It is true that the Qur’an is full of warnings for the wrongdoers. But it is also full of the good news. In fact the prophets, including Prophet Muhammad, are often referred to as Basheer (bearer of good news) and Nazeer (the warners). For some reason, the clerics got stuck mostly on the Nazeer part.....

However, I am actually much more hopeful of God’s mercy. I realize the most commonly repeated attributes of God in the Qur’an are Rehmaan (the Most Gracious) and Raheem(the Most Merciful)….

“O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. 39:53

Instead, on Thursday the company announced that it was canceling its headquarters plan for the site, selected after a lengthy and extremely public search.

Importantly, a top Amazon official had testified before the New York City Council that it would not remain neutral in any union bids by its New York staff — putting pro-union politicians like Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio in a tricky spot.

That spot was even worse for the two unions who were supporting Amazon, The Building and Construction Trades and the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ.

When Phil Brookman preaches, even Alexa listens — and dutifully obeys....

The sermon, titled “Greet One Another,” was based on the Apostle Paul’s admonition that the church function as one body with many parts....

Brookman preached about how easy it is in the 21st century for Christians to live separate lives — and to fail to see the need for the kind of unity Paul advocates.
Even shopping has become depersonalized, Brookman said. Instead of going to Walmart and interacting with other humans, one need only say, “Alexa, order toilet paper.”
From the master bathroom in her house, Bethany Becknell heard a polite female voice respond, “OK. I’ve added it to your cart.”

Over the past year, Amazon has reduced the portion of shipments it packs in its cardboard boxes in favor of lightweight plastic mailers, which enable the retailing giant to squeeze more packages in delivery trucks and planes.
But environmental activists and waste experts say the new plastic sacks, which aren't recyclable in curbside recycling bins, are having a negative effect....

One of the few Fortune 500 companies not to file a corporate social responsibility or sustainability report, the Seattle-based corporation said its "Frustration-Free" packaging program reduced packaging waste by 16 percent and eliminated the need for more than 305 million shipping boxes in 2017....

Some countries put the onus on companies to take greater financial and management responsibility for their products after consumers have finished using them. In these systems, companies pay fees based on how much waste their products and packaging contribute.
To comply with its legal obligations, Amazon pays these fees in some countries outside of the United States. Amazon is already subject to such systems in Canada, according to the nonprofit Canadian Stewardship Services Alliance, which supports the programs throughout the provinces.

Do children raised by religious parents have better social and psychological development than those raised in non-religious homes? In a new study, researchers found that religion can be a mixed blessing for children as they get older....

Bartkowski also highlighted one notable limitation in their recently published study. "Some religious groups may more effectively balance soft skill development and academic excellence than others...

Bartkowski said a major takeaway from this new study is that religion is an important influence, generally for good and sometimes for ill, as children navigate their way through the grade school year

According to the New Food Economy, Amazon ranks high on the list of employers with massive numbers of employees enrolled in SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as food stamps). In Ohio, around one in 10 Amazon employees uses SNAP; in Pennsylvania, about one in nine. In Arizona, nearly one in three Amazon employees is enrolled in the food stamp program.
Later this year, Amazon will start accepting food stamps for online grocery orders, from which it stands to benefit enormously as one of the nation’s top retailers. That means the company will be the recipient of government assistance (in the form of tax breaks and incentives) while its own workers are forced to rely upon that same program to survive.

Bezos is worth an estimated £102bn, a fortune he acquired against a backdrop of global reports of misery for Amazon’s warehouse workers, exhausted by the demands made on them in return for the most basic of wages. Unions and labour rights groups have protested about low pay and harsh working conditions, and three delivery firms used by Amazon are facing a legal challenge from the GMB union, demanding that gig economy delivery drivers receive sick pay and holiday pay.


Last month it was revealed that ambulances had been called 600 times to Amazon’s UK warehouses over the past three years. There have been repeated calls for Amazon to improve the lot of its workers.

“The Our Lady of Guadalupe Church was really where my story started on the west side of the city,” Castro told Religion News Service in an interview days after the event. “I was baptized there, grew up not far from there, and went to school close to there. I wanted my announcement to present to the American people who I am, and my family and I have been Catholic for generations.”

His Catholicism, in other words, is not so much about how often he goes to worship — “I can’t say I go to church as much as I’d like,” he admitted — as it is about his family, his Mexican-American heritage and his progressive values. It’s also a form of the faith that, while sometimes obscured by other popularized visions of Catholicism, is deeply familiar to growing millions of Latino voters.

s a high school junior, Caleigh Wood refused to complete a history lesson on “The Muslim World” that she said forced her to embrace Islam in conflict with her Christian faith — and the Constitution.
A federal appeals court this week disagreed, saying school officials in Southern Maryland had not violated Wood’s First Amendment rights because the curriculum did not endorse a particular religion “and did not compel Wood to profess any belief.”....

“Religion is an integral part of history. You can’t ignore it,” said Scott, who argued the case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. “The key is to teach it from a secular perspective — and not to proselytize.”