Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
More Than a Vice, Gambling is Social Justice Issue
Kentucky, the state where I live, is abuzz these days with discussion over expanded gambling. The governor wants it, and conservative Christian groups don't. This argument is hardly limited to Kentucky. I lived through...
British High Court Rules Against Prayer at Town Meetings
LONDON (RNS) A British High Court justice has triggered dismay and anger across England and Wales with a recent decision that declares prayers at town hall meetings are against the law. Justice Duncan Ouseley ruled...
Grief Without God Is a Challenge for Nonbelievers
BERKELEY, Calif. (RNS) When Rebecca Hensler's infant son died in 2009, she received numerous condolences from friends, colleagues and even total strangers she met online. She knew their intentions were good, but their...
Churches Talk Reconciliation But Slower to Act
Editor's note: This is part one of a two-part series. I've been busy writing my dissertation on the church as a reconciling community. Two things are becoming more apparent to me each day that I research and write on...
Churches Warned to Back Off of Payday Lenders
Several Missouri churches received a letter in January from a Texas law firm warning that the churches might be jeopardizing their nonprofit status. The letter from Grapevine, Texas-based Anthony & Middlebrook...
Where Is the So-Called Line for the Undocumented?
Politicians often say, when speaking about immigration, that the undocumented must "get in line" if they want to be legally in the United States. What is unclear is what they mean by the line. "Those people that are...
Gotham’s No Gomorrah, Says N.Y. Archbishop Timothy Dolan
VATICAN CITY (RNS) One the eve of his elevation to cardinal, New York's Archbishop Timothy Dolan said he would like to change the caricature of his city as a modern-day Gomorrah. "New York seems to have an innate...
Nonprofit Groups Oppose Obama’s Change in Charitable Deductions
WASHINGTON (RNS) For the fourth year in a row, President Obama is proposing lower tax deductions for the wealthy on donations to churches and other nonprofit organizations. And for the fourth year in a row, nonprofit...
Vatican Leaks Scandal Looms Large at Meeting to Elevate New Cardinals
VATICAN CITY (RNS) It isn't anywhere on the official agenda, but as Roman Catholic leaders meet in Rome this weekend, looming in the background will be a recent string of Vatican leaks that reveal a bitter power...
Churches Must Offer More Than Management, Therapy
Philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre in "After Virtue" claimed that two of our culture's emblematic professions are "the Manager" and "the Therapist." The Manager is mostly concerned with technique – with turning raw...
Is a Woman Preaching at Your Church This Month?
Martha Stearns Marshall Month, which occurs in February, celebrates the voices of women in the pulpit. Martha Stearns Marshall lived during the 18th century and, along with her husband, provided leadership and...
Why Most of Your Church Don’t Believe in Tithing
A recent article points to a historiclowintithing among Americans, which should come as no surprise to anyone who plays a role in trying to balance church budgets these days. Programs are being cut, mission offerings...
Holy hemlocks
With the temperature in the mid-60s, I couldn't resist taking a hike through a nearby nature preserve called Hemlock Bluffs. The name derives, as one might guess, from the hemlock trees that can be found there. Eastern...
Southern Baptists Mull Whether ˜Southern’ Still Fits
FAIRHOPE, Ala. (RNS) For the Rev. Jerry Henry, pastor of First Baptist Church of Fairhope, being Southern Baptist is a defining aspect of life. He embraces the denomination's conservative social values, extols its...
Sparks Fly as House GOP Blasts Contraception Mandate
WASHINGTON (RNS) Exhibit A in the fight over President Obama's mandate for religious institutions to provide insurance coverage for contraception: a ham sandwich. At a hearing Thursday (Feb. 16) convened by House...
FBI, Muslims Report Progress over Training Materials
(RNS) FBI officials say they are willing to consider a proposal from a coalition of Muslim and interfaith groups to establish a committee of experts to review materials used in FBI anti-terrorism training. The...
Payday Lenders Enslave Poor in Debt Cycle
One of the primary emphases of the New Baptist Covenant II meeting in Oklahoma was a push for economic reforms related to "payday lending" - industry terminology for the practice of extending short-term, high-interest...
Common Ground Hard to Find in Culture War
The latest round of the political WrestleMania gotcha match, otherwise known as the presidential campaign, finds the members of the tag team trying to "out-faith" each other while simultaneously painting their eventual...
How Not to Attract Excellent Teachers
In the interest of full disclosure, let me begin by acknowledging that my wife is a public school teacher – soon to complete her 20th year. I have nothing but the highest admiration for her. She brings a level of...
No Ordinary Relationships: For Our Own Good
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on February 12, 2012. Proverbs 3:11-13 Morning Prayer: O God, you have called us to many tasks and we are ready to do what you ask, whether it...
Healed for Community
A sermon delivered by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, Farmville Baptist Church, Farmville, Va., on February 12, 2012. Sixth Sunday after Epiphany Mark 1:40-45 I still remember one of the most traumatic days I ever had in...