Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Profiles In Goodwill: Wayne Flynt
Wayne Flynt is a retired Auburn University history professor and is known as "the conscience of Alabama." He was an interviewee in "Sacred Texts, Social Duty," EthicsDaily.com's documentary on faith and taxation, and...
When Genocide First Entered Our Vocabulary
Genocide is a term now recognized worldwide, but the origin of the designation is not widely known. Raphael Lemkin began using the term in the 1940s to describe the Nazi efforts to exterminate the Jewish people. He...
April 16, 2015
Nampa Christian High Grad Slashes Pay to Help Workers (KTVB) Tennessee House Votes Bible as Official State Book (The Tennessean) Atheist Mom Threatened Over Complaints About 'Bible Man' Visit to Texas Public School...
Guardian or Gardener? Which Describes Your Church?
Czar Nicolas II, who ruled Russia from 1894 to 1917, was walking in his palace garden one day when he found a soldier who was stationed as a sentry to guard that particular place. Confused as to why a soldier would be...
Defining Genocide: No Loopholes for ‘Odious Scourge’
A crucial component of genocide is the act of targeting a specific people, a genocide scholar says. Godfrey Uzoigwe, retired professor of history from Mississippi State University, reflects on the key components of a...
April 15, 2015
Effort to Make the Bible Tennessee's Official Book Bogs Down (ABC News) Oklahoma Official Vows to Protect Bible Distribution at Schools (NewsOK) In N.D., Church Ceremonies Push Town to Grapple with Gay Rights (National...
The Unique Ethical Struggle for the Middle Class
Ethics is a realm of reflection that is usually not class-specific, though we often see ethical discussions focused on particular arenas of decision-making. Business ethics, legal ethics and medical ethics are a few...
Profiles In Goodwill: Sam Harrell
Sam Harrell and his wife, Melody, founded the Africa Exchange, an organization that partners with local people in areas of early childhood education and community development. His articles that have appeared on...
Islam Expected to Expand, Religiously Unaffiliated to Shrink Globally
Islam is the fastest growing faith tradition and is expected to nearly equal Christianity in 40 years, according to a Pew Research Center study. Pew is projecting that Islam will increase from 1.6 billion followers...
Not all are friendly
Bigotry lives, even on a college campus where one would think Christian values and progressive thinking would be the order of the day. About five years ago, I stuck a Human Rights Campaign "equal sign" logo on the door...
April 14, 2015
New Survey Shows the World's Most and Least Religious Places (National Public Radio) Iowans Rally for Religious Liberties at State Capitol (Des Moines Register) Governor: Bible as Official Book of Tennessee Not...
British Charity Urges Churches to House Vulnerable
It was getting late but Linda decided to try another hotel. Maybe she would have success with this one. She spoke to someone at the reception desk. They barely looked up before dismissing her, "No, we don't have any...
Genocide Awareness is Needed In April, Year-Round
April has been set aside by several U.S. states as Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month. It was first designated by state resolutions in California (2010), Minnesota and Texas (2011), Georgia and New Hampshire...
April 13, 2015
Tennessee Lawmakers Forge Ahead with Plans to Make Bible Official State Book (Knoxville News Sentinel) Ga. Lawmakers Approve Tax Break for Private Baptist College (Washington Times) Inside the Evangelical Push to Rally...
Profiles In Goodwill: William Brackney
William Brackney is the Millard R. Cherry Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Acadia University and Acadia Divinity College in Nova Scotia. His articles that have appeared on EthicsDaily.com are...
To go, or not to go?
Church attendance has been in the news lately. The Southern Baptist Convention's LifeWay Resources published a recent survey of public opinion indicating that a majority of people think church attendance is acceptable...
April 10, 2015
North Charleston Minister: 'The Killing of Walter Scott Was a Public Execution' (Huffington Post) Republicans Decry 'Assault' and 'Jihad' Against Evangelical Christians (Radio Iowa) Poll: Most Americans Side With Gays...
Why Too Many Christians Go it Alone, Pilgrim
A statement from a lay leader of a local congregation shocked me. "When we are pursuing being disciples of Jesus Christ, we realize we need the church less," one man said at a church's annual retreat I was helping...
Profiles In Goodwill: Mike Smith
Mike Smith is the senior pastor of Central Baptist Church Fountain City in Knoxville, Tennessee, and an interviewee in EthicsDaily.com's documentary, "Good Will for the Common Good: Nurturing Baptists' Relationships...
Do Your Words Grow Healthy or Toxic Landscapes?
I have been trying to evolve an ecology of speech throughout Lent, a way with words that is hospitable to life. This includes learning to talk and to be silent at the right times and places, being careful to remember...
April 9, 2015
Knoxville Churches Question Whether Bible Should be Official State Book (WATE) Mormons are the Most Reliable Republicans, Study Shows (Salt Lake Tribune) South Carolina Shooting: Officer is Charged with Murder and...