Currently, there are 6 Catholics, 2 Jews and 1 Protestant serving on the nation’s highest court. But the lone Protestant, John Paul Stevens, turns 90 next month, and there is speculation that he may retire soon.

The Washington Post raises the possibility that there could soon be — for the first time in history — no Protestants on the court, and asks if that matters.

My take: American Christianity is no longer divided, primarily, between Protestants and Catholics. Today, the fault lines run between those who believe the Apostles Creed and those who do not, between those who believe that man is sinful and in need of a Savior, and those who don’t. The labels matter less than ever. The world view matters more.

Most evangelical leaders, I’m guessing, would rather see a Catholic like Scalia than a Protestant like Stevens.

I stumbled upon an unusual radio format today: Hot Christian A Cappella.

I saw the link while visiting TheChristianChronicle.org, a Web site dedicated to the Churches of Christ.

[Churches of Christ have been, historically, a cappella.]

By the way, there’s a fascinating story by Bobby Ross about Kenneth Starr.

While at historically-Church of Christ Pepperdine, Starr attended a Church of Christ congregation. But now that Starr has been picked to lead historically-Baptist Baylor University, he has said he plans to join a Baptist congregation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is getting involved in the legal fight over the anti-gay protesters who show up at military funerals with inflammatory messages like “Thank God for dead soldiers.”

The court agreed Monday to consider whether the protesters’ message, no matter how provocative and upsetting, is protected by the First Amendment. Members of a Kansas-based church have picketed military funerals to spread their belief that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.

The justices will hear an appeal from the father of a Marine killed in Iraq to reinstate a $5 million verdict against the protesters, after they picketed outside his son’s funeral in Maryland.

A jury in Baltimore awarded Albert Snyder damages for emotional distress and invasion of privacy, but a federal appeals court threw out the verdict. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the signs contained “imaginative and hyperbolic rhetoric” protected by the First Amendment.

The funeral for Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder in Westminster, Md., was among many that have been picketed by members of the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. Westboro pastor Fred Phelps and other members have used the funeral protests to spread their belief that U.S. deaths in the Iraq war are punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality. One of the signs at Snyder’s funeral combined the U.S. Marine Corps motto with a slur against gay men.

Other signs carred by members of the Topeka, Kan.-based church said, “America is Doomed,” “God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11,” “Priests Rape Boys” and “Thank God for IEDs,” a reference to the roadside bombs that have killed many U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The case will be argued in the fall.
The case is Snyder v. Phelps, 09-751.

The Harvard Crimson has all the details:

“While homosexuality is not considered a sin in the Episcopal Church, which is known for being more progressive than other denominations, Rev. Timothy R. Fleck said that he had his doubts about living with another man in an openly gay relationship when he was first invited to Kentucky.”

St. Martha’s, you’ll recall, is the congregation that took over Church of the Apostles’ building after Apostles’ members voted to leave the Episcopal Church USA.

A little-known fact about the first moon landing. Astronaut Buzz Aldwin celebrated the Lord’s Supper on the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969, drinking wine from a small silver chalice.

The act of worship was not revealed until after the flight. Sitting in the lunar module, Aldwin, a Presbyterian, read a verse from the New Testament before partaking.

Which verse? John 15:5. (more…)

Many of the dead were children. Families of the victims will receive 10,000 rupees ($220) each.

By RAJESH KUMAR SINGH
Associated Press Writer
KUNDA, India (AP) — A stampede among thousands of poor villagers scrambling for free food and clothes at a commemorative event killed 63 people Thursday at a Hindu temple in northern India and injured dozens of others.
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The Social Science Research Council has issued a report entitled “The New Landscape of the Religion Blogosphere”.

The report

“surveys nearly 100 of the most influential blogs that contribute to an online discussion about religion in the public sphere and the academy.”

I was surprised and pleased to find out today that the Bible Belt Blogger was included on the most influential blogs list.

h/t to Jose for pointing me to the list. Thanks to all of the regulars who have visited my blog and posted comments over the past three years.

ABC News says Mitt Romney has a”decent chance” of winning the Republican nomination in 2012. Why? Because he lost the Republican nomination in 2008. Here’s ABC’s (somewhat shaky) logic:
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