Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
L.A. Bishop Resigns After Fathering Children
(RNS) A Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop from Los Angeles has resigned after admitting he is the father of two children, both now teenagers. The Vatican on Wednesday (Jan. 4) announced that Pope Benedict XVI had...
Victims’ Group Refuses to Turn over Names in Abuse Suit
ST. LOUIS (RNS) The director of a leading victims’ advocacy group refused to answer some questions or turn over documents in a deposition held Monday (Jan. 2) in a Kansas City, Mo., clergy abuse case. David Clohessy,...
How You Can Face the Future with Confidence
Thresholds can be frightening. Our ancient ancestors felt that thresholds were dwelling places for evil spirits. They believed that stepping on a threshold made them vulnerable to the spirits that lurked there, so they...
Iowa Demonstrates Struggles of Conservative Evangelical Voters
With the help of conservative evangelicals, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum surged to a virtual first-place tie in Tuesday's Republican caucuses in Iowa. Ending with a quarter of the vote and a mere eight votes behind...
Why God Expects You to Care for the Least of These
What does a passage (Matthew 25:31-46) about the sheep and the goats have to say to us? How can it help us be better prepared to face a new year? God has expectations for us. He has expectations for all of his...
British Mural Gives Modern Twist to Prodigal Son
How do you communicate something of the relevance and accessibility of the gospel to people in today's society? An imaginative church in southwest England has chosen the artistic route as it refurbished its city center...
The poll result is in
By John Pierce 1-0. That was the result of my recent, unscientific poll about whether or not there is too much polling. I only polled myself. It came after reading about polls, polls and more polls. Most of the recent...
Bowled over … not.
The 2011-12 bowl bash for college football has brought us something like 35 bowl games, not to mention a handful of all-star games. So far, I've watched a grand total of one, and didn't even get riled when Georgia blew...
Atheists Face Uphill Climb with New Political Party
(RNS) How viable is a political party with the word “atheist” in its name? Troy Boyle, a corporate legal representative for a finance company, thinks very viable. Last March, he and a friend founded the National...
Catholic School Officially Ends Paddling
NEW ORLEANS (RNS) A Catholic high school that was the country’s last refuge of corporal punishment has ended a legal struggle over control of the school and agreed that the days of paddling are over. “There will be no...
Vatican Launches Catholic Home for U.S. Episcopalians
(RNS) American Episcopalians upset with their denomination’s acceptance of gay and female clergy can now convert to the Roman Catholic Church while keeping many cherished traditions in a special new U.S. diocese that...
Why We’re Reluctant to Accept Jesus’ Humanity
Another Christmas has past, and as we put away decorations and return gifts, it is good for Christians to once again spend time reflecting on the meaning of Christmas, especially after the hoopla of a busy Christmas...
Despite Affairs, Gingrich Given Political Grace by SBC Leaders
As former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich jumped to the front of the Republican presidential polls last month, he found several Southern Baptist leaders ready to support him despite his affairs and divorces. The...
The Night You Became Indefinitely Detainable
On New Year's Eve 2011, while you and I were anticipating the end of the year, President Barack Obama signed a law that makes U.S. citizens subject to indefinite detention by military authorities on suspicion of being...
Epiphany Invites You to a New Way of Seeing
In the liturgy of the Christian year, Epiphany marks the end of the "12 days of Christmas," commemorating Matthew's report of the visit of the magi to Bethlehem to pay their respects to the new "king of the Jews."...
What Motivates Baptists to Work Together?
When I was a Baptist campus minister, I often attended meetings where speakers said, "Missions is what holds Southern Baptists together." Missions was proclaimed as the primary motivator for working together, and some...
On Immigration, Cite the Bible “ and the Chamber
The Chamber of Commerce has a resource every pastor needs – and needs to be able to cite. If the goodwill faith community seeks the welfare of the undocumented immigrant based on the biblical imperative to care for the...
Babbling on, or …?
Important antiquities are most commonly found in museums, but they often find their way into private hands, too. Money provided by private collectors has been both boon and bane to archaeologists. Sometimes wealthy...
Nigerian Christians, Muslims Exchange Sharp Words after Christmas Day Bombing
Nigerian Christians and Muslims have traded sharp words as a new wave of religious violence moved across Africa's most populous nation. A Christmas Day bomb killed an estimated 35 people at St. Theresa Catholic Church...
Catholics’ Message: Peace Through Justice
Forty years ago, in his World Day for Peace message on Jan. 1, 1972, Pope Paul VI declared, "If you want peace, work for justice." Those were very significant words that, for good reason, have often been quoted...
5 Issues Your Church Members Will Discuss in 2012
The flood of articles predicting what's going to happen in 2012 has begun, so I thought I would throw in a small-church perspective. Interestingly, I think 2012 will bring us to a unique intersection of faith and...