Top Religion Stories of 2011

Well, it’s the end of another year again. It’s that time of year when we get a lot of year-end lists… top news stories, of the year, top sports stories, etc. I always like checking out those lists, as it gives me a chance to reflect on the year that was. 2011 was certainly an eventful year on many fronts…..including politics, the economy, even religion.

I’ve found myself, nor surprisingly, checking out lists of the top Christian/religion stories of the year. Religion Newswriters has a good article listing some of the top religion news stories of 2011. Interesting stuff; and there are several things on the list that will continue to have a spillover effect into 2012 also, and beyond, some of which I intend to be commenting on in the near future.

They actually have 22 items on their list. Here’s the top ten:

1. The death of Osama bin Laden spurs discussions among people of faith on issues of forgiveness, peace,  justice and retribution.

2. Lively congressional hearings are held on the civil rights of American Muslims. In the House hearings focus on alleged radicalism and in the Senate on crimes reported against Muslims.

3. Catholic Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City. Mo. is charged with failure to report the suspected abuse of a child, becoming the first active bishop in the country to face criminal prosecution in such a case.

4. The Catholic Church introduces a new translation of the Roman Missal throughout the English–speaking world, making the first significant change to a liturgy since 1973.

5. Presbyterian Church (USA) allows local option on ordination of partnered gay people. Church defections over the issue continue among mainline Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Episcopalians.

6. Pope John Paul II is beatified—the last step before sainthood—in a May ceremony attended by more than million people in Rome.

7. California evangelist Harold Camping attracts attention with his predictions that the world would end in May and again in October.

8. A book by Michigan megachurch pastor Rob Bell, "Love Wins," presenting a much less harsh picture of hell than is traditional, stirs discussion in evangelical circles.  Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention rebut it.

9. The Personhood Initiative, designed to outlaw abortion by declaring a fetus a person, fails on Election Day in Mississippi, but advocates plan to try in other states. Meanwhile, reports show the number of restrictions adopted throughout the country against abortion during the year are far more than in any previous year.

10. Bible translations make news, with celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the King James Version; criticism, notably by Southern Baptists, about gender usage in the newest New International Version; and completion of the Common English Bible.

Full article/list HERE

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL.
SEE  YOU IN 2012. GOD BLESS!!