Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
We’re in trouble now
The stock market isn't the only thing that's been trending down lately. The Barna Group, which conducts and analyzes trends relative to faith and practice, reported recently that religious behavior has declined in a...
The Divine Surprises of Adoption
(RNS) Next to lists of emergency phone numbers tacked to the inside door of her kitchen cabinets, Jennifer Grant has posted prayers to remind her that parenthood is both a labor of love and a sacred calling. Inside the...
Quran-burning Pastor Plans 9/11 Visit to Ground Zero
(RNS) Controversial Florida pastor Terry Jones, who sparked international outrage for plans to burn a pile of Qurans, will visit Ground Zero on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Jones told MLive.com...
Left, Right Face Off on Facebook to Elect Online Pope
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Italians have an expression, “every death of a pope,” to describe rare events. And with Pope Benedict XVI in good health and scheduled to take three foreign trips in the next three months, few are...
The Paradox of Muslim and Mormon Life in the U.S.
"Americans Feel Warmest Toward Jews, Mainline Protestants and Catholics" was a much-discussed headline in last year's" American Grace," a survey-rich book on paradoxes in American religious life. The subtitle was "How...
Does Jesus’ Definition of Defilement Apply to Standard & Poor’s?
Jesus tells us, via the Gospels of Matthew (15) and Mark (7), that what defiles us as humans is not what goes into our mouths as physical food, what is then digested for nourishment, and what finally comes out of our...
As Economy Declines, Who Ultimately Pays the Price?
In the last few weeks, we have witnessed for the first time in our history the downgrading of America's credit rating. Because of partisan feuding, and an effort by Republicans to undermine President Obama's...
Weeds
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on August 7, 2011. Matthew 13:3-7, 18-22 3And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow....
Getting Serious: Loving God, a World Without God
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on August 7, 2011. Matthew 8:5-13 Meditation Text: The horror of life without God has lost its place in our imagination....
Sibling Rivalry
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on August 7, 2011. Genesis 37:1-28; Romans 10:11-15 How many of your high school reunions have you attended? I’ve only done...
Beautiful Feet
A sermon delivered by Michael Cheuk, Pastor, Farmville Baptist Church, Farmville, Va., on August 7, 2011. Romans 10:5-15 Eighth Sunday after Pentecost How beautiful are your feet? I dare say that most of us would...
God in the Empty Places
A sermon delivered by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on August 7, 2011. Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 The Eighth Sunday After Pentecost If the stories of the Patriarchs and the Matriarchs...
Peace Service Held Amid London Riots
LONDON (RNS/ENInews) The annual peace service at Westminster Cathedral acquired fresh significance on Tuesday evening (Aug. 9) as Londoners gathered to pray for their city and other British communities torn by rioting....
Priest Won’t Stop Push for Women’s Ordination
(RNS) The Roman Catholic priest who faces expulsion from the priesthood and his religious order for advocating for women to be ordained as priests is refusing to recant and has hired a church lawyer. “What they’re...
Charity Group Brings Dollars, and Controversy
(RNS) Shopping for a flat screen TV typically isn’t that controversial. Arguments may ensue over the best size, brand or price, but those quarrels are usually short-lived. The Charity Give Back Group, or CGBG, is...
Younger Christians More Likely to Support Other Faiths
One of the most irritating accusations against Christianity, or faith in general, is that it causes conflict and sets one person against another. It would be wrong to deny that this has sometimes been the case; there...
To Defeat Hatred, Mere Tolerance is Not the Answer
In the first chapter of his 1967 book, "Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?", Martin Luther King Jr. describes the state of the civil rights movement in America and the state of white America's acceptance of...
Sen. Mark Hatfield “ Last of the Moderate Republicans?
Former U.S. Sen. Mark O. Hatfield of Oregon died at the age of 89 on Aug. 7. He was one of the last of a remarkable breed of politicians – a moderate Republican. In this day of intensely ideological politics, when...
Here, have my paper …
On Monday I reflected on the bad news so common to our newspapers lately ... and today I read that newspapers are facing bad news of their own: there's been a rash of newspaper thefts, apparently fueled by an "Extreme...
States Scramble to Find Prison Chaplains After Cuts
RALEIGH, N.C. (RNS) In the two months since North Carolina’s legislature laid off most of its prison chaplains, Betty Brown, director of prison chaplaincy services, has been crisscrossing the state searching for...
Catholic Priest Faces Expulsion for Supporting Women’s Ordination
(RNS) A Roman Catholic priest who has campaigned for the ordination of women has been told he will be expelled from his religious order if he does not publicly recant. The Rev. Roy Bourgeois was issued a “second...