Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Vatican, China Clash over Bishop’s Ordination
HONG KONG (RNS/ENInews) Vatican and Hong Kong cardinals criticized the official Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association for organizing the ordination of a Catholic bishop in northeastern China without Vatican approval....
Why Retail Stores Are Where We Really Worship
It took me a long time but I think I have finally figured it out. In the United States, shopping is our religion, department stores are our temples, flyers and newspaper ads are our Scriptures, and sales clerks are our...
God in The City
A sermon delivered by Randy Hyde, Pastor, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark., on November 21, 2010. Psalm 46:1-11; Colossians 1:11-14 George Buttrick, whose name might...
Now That I Believe: I Give Joyfully
A sermon delivered by Joel Snider, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga., on November 21, 2010. 1 Corinthians 9:6-15 Morning Prayer: O Lord, we pray today believing the words of scripture that every good and perfect...
Gratitude Helps You to See Better
A sermon delivered by Robert Browning, Pastor, Smoke Rise Baptist Church, Stone Mountain, Ga., November 21, 2010. Luke 17:11-19 The world’s attention was focused upon Copiapo, Chile in October as thirty-three miners...
Leaders, Blues, and Blessings
A sermon delivered by Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Church, Little Rock, Ark., on November 21, 2010. Christ the King Sunday Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! Says the...
Controversial Bishop Threatened with Ouster over Neo-Nazi Lawyer
VATICAN CITY (RNS) A Holocaust-denying bishop whose readmission to the Roman Catholic Church provoked an international outcry last year now faces expulsion from his ultra-traditionalist group for hiring a lawyer with...
London Warns British Muslims on Shariah in Schools
LONDON (RNS) The British government has warned a network of Islamic schools in the wake of a BBC investigation that claims extremist Shariah law is being taught to thousands of Muslim students. The televised report, by...
Palestinians Claim Ownership of Western Wall
JERUSALEM (RNS) The Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism, is actually a Muslim shrine, according to an official report published Monday (Nov. 22) by the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Information. The...
Taking Care to Prevent Twisting of Religious Customs
Our early fall trip to Istanbul, Turkey, for a few days of rest and relaxation provided a nice change of scenery and a break from the regular routine. As always, there were plentiful opportunities for people-watching,...
Learning to Live a Life of Gratefulness
Our capacity to be thankful is greatly influenced by how we "see." The great challenge for all of us (though for some it is greater): Can we "see" beyond and through the chaotic circumstances that threaten to envelop...
Why Healthy Christians are Grateful and Generous
Healthy Christians are people of gratitude and generosity. That is a clear biblical truth that has been lived out across the years in church history. If the gospel has not penetrated a person's heart to the point that...
Crowd season coming
I've never liked crowds, except at church. Since overflow congregations have occured fairly rarely in my experience, that means I haven't had to contend with many really big crowds -- but it also means I choose to...
Thankful for caring connections — near and far
By John Pierce Like most everything else, Internet technology has its downside. But it can serve as a connecting point that crosses miles and years. Today, I find joy in continued relationships — in person and online —...
Hunger Group Hopes for Progress in 2011 on Global Malnutrition
WASHINGTON (RNS) Significant progress on global malnutrition can be made in 2011, the ecumenical anti-hunger group Bread for the World said Monday (Nov. 22) in its new annual report on hunger. The U.S. government’s...
As Uproar Fades, Seton Hall Students Meet to Study Gay Marriage
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (RNS) It is the class that wasn’t supposed to happen. In a basement classroom at Seton Hall University, 24 undergraduates meet twice a week for a course known as “Special Topics in Political Theory:...
Anglican Bishop Blasts Royals as Shallow Celebrities
LONDON (RNS) A Church of England bishop has triggered fury for publicly describing Prince William and his bride-to-be as “shallow celebrities” and the whole royal family as a collection of “philanderers.” Bishop of...
A Word of Thanks, A Note That Leadership Is Fragile “ Like Holding an Egg
One of the unmatched and undeserved blessings of my adult life is heading up EthicsDaily.com and its parent organization, the Baptist Center for Ethics. Where I am is where I ought to be. And where I am is made...
Fair Trade Repels Attack by Free Trade Think-Tank
A scathing attack on fair trade from a free-market think-tank has led to a strong defense of the movement from the Fairtrade Foundation and from BMS World Mission. Fair trade is an organized social movement that...
In God’s Eyes, Multiculturalism Isn’t Dead
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent comments on the failure of multiculturalism in Germany have led to a campaign to integrate immigrants. In October, Merkel gave a speech to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU)...
Pushing on
He always called me "Bubba," and it made me feel special, even though I knew he called most other men and boys "Bubba," too. In the South, that's as close to an endearment for other males as most men can come. At left,...