Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Personal problems
By John Pierce Politicians and news media were frenzied yesterday following the deadly passenger train wreck in Philadelphia. There were passionate calls for cooperation, spending and competency beyond the typical...
Happiness: The Christian Faith’s Ultimate Goal – Part 1
I have often enjoyed reading social critics, as diverse as Leo Tolstoy and Reinhold Niebuhr, and even one of the greatest of modern haters of Christians, Friedrich Nietzsche, whom I first started reading as an...
Challenging the Shame of Being Poor
A worldview that dominates Middle Eastern societies is one of honor and shame. All interactions and conversations either honor a person or shame them in the way they are addressed and treated socially. One's standing...
Speaking Out Against the Nations’ New God – Austerity
All my life I have taken an interest in politics because I have an interest in how my life is affected by political decisions and policies. From my parents, I learned the importance of cooperation in working toward a...
May 14, 2015
Obama Tackles Poverty on a Panel in Front of Catholic and Evangelical Leaders (Washington Post) Gay-Bias Ban Wins in Eureka Springs (Northwest Arkansas News) In San Francisco, Catholic Church Starts Digital Collection...
By the beautiful sea …
The sea was gorgeous, the food was fine, and nobody got sick. How's that for a good day? The third full day of touring for participants in the 2015 Campbell Divinity School Bible Lands Study Tour got under way with a...
They’re here!
By John Pierce Looking for excellent Bible studies from a trusted writer? Well, hot of the press are the first two entries in the Nurturing Faith Bible Study SERIES by Tony Cartledge. The lessons and background...
Profiles In Goodwill: Fred Andrea
Fred Andrea is pastor of First Baptist Church of Aiken, South Carolina. 1. Where did you grow up? I was born in Greenville, South Carolina, and grew up in the upstate, living also in Seneca, Spartanburg and Aiken. 2....
U.S. Catholic Bishops: Immigrant Detention System Ineffective, Costly, Harmful to Families
The U.S. immigrant detention system causes despair, fractures families, violates human rights standards and lessens national prestige, a Catholic report said. A joint report issued by the United States Conference of...
Slavery and Today’s So-Called Job Creators
A writing project many years ago required a fairly thorough review of the arguments for and against slavery in the U.S. South during the 30 years that led up to the Civil War. The case put forth by the abolitionists...
May 13, 2015
Study: Americans Spurning Religion Hits Record High (CBS News) Millennials Leaving Church in Droves, Study Finds (CNN) Obama Draws Line Between Racial, Class Segregation (CNN) Harriet Tubman Wins Poll for Woman on $20...
A drier start, a wetter finish
Day Two for the Campbell Divinity School study tour of Israel and the West Bank was typical in terms of time -- on the bus before 8:00 a.m., past 6:30 p.m. before returning. We didn't see any rain today, but...
Good reminders about messing up
By John Pierce Often graduation speeches can be nap inducing. But I heard a couple of good ones last week at the University of Georgia where my daughter wrapped up her undergraduate studies. First, entrepreneur Marc...
3 Disturbing Consequences from Anti-Muslim Proponents
Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, Geert Wilders and others are inadvertently the spearheads of Islamism in the U.S. and Europe. This may sound like a bit of a radical statement, but perhaps it isn't. Through the widely...
Pontifical Academies Connect Climate Change, Creation Care and Common Good
Climate change is taking place. It is a global problem influenced by human activity, and religious institutions should be leading the way in responding, a Vatican report said. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences (PAS)...
3 Steps That Flourishing Churches Will Take
A friend has been nominated for Teacher of the Year in our state. In discussing this with him over a meal, my wife reflected on how the profession of teaching has evolved. Long ago, men were the primary and secondary...
May 12, 2015
Texas Senate OKs Bill Affirming Pastors' Right to Refuse Same-Sex Marriages (KVUE) Republicans Try to Strip Predatory Lending Protections for American Troops, Again (Huffington Post) How Evangelicals are Fighting Big...
The rain in May falls heavy on the unprepared
Campbell University Divinity School’s 2015 Bible Lands Study Tour got off to an eventful and unusual start: for part of the afternoon, it rained like crazy. “You don’t need to bring an umbrella,” I had assured...
Profiles In Goodwill: Frank Broome
Frank Broome is executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia. Frank's articles that have appeared on EthicsDaily.com are available here. 1. Where did you grow up? Washington, Georgia. 2. What...
The Field
My brother and I grew up in a small town in the East Arkansas Delta in the '40s and '50s. We lived on Division Street. It was a great place to live if you were white. Our small frame rent house was in the last block of...
Let’s Not Confuse Freedom of Speech with Moral Rightness
When does provoking hatred cross the line from free speech to irresponsible speech? The legal answer may differ from the moral answer. The legal answer appeared in a recent court ruling. A United States District Court...