Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Reckless Words Often Lead to Disaster
Our democracy is a fragile thing. The noble experiment we call the United States rests on the principle of mutual respect for one another. The question is as old as we are as a nation: Are ordinary human beings capable...
British Christians Live Out Faith Where It Counts
Christians in the United Kingdom are not being persecuted as much as they think. Nevertheless, they do need to stand up in certain situations to safeguard their rights. That's the opinion of Mark Greene, executive...
Defenders of Incendiary Political Speech Favor the Ethic of Cain
America's moral discernment is as scrambled as the brain of the alleged Tucson shooter. After Jared Lee Loughner allegedly killed six people and wounded 14 others in a shooting spree in Arizona, Pima County Sheriff...
Lawmaker Asks Clergy to Foster Tolerance in Wake of Shootings
PATERSON, N.J. (RNS) In the wake of Saturday’s (Jan. 8) shooting that left six people dead and an Arizona congresswoman critically injured, a New Jersey congressman is calling upon clergy to help people put aside their...
Civility Project Disbands after Low Interest in Congress
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Civility Project, a two-year bipartisan attempt to get politicians and others to respect one another, is closing down after just three members of Congress agreed to the project’s pledge. “You three...
Egypt, Angry Over Pope’s Remarks, Recalls Ambassador
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The government of Egypt recalled its ambassador to the Vatican on Tuesday (Jan. 11) to protest a demand by Pope Benedict XVI that it better protect the country’s embattled Christian minority. The...
Time to Call Out Strident Rhetoric of Extremists
Saturday's tragic shooting in Tucson, Ariz., has prompted sober reflection. Much of the response has centered around the partisan rhetoric that marks our political stage. The question is: Does that rhetoric invite this...
Knowing When It’s Time to Move On
The people we select as heroes tell a lot about ourselves. When our heroes triumph, we share their pride. When they fall, we feel betrayed. This is especially true in the realm of sports. Brett Favre, one of my...
Georgia Shouldn’t Pursue Arizona-Style Immigration Law
Georgia is not Arizona, and its values are not our values. On the issue of immigration, our highest ideals dictate that we act in a more humane fashion than Arizona has with its anti-immigration law. Here's why: First...
Trashing the Bible …
A friend who owns a couple of worn-out-beyond-repair Bibles posed the question: "How do you dispose of an old Bible?" That's a question worth asking. The Bible is the most published book of all time, a perennial...
Our Dumpster-Diving God
A sermon delivered by David Hughes, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, Nc., on January 2, 2011. John 1:1, 10-18 Life is a messy business. If you don’t believe it, hang out with a family with young children...
Taking the Plunge
A sermon delivered by Keith Herron, Pastor, Holmeswood Baptist Church, Kansas City, Mo., on January 9, 2011. Baptism of the Lord Matthew 3:13-17 We called it “Big Rocky,” the only name that paid homage to its ability...
Attending A Baptism
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on January 9, 2011. Isaiah 42:1-9; Matthew 3:13-17 “Baptist” is not necessarily a name our spiritual forefathers chose for...
Seeing Light From Dark Places
Epiphany of the Lord A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on January 9, 2011. Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthe2 2:1-12 Today is not the actual date for observing Epiphany. That...
God in the Neighborhood
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on January 2, 2011. John 1:14-18 Frank Thomas (Senior Servant at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tennessee)...
Pope Warns Diplomats on Threats to Religious Freedom
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI on Monday (Jan. 10) decried violence against Christians in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, as well as more subtle “threats to the full exercise of religious freedom” in the...
Jewish Musician Debbie Friedman Dies at 59
(RNS) Debbie Friedman, a composer and singer whose modern melodies updated the music in synagogue services worldwide, died of pneumonia Sunday (Jan. 9). She was 59. With her guitar, Friedman became famous for a folksy...
State Department to Leave Mother and Father on Documents
WASHINGTON (RNS) Facing a backlash from conservative groups, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has ordered changes to a proposal to remove the terms “mother” and “father” from records of overseas births. “With...
Leaders Must Repent from Hateful Rhetoric
In the wake of the recent shooting in Arizona, there is a renewed discussion concerning the influence of political rhetoric on the populace. Those on the left have blamed those on the right, and vice-versa. Many...
Is President Obama Opposed to American Exceptionalism?
Is President Obama opposed to American exceptionalism? Many Republicans, including many running for his job in 2012, are suggesting he is. The term was first used in the 1920s by the American Communist Party. It...
Southern Sudanese Vote, Baptist Scholars Note Challenges
Southern Sudan's weeklong referendum of self-determination that began Jan. 9 finds long lines of voters in southern Sudan and no lines in the nation's capital of Khartoum, reported Voice of America. The New York Times...