The Oregon Faith Report - Faith News from Oregon

Millennial Generation Less Religiously Active than Older Americans
– But Pew Forum Finds Young Adults To Be Fairly Traditional in Some Other Ways
By Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life

Percent unaffiliated with religion by generation

Washington, D.C. – By some key measures, Americans ages 18 to 29 are considerably less religious than older Americans, according to a new report released by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. Fully one-in-four are unaffiliated with any particular faith. The report is part of a Pew Research Center series exploring the behaviors, values and opinions of the teens and 20-somethings that make up the Millennial Generation.

Faith-Family Film Review: Shutter Island
By Catholic Office of Film and Broadcasting

Shutter Island—Prolix psychological thriller set in 1954 follows a U.S. marshal (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner (Mark Ruffalo) to a storm-swept island in Boston Harbor on which an asylum for the criminally insane becomes the venue for elaborately staged hysterics borne of trauma and guilt. Adapted from a Dennis Lehane novel, the picture amounts to a genre exercise for director Martin Scorsese, and affords DiCaprio and other respectable actors the chance to declaim excessively coarse dialogue in service of an overblown mystery. Pervasive rough, crude and crass language; frequent profanity; a number of sexual references and discussions of violent acts; many potentially disturbing images of corpses in a concentration camp setting and in connection with an act of infanticide; a number of fairly graphic episodes of gun violence; and an instance of partially obscured frontal male nudity.  O — morally offensive. (R) 2010
Full Review

Watch this video on Oregon-based yet worldwide impact efforts of NW Medical Teams,

Faith-Family Film Review: The Crazies
By Catholic Office of Film and Broadcasting

The Crazies—A small-town sheriff (Timothy Olyphant), his deputy (Joe Anderson), the sheriff’s doctor wife (Radha Mitchell) and her office assistant (Danielle Panabaker) fend off their neighbors who have been transformed into homicidal maniacs by an environmental accident affecting the local water supply while also struggling to evade capture by Army troops bent on quelling the outbreak at any cost. A potentially thought-provoking parable about ecological irresponsibility and military excess in an emergency is lost amid the bloodletting in director Breck Eisner’s relatively lavish updating of George A. Romero’s low-budget 1973 horror exercise. Excessive gory violence, some gruesome images, at least a half-dozen uses of profanity, pervasive rough and much crude language.  O — morally offensive. (R) 2010
Full Review

Kingdom Racing announced today that driver Davey Hamilton will race in three IZOD IndyCar races in 2010.

Hamilton and Kingdom Racing have agreed with Luzco Dragon Racing to enter the Indianapolis 500, the Bombardier Learjet 550 at Texas Motor Speedway and another oval race.  “We are really pleased to be with Davey for a third consecutive Indianapolis 500, especially with a first class caliber team that is Luzco Dragon Racing,” founder George Del Canto said. “I am really looking forward to the opportunity to work with the Luzco Dragon team,” Hamilton said.

By Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS) President Obama met with the Dalai Lama on Thursday (Feb. 18), four months after critics questioned his commitment to human rights when Obama declined a one-on-one meeting with the exiled leader of Tibetan Buddhism.  Religious freedom advocates hailed the meeting, however late, but remained cautious about whether the private talk will result in substantive outcomes, either on Tibet or larger religious-freedom issues.

“It’s the right thing to do,” said Thomas Farr, the former director of the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom, who blasted Obama last October for bypassing the Dalai Lama because of an upcoming summit in Beijing. “Even if you do the right thing late, it’s important that you do it and that he’s withstanding the inevitable complaints of the Chinese.”

Seattle Father-Daughter Summit Brings Tears and Reconciliation
By BetterDads.Net, Oregon

My 21-year-old daughter, Kelsey, and I had the privilege of speaking together at the Third Annual Seattle Father-Daughter Summit this past weekend. It was a powerful event that was attended by about 60 pairs of fathers and daughters with ages ranging from 11-25 years old. The Summit was an all day event sponsored by several fathering and family ministries. The program consisted of seven sessions working with fathers and daughters together, fathers alone, and daughters alone by age group. Each session was designed to build upon the previous ones and included letter writing, trust building exercises, and father-daughter dialogues. But at least one girl was changed more than she bargained for.

Catholics in Media Associates (CIMA) 17th Annual Awards honor ‘The Hurt Locker’ and Fox Television’s ‘Glee’

(Los Angeles, Calif.)—The Catholics in Media Associates (CIMA) 17th Annual Mass and Awards Brunch on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010, will honor “The Hurt Locker” and Fox Television’s “Glee,” with film reviewer and veteran Venice Film Festival jury member Sr. Rose Pacatte, FSP to receive the CIMA 2010 Board of Directors Award. The celebration at the Crystal Ballroom of the Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA, will begin with a 10 a.m. Mass, presided over by His Eminence, Cardinal Roger Mahony, with a brunch and awards ceremony to follow, announced CIMA President Jane Abbott. Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe-winning actress Samantha Eggar (“The Collector”) will host.

Author argues for a new theology of evolution in his latest book

BOOK REVIEW: Darwin’s theory of evolution is a “cold bath” for theology. It is a stimulus to Christian theologians to think bold and enlivening new thoughts about God. While evolutionary atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Jerry Coyne claim that Darwin’s science has destroyed any basis for religion, and especially Christian faith, John F. Haught argues that evolutionary science and a robust faith in God are not mutually exclusive, but, in fact, go quite well together. In Making Sense of Evolution: Darwin, God, and the Drama of Life, just published from Westminster John Knox Press, Haught suggests evolution makes sense both scientifically and theologically when we connect the idea of God to the drama of life rather than to the question of whether life is intelligently “designed.” At the same time, he demonstrates that only after evolutionists such as Dawkins, Dennett, and Coyne “realize that Darwinian science has no business in answering ultimate questions will biology be fully liberated from the clutches of theology (p. 20).”

Two Philosophers Debate the Existence of God A Socratic Club debate
By OSU Socratic Club

The OSU Socratic Club will sponsor a public dialogue entitled, “Two Philosophers Debate the Existence of God,” on Monday, March 1, at 7 p.m. in the LaSells Stewart Center on the OSU campus.  William Lane Craig will argue for the Christian view that a personal God exists and Victor J. Stenger the atheist position that there is no God.

Is God the greatest fact or the greatest illusion?  Of all the questions posed by philosophy this is surely the most important.  Has scientific knowledge made belief in God unnecessary and outdated?  Is the universe all there is and God merely a human invention and a fantasy?  Or is there an uncreated being, who is absolute, perfect, eternal, and personal that we call God?  These issues will be addressed by two distinguished philosophers who will offer widely differing points of view.

American Idol Star, Melinda Doolittle, shares her faith

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.– Melinda Doolittle, acclaimed recording artist and star of American Idol, believes that her own success and personal joy are directly proportional to her investment in encouraging and nurturing others. This theme is at the heart of her new autobiography, Beyond Me, coming to bookstores nationwide in May 4, 2010 and featuring a foreword by American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks.

Doolittle, who became a star in season six of American Idol, says her faith in Jesus fuels her. Through poignant, often humorous stories, Doolittle reveals the secrets of her success and finding practical guidance to overcome personal obstacles to achieve the next level in any area of life. Doolittle adds, “By God’s grace, I’ve been able to realize my dreams, to know this is what He wants me to be doing, and I find peace in that. It is beyond anything I could think of.”

Faith-Family Film Review: The Lightning Thief PG
By Catholic Office of Film and Broadcasting

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief—A mildly troubled New York high school student (Logan Lerman) discovers his true identity as a demigod — offspring of the Greek sea god Poseidon (Kevin McKidd) and a human mother (Catherine Keener) — and embarks on a quest to prevent a war among the deities of Mount Olympus, assisted by a semi-divine teen girl warrior (Alexandra Daddario) and a courageous but untested adolescent satyr (Brandon T. Jackson). Director Chris Columbus’ glossy but shallow screen version of the first in novelist Rick Riordan’s best-selling series of children’s novels relies on some slick special effects to keep the adventure moving forward, though the titular hero’s transformation from a 12- to a 17-year-old introduces elements unsuitable for some of the book’s younger fans, while parents who see the tale’s mythological premise as more than a literary device will hesitate to allow impressionable youngsters to view it. Pagan themes, brief domestic discord, a few instances of sexual innuendo, a couple of crass terms. A-II — adults and adolescents. (PG) 2010.  Full Review

Faith and Family Film Review: Valentine’s Day PG-13
By Catholic Office of Film and Broadcasting

Valentine’s Day—Ensemble romantic comedy, directed by Garry Marshall, charting the amorous ups and downs of a series of interconnected Los Angelinos over the titular holiday, including a newly engaged florist (Ashton Kutcher) and his live-in fiancee (Jessica Alba), a teacher (Jennifer Garner) and her doctor beau (Patrick Dempsey), a long-married couple (Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo) preparing to renew their vows, and a pair of 18-year-old high school students (Emma Roberts and Carter Jenkins) planning to lose their virginity together. As unengaging as it is unwieldy, screenwriter Katherine Fugate’s tale of loves lost and found rejects marital infidelity, but otherwise takes the full physical expression of affection as a given, before marriage, before college and between members of the same gender. Implicit approval of nonmarital sexual activity and homosexual acts, partial nudity, adultery and phone-sex themes, sexual references and jokes, brief irreverent humor, a half-dozen crude and some crass terms.  O — morally offensive. (PG-13) 2010 Full Review

Outstanding Movie Ready to Come to Southern Oregon
Paul Coughlin, Southern Oregon
The Protectors

We have been asked to help bring to Southern Oregon a life-changing movie with eternal importance, and we’re excited to share this opportunity with you.  It’s called “To Save a Life,” and it’s a faith-inspired movie that’s unique in that it appeals to more than the faith community. This movie, without being preachy or campy, encourages youth to be more compassionate, courageous and loving to those who are lonely and looked down upon in school. And unlike some other faith-inspired movies, it does an excellent job of describing the danger of insincere claims to faith.  As the Founder of The Protectors, the only faith-based and values-based anti-bullying solution of its kind, I have the privilege of meeting with thousands of school children across America and abroad. Their stories are heartbreaking. I’ve seen the fatigue of despair in their eyes as well as hopelessness and even rage. Most targets of bullying are incapable of self-rescue. They need an advocate, and this soulful movie does just that.

The St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, Oregon was founded by Catholic sisters 92 years ago and now is severing its Catholic ties due to ethic concerns.   The Catholic News Agency reports;

Bend, Ore., Feb 17, 2010 / 05:50 am (CNA).- Citing continued disagreement on Catholic ethical directives such as sterilization, the Catholic Diocese of Baker on Monday announced its intention to end its official sponsorship of St. Charles Medical Center in Bend.“It is my responsibility to ensure the hospital is following Catholic principles both in name and in fact,” Bishop of Baker Robert Vasa explained in a statement provided to CNA by the hospital. “It would be misleading for me to allow St. Charles Bend to be acknowledged as Catholic in name while I am certain that some important tenets of the Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) are no longer being observed.”

By Omar Sacirbey,
Religion News Service

(RNS) “Talk with as many people as you can. Talk vertically, talk laterally.”  That’s the advice of the Rev. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, for attendees of the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar.Gaddy went to last year’s forum,which drew big names like former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, and dozens of religious leaders, military officers, politicians, journalists, technology experts.“It helped put a face and identity and personality on a people that we only see in media portrayals,” Gaddy said.

The Archdiocese of Portland joins the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in urging Justice for Immigrants
By Portland Archdiocese,

The Archdiocese of Portland will participate with other dioceses around the United States in urging Congress to pass immigration reform.  The campaign Justice for Immigrants is being led by the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration.  The Archdiocesan Office for Justice and Peace/Respect Life will coordinate the Justice for Immigrants postcard campaign beginning February 17, Ash Wednesday, and on the following weekend of February 20 – 21.

A great story about a woman who went from Olympic speedskater to Fransiscan Sisters.  Here is an excerpt from Yahoo Sports.

Twelve years ago at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, a 17-year-old speedskating prodigy named Kirstin Holum was tapped for future greatness….“It is funny now to think of how different my life is now,” she said. “I had the wonderful privilege of being able to compete as an Olympian, and now I am blessed to able to serve God and help those less fortunate.”After completing an art degree, including a thesis on the Olympics at the Art Institute of Chicago, Holum joined the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, a faith whose mission is “work with the poor and homeless and evangelization.”

From the Palm Beach Post on the NCAA considering a ban on athlete’s who put messages on their faces during games.   Below is an excerpt from the article:

The NCAA’s Football Rules Committee is proposing a ban on Tebow’s most identifiable feature — the bible verses on his eye black. The new proposal, introduced Thursday, would ban all words, logos, numbers or other symbols on the players’ eye black, beginning in the 2010 season.  The rule will not become official until it is approved by the NCAA’s Playing Rules Oversight Panel. The NCAA didn’t mention Tebow by name, but the rule was already being unofficially dubbed “The Tebow Rule” by media and fans on Friday morning.

Hundreds of college football players use their eye black to boast of their hometown, home area code or love of a mother or girlfriend. But Tebow, a devout Christian, is the most prominent example of a player using his eye black as a personal billboard, having used it the past two seasons to print a bible verse and promote his faith.

Georgene Rice of KPDQ-FM interviews Ken Newberger, author of Hope in the Face of Conflict.

Conflict surrounds all of us, whether it is in marriage, religious factions, in our churches, our workplace, or between countries. But, it can be avoided, according to Conflict Resolution Specialist Dr. Ken Newberger. The author of Hope in the Face of Conflict offers practical advice to foster reconciliation.

GEORGENE: Dr. Newberger, how do we make peace with one another and live together once conflict has occurred?  In the world today, we are surrounded by conflict. We are either the object of it or often times the cause of conflict.

NEWBERGER: It is all around us, but if we don’t deal with it, it just gets worse.  You must be conflict competent. By that I mean having the tools to deal with conflict so that it can be dealt with constructively. We must address it, resolve it, then get past it.