Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Reviewing Last Week’s Public Brawl over Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin was center stage last week, being celebrated by some and condemned by others. A pro-Darwin atheist accused a Christian evangelist, who rejects evolution, of being "an idiot." The anti-Darwin Christian...
Biblical Justice: More About Forgiveness Than Revenge
Although I write this column from a biblical perspective, regular readers are aware that I usually attempt to present a view that I think might commend itself to a larger audience than simply Christians and Jews....
Open Letter to Virginia Gov-Elect McDonnell: Words Matter
Dear Governor-Elect Robert F. McDonnell: In response to the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, Rev. Pat Robertson asserted that Islam is "not a religion" but a "violent political system" and that those who practice it...
Unexpected lessons
The fall vegetables in my small box garden are coming in, and at least one of them has taught me something new.The half-dozen broccoli plants I set out are gorgeous. I cut two heads the size of bridal bouquets last...
Better Angels Needed for Peace in Christmas Wars
Humanists, atheists, Christian fundamentalists and cable talk-show hosts are again launching verbal grenades in the Christmas wars. Last year's outbreak was so successful that the American Humanist Association (AHA)...
Manhattan Declaration: Feeble Echo from Religious Right
There has been a wave of discussion on the Internet and over the airwaves about the Manhattan Declaration, which is yet another echo from the sound chambers of the radical Christian right. The signatories of the...
Christian Resistance to Health-Care Reform Costs Lives
A recent Harvard study estimates that 45,000 Americans die per year because they don't have health insurance. Therefore, a health-care bill that allows 36 million uninsured to get some form of health coverage would...
Shop ’til you drop
Many of us have watched the evolution of shopping from downtown department stores to ever-expanding malls to shopping centers now designed to look and feel more like downtown shopping. It would take awhile to find, but...
Rainbow Friday
I'm not sure when they started calling the day after Thansgiving "Black Friday." I know that it relates to the crush of shoppers in search of Christmas sales, and has something to do with the idea that retailers who...
“New Moon”
The second film in the” Twilight” saga, “New Moon,” pursues the question of what would happen to Bella if Edward left her. The answer: She’ll have some version of a nervous breakdown because her dependence on him is...
Will Baptists Be Able to Embrace Interfaith Efforts?
The United Kingdom's first Interfaith Week wrapped up on Nov. 21. While it is too early to describe it as a custom more honored in the breach than in the observance, it's unlikely to draw a warmly enthusiastic response...
“The Star of Bethlehem”
If you've ever been fascinated by the "star of Bethlehem," then a new documentary from producer Stephen McEveety ("The Passion of the Christ") on the celestial event won't disappoint. The hour-long documentary is...
Thanksdoing
With apologies to Forest Gump's mama, I would suggest that "Thanksgiving is as thanksgiving does."On a day when the theme of giving thanks is often overshadowed by the stress of travel and cooking, when old family...
Advent is Most Satisfying Way to Celebrate Jesus’ Birth
This coming Sunday will mark the beginning of Advent. Our church, as is true for many, will begin a month-long reflection on the meaning of Jesus' birth. We will light candles, sing great Advent hymns such as "O Come O...
Baptist Church Maintains Interfaith Ties with School
While the United Kingdom is in the midst of its first-ever interfaith week, an eight-year partnership between a Baptist church and a multifaith school has become increasingly successful, The Baptist Times' Paul Hobson...
Sweden: Seminaries Must Soften Theological Education
(BWA) – Seminaries in Sweden are being instructed by the government to de-emphasize theological education in favor of general religious studies. "The Swedish National Agency for Higher Education reported in June that...
A novel idea: teach students
David J. A. Clines, a native of Australia who lives and works in England, is the first president of the Society of Biblical Literature from outside of North America. His presidential address to the annual meeting, held...
SBC Leader Labels Obama as “Very Dangerous”
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, recently called President Barack Obama "very dangerous" and claimed Obama was damaging America. "I think [Obama] can...
Even on Thanksgiving, Millions Will Go Hungry
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. The memories of long-ago gatherings of family, food and football at my grandparents' house are some of my fondest. These days we go to my sister's house for Thanksgiving, trying to...
Christians Must Respond to AIDS with Compassion
World Aids Day is Dec. 1 each year. It is a time when people around the world focus on raising awareness about HIV/AIDS and remember those who are infected and affected by the pandemic. It is difficult for me to...
Shootout at the digital corral
A highlight of the late Saturday afternoon sessions at the Society of Biblical Literature meeting was a "shootout" between the leading makers of academic Bible software programs. Having used and reviewed most of them,...