Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
One Nation, Over Weight
I knew I belonged in America when I recently read that we are now the Fattest Nation on Earth. That doesn't mean that our girth on the old Rand McNally is changing, but that we Americans are, by and large (yes, pun...
Misogyny in America: A Culture of Violence Against Women
If you think females have achieved equality in the United States, just scan the headlines. Misogyny is alive and well. Consider the Marine who raped his female comrade, then killed her and buried her in his back yard...
More see wrong in the right
I'm fascinated by an emerging trend of disillusionment with the religious right and a willingness of some conservative Baptists to buck the denominational pontificate and speak for themselves.Regarding disillusionment...
Abuse Arrest Prompts Resignation of Alabama Baptist Music Minister
A prominent Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church in Alabama has dismissed a popular minister of music under arrest on charges of child abuse and third-degree sex offense stemming from events alleged to have occurred...
Baptists in Ecuador Request Help for Flood Relief
Baptists in Ecuador are asking global Baptists for relief funds to help them respond to the worst floods in a quarter century. Heavy seasonal rains since January have inundated much of the South American country....
Florida Mega-Church Approves Loan for Start-Up of Christian School
First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., reportedly voted Wednesday night to loan up to $500,000 for start-up funds of a new Christian academy. A Web site launched Thursday said First Baptist Academy of Jacksonville...
British Baptist to Head North American Seminary
WASHINGTON (BWA) The head of BMS World Mission, the British Baptist mission agency, has been selected to be the 10th president of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Chicago. Alistair Brown, general director of...
Name Calling in the Name of Jesus
I've been following an interesting back and forth between two prominent American religious figures. The individuals involved are Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty...
Carter to release new Covenant plans soon
President Jimmy Carter summoned about 65 Baptist leaders to The Carter Center in Atlanta yesterday (March 12) to consider follow-up steps to the highly successful Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant held earlier this...
Bill Granting FDA Regulation of Tobacco Clears Committee
An American Baptist leader welcomed passage by a House panel of a bill that would grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products. The Democrat-controlled Health Subcommittee of the...
When Will the Iraq War End?
The military surge that President Bush ordered 14 months ago in Baghdad has cut down on the violence, but our soldiers are still dying at a rate of one a day. Last year (year of the surge) there were more American...
The Real Jesus Offends Us
When I was working on my Ph.D. in Edinburgh, Scotland, I would often take breaks from my writing and roam Auld Reekie, as Edinburgh is affectionately known. One of my favorite places of respite from the grind of...
How conservative can you get?
A professor at Cedarville University may get to keep his job after being fired for apparently pressing for a more conservative agenda than the extremely conservative position officially held by the Baptist college in...
Seeking Allies in Support for War, Bush Turns to Religious Broadcasters
President Bush chose religious broadcasters as the first audience for a series of speeches linked to the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq next week and a progress report next month to Congress by Gen. David...
Organizers Defend Environmental Statement
Organizers of the Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative defended their statement released Monday urging Southern Baptists to take better care of the environment and fight climate change. The statement, "A...
Has the World Gone Crazy for Guns?
A picture of a handsome 16-year-old black student shot to death in a parking lot recently ran across the top of the page of our daily newspaper. Another recent story described gun brandishing and a near-killing nearby....
Rooting for failure
An interesting article from AlterNet (by Rob Boston of Church and State) reveals why some former high-profile leaders of the so-called Religious Right or Christian Right became disenchanted with the movement.Frank...
Bring Your Bible to Church–And Your Gun
"Git out the old six-shooter, Ma, we're goin' to church." That might sound like it's from a Hollywood western, but it may not be fiction for long. Some said-to-be-enlightened politicians want to make it a law that...
Religious Peace Activists Mark 5th Anniversary of War in Iraq
More than 40 faith-based peace activists were reportedly arrested late Friday afternoon in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill for civil disobedience protesting the war in Iraq. The arrests followed a day...
Headlines Mislead Public About SBC Shift on Global Warming
Untruth anywhere harms truth everywhere. Misleading headlines misdirect public opinion. False charges cover up flawed documents. No matter how noble the cause, wrongful means damage the desired goal. Reducing the...
Bonzai guys — and gals
Now that I'm back in chilly North Carolina, I'll share just a couple more thoughts and photos from sunny Hawaii.On the North Shore of Oahu there are many beautiful beaches and a few really dangerous ones. Perhaps the...