June 8th – News Of The Day
Hobby Lobby Sues Oxford Professor
Craft store chain, Hobby lobby, is in the news again for suing to recover some $7 million it paid a former Oxford University professor for ancient fragments of the Christian gospels and other artifacts that turned out to be stolen. Since opening the Museum of the Bible in Washington, Hobby Lobby’s museum has been plagued by scandal over its acquisitions, resulting in the returns of manuscripts that were smuggled out of Egypt and cuneiform tablets looted from Iraq. Now the chain store is suing professor Dirk Obbink for fraud, and want all money paid to him for helping to curate the artifacts to be refunded in full. Read more about the lawsuit here.
Illinois School Reverses Decision To Ban Student From Reading The Bible
When a little second grade girl brought her Bible to read at an school, the book was confiscated. She loved to read it aloud at recess and discuss it with her friends. But the school didn’t like it. and contacted the girl’s parents telling them their little girl could not read the Bible during recess. When the parents pushed back, the school backed off a bit, saying she could read it during outside recess but not during inside recess. The parents reached out to the American Center for Law and Justice, who sent a letter to the school. After reviewing the letter, the school thanked ACLJ for the input and pulled back its restrictions on Gabrielle’s Bible reading. Read more about the case here.
Saddleback Church Searching For New Pastor
Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren announced that the megachurch will begin the official search for his successor, signaling he will retire after 40 years in his pulpit. “For 42 years, Kay and I have known that this time, this day would eventually arrive, and we’ve been waiting on God’s perfect timing,” Warren stated. he added that the search now would allow him to transition into a less visible role as founding pastor. “This isn’t the end, it’s not even the beginning of the end, it’s the beginning of the beginning,” Warren said. “We’re going to start looking for the next-generation pastor who will replace me and lead our family into the future.” Read more about the transition here.
Teacher Swaps Shoes with Graduate
When Louisiana senior, Daverius Peters showed up to graduation, the faculty member informed him that his footwear violated the dress code, and he would not be permitted into his own graduation. That’s when teacher, John Butler, who had mentored him on several occasions through his high school career, came to the rescue. Butler took off his shoes, two sizes too big for Peters, and gave them to Daverius, which the senior graciously accepted. Peters made it inside the venue just as the doors closed and was able to keep his place in the graduation line. Read more about this act of kindness here.
