Jesus Christ

I REALIZE IT'S HARDER for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a liberal Episcopalian minister to resist attacking Republicans. Still, there's something fantastically disingenuous about the Rev. George Regas' protests that, contrary to what the IRS suspects, he didn't give an impermissibly virulent anti-Bush sermon at All Saints Church in Pasadena a couple of days before the 2004 election.

This can't be correct: Cloris Leachman and Tara Reid topline a period horror-thriller about a young boy who becomes convinced the Manson family has moved into the cornfield in back of his house? And it's not some mad parody but, rather, an earnest effort, which makes it even more weird. The absolute best part of "The Fields" is simply that, letting the very idea of this cast and this story marinate in the brainpan for a moment before coming to the obvious common-sense conclusion: This cannot possibly work out. And indeed the film, directed by Tom Mattera and David Mazzoni from a screenplay by B. Harrison Smith, is flat and lifeless, not even the odd object promised by its unlikely cast, who play it straight and with little energy.

It's Halloween, and Anne Rice has a new book -- a memoir in fact -- that's climbing bestseller lists. Everything is normal, then. Normal if it were 1994 -- the height of Rice's mega-selling fame as a queen of Southern Gothic pulp.

NEW YORK - Oh, to be ignorant again. At least that's what Tim Rice is thinking as he looks back on his 26-year-old self. "It's a great advantage not to have a clue as to what you're up to," he says. "My son Donald, who has just finished his first film, said something I wish I'd said: 'You should make the most of your inexperience because you'll never get it back.' And it's true. " What has put Rice in such a ruminative mood are the Broadway revivals this season of his two early shows with Andrew Lloyd Webber,"Jesus Christ Superstar" (1970)

Bits of papyrus in an Oxford University library may be the oldest fragments of the New Testament Gospels and may even be a contemporary account of the life of Jesus Christ, the London Times reported Saturday. Biblical scholars have traditionally believed that three scraps of text of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, inscribed in Greek, were written in the late 2nd Century, or considerably after Christ's death, which is usually given as AD 33.

Hosanna or heresy? Jesus Christ, the Superstar that is, makes his post-Resurrection debut on a Moscow stage in a black leather jacket, straddling a motorcycle borrowed from the local Soviet militia. The scene could hardly be considered orthodox, either politically or religiously, in the Moscow of old.

Actions of extremist activist groups within any movement invariably lead to antisocial behavior that is abusive and even violent in nature--and puts them at odds with the rest of society. While we understand the anger, frustration and fear AIDS has inflicted upon the homosexual community, we must view with considerable concern the attacks of groups such as ACT UP that have resulted in desecration of some of our churches, recent personal abuse and disruption of the celebration of our Masses.

The gospel according to Jose Saramago begins with the author contemplating a painting of the Crucifixion and, in a kind of mock gravity, subverting its iconography. Which of the figures is Mary Magdalene? Surely, the one with the plunging neckline; on the other hand, one woman is blond. There is, after all "the popular belief that women with blond hair, whether it be natural or dyed, are the most effective instruments of sin." Then there are the two thieves.

What are we supposed to call him now--Lt. Col. Jesus Christ? SARA BOYNOFF Pasadena

Some voters are convinced that if Mitt Romney wins the Republican nomination, we run the risk of ending up with a member of a "cult" in the White House. Many of my fellow evangelicals are especially concerned about this possibility. Some are unhappy with me because I have gone on record as saying that Romney's church, the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is not a cult. It's not that these folks believe that Mormons are unfit for any public office. Many evangelicals voted for Romney as governor of Massachusetts — and in earlier days Mitt's father, George Romney, got strong evangelical support as Michigan's governor.

Mormons sometimes refer to themselves as a "peculiar people," a reference to what they believe is a unique covenant with God. Yet as they bask in what has been called the Mormon Moment — and may soon be the Mitt Moment — a new survey suggests that many also hold uncommon views about their place in American life, feeling deeply rooted but outside the mainstream. Nearly half the Mormons believe they are victims of discrimination, and many feel particular enmity from evangelical Christians, according to the survey released Thursday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Here is a roundup of alleged cons, frauds and schemes to watch out for. Mormons targeted The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused several Utah residents of operating a Ponzi scheme that victimized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In a Dec. 29 lawsuit filed in federal court in Utah, the SEC alleged that Joseph Nelson and his associates targeted investors at church functions, telling them they could double their money if they invested with Nelson's companies.

Before "Godspell" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" first hit off-Broadway and Broadway, respectively, 40 years ago -- the first like an ember that caught fire, the other like an explosion -- who but the most prescient or devout would have laid odds on any musical that ended with a crucifixion? But both shows have been entertaining audiences ever since. And there's no sign of either of them wearing thin. A revival of "Godspell" opened on Broadway this fall; a revival of "Superstar," born at Canada's Stratford Shakespeare Festival and now playing at the La Jolla Playhouse, is slated for Broadway next spring.

— Take away the miracles, the bluesy guitar licks and all those antsy apostles, and what's "Jesus Christ Superstar" really about? Des McAnuff thinks he has the answer. It's a love triangle among Jesus, Judas and Mary Magdalene, said the U.S.-Canadian director of the critically heralded, Broadway-bound production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical that's running through year's end at the La Jolla Playhouse. Actually, McAnuff said, he heard lyricist Rice deliver that revisionist take on the New Testament during a TV interview.

Some voters are convinced that if Mitt Romney wins the Republican nomination, we run the risk of ending up with a member of a "cult" in the White House. Many of my fellow evangelicals are especially concerned about this possibility. Some are unhappy with me because I have gone on record as saying that Romney's church, the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is not a cult. It's not that these folks believe that Mormons are unfit for any public office. Many evangelicals voted for Romney as governor of Massachusetts — and in earlier days Mitt's father, George Romney, got strong evangelical support as Michigan's governor.

Economic spark Re "Obama pitches jobs plan," Sept. 9 As a retired newspaper reporter, I couldn't have written President Obama's speech better myself. If Obama would have added $447 billion in stimulus to the original $787 billion in 2009, we might not be in this mess. I don't think the infrastructure spending he proposed is nearly enough, given the state of our roads and schools. And there is nothing for retired seniors like me on Social Security. We haven't had a Social Security increase for about three years, but our costs have gone up. A one-time payment to Social Security recipients would pump some money back into the economy.

I enjoyed your article "Evangelicals Crusading in Mormon Utah" (June 8). I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and as such it saddens me to see that Southern Baptists are misled in believing that we do not believe in Jesus Christ. Why would we name our church after Jesus Christ if we did not believe in him? Furthermore who is Mark Coppenger to say who will and will not be saved? Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our religion. Religion-bashing is not a principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

For decades, the courts have wrestled with the issue of public prayer and the clause in the 1st Amendment that separates church and state. They've concluded that prayers said in a legislative body are fine, as long as they are not used to proselytize, promote one religion or disparage another. But how do you assess that? One person's benign reference to Jesus Christ is another's definition of promoting one religion. When two citizens — one Jewish, one Christian — sued the Lancaster City Council last year over its practice of opening council meetings with a prayer, they argued that the mention of Jesus Christ violated the Constitution.

With one Mormon leading the pack for the Republican presidential nomination and another scheduled to announce his candidacy on Tuesday, a significant bloc of American voters continues to oppose followers of that religion, according to a Gallup poll released Monday. About one in five Republicans, or 18%, said they would not vote for a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the official name of the Mormon church. About the same proportion of independents said they would oppose a Mormon while a larger number of Democrats, about 27%, said they were opposed, according to the poll.