Friday, December 15, 2006
Mount Hood searchers hope for calmer weather
Rescuers search the north side of Mount Hood on Tuesday.
For two days now, search and rescue crews looking for the three lost climbers on Mount Hood haven't been able to do anything other than wait for the weather to clear. Storms rolled in last night making things even worse. There are a lot of fallen trees and downed power lines.
(Our motel in Parkdale, Oregon, lost power. I had to use my Blackberry as a flashlight.)
Despite the challenging elements, we've been told a C-130 airplane will be flown today above the mountain today to see if anything can be spotted from the air. They'll be looking for any clues to the location of the missing climbers: Kelly James, Brian Hall, and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke. The military is devoting a considerable amount of resources for the search, including several paratroopers who have expertise with frozen terrain.
For the families, there is renewed hope today that their loved ones are alive. The local newspaper had a story about three teens who survived 13 days in a snow cave. Also, authorities showed the media another note the trio had left at the ranger station before their climb. It mentioned they had food, fuel, a shovel and sleeping bags. Relatives believe it shows how well prepared they were for any challenges they might have faced on the mountain.
The weather is supposed to clear up tomorrow. As soon as it does, we're told scores of rescuers will finally be able to scale up the mountain and hopefully find these three missing men.
Hot Links: Weather hinders search for missing hikers
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Ohio pastor battles 'secular jihadists'
What is a Christian?
In less than two weeks, nearly nine out of 10 Americans are going to celebrate Christmas. Here are the numbers: In a nation of 300 million, about 85 percent of us are Christian. And since we are now in the wake of the mid-term elections and all the talk about the conservative Christian voting block, it got us thinking:
What is a Christian?
Preachers are becoming rock stars and filling giant stadium-size churches -- Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, T.D. Jakes, Robert Schuller, Rod Parsley, to name a few. Some Christians, such as James Dobson and his massive evangelical audience (radio, books, Internet) have impressive agenda-setting influence. While at the same time, a lot of mainline Protestant and Catholic churches are having trouble filling the pews, and those who do attend are getting grayer.
Christian-themed movies are blockbusters (The Passion of the Christ, the Chronicles of Narnia) and Christian books have topped bestseller lists. One-in-five Americans read one of the "Left Behind" books and Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life" is hugely successful.
All of this speaks in part to the organic nature of faith and Americans' need to believe. Christianity in America is such a uniquely American thing. It has taken a faith and values bulwark that has survived for centuries and morphed it to fit one of the most dynamic cultures in the world -- ours.
For American Christians, one size doesn't fit all. That may be why the diversity within Christianity has never seemed greater. And yet, for all the talk of what separates Christians from one another (that's what always seems to make news, anyway), Christianity does provide a great source of strength and comfort for literally hundreds of millions of Americans.
So, here's the plug. Tonight, in our 11 o'clock hour, we're going to take a try at answering this question: What is a Christian? (It's a giant task, so this will no doubt just be a first attempt.)
As expert guests, Anderson will talk to Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Jim Wallis, author of "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It" and president of Sojourners, a progressive Christian ministry, along with Dwight Hopkins, a professor of theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
In the hour, we'll approach American Christianity through a variety of prisms -- evangelicals (and the belief of some that these are the Last Days), capitalist Christians (God wants you to prosper, if not be wealthy), conservative Christians, questioning Christians, gay Christians, fundamentalist Christians. And for those of you who call yourself Christian, you might wonder, just what kind are you?
Hot Links: American Christianity
Editor's note: Tonight's show looks at the following question: What is a Christian? The links above contain tons of material on this subject.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Mel Gibson: Audience hissing 'not my problem'
The Shot: Rubik's Cube solved ... blindfolded
Hot Links: Search for climbers continues
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
New Yorker writer discusses the 'global insurgency'
This is an extended version of Anderson's interview with the New Yorker's George Packer.
Plastic surgery too expensive? Try Mexico
Hot Links: Stories we're watching
Monday, December 11, 2006
Would you take organs from executed prisoners?
Hot Links: How far would you go?
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