A group of Bible scholars is concerned about free expression on the internet.

Specifically, they object to the way the American Bible Society is running its recently acquired .bible domain name, which they say strictly limits a wide range of faiths and essentially excludes any group with a scholarly or secular orientation.

“The internet is public space,” said John Kutsko, executive director of the Society of Biblical Literature, the oldest and largest learned society devoted to the critical investigation of the Bible, with about 8,500 members, mostly scholars. “It’s our understanding that .bible was registered to be public space and not have the kind of restrictions that you would expect of a domain that was proprietary or brand-oriented.”

As the Rwandan government continues to shut down houses of worship it deems unsafe and dissenters charge it with trampling on religious rights, lightning struck and killed 15 worshippers in the country’s south.

The strike Saturday (March 10), which also injured 140 parishioners, was further proof to those who support the closures that they are necessary to protect people from structures that pose lethal risks. 

“This is a tragic but apt rejoinder to those who have been complaining about the authorities’ closure of places of worship that do not meet the minimum safety, security and health requirements imposed on places where large numbers of the public are expected to congregate,” wrote Rwandan Mwene Kalinda in a letter to The New Times, a government-owned English-language daily.

The government last month closed more than 700 churches in Kigali — plus hundreds of churches and mosques outside the capital — citing failures to comply with building codes. Many of the closed churches have been Pentecostal, a fast-growing denomination in the predominantly Christian nation.

The closures were also accompanied by the arrest of six pastors who were charged with planning a rally against the closures in Rwanda, where the administration of President Paul Kagame has drawn harsh criticism from human rights advocates for its treatment of…

NEW YORK — Michael A. Walrond Jr., one of New York City’s most influential pastors who leads the more than 10,000-member First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem, is coming under fire online for telling his congregants that the belief that Jesus is the only way to Heaven is “insanity.”

Prior to preaching one of his sermons at First Corinthian just over two weeks ago, Walrond asked the congregation to recite their purpose statement, which he said “shape[s] our identity as a congregation.”

“We are an ever evolving community of visionaries, dreamers, and doers who have been called by God to live the lives we were created to live; commanded by God to love beyond the limits of our prejudices and commissioned by God to serve,” the statement read.

It was while explaining the statement to those who were not familiar with the church’s position that he explained his multiple ways to God concept.

“If you are a person who believes in God, these words can apply to you, no matter what your faith background. We get so twisted in this country and in many cultures, to create divides and boundaries and barriers between human beings because of our faith…