Santa Clara
The American tech company Intel has won a national award recognizing its commitment to religious freedom and diversity in their workplace. The award is the work of the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation, based in Annapolis, Maryland. The Foundation uses what it calls the Religious Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Index, drawn from a self-administered survey which assesses a participating company in ten categories, including religious accommodation for employees and spiritual care resources for employees.
New York City
Prominent Evangelical pastor Tim Keller died at the age of 72 after a three-year battle with cancer. Keller launched and led Redeemer Church in the city, focusing his ministry of the arts, entertainment, and executive communities of that city. He was a leading speaker and writer in the Reformed movement, helping to launch and lead The Gospel Coalition. Keller was also a popular and successful author, penning several best-selling books.
New York City
The Museum of the Jewish People of Tel Aviv, Israel, will become the new home of what Sotheby’s Auction House describes as the “earliest, most complete copy of the Hebrew Bible.” It was sold this month at Sotheby’s, with the purchase made possible by a gift from Alfred H. Moses, one time U. S. Ambassador to Romania. It is called the Codex Sassoon and dates to the late ninth- or early 10th-century. Purchase price was $38.1 million. A codex is an ancient form of manuscript, popular before the invention of printing.
New York City
Owl Records and Legacy Recordings have released a new album written, composed, and largely performed by 81-year-old Paul Simon. Known as “Seven Psalms,” it consists of songs about life, aging, death, and faith. It is largely acoustical in nature and designed to be heard as one piece, in one setting. It draws from the Jewish culture of his youth, with broadly Christian and pantheistic elements, giving rise to the announcement from Religion News Service that “Simon Gets Religion.” Simon confessed the idea came to him in a series of dreams.
Los Angeles
Opposition is growing to a California passed last year designed to require social media companies to explain publicly how they monitor and regulate content, including hate speech, disinformation, extremism, harassment and foreign political interference. They are also required to submit reports to the state government and are subject to stiff fines for failure to report. Many organizations, including tech lobbying organizations and the National Religious Broadcasters, have filed suit claiming the outcome of the law will be the loss of freedom to broadcast unpopular content. A spokesman said,“In an environment where much religious viewpoint expression is considered ‘controversial’ speech, NRB is acting to stop the weaponization of new laws against Christian communicators.”
