Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Israeli Ambassador Backpedals on Wartime Pope Comments
(RNS) After strong criticism from the Jewish community, Israel’s ambassador to the Vatican backpedaled from his praise of the controversial wartime Pope Pius XII for his “actions to save the Jews” during the Holocaust....
Faith-healing Parents Sentenced to 90 days in Jail
OREGON CITY, Ore. (RNS) Brushing aside pleas for leniency, a county judge on Friday (June 24) sentenced two members of a faith-healing church to 90 days in jail and three years probation for failing to get medical care...
Orthodox Rally to Rebuild Ground Zero Church
NEW YORK (RNS) With cries of “Rebuild now! Rebuild Now!” parishioners and supporters of a Greek Orthodox church that was destroyed in the 9/11 attacks rallied at Ground Zero on Sunday (June 26) in hopes of resuming...
God Seeks To Unite People, Not Exclude Them
E pluribus unum. Out of many, one. I can't help but look further back in time, long before U.S. history, to the Day of Pentecost narrated in Acts 2. In reading about this early group of Jesus followers waiting on the...
Why Many Churches Won’t Scale Back Their Potlucks
Robert Parham begged the right question in his piece, "Nation Weighs in on Remedies to Obesity" – Does the faith community have anything to say about food? I have spent more than 10 years working with folk from many...
Film Highlights Forgiveness in African Cultures
The accused, who has often admitted guilt and asks for grace, is placed in the middle of a large circle. The villagers, some of whom are victims, gather about him. One by one, those in the outer circle remind the...
Thoughts on CBF at 20
The 20th General Assembly of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, held in Tampa June 22-25, has come and gone. Several friends have asked for my impressions of the meeting ... so here are a few random thoughts. The 20th...
Report Says Islamophobia on the Rise
(RNS) A new report asserts that anti-Muslim prejudice has worsened in recent years, but argues the trend could be reversed with greater community outreach. The report, “Same Hate, New Target: Islamophobia and its...
Israeli Ambassador Praises Wartime Pope
(RNS) In a conciliatory gesture regarding one of the most sensitive points of Jewish-Catholic relations, Israel’s ambassador to the Vatican praised the controversial wartime Pope Pius XII for his “actions to save the...
Jewish Concerns Remain as Delta, Saudis Deny Discrimination
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Saudi Arabian embassy on Friday (June 24) denied as “completely false” reports that U.S. Jews would not be able to travel to Saudi Arabia under Delta Air Line’s planned partnership with Saudi...
In the Games of the Rich, the Poor Lose
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is once again in the news, with its dire warnings about Greece's debt and the U.S. deficit slowing down global economic growth. This tedious obsession with "growth" and fiscal...
A New “ and Biblical “ Understanding of History
Recent gaffes by public figures who display their lack of historical knowledge provide easy entertainment. Most of the time they provide a good opportunity to clarify facts and refine assumptions. Amusing as these...
Awards Given, Documentary Screened at BCE Luncheon
Two awards were handed out and a new documentary was screened at the annual luncheon of the Baptist Center for Ethics last Thursday in Tampa, Fla. BCE is the parent organization of EthicsDaily.com. Babs Baugh,...
Lesbian Minister Suspended for 20 Days
(RNS) A United Methodist minister was suspended for 20 days by a church court in Wisconsin on Thursday (June 23) for performing a same-sex union in 2009, a breach of denominational rules. A 13-member jury of local...
Pawlenty Leads in Informal Poll of Evangelical Leaders
WASHINGTON (RNS) Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is the top Republican pick of evangelical leaders, according to an informal survey, with 45 percent saying he would be their choice for GOP nominee in the 2012...
U.S. Jews Not Able to Fly on Delta Flights to Saudi Arabia
JERUSALEM (RNS) Jews and Israelis, or passengers carrying any non-Islamic article of faith, will not be able to fly code-share flights from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia under Delta Air Line’s new partnership with Saudi...
“Green Lantern”
Can a movie take the mythology of a character and hit the right notes but still make a bad movie? Yes. Witness "Green Lantern." Based on the D.C. comic book, "Green Lantern" features Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds), hotshot...
Think You’re Free? We’re All Enslaved to Something
Given the sex scandals that seem to plague American political life – to say nothing about the preoccupation with sex in American popular culture – who would be surprised if most Americans would think the Apostle Paul...
Why Jesus Rejects the Eye-For-Eye Mentality
A universal human tragedy is being played out on a tiny stage in the Middle East. The war between Israel and the Palestinians is more than just a regional dispute. The conflict is part of our ongoing inability as...
Having a Ball by the Bay
By John Pierce Convention hotels always have ballrooms. They are familiar destinations for over-priced banquets with rubberized chicken. However, the ballrooms of the Marriott Waterside in Tampa this week are hosting,...
CBF missions offering gets a boost
A belief in missions, including holistic social ministries as well as evangelism, has been at the heart of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship from its inception. In CBF's early years, the mission program grew annually...