Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Renegade General Remains Unprosecuted in Rwanda
In late January, we passed the second anniversary of renegade Congolese Gen. Laurent Nkunda's arrest by the Rwandan government. Nkunda has been held under house arrest outside Kigali since that time – without charge or...
Winter reading
Readers who would enjoy mystery thrillers while picking up biblical and cultural information from the Middle East will find an emerging series of novels by Ben and Ann Witherington to be just their cup of Turkish...
Catholics Spar with Federal Officials over Unions, Catholic Identity
(RNS) A small Catholic college in Riverdale, N.Y., last month got some news that sent shivers across religious higher education: part-time faculty have a right to form a union on campus. But that wasn’t the worst of...
Quebec Bans Sikh Daggers from Capitol
TORONTO (RNS) Lawmakers in the province of Quebec voted unanimously on Wednesday (Feb. 9) to ban the kirpan, a Sikh ceremonial dagger, from the legislature building. The opposition Parti Quebecois said it was acting to...
New Pipe in Israel Aims to Halt Worship Water Shortage
JERUSALEM (RNS) Israeli officials have installed an $11 million pipe to ease a weekly water shortage on Fridays as observant Jews prepare for the Sabbath and Muslims ritually wash themselves before weekly prayers....
Why Christians Shouldn’t Flee From Public Schools
A rough and rocky relationship has existed for some time now between segments of the Christian community and public schools. Growing partly out of integration, but also a clash with science, many believers are...
Undocumented Straight-A Student Faces Deportation
Editor's note: Information about votes on the DREAM Act has been corrected in paragraph 11. I read a lot of letters about "illegals" and what we should do with them. Here's a story that may make the folks who write...
Stopping Violence with Violence? It Never Works
Turmoil and uncertainty in Egypt have caused concerns about Egypt's development of weapons of mass destruction, according to a recent MSNBC report. Reasons for the growing anxiety are many, but a key issue is the...
Pass the Salt Please
A sermon delivered by Kathy Pickett, Pastor of Congregational Life, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on February 6, 2011. Matthew 5:13-20, Isaiah 58:1-9a, Psalm 112:1-9, 1 Corinthians 2:1-12 The question I...
This Salt is Actually Good for You
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, Smoke Rise Baptist Church, Stone Mountain, Ga., on February 6, 2011. Matthew 5:13-16 “There is nothing more useful than sun or salt,” the Romans were fond of saying. Try...
Tent Rules
A sermon delivered by David Hughes, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, Nc., on January 30, 2011. Psalm 15; Micah 6:1-8 (Note: Noah and Derek Bryan will be setting up a tent as the sermon begins.) ...
Enough
A sermon delivered by Howard Batson, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Amarillo, Tx., on February 6, 2011. Philippians 4:10-19 I wish you enough. A passenger overheard a father and a daughter in their last moments together...
Tweaking the Order of Worship
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on February 6, 2011. Isaiah 58:1-12 False and True Worship 58Shout out, do not hold back! ¨ Lift up your voice like a trumpet!...
Presbyterian Court Clears Minister in Gay Marriage Case
(RNS) The top court of the nation’s largest Presbyterian denomination has found a Boston minister not guilty of violating church rules against performing gay marriages in a narrow ruling that keeps the church-wide ban...
Vatican Says iPhone Apps Won’t Forgive Sins
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Just in case Catholics are wondering if a new iPhone app might be able to forgive their sins, the Vatican has issued a clarification: No. “One may not speak in any sense of confessing via iPhone,”...
Muslim TV Executive Found Guilty in Wife’s Beheading
(RNS) A former banking executive who helped launch the nation’s first Muslim television station faces 15 years to life in prison after a jury convicted him on Tuesday (Feb. 8) of murdering and decapitating his wife...
The Power of a Life Dedicated to Prayer
I read an uplifting story in the Washington Post about a dedicated prayer group. The story is about a group of 100 people in the Washington, D.C., area who are committed to keeping prayer alive. The Prayer Union...
How Churches Must Connect with Their Communities
What is the most important staff position at your church? Of course, as a former pastor, I must declare that we cannot function without a pastor. What would we do without a music/worship leader? We cannot live without...
Declaration Calls for Discipleship, Reconciliation
A "rich seam of mission" flows through the new declaration from the Lausanne Movement, an evangelical Christian movement that promotes active worldwide evangelism. The second part of the Cape Town Commitment was...
Blurring the lines
By John Pierce During a recent work-related trip, I was enjoying breakfast and watching the various people come in for their morning caffeine and nourishment. One woman placed her order and was asked the familiar...
Happy day after Septuagint day …
There may be a few folks around who are unaware that yesterday was "Septuagint Day," as declared by the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies. OK, so there are really only a few folks (I...