Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Prospecting with the Bible
Did you know the Bible predicts the discovery of vast oil reserves deep beneath Israel? That's what John Brown, the chair of Zion Oil and Gas Co. believes, and he's been prospecting in Israel for the past three years...
Shattered Churches Yield Their Dead in New Zealand
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (RNS/ENInews) Churches shattered by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake were yielding up their dead on Friday (Feb. 25) as clergy and parishioners grieved and searched for places to worship on Sunday....
Alumni Defend Paddling at Catholic School
NEW ORLEANS (RNS) One by one, alumni of St. Augustine High School took the microphone on Thursday (Feb. 24), recalling one paddling at the hands of a St. Augustine teacher that turned them around and taught them a...
Islam Dominated Religion Coverage in 2010
(RNS) Islam was the most frequent topic of religion news coverage in 2010, as the media doubled the amount of time and space devoted to religion compared to 2009. An analysis by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public...
How Churches Can Make Changes in Tight Economy
The term "blue-haired lady" brings a knowing smile to most ministers' faces. We know her well! She has been in the church since Moses was pastor. She is faithful in her tithe, Sunday school class and criticism of all...
Step by Step, Demolishing Hierarchy’s Oppression
Hierarchical paradigms shape our thinking about the world in which we live. We tend to view relationships as levels on a pyramid, constantly assessing whether we are above, below or equal to others in intelligence,...
George Washington Carver: Melding Science and Faith
On separate occasions recently, friends have pointed me to George Washington Carver's prayer practices. Carver's name is most often heard during Black History Month, the time when a pantheon of black heroes and...
Catholic Bishops Back Wis. Union Protesters
WASHINGTON (RNS) The U.S. Catholic bishops on Thursday (Feb. 24) threw their moral weight behind the pro-union protesters in Wisconsin, saying the rights of workers do not abate in difficult economic times. “The...
U.S. Rabbis Blast Israel over New Conversion Rules
JERUSALEM (RNS) Nearly 100 American Orthodox rabbis have signed a letter demanding that the conversions they perform outside Israel be recognized—at least for immigration purposes—by Israel’s Interior Ministry. The...
If Obama Won’t Fight Gay Marriage, Conservatives Will
WASHINGTON (RNS) If President Obama and the U.S. Department of Justice no longer want to defend the Defense of Marriage Act from challenges by gay rights activists, who will? Leading conservative law firms say they’re...
Toppling Tyrants with Nonviolent Civil Disobedience
Politicians have convinced U.S. citizens for 60 years that some of the world's tyrants and dictators are "strong and dependable allies of the U.S." To wit, the State Department's official statements about Hosni Mubarak...
Guns in Church? Imagine the Franchise Opportunities
Proposed "bring your guns to church" legislation, now on the floor in a couple of states, suggests bringing firearms into houses of faith is sure to become a national craze. So any day I expect to read about some new...
How the United States Can Find Its Voice Again
The past few years have been pretty tough for us here in the United States. After all, we are the greatest nation on the face of the earth – for the moment. But two extended wars and an unregulated banking system have...
To oust, or not to oust …
An Associated Baptist Press report on the Feb. 22 meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee brings somewhat surprising news: the committee voted not to establish a policy that would expel...
Great Expectations
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, Smoke Rise Baptist Church, Stone Mountain, Ga., on February 20, 2011. Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 Do people know God better because they know you? As I pondered this passage...
The Scriptures Also Say . . .
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., February 20, 2011. Matthew 4:1-11 Morning Prayer: Our Father, we confess that we are often afraid when we ought not to be. We confess that...
Expanding Boundaries
A sermon delivered by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City M., on February 20, 2011. The Seventh Sunday After the Epiphany Matthew 5:28-38 Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18; Psalm 119:33-40; I Corinthians...
Supreme Court Rejects 10 Commandments Case
WASHINGTON(RNS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday (Feb. 22) chose not to reexamine its decision to strike down displays of the Ten Commandments in two Kentucky courthouses. The high court ruled in 2005 that the Ten...
Obama Drops Defense of Anti-gay-marriage Law
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Obama administration announced on Wednesday (Feb. 23) it will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act, a nearly 15-year-old law that defines marriage as heterosexual unions. In a letter to...
Muslims and ACLU Sue FBI over Mosque Surveillance
(RNS) Is sending a secret informant into a mosque in search of terrorists proactive policing, or a violation of worshippers’ civil rights? That’s the question a federal judge will have to answer after the American...
Why World Vision’s Free T-Shirts Will Hurt the Poor
As the World Vision/NFL 100,000 T-shirts controversy swells on (now with a post on Freakonomics), know that research shows T-shirt shipments are bad aid. If your eyes glaze over at the thought of academic journals, I...