Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Some Baptists Must Build Trust with Muslims When Other Baptists Speak Ill of Islam
Roy Medley is one Baptist leader who thinks that when some Baptists make disparaging remarks about the Muslim faith then other Baptists have to step forward to build trust with the Islamic community. "Our commitment to...
Well, shut my mouth
Back home in Georgia, when faced with something surprising or unexpected, folks were prone to say "Well shut my mouth!"During an overnight faculty retreat for Campbell University Divinity School (held at Caraway...
Understanding the Times, and What We Should Do
On Saturday I met with the Coordinating Council of the Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship for the last time. Here are the challenges I presented. In I Chronicles 12: 32, we read about the people of Issachar who...
How Fast Can Rick Warren Spin?
Let me confess that I believed from the beginning that the so-called "Faith Forum" held on Aug. 16 at the Saddleback Church in California and hosted by its pastor, Rick Warren, was a bad idea. First, the idea that the...
Huckabee Endorses Controversial Zionist Group
Former presidential candidate and possible vice presidential nominee Mike Huckabee visited Israel as a guest of a right-wing Zionist group that is buying up property to move Jews into Jerusalem's Muslim Quarter in...
Sin and the Olympics
The best part of the Olympics, for me, has been watching my daughters don goggles and race each other to the other end of the pool and back. They try to mimic Michael Phelp's powerful turn — which sure beats sedentary...
Russia, Georgia Conflict a Matter of Perspective
During the recent conflict between Georgia and Russia, we learned an interesting lesson on the importance of perspective. My husband, one of our daughters and I were hosts to a Russian houseguest. A little background:...
McCain Wins Points With Religious Right in Saddleback Forum
Saturday's Saddleback Civil Forum helped Republican presidential candidate John McCain shore up support among the Religious Right, according to several conservative commentators. "Any chance that Barack Obama had to...
Baptist Theologians Reflect on Mosque-Building Boom in Germany
Muslims plan to construct over 180 mosques in Germany. The birthplace of the Protestant Reformation, Neo-Orthodoxy, Dietrich Bonheoffer's Confessing Church and Pope Benedict XVI, it is also the location of almost 1,000...
Olympics in Iraq?
The Olympic Games were an invention of the ancient Greeks, right? Perhaps you've read that the oldest games we know about were held in Olympia in 776 B.C.Au contraire, says David Chibo, who recently posted an analysis...
Is Rick Warren Still Reading from a Small Bible?
Mega-church pastor Rick Warren has flipped from being a cheerleader for President Bush in the fall of 2004 to claiming neutrality in the 2008 presidential election. His twist is accompanied by a widespread claim that...
Five Ways to Avoid Being Sued
The verdict is in the Victoria Osteen case. A jury of her peers (I assume all wives of wavy-haired televangelists) deliberated two hours before finding her not guilty. So, the Osteens' three-year legal nightmare has...
Saddleback Forum Reveals Differences in Candidates
As a long-time student of civil religion (I co-authored a book in 1988 entitled "Civil Religion and the Presidency" that the publisher quickly took out of print because the evangelical audience to which it was directed...
The next ‘next Billy Graham’
Every time a preacher gains national prominence someone applies the tag of "the next Billy Graham." In my memory, it was Southern Baptist-turned-Pentecostal TV preacher James Robison whom I first heard identified in...
Putting the Bible in order
The Religion News Service is reporting that Thomas Nelson, a major player in the Christian publishing business, has announced the fall release of a chronological study Bible. It's the brainchild of Bob Sanford, head of...
Baptists Seek Aid for Victims of Georgia-Russia Conflict
The Baptist World Alliance on Wednesday gave an initial grant of $10,000 to help people affected by violence between Russia and Georgia. "We condemn this wanton taking of human life and mourn the death and suffering of...
Enter the Antichrist
Mark Twain once wrote, "I am quite sure now that often, very often, in matters concerning religion and politics a man's reasoning powers are not above the monkey's." Consider a case in point. It appears that Sen. John...
Preacher, Get Your Gun
We have an interesting and kind of scary political discussion going on here in my home state of Georgia. Bill 89 became law on July 1. The new law allows someone with a firearms license to carry House a gun into a...
Lay leaders extraordinaire
Family and friends of Dr. Drayton and Mary Etta Sanders of Dalton, Ga., will celebrate the fine couple's 50th wedding anniversary this Saturday. While I cannot be physically present for the festive occasion, I do want...
Australian Baptists Join Other Religious Leaders in Calling for Action on Global Warming
In a rare interfaith effort, Australian Baptists joined other faith leaders in a letter calling for action by the federal government on climate change. The National Council of the Baptist Union of Australia...
Georgia, Russia Clash … in Beach Volleyball
Wednesday morning I watched women's beach volleyball at the Olympics. I had hoped to find the Americans playing. When watching MSNBC, you never know who you will get. I quickly became intrigued with the match. It was...