Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Gingrich Talks of Journey to Catholicism
WASHINGTON (RNS) Tilting toward a run at the presidency, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich traced his spiritual journey from Southern Baptist to Roman Catholic at a Catholic prayer breakfast here on Wednesday (April...
Churches Form Circle of Protection Around Poor
(RNS) Catholic, evangelical, mainline Protestant, black and Latino Christian leaders have formed a “Circle of Protection” against U.S. cuts to poverty-fighting programs, gearing up for a high-stakes budget battle when...
Why Some Religious Right Champion “Atlas Shrugged”
"Atlas Shrugged," viewed by reviewers of most stripes as being appallingly appalling, is drawing crowds of devotees, and it has champions on the right, including the Religious Right. Support for this film, based on...
Need To Be a Better Listener? Try These Six Steps
On more than one occasion, I have talked with individuals who were asked to be part of "listening sessions" that turned out to be something else entirely. As stakeholders in an organization, they were invited to give...
Anti-Shariah Bills Based on Fabricated Facts, False Fears
Fabricate facts. Testify to threats. Take a stand against problems that don't exist. That's the three-step tango to introducing bills in state legislatures. Take Texas state Rep. Leo Berman (R-Tyler), who introduced...
Easter: When Grief Meets Hope
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, Smoke Rise Baptist Church, Stone Mountain, Ga., on April 24, 2011. John 20:1-18 What does the Easter story have to say to broken hearts? We must remember the first Easter...
Easter Hope
A sermon delivered by Howard Batson, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Amarillo, Tx., on April 24, 201 John 20:1-18 No darkness is darker than death. No stench is more repulsive than the stench of death. No defeat is...
Life Beyond the Door
A sermon delivered by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on April 24, 2011. Easter Sunday Matthew 28:1-10 Printed on the side of a bag of peanuts given out on an airline were these...
WMU to the rescue, again
The faithful women who make up Woman's Missionary Union (WMU) have been the backbone of the Southern Baptist Convention for more than 100 years. Often, when men's leadership has failed, WMU has stepped up to do what...
Miracles Claimed from Late Pope’s Intercession
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Jesse was just 10 days old in November 2009 when he was diagnosed with Herpes simplex, a virus often lethal to a newborn child. Doctors at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. told...
John Paul’s Blood to Be Split Between Italy, Poland
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A small quantity of blood from the late Pope John Paul II will be exposed as a holy relic during his beatification on Sunday (May 1), the Vatican has announced. The blood was taken during a medical...
Former N.J. Governor Denied Episcopal Ordination
NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) Former New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey—who famously announced he was “a gay American” when he resigned in 2004—will not be ordained into the Episcopal Church priesthood in the near future. McGreevey...
Niebuhr vs. Schaeffer: Why Politicians Love Them
In the early stages of the long contest of the next election cycle, we are getting a hint of what may be an interesting feature of the conversation we have in store. In a recent interview with Christianity Today, U.S....
More Than Arizona Desert Led to Maira’s Death
Maira Zelaya died at 7 p.m. Monday, June 15, 2009, but the coroner didn't register her death officially until 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning. He said the official cause of death was exposure, meaning exposure to the heat,...
Franklin Graham Espouses Debunked “Birther” Claims
On Sunday, evangelist Franklin Graham argued that President Barack Obama may not have been born in the United States, even though numerous independent fact-checkers have debunked that claim as erroneous. The White...
Church-state Ties on Full Display at Royal Wedding
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) When Prince William and Kate Middleton walk down the aisle at Westminster Abbey on Friday (April 29), Britain’s unique and historic ties between church and state will be on full display. Some...
Transit Worker Fired for Burning Quran Gets Job Back
TRENTON, N.J. (RNS) The New Jersey Transit employee fired for burning pages of the Quran at the site of a proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero will get his job back. Derek Fenton, who sparked a national firestorm...
Bill Would Limit Military Funeral Protests
WASHINGTON (RNS) A bipartisan group of senators has introduced a bill that would make it harder for protesters from a fringe Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, to protest outside military funerals. The Sanctity of...
Christian Activist Cites Biblical Opposition to Net Neutrality
Christian-right activist David Barton said on his radio program last week that "net neutrality" was against the biblical principle of the free market. "Net neutrality sounds really good, but it is socialism on the...
Why Many Still Oppose Tennessee’s “Anti-Islam” Bill
State Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) of Tennessee believes there is no reason to delay a homeland security bill now that references to Islam and Shariah have been removed. I was told in the hallways of the Tennessee...
Subtle Barriers Can Hold Back Women Ministers
Those of us who advocate egalitarianism, working for justice worldwide, may consider ourselves to be enlightened, inclusive and progressive. But hierarchical thinking can linger subtly in our own lives, manifesting...