In the News

Faith Kills Another Teen

Another painful and preventable death-by-faith-healing has occurred in Oregon City, Oregon, home to the notorious Followers of Christ Church. Neil Jeffrey Beagley, 17, whose parents belong to the church, died of a kidney complication in June.

Only four months ago, the boy’s infant niece died after her parents failed to get her medical attention. Her parents have been charged in a landmark case with criminal mistreatment and manslaughter. Beagley died on June 17 at his grandmother’s house, a week after first complaining of stomach pain and shortness of breath. His family and several dozen church members prayed for a spiritual healing as his health deteriorated. More than 50 engaged in a “laying on of hands” and anointing of oil toward the end of his life.

The medical examiner found that a simple catheter would have saved his life. A congenital blockage made him unable to urinate, creating an intensely painful, and ultimately, fatal condition. The examiner found evidence that the teen had had repeated blockages. He had irreversible kidney damage, which would have required dialysis or a kidney transplant.

It was immediately suggested that Oregon law would shield Neil’s parents, because the presumption is that he was old enough, under Oregon statutes, to make his own medical choices. Critics point out Beagley’s deteriorating condition would have precluded him from exercising his own judgment.

Turkish Court Blocks Scarves

The Constitutional Court of Turkey in June ruled that a vote by Parliament to ease a ban on headscarves being worn on campuses violates the constitution’s secular principles.

The decision, by a panel of 11 judges, may signal the outcome of another court case debating whether the ruling AK Party can be banned itself for antisecular activities.

Graduation Suit Settled

A lawsuit filed on behalf of a Muslim student who had to skip his graduation in 2006 because it was held in a Baptist Church sanctuary was settled in June.

Bilal Shareef alleged his faith prohibits him from entering a building with religious icons, and that when West Side High in Newark, N.J., chose New Hope Baptist Church, it violated his rights.

In the settlement negotiated by the New Jersey ACLU, the district agreed not to sponsor or promote religious events, to no longer reward students for attendance at religious events or ceremonies, and to stop using religious buildings or places of worship for school events.

A financial settlement and apology was made to the student.

Intelligent Apt to Be Atheists?

An Irish professor claims that more members of the “intellectual elite” consider themselves atheists than the national average, according to his paper for the academic journal, Intelligence.

Prof. Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at Ulster University, says university academics are less likely to believe in a god than almost anyone else. A survey of Royal Society fellows found only 3.3% believe in a god, at a time when 68.5% of the general UK population describes themselves as believers. A previous poll in the 1990s found only 7% of members of the American National Academy of Sciences believed in a god.

In an interview with Times Higher Education, Lynn said: “Why should fewer academics believe in God than the general population? I believe it is simply a matter of the IQ. Academics have higher IQs than the general population.”

Baptists, Evangelists in Decline

The Southern Baptist Convention denomination, the largest U.S. Protestant denomination, is in decline, dropping 40,000 members in 2007.

McCain Cuts Ties to Pastors

Presidential contender Sen. John McCain disassociated himself rather belatedly in May from two evangelical pastors whose endorsements he had eagerly sought.

Pastor Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church, Columbus Ohio, had endorsed McCain during the Ohio primary and campaigned with him in February. McCain, at a campaign appearance, had called Parsley “one of the truly great leaders in America, a moral compass, a spiritual guide.”

Parsley’s well-known denunciations of Islam, such as a sermon on a DVD calling it “an Antichrist religion,” were reported by alternate media as early as March. Parsley also has said: “America was founded with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed.”

McCain also repudiated the Rev. John C. Hagee, a televangelist who runs a megachurch in San Antonio, and is known for his end-day prophecies. McCain made the break after viewing a sermon in which Hagee called Hitler and the Holocaust part of God’s plan to drive the Jews from Europe and force them back to Palestine. Hagee also declared that Hurricane Katrina was divine punishment for a “homosexual rally” occurring in New Orleans.

Hagee Summit Attracts Pols

The Third Annual Summit of Christians United for Israel, put on by controversial Pastor John C. Hagee on July 21–24 in Washington, D.C., is scheduled to include as keynote speaker Sen. Joseph Lieberman. Lieberman spoke at the summit last year as well, when he compared the Texas evangelist to “Moses.”

Hagee believes Christians should lobby for military and other support of the state of Israel as a religious duty so that prophecy can be fulfilled.

Among the other politicians scheduled: Sen. Rick Santorum.