Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Appeals to Anti-Semitism, Racism, Mar Democratic Congressional Race
A Tennessee congressional candidate is being criticized for not disavowing a flier that says the incumbent and Jews hate Jesus. "Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen and the Jews HATE Jesus," says the flier, reportedly...
It’s Been a Long Time Since I’ve Wanted to Rededicate My Life at a Baptist Meeting
The New Baptist Covenant meeting was, without doubt, the most inspiring, uplifting, heart-warming and stimulating meeting in my lifetime. It was also the first time I've been proud of being a Baptist in at least 30...
Don’t Delete My Dalit
I wish I could find just one religion without its violent wackos. I've long given up on the Abrahamic faiths, and Japanese Buddhism during World War II rules them out. So how about Hinduism?Sure it was a Hindu fanatic...
To Become a Movement, New Baptist Covenant Must Look to Future
January's historic Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of a new movement in Baptist life. Those of us who were fortunate enough to attend enjoyed three days of...
Jesus Was an Alien, Speaker Says
Christians have an obligation to reject negative attitudes and false assumptions about immigrants, in part because their Savior was an alien in Egypt, Christian ethicist and EthicsDaily.com columnist Miguel De La Torre...
Prosperity preachers piqued
Religious purveyors of the snake oil best known as "the prosperity gospel" have been on the high end of antsy ever since Republican Senator Charles Grassley started requesting financial information from some high...
Walker’s round-trip magnet
Walker Knight, founding editor of Baptists Today, has a magnet on the refrigerator in his Decatur, Ga., home. It reads: "Peace like war must be waged."The magnet correctly attributes the quote to Walker L. Knight. A...
WMU shows HEART
When a massive tornado ripped through Tennessee Baptists' Union University on February 5, it left far more than classroom buildings and 13 dormitories in shambles. Hundreds of students found themselves with little more...
Jesus’ Political Message Judged the Immorality of Poverty
One of the sad facts about American Christianity is that many Christians are ignorant of the political nature of Jesus' message. Preferring to see Jesus in only spiritual terms, and his message as only about salvation...
SBC Seminary President Labels Clergy Sex-Abuse Victims’ Group ‘Evil-Doers’
A Southern Baptist Convention leader described a support-and-advocacy group for victims of sexual abuse by clergy as "evil doers" who are "just as reprehensible as sex criminals."The comments, included in 6,700-word...
Al Gore the Prophet
From time to time throughout this long presidential campaign, I have heard several people say they wish Al Gore would get into the race. I am not one of them. I don't want the former vice president to run for...
Faith in the workplace
One of those places where religious freedom gets a little sticky is in how much an employer should be required to accommodate the religious practices of employees. What about religious dress, asking someone to provide...
The New Baptist Covenant Celebration: A Grand Experiment
The New Baptist Covenant Celebration was a great success. Bringing together Baptists from various denominational communities, theological traditions, ethnicities and geographic locations was an unprecedented venture....
Gore Says Teaching Religion in Public Schools ‘Formula For Disaster’
Former Vice President Al Gore says the government doesn't have any business teaching religion in public schools. "It can sound appealing to say the government ought to instruct our children on how to believe in God,...
American Television Sells Viewers Short on News That Matters
Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, went on record criticizing our United States administration for the many problems encountered as a result of the war in Iraq.It was his opinion that the Bush administration's failure to...
Huckabee Elevates Ten Commandments Above Secular Laws
If everyone obeyed the Ten Commandments and New Testament, there would be less need for laws to be enforced by the government, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said Sunday in a Baptist church. "Our...
Baptists Must See Crisscrossing of Race, Poverty and the Environment
Goodwill Baptists in North America are having feverish public and private conversations about next steps. Of course, trying to get Baptists heading in the same direction is like herding cats, a near impossibility....
Reflection on the New Baptist Covenant: Where Do We Go From Here?
The New Baptist Covenant meeting was a wonderful gathering of like-minded Baptists. I have been invited to reflect and evaluate the meeting, consider what the future might hold for this kind of meeting and provide...
Major disrespect for Baptists
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently reached a new low in "pretend" coverage of religious matters by sending its "deputy Taste editor" to cover the New Baptist Covenant celebration in Atlanta. The WSJ's "Taste"...
Common sense about religious freedom
Once I argued in an editorial that applying principles of religious liberty requires only common sense. But it also requires a basic and accurate understanding of how this nation was formed with adequate protections to...
Baptists Found Their Voice Again at New Baptist Covenant Celebration
Anyone who has been around Baptist preachers very long knows that the old simile about us being like manure is embarrassingly true: spread us around and we do a little good, but get us all together and we stink to the...