FāVS Religion News Roundup: Feb. 27

By FāVS News Staff

Doug Wilson, Joe Heschmeyer to debate sola scripture at University of Idaho arena

Controversial Christ Church pastor Doug Wilson will debate Catholic apologist Joe Heschmeyer on March 26 at the University of Idaho in Moscow. The event, titled “Sola Scriptura — Is the Bible Alone Enough for Salvation?,” will be held at the Idaho Central Credit Union Arena and is hosted by the Vandal Catholic Club. The debate will focus on Sola Scriptura, the Protestant Reformation doctrine asserting that the Bible alone is the ultimate authority for Christian faith and salvation, a belief disputed by Catholics who maintain that church tradition and authority are also essential. 

Organizer Eric Meyer, a deacon at St. Augustine’s Catholic Center, expects up to 2,000 attendees and described the event as an opportunity for respectful dialogue between Catholics and Protestants. Wilson, a prominent Christian nationalist, has drawn criticism for past statements on women’s voting rights and slavery. Tickets cost $8 and can be purchased at vandalcatholic.com.

Spokane-Area university student leaders organize series of community service days

Student government leaders from Whitworth University, Eastern Washington University and Gonzaga University have teamed up to organize a series of community service events across Spokane this spring. Abigail Ruffcorn, president of Whitworth’s Associated Students, spearheaded the collaboration, which includes three service days between March and April.

Whitworth students will kick off the series March 7 with a service day at the Union Gospel Mission’s Anna Ogden Hall, a women’s and children’s shelter. On March 14, Whitworth and EWU student government members will partner for a Habitat for Humanity build. The series wraps up April 25, when Whitworth and Gonzaga students will join forces for a West Central neighborhood cleanup through Spokane Serves — an area with personal significance to Ruffcorn, who grew up in the neighborhood.

More than 100 Muslims descend on state capitol for Advocacy Day

More than 100 Muslims gathered at the Washington State Capitol on Feb. 17 to advocate for issues affecting their community, participating in more than 60 meetings with state lawmakers. The event, which brought 30 community members to Olympia by bus and featured 34 youth leaders, centered on three priority bills. Washington State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti addressed attendees about the importance of halal investment options in state-sponsored college savings plans, known as 529 plans.

At a reception, lawmakers including Reps. Farivar, Salahuddin and Simmons spoke to attendees, alongside representatives from the governor’s and lieutenant governor’s offices. Local community leader Mustafa Mohamedali spoke about civic engagement, as did CAIR-WA’s Muslim Youth Ambassadors. The event also featured remarks from family members of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, a Washington state woman killed by an Israeli sniper in the West Bank in 2024, who called for accountability for her death.

Gonzaga to host regional AI conference April 23

Gonzaga University will host the Value & Responsibility in AI Conference on April 23 from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on its Spokane campus. The event brings together business leaders, technologists, policymakers, researchers and entrepreneurs for a day focused on innovation, leadership and responsible AI adoption. Panel discussions will center on three themes: meaning and identity in an AI-influenced world, AI’s impact on learning and education and workforce transformation. The conference concludes with a 5-7 p.m. regional AI Showcase featuring research and development projects from Gonzaga students, faculty and Spokane-area entrepreneurs.

Registration is limited and expected to reach capacity. More information is available at Gonzaga.edu/AIConference.

Survey: Evangelical support for Israel rooted in theology, not politics

A national survey of more than 3,800 Protestants finds that evangelical support for Israel is driven more by theological conviction and moral reasoning than by political identity, researchers announced this week at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville. The study, fielded in December and part of an eight-year tracking project, found that belief in God’s covenant with the Jewish people increases the likelihood of strong support for Israel by 81%, while Protestants who view Israel’s military response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks as “completely justified” are 231% more likely to express strong support.

Researchers from Boston University and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, who co-led the study, said the findings challenged their expectations. “There is a tendency to interpret evangelical support for Israel as primarily political or apocalyptic,” said Dr. Motti Inbari of UNC Pembroke. “Our data shows it is far more grounded in structured theological commitments and moral evaluation.” The survey, commissioned by Chosen People Ministries, also found that while younger evangelicals show lower overall support, more than 30% of respondents ages 18-30 expressed favorable views toward Israel — a sign researchers say points to the need for intensified educational outreach rather than generational abandonment of the issue.

FAVS Editor and Executive Director Tracy Simmons interviewed by The Christian Century

Tracy Simmons was recently interviewed about her investigative journalism process for an article she recently published on The Christian Century. The story she wrote is titled “Facebook group helps women find healing after alleged abuse at Baptist counseling facility.” It exposes the world of biblical counseling at Vision of Hope in Lafayette, Indiana, and how alleged abuse was allowed to flourish according to the women she interviewed. The interview also explores how stories develop, how she stays grounded and what has been changing in journalism.

The Christian Century also recently hired Simmons to help them lead “The Narrative Project,” which is a project to help reclaim “the story of American Christianity with creativity, imagination and joy” by training diverse, faith-formed leaders to share narratives that drive social change.

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