Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
February 16, 2016
Former President Jimmy Carter Wins Grammy Award (CNN) Mississippi Police Chiefs Critical of Bill Allowing Guns in Churches (Clarion-Ledger) KY Lawmaker Wants Men to Swear Fidelity on Bible, Get Note From Wives Before...
Jesus: Uncool, Untrendy, Difficult to Follow
I arrived at university 25 years ago as a young, fresh, undergraduate who thought the best way to witness to Jesus was to make him cool by being cool myself. I am not sure how I thought this tactic would work, as I was...
Report: Forced and Child Labor Prevalent in Electronic Manufacturing
Electronic companies have policies in place against using forced and child labor, but most fail to ensure that these guidelines are followed in all production stages, according to a Baptist World Aid Australia report....
February 15, 2016
Why Evangelicals are Splintering and What it Means for the GOP (Los Angeles Times) Georgia's Evangelicals Have Clout But Lack Unity (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Ted Cruz Leaders a Prayer with 14,000 Cheering...
Different ways, different audiences
By John D. Pierce A college introductory course in sociology of religion was very mind opening for me. It helped me to see how belief systems and institutional religious practices are shaped by cultural contexts....
Are You Living Up to Your Smile?
Have you ever seen a jogger smile? There is a park alongside the river that is a convenient place for me to stop on the way home from work. While traffic hums by, there are trails winding through patches of woods,...
Lent is the Valley Portion of Faith
Lent began this week in the life of the church. It is a time of preparation and penitence, a time for deep reflection in the depth of winter's cold. Although it is not a common practice in many Baptist churches, Lent...
February 12, 2016
Fear of Vengeful Gods Helped Societies Expand (Discovery) Idaho Senator's Bill Says Bible a Good School Reference Book for 'Astronomy, Biology, Geology,' More (Spokesman Review) Apple Rejects 'The Binding of Isaac'...
Wrecking forests, facing gods
Climatologists tell us that last year was the hottest on record, further evidence that global warming is not some figment of a liberal's imagination, but a reality we all must live with. A geological history of...
How Christians Should Deal with Internet Trolls
Michael Moroz, a high school student and editor of his school newspaper, missed a few days of school in early January because of threats made against his life. The lethal reaction resulted from an editorial Moroz ran,...
Dueling Narratives Seek to Define Our Culture
It is becoming a widespread observation that we are surrounded by at least two very different versions of who we are, where we have been and where we are going as a society and a nation. We can look and listen for a...
Book: Caring for Poor Aligns with God’s Presence
Is there a connection between God's people demonstrating compassion and welcoming the poor and broken into their midst and caring for them, and God manifesting his presence? Why does it seem that in so many places in...
February 11, 2016
Sanders Just Made History as a Non-Christian Primary Winner (Washington Post) Evangelicals Favored Donald Trump, Ted Cruz in New Hampshire (Christian Post) Cruz's Evangelical Backer Seeks to Convert Jews, Predicts New...
February 10, 2016
This Lawmaker and Evangelical Pastor Just Got His Anti-Gay 'Religious Freedom' Bill Passed (New Civil Rights Movement) Gay Marriage Remains Divisive Issue in Episcopalian Church (Tennessean) Violence More Common in...
The Dangers When Ministers Endorse Presidential Hopefuls
I learned recently that one of my fellow pastor friends agreed to serve on a political committee to get one of his party's candidates elected president of the United States. My friend is currently serving as a pastor...
Bipartisan Task Force Presents Drug-Sentencing Reform Proposals
Lengthy sentences for drug offenses are "one of the key drivers" to overcrowded prisons, bursting budgets and contributing to "a state of crisis" within the federal prison system. These conclusions were set forth by a...
Baptists Save Poor Communities in Myanmar
Since Baptist missionaries arrived in Myanmar nearly 200 years ago, there's been a minority Christian population among the Karen people. In the aftermath of a devastating civil war, Karen Baptist churches have a...
Islam Means Peace? A Brief Etymological Reflection
"Islam Means Peace!" So affirmed the flier of a conference organized in the U.S. that remains etched in my memory. And so affirm many books and websites you will find through an Internet search for the phrase. You will...
Report: Few U.S. Congregations Thrive, While Most Survive in 2015
Thriving and surviving were two contrasting trends experienced by U.S. congregations in 2015, according to a report from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research's Faith Communities Today (FACT) initiative. The...
Don’t Let Extremists Hijack ‘Evangelical’ Label
Some equate "American evangelicalism" with a far right-wing political movement. They base this on a combination of two factors: First, many leading spokespersons for far-right wing American politics call themselves...
February 9, 2016
Freedom Riders Reflect Upon Past and Future at First African Baptist Church (Tuscaloosa News) Third Baptist Church S.F. Settles Suit Against S.F. Housing Nonprofit (San Francisco Chronicle) School in Colorado Sued for...