may refuse to perform abortions, but may also refuse to provide information or advice regarding them;
(2) protect more medical employees, such as operating-room technicians involved in but not central to abortion procedures; and
(3) possibly include artificial insemination and birth control as things workers could refuse to provide or give advice on.

The rule could clarify pharmacists' right to refuse filling prescriptions for emergency contraception that they consider to be abortion-inducing. CMA president David Stevens told the Los Angeles Times, "The real battle line is the morning-after pill. This prevents the embryo from implanting. This involves moral complicity. Doctors should not be required to dispense a medication they have a moral objection to." Pillls such as Preven and Plan B can be taken 72 hours after unprotected sex and prevent fertilized eggs from implanting in the uterine wall, which some consider an early abortion.

The proposed rule would also prohibit medical communities that receive federal funding from discriminating against workers who refuse to perform abortion or sterilization procedures based on moral convictions. According to The New York Times, officials from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission strongly oppose the rule, saying it "would overturn 40 years of civil rights law prohibiting job discrimination based on religion."

The conscience rule will be official when Barack Obama takes office if it is issued by December 20. The President-elect has expressed objections to the rule because it hinders women's reproductive rights, and said he would rescind the rule, a process taking 3-6 months.

Nigerians in Jos are collecting bodies after a weekend of fighting. Several hundred are dead so far in violence that began on Friday, November 28 - a day after polls closed on a local council election and one day before the incumbent People's Democratic Party was announced the winner.

Compass Direct reports that Muslims began attacking Christians, accusing them of tampering with the votes, after officials reportedly refused to post results.

Emmanuel Itapson, an assistant professor at Palmer Theological Seminary, is from Jos. He says, "Everyone I spoke with said the level of destruction is unprecedented. Christians were caught unawares at 2am and most of the pastors that were killed died because they live within the church area. I am in pain! My beloved city is filled with the blood of the innocent."

BBC published an eyewitness account:

I have a telescope and through it I watched what was happening from my home in the Christian quarters, high up on Shaka Hill overlooking Jos.

I could see the burning houses, all the smoke and hear the gunshots. Women were running away carrying their children, clothes, foodstuffs and water. Men were using petrol to douse the grass-roofed houses and then lighting with a match.

I could hear shouts of "Allahu Akbar".

Some of the Christians came running to safety at our place.

I saw all this on Friday and again on Saturday but on Saturday there was even more shooting and a lot of shouting.

One of my neighbours is a doctor and he could not reach work alone and so they came and picked him up so he could attend to casualties. He told me most of the wounded had had their hands and legs cut off with long sharp knives.

Police have been ordered to shoot on sight after the evening curfew.

Jos, a city of over 800,000, lies midway between the mostly Muslim northern half of Nigeria and the Christian and animist south. The Associated Press adds that "The structure of Nigeria's government also exacerbates ethnic tensions, since local governments control enormous budgets in Africa's biggest oil producer, making the spoils of an election a coveted prize."

Christian Solidarity Worldwide sent a press release saying a corrective to international coverage of the violence was necessary: the timing of the attacks showed that they were not primarily because of election results. Of even greater concern, CSW says,

Are reports that appeared to suggest that Christians had killed 300 Muslims over the weekend, whose bodies were deposited at a central mosque. In reality, the men died while obeying orders from a mosque in the Dilimi area, which was using its loudspeakers to instruct all Muslims to defy the authorities, participate in the "jihad", loot properties for money and then burn them. Local security sources insist the rioters were shot while defying a night-time curfew and launching fresh attacks, including an unsuccessful large-scale assault on police barracks. Commenting on these deaths the General Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Engineer Salifu said: "It was not Christians who killed them; it was their own unfortunate attitude". He also articulated local concern that such inaccurate reporting could fuel further violence against Christians elsewhere.

Sectarian violence previously rocked Jos in 2004 and 2001 with thousands of casualties. The Associated Press reports the total deaths from sectarian violence in Nigeria since 1999 are 10,000.