Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Ten Years after 9/11, A Reason for Optimism
What happened on 9/11 was horrible by any standard. Muslims across the United States and the world spoke strongly against the violence and condemned it as terrorism and an act that is un-Islamic. That is not to say...
Calif. Man Becomes a Pioneer for Gay Mormons
(RNS) Mitch Mayne is not the first openly gay person to hold a key leadership post within the all-volunteer clergy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but he may be the first to announce it from the...
`Roamin’ Catholics’ Wander in Search of New Church
CLEVELAND (RNS) They call themselves “Roamin’ Catholics,” traveling from church to church, looking for a new place to worship since Cleveland’s oldest black Catholic church was shut down more than a year ago....
Report: KC diocese put children in jeopardy
(RNS) The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph could have put children in jeopardy when it failed to follow guidelines for reporting clergy sexual abuse, according to a report commissioned by the...
Will Christians Ask Hard Questions about Use of Force?
The 30th anniversary of the GreenhamCommonWomen'sPeaceCamp in Berkshire, England, which irritated the military and political establishment from 1981 until 2000 – though the last missiles left in 1992 – was...
A Religious Spirit Drives America’s Interventions
America's foreign interventions over the last century arise from deeply held religious motivations. The source of these motivations reaches back to the end of the 19th century and the invention of the "social gospel."...
After 9/11, Our Unity Morphed into Rage
Carol and I left New York City on Sept. 2, 2001, after seeing "The Music Man" the night before on Broadway. Nothing could have prepared us for what lay ahead. "The Music Man" is about as American and apple pie as any...
A worthy laborer
Labor Day seems an appropriate time to express thanksgiving for the work of Eugene Nida, without whom millions of people might yet be waiting for a Bible they could read. Nida (pronounced Nye-duh), who died August 25...
Four Leadership Lessons We Can Learn from Steve Jobs
Unless you have been on a mission trip to Mongolia or experiencing power failures from hurricanes, earthquakes or tornadoes, you've heard that Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO of Apple due to health issues....
Conservative Evangelical Turns Nonprofits into Lucrative Family Business
Christian Right leader Jay Sekulow and his family members have benefited handsomely from two nonprofit organizations that he runs – Christian Advocates Servicing Evangelism (CASE) and American Center for Law and...
Five Facts about Dominionism
(RNS) In recent weeks, an arcane and scary-sounding religious term has crept into the lexicon of the 2012 campaign, tripping from the tongue of everyone from MSNBC broadcaster Rachel Maddow to conservative Christian...
Dean of Black Preachers Defends Obama
(RNS) In a new book, the Rev. Gardner Taylor, a retired pastor known nationally as the dean of African-American preachers, decries the treatment of President Obama by his critics. Taylor, 93, was particularly disturbed...
Catholics Pitch In to Repair National Cathedral
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is donating $25,000 to help repair the Washington National Cathedral, which sustained millions of dollars in damage in the earthquake that rocked the East Coast...
Dominionism: A Danger in Churches and Politics
Thirty-six years ago, I enrolled for my first semester of studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. That was before the fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention, which made...
Cutting Kids’ Programs “ The New Corporal Punishment
As I approach my 70th, I'm spending more time remembering how fortunate I was to have been raised in a loving family, where, as an only child, I was treated as something special. For health reasons, my mother was...
The Real Class Warfare: Protecting the Super-Rich
Class warfare is a term used by politicians and political pundits whenever the public (rich or poor) questions the disparity of wealth in this nation. To raise concerns about the ever-growing economic gap is to risk...
If it had been a snake …
OK, so I was wrong. It wasn't the first time, and certainly won't be the last. I groused on Wednesday about a "P&G Brand Saver" coupon book that included an ad saying "Look for Head & Shoulders coupons in this...
Czech Government Agrees to Turn over Seized Churches
WARSAW, Poland (RNS/ENInews) A prominent Czech church leader has welcomed an agreement that would allow churches to reclaim land and buildings seized under communist rule, but forfeit state subsidies in return. A draft...
Muslim Lawmakers Appeal for Israeli Soldier’s Release
WASHINGTON (RNS) Two Muslim congressmen and other prominent Muslims have urged Hamas to release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was captured in a cross-border raid five years ago and has been held ever since in the...
Vatican Blasts New York’s Sex Ed Program
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican took a swipe at new sex education classes in New York City schools on Wednesday (Aug. 31), saying teaching middle school students how to use a condom is “useless, and even harmful.” The...
Is Civility Counterproductive for Christians?
Does urging Christians to practice civility rob them of their ability to speak out on issues of great importance to them? This is the criticism I hear most often, that somehow striving for a more respectful dialog...