Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Does Facebook Succeed Where Churches Failed?
Accolades for the movie "The Social Network" should get the church's attention. The church can normally dismiss the latest entertainment phenomenon as a fad, but not this time. What is occurring is a new way of...
Fringe Christian Politicians Feed “Birther” Movement
Are conservative Christian politicians a driving force behind the so-called "birther" movement, those who think President Obama is not a natural-born American citizen and therefore an illegitimate president? ...
Living long, living well
So, who wants to live a long life? Most of us would probably count ourselves in that number, and Sunday's Parade magazine included an article that was bound to draw our attention: "The Secrets to a Long Life." The...
Growing and going
By John Pierce Recently, our 12-year-old said she’d like a little garden spot to grow some tomatoes and peppers this year. One of my favorite therapies is designing and digging, so I started plotting a plot....
Virtual virtue
I don't always give careful attention to Christian Reflection, a journal produced by Baylor University's Center for Christian Ethics -- some days I'm just not that reflective, or the topic explored in that particular...
Egypt’s Christians Keep Wary Eye on Muslim Brotherhood
CAIRO (RNS) In Magdi Shnouda’s cafe in Cairo, pictures of Jesus and the saints hang on the shabby walls, and the men playing backgammon and dominoes are a mixture of Christians and Muslims. Sucking down glasses of...
Grassroots Group Pressure King on Muslim Hearings
WASHINGTON (RNS) House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King is facing grassroots pressure to cancel his planned hearings on the “radicalization” of U.S. Muslims. “He is doing precisely what President George...
Quebec Mayor Vows to Fight Order to Remove Crucifix
TORONTO (RNS) The mayor of a Quebec town says he will appeal a decision by a human rights tribunal that bans prayer at city council and ordered him to remove a crucifix from the council’s chambers. Saguenay Mayor Jean...
Happy Valentine’s Day: A Do-Over to Get It Right
I think Jesus would have had it in him to tolerate Valentine's Day. But just barely. After all, it's pretty clear he didn't have a sweetheart who would have received chocolates on the Galilean equivalent of our Feb....
“127 Hours”
Watching "127 Hours," I was reminded of what Viktor Frankl found in his concentration camp. When he was deported to Theresienstadt, he noted that some prisoners endured while others caved in to the camp's horror. Those...
Love Your Enemy? What Was Jesus Thinking?
I have been preaching from the Sermon on the Mount for the last few Sundays. This is always a challenge for me because the ideals expressed in Matthew 5-7 are so lofty. These chapters are the heart of the Gospel, the...
Orphan, 9, in Immigration Detention Must Be Freed
Two related events in recent days have done more to lower my opinion of prominent politicians and galvanize my support for public policy reform in Australia than anything else in 2011. The first was the opposition...
Choices, Choices
A sermon delivered by David Hughes, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, Nc., on February 13, 2011. Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 119:1-8 Those of you who are sports fans will appreciate the story of a college...
How Do You Make Good Decisions?
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, Smoke Rise Baptist Church, Stone Mountain, Ga., February 13, 2011. Deuteronomy 30:15-20 “Are you going to make a good choice?” This is a question I heard my daughter ask...
Reconciliation
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor , Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on February 13, 2011. Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Matthew 5:21-37 Who said following Jesus would be easy? Especially...
Out in the Open
A sermon delivered by David Hughes, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, Nc., on February 6, 2011. Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 5:13-20 Because today is the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birthday, we’ve been...
India Woos Sri Lanka with Buddha’s Bones
NEW DELHI (RNS) India plans to lend rare fragments of the Buddha’s bones to Sri Lanka for the 2600th anniversary of Buddha’s Enlightenment in May, and some see it as part of India’s strategy to gain a regional edge...
Vatican Allows Three Mass. Churches to Stay Open
CHICOPEE, Mass. (RNS) In what one expert is calling a landmark decision, three closed Catholic churches in the Diocese of Springfield, Mass., have been given at least a partial reprieve. St. Patrick’s and St. George...
Bill Would Codify Mother and Father on Documents
WASHINGTON (RNS) A proposed House bill will require the use of “mother” and “father” by all federal agencies and contractors when describing parents, pushing back on a move by the State Department to use “parent”...
Retired General Talks about Arming Against Obama, Marxism
Are U.S. Christians talking about armed opposition to the Obama administration? Retired Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin said people are asking him if they need to take up arms against the government. "Everywhere I go...
Will Politicians Heed Lincoln’s Words of Compassion?
Presidents Day is a bit overshadowed by the marketing hype showered on St. Valentine, but it is a good time to reflect gratefully on those who have served in that office. Sure, they enjoy power, prestige, perks and an...