K
    Katie Bindley

    Katie Bindley

    Contributor

  • Documentary Accuses Robertson Of Cheating People Out Of Money

    A documentary scheduled to debut Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival shines a new spotlight on old allegations that televangelist Pat Robertson used money, intended for refugees in Africa, for his own diamond-mining venture. "Mission Congo," directed by Lara Zizic and David Turner, was largely inspired by the reporting of journalist Bill Sizemore, who has covered Robertson extensively over the years and uncovered issues with the legitimacy of his nonprofit organization, Operation Blessing International, in the 1990s.

  • Rabbi Calls For Better Treatment Of Chickens Used In Yom Kippur Ritual

    In response to complaints from animal rights activists, Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi has called for better treatment of the chickens that are held above people's heads and then slaughtered as part of the Yom Kippur atonement ritual known as Kaparot. The Jewish Daily Forward is reporting that Chief Rabbi David Lau sent a letter to those taking part in the Kaparot tradition and asked that the chickens -- which are often kept in cages without food before slaughter -- be spared unnecessary suffering. “I would like to remind you of the holy duty all year round to prevent any animal suffering and unnecessary pain, to make sure that they are transported properly and treated appropriately,” the rabbi's letter reportedly said.

  • It's Not Easy Being God's Instrument On Earth

    "It's concerning that such a high percentage of clergy may be depressed while they are trying to inspire congregations, lead communities and social change ventures, even just trying to do counseling of their own parishioners," said Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, the Clergy Health Initiative's research director. Other occupations that involve a strong focus on providing care for others, such as those in nursing and social work fields, have also been tied to above-average rates of depression.

  • New Prayer Platform At Western Wall Sparks Protests

    A new platform at the Western Wall intended for mixed-gender prayer has sparked objections from egalitarian groups. Critics say it favors a separatist solution to the ongoing debate over what prayer rights women should enjoy at one of Judaism's most sacred sites. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Israel's religious services minister, Naftali Bennett, revealed the temporary 4,800 square-foot platform on Sunday at Robinson's Arch, a site adjacent to the Wall.

  • New Prenatal Tests Spark Debate Over Counseling For Expectant Moms

    Devan Weathers was pulling into her office parking lot from a lunch break when she got the phone call from her doctor. With a simple blood draw, the test can detect certain chromosomal abnormalities in a fetus with startling accuracy and earlier in pregnancies than ever before. It was during that parking lot phone call that Weathers got her test results and learned her baby girl would have Down syndrome.

  • Pistol-Packing Preachers? The Debate Over Guns In Churches

    Every email Carl Chinn sends features the same signature: his name, followed by Chapter 4, Verse 9 from the Book of Nehemiah. On Sept. 10, Chinn will lead a seminar for several local, faith-based organizations in Oak Creek, Wis., the same community where a year ago this week, a gunman opened fire in a Sikh temple, killing six people and wounding four others. Chinn, a church security consultant, will suggest arming designating church-goers during services.

  • Kenyan Lawyer Demands Justice For Jesus 2,000 Years After His Death

    Dola Indidis has one goal: get justice for Jesus, even if it comes 2,000 years later. To that end, the Kenyan lawyer named quite the roster of defendants -- including Pontius Pilate, King Herod, the former Emperor of Rome, and the states of Israel and Italy -- in the lawsuit he recently filed with the International Court of Justice, media outlets report. “I filed the case because it’s my duty to uphold the dignity of Jesus and I have gone to the ICJ to seek justice for the man from Nazareth,” Indidis told Standard Media, a Kenyan news website.

  • Jewish Tradition Evolves To Embrace Same-Sex Marriage

    Mel Matulsky and Tad Berman, who are engaged to be married later this month in Palm Springs, Calif., have been hitting the refresh button on UPS's website for the last week. The traditional marriage contract in Judaism is signed by two witnesses and often framed as an important keepsake for couples. "A lot of them said 'bride and groom,' but because this was gender-neutral text, it said 'beloved' and 'beloved,'" Berman told The Huffington Post.

  • Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Protesters Smash Bus Windows

    Ultra-Orthodox Jewish protesters attacked three buses in Beit Shemesh, a city 30 miles west of Jerusalem, in response to the arrest of a couple who reportedly asked a female passenger to move from the front of a bus to the back, according to The Associated Press. Reuters noted recently that some Israeli lawmakers have called for public gender segregation to be abolished throughout the country. Tensions are high between the ultra-Orthodox Jews who reside in Beit Shemesh and those who are secular or modern Orthodox Jews, largely because of disagreements surrounding women, according to The Associated Press.

  • Rabbi In Hot Water After Racist Remarks

    The newly elected Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi -- one of the two men who serve as spiritual authorities for the people of Israel --  is already under fire for making an apparently racist remark, several Israeli news outlets are reporting. David Lau was addressing a group of ultra-orthodox yeshiva students when he made reference to young people who are observed watching basketball on television in public rather than spending time studying the Torah. The comment quickly drew the ire of some members of the Israeli parliament. Nachman Shai, a representative of the Labor party, called for Lau to apologize and told the Jerusalem Post that the comment stands in unfortunate contrast to the relatively liberal remarks Pope Francis made earlier this week in reference to not judging gays.

  • Major Parenting Brands Face Off

    The Honest Toddler is a hilarious Twitter feed turned blog and book franchise created by Bunmi Laditan, a mom of three. The Honest Company is an eco-friendly baby product brand owned by actress Jessica Alba. "It started off really fine with pleasantries, and then it was essentially them asking me to cancel my trademark application and that they would help me cancel it," said Laditan, who has previously blogged for The Huffington Post.

  • Catholic Hospital Reaches Out Unexpected Hand To LGBT Youth

    Michael LaSala is an openly gay professor who specializes in LGBT issues and doesn't temper his words when it comes to his support of marriage rights for same-sex couples. The institution's president and CEO, Ronald Rak, overheard a conversation LaSala had at a restaurant and sent him an email shortly thereafter suggesting they meet.

  • The Rise Of The Religious Progressive

    A new study has found that while the number of religious conservatives is still greater than that of progressives, the religious left may have a better chance of maintaining its foothold with Americans over time. "If you’re using a generational snapshot today as a proxy for the future, it is is safe to say that religious progressives hold a stronger appeal among Millennials," said Robert Jones, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute, which surveyed 2,000 adults in partnership with the Brookings Institute. While the Christian right makes up 28 percent of the population and garners more cultural attention -- Jones found that there are 27,000 global monthly Google searches for “Christian Right" compared with just over 8,000 searches for “Christian left" -- religious progressives are only 9 percentage points behind, with 19 percent of the population.

  • Statehouse Holocaust Memorial Under Fire For Using Star Of David

    Plans for a Holocaust memorial at the Ohio Statehouse have stirred a debate over the separation of church and state that may lead to a lawsuit because a focal point of renowned architect Daniel Libeskind's design is the Star of David. "Since the Star of David is a religious symbol and a secular government is not supposed to be promoting religion, especially when there are other perfectly secular alternatives, we're objecting to that religious symbol," said Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, based in Madison, Wis. Barker said his organization, made up of 19,000 atheists, agnostics and skeptics, takes issue not with the memorial itself, but with its use of the star.

  • Another Church Blasts Zimmerman Verdict With Sign

    The First Baptist Church of University Park didn't mince words when it came to expressing its outrage over the recent acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. The use of “kkk”, was done to call attention to the fact that, just as in the “glory days” of the KKK, it appears far too often that the murder of African Americans is permitted, and the mistreatment of African Americans historically and currently is far too cavalierly considered. Issues such as the Prison industrial complex, heath disparities, underfunded and under-resourced educational systems, and voter protection are just a few of the concerns faced daily by African Americans.

  • To Tweet Or Not To Tweet ... During Ramadan

    As an Islamic preacher in the Detroit area, Dawud Walid typically tweets 15 to 20 messages a day to his near 6,000 followers on issues relating to religion, the government and social justice. "I don't plan on tweeting much at all," Walid said. What role Facebook and Twitter should play during Ramadan -- if any -- is a question that Muslims are answering in a variety of different ways this year.

  • Fighting During Ramadan Likely To Continue In Middle East, Despite Calls For Peace

    Ramadan begins today and with it comes the month-long dedication to fasting, prayer and charity. The  United Nations has already asked for a halt to the violence during Ramadan, and the plea is a familiar one for the time of year. "To talk about the fact that Ramadan is upon us and that it's going have any soothing effect is as silly as to say in the height of a cycle of violence that occurs at Christmas time in Ireland that everybody is going to stop because it's Christmas," said John Esposito, a professor of religion, international affairs and Islamic studies at Georgetown University.

  • The Reason You Might Be Giving Too Much In Your Relationship

    New research suggests that how much you're willing to sacrifice in your close relationships may actually be tied to your own level of self-control -- and contrary to conventional wisdom, it's the more impulsive among us who tend to put others first. Researchers from VU University Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Northwestern University sought to challenge the notion that the first impulse in relationships is to be selfish. In one test, for example, challenging participants' impulse control meant telling them to ignore flashing words on a screen during a video.

  • The Craziest Blow-Up You'll Ever See Over A Wedding Gift

    It is perhaps the most controversial wedding gift of our time: a basket of food presented to two brides that went so horribly awry, it spawned a text and Facebook messaging war that got published in a local newspaper and has to be seen to be believed. TheSpec.com, a Canadian news outlet, recently released the heated back-and-forth between a wedding guest and a same-sex couple, who were clearly disappointed in his gift: A basket of food that included tri-color pasta, salsas, balsamic vinegar, Marshmallow Fluff and Sour Patch Kids. When the guest ignored the receipt request, the other bride then followed up.

  • Is LinkedIn A Stalking Ground?

    Unwanted contact on most social networking sites is a relatively easy thing to avoid: You block a user and take solace in knowing that the offensive party can't view your profile or contact you again. BuzzFeed reported earlier this week that the professional networking site apparently has something of a stalking problem on its hands. Over the last several months, around 5,000 people have signed a Change.org petition asking for LinkedIn to add the ability to let a user block individuals from viewing his or her profile.