Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Speak Up for the Bipartisanship Principle of Shared Sacrifice
No sooner had a bipartisan group of U.S. senators put forth an "adult" plan to get the nation's deficit under control through raising taxes and reducing the growth of entitlements than right-wing bloggers threw a...
Building and Keeping Faith
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on March 6, 2011. Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28 18 You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind...
The Road Less Traveled
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, Smoke Rise Baptist Church, Stone Mountain, Ga., on March 6, 2011. Matthew 17:1-9 They’re back. After a long, cold, wet winter, the hikers have returned to Stone Mountain....
When God Reaches Down
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on March 6, 2011. Transfiguration/Marathon Sunday Exodus 24:12-18; Matthew 17:1-9 This is a strange...
Dazzling Reign
A sermon delivered by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City Mo., on March 6, 2011. Matthew 17:1-9 It’s often said the airy heights of the mountaintop are enough to make mystics out of all of us....
Our Deficit Problem
A sermon delivered by David Hughes, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, Nc., on February 27, 2011. Psalm 131; Matthew 6:24-34; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 In case you haven’t noticed, it seems like everybody these...
Book Explores Lasting Impact of Vatican II on U.S. Church
SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) Colleen McDannell knew the title of her new book, “The Spirit of Vatican II: A History of Catholic Reform in America,” would be provocative. Modernists talk of the Catholic Church not living up to...
Catholics Try to Lure Lapsed Sheep Back into the Fold
MADISON, N.J. (RNS) A small bucket filled with bottles of cold beer sat on the floor, down the hall from the chapel, as about a dozen young adults lounged around on comfortable couches. They weren’t there to pray or...
Study Says Engagement Rises with Mosque Attendance
WASHINGTON (RNS) As Congressional hearings on the radicalization of American Muslims get underway, a political science professor says research shows that affiliation with a mosque increases Muslims’ civic engagement....
“The Adjustment Bureau”
"The Adjustment Bureau" is about a group that adjusts people's lives to a predetermined script. That script is written by the Chairman, who oversees people's activities to ensure a proper outcome. It's a Calvinist...
London Baptists Fund Olympics Position
The London Baptist Association (LBA) has secured funding for a dedicated worker to help churches make the most of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. The position of church engagement coordinator will "raise the vision...
Churches in Conflict Often Make Unhealthy Choices
After one particularly frustrating performance by his Green Bay Packers, legendary coach Vince Lombardi called his team together. He was determined to get them refocused on the things that made for winning. As they...
Ashes to acts
Anyone with a liturgical bone in his or her body, and even many who are without, are aware that today is Ash Wednesday -- about as late in the season as it can come. Ash Wednesday ushers us into the season of Lent, a...
Lock no longer secure
When I entered the University of Georgia as a 17-year-old freshman back in 1969, I was assigned a small basket in a huge locker room that served the physical education department. I also paid for and was issued a...
Court Rejects Challenge to `In God We Trust’
WASHINGTON (RNS) Atheist Michael Newdow plans to continue his fight to get “In God We Trust” off U.S. currency after the Supreme Court denied a hearing in his case on Monday (March 7). “I plan on bringing the lawsuit...
For Second Time, Vatican Keeps Parishes Open
(RNS) For the second time in recent months, the Vatican has overruled a U.S. bishop’s decision to close churches in his diocese, a rare reversal that Catholic activists hope heralds a new trend. The Vatican’s...
Former Counterterrorism Chief Says Muslims Cooperate
(RNS) A former FBI counterterrorism director on Tuesday (March 8) rejected allegations by the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee that Muslim Americans don’t cooperate with law enforcement in terror...
Libertarian Opposes Church’s Advocacy for Poor, Draws Reply
A columnist for the Courier-Journal, John David Dyche, challenged whether religious persons and organizations should bring their faith-shaped values to political matters and, more specifically, whether doing so is...
Protest Movements Could Open Doors for Christians
There are potentially "incredible opportunities" for Christians in North Africa and the Middle East as a result of the successes of the protest movements. That's according to a number of experienced observers of the...
When Censorship Crops Up in Religious Circles
In the space of a few days, I ran across several stories that have to do with reading: things that others don't want you to read, are afraid for you to read or just don't want to have their name on it when you read....
Stuff my kids say that I didn’t
By John Pierce Recently I’ve been paying attention to things my daughters say that would have never crossed my mind or lips in my youth. Some are due to technological advances. Others, that are more entertaining to me,...