Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
British Prison Reform: At Home and Abroad
With almost every aspect of public spending coming under scrutiny in Great Britain, it is no surprise that the costs of running the prison service are being challenged. Britain's Justice Secretary Ken Clarke wants to...
Some Baptists Want Armed Churches; Others Favor Churches as Disarmament Sites
A Georgia Baptist preacher filed a lawsuit last week with a gun rights group to ensure that church members can be armed in worship. Jonathan Wilkins, pastor of Thomaston's Baptist Tabernacle, and GeorgiaCarry.org...
Francis Wayland: The First Baptist Ethicist
Francis Wayland (1796-1865), a Baptist minister who served as president of Brown University from 1827-55, was the first Baptist ethicist and was America's foremost ethicist during the pre-Civil War era. His popular...
“To Kill a Mockingbird’s” Lesson Still Valuable
I was once in a group where we were asked to identify a book that had made a significant difference in our lives. When I mentioned Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," one person in the group laughed. I assumed then –...
Confessions of a klutz
Imagine a tall rack of heavy wire with four stubby feet, designed to be leaned against a wall and filled with CDs. Imagine that it's currently empty and leaning backwards against a wall, so that the feet (each in the...
It’s always Funtime, when memories flow
During the past four months of spending weekends in Chattanooga — after having not lived in the area for more than 30 years — I have had several nostalgic moments. But greeting David and Marcia Kling — good...
Women in Ministry: Right, Inevitable, Overdue
Years ago the eminent Walter Rauschenbush wrote regarding women in ministry, "Plainly women are here as our equals in religion, in the intellectual life, in industry and in the life of our commonwealths. When a thing...
Samson: National Hero or Terrorist?
As much national attention is given to terrorism, and along with it the demonization of the Islamic faith, it is surprising that so few commentators have inspected our own Judeo-Christian tradition for traces of...
School Fees Burden Congolese Families in Poverty
I'm in a Congolese city called Butembo for a bit, continuing my research on the role local organizations play in providing public goods in fragile states. The work is going fine. For the first time ever, I'm no longer...
Celebrating Coot Veal’s birthday
My basement is filled with baseball stuff: bats, balls, bubblegum cards, bobbleheads and whatever else I’ve picked up at ballparks and antique stores over the years. There is even a salmon can filled with pebbles to...
Big whoop
I stand amazed at the level of fervency accorded to some sports stories these days. Pro basketball player Lebron James' decision to leave Cleveland for Miami rated live, prime time coverage on ESPN. He wants to join...
Global Warming Sets Table for Horrific Downpours
A month after the Nashville flood, family members and others called off the search for the final flood victim, a young man who had a tattoo of Jesus on his back. He was one of 30 Tennesseans killed when the rainstorm...
What Jesus Could Have Said About Unemployment
I grant that Jesus didn't include aid to the unemployed in his litany about the sheep on the right hand and goats on the left, as recorded in Matthew 25. But, as a graduate school professor of mine once said about...
First Amendment Protects Muslims’ Right to Worship
An anonymous letter arrived in the mail, mailed by a person in our town who clearly believes the Muslim community in our city ought not be allowed to build a new mosque. The writer feared the mosque was part of what he...
Morality and mortgages
New ethical dilemmas show up all the time. While the issues change often, the big question remains: Is this right?Ethics, of course, is about matching behavior with beliefs. Some answers to ethical dilemmas are easier...
El Salvador’s Religious Leaders Oppose Bible Readings in School
Various religious leaders in El Salvador have come out against the reading of the Bible in schools. The recently approved law was established to prevent violence and diminish the influence of gangs that plague this...
You’re Not Really Fat … If Everyone Else Is Fatter
I feel a lot thinner today. Not that I've lost any weight, but I read in the newspaper that Tennessee is tied with Alabama for the second fattest nation in the country. Whoo-hoo! Mississippians are still fatter, but...
Bangladesh Baptists Urge Climate Action
A prominent Bangladesh Baptist has urged everyone in the west to take responsibility for their actions in contributing to climate change – because its effects are already being felt around the world. Joyanta Adhikari,...
Been profiling lately?
It's just not right, but it happens all the time.Yesterday I stopped at Wal-Mart to buy a few needed items. As I left the check-out counter for the exit, I walked behind a dark-complexioned young man wearing a soccer...
The Exorcist
A sermon delivered by David Hughes, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, Nc., on June 20, 2010. Luke 8:26-39 I can still remember watching the movie, The Exorcist, with Joani when it debuted in 1973. This...
Selling Yourself
A sermon delivered by David Hughes, First Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, Nc., on June 13, 2010. 1 Kings 21:1-11, 15-21 “It’s your typical romance. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love. Obstacles keep them...