July 3, 2008

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Conservative evangelicals discuss backing McCain
Eric Gorski/Associated Press (07/03/2008: washingtonpost.com)
Conservative evangelical leaders met privately this week to discuss putting aside their misgivings about John McCain and coalescing around the Republican's presidential bid while urging him to consider social conservative favorite Mike Huckabee as a running mate.

McCain tours Basilica of Guadalupe, will meet Mexican president
Associated Press (07/03/2008)
MEXICO CITY — John McCain toured Mexico's holiest Roman Catholic site and received a blessing from its monsignor Thursday, the final day of a three-day Latin America tour.

ABORTION
Catholic Aid for Abortion Creates Stir in Virginia
Ian Urbina/New York Times (07/03/2008)
The Roman Catholic bishop of Richmond, Va., apologized this week after workers from a Catholic organization helped a teenager in its care have an abortion.

DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE
Churches Work on Their Message
Stephanie Simon and Suzanne Sataline/Wall Street Journal (07/03/2008)
It has long been a challenge for Christian pastors: To spread the gospel, they must welcome nonbelievers without judgment. Yet they must also make clear that there is but one true path to salvation -- the path they teach. Conservative pastors raised fresh concerns about the seeker-friendly approach with the recent release of a massive survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

SCIENCE AND MEDICINE
'Spiritual' effects of mushrooms last a year?
Maggie Fox/Reuters (07/03/2008)
WASHINGTON - The "spiritual" effects of psilocybin from so-called sacred mushrooms last for more than a year and may offer a way to help patients with fatal diseases or addictions, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

Turns out, cavemen loved to sing
Heather Whipps/MSNBC (07/03/2008)
Analyzing the famous, ochre-splashed cave walls of France, scientists found that the most densely painted areas were also those with the best acoustics. Humming into some bends in the wall even produced sounds mimicking the animals painted there. The Upper Paleolithic people responsible for the paintings had likely fine-tuned their hearing to recognize the sound qualities in certain parts of the cave and chose to do their artwork there as a kind of landmark, perhaps as part of a singing ritual.