Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Judgement time, again
The world may or may not end this month. But in case you want an insider view with all the details, Faith Baptist Church in LaGrange, Ga., has quite a deal for you. “Judgment Journey” will be shown numerous times...
Cookies, College, Career and Creation
I have been saddened with all the discussion of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's homemaking degree. It seems such a waste of energy and resources that have once more distracted Baptists from the mission of...
Baptists Praying for Peace in Myanmar
Christians in Myanmar, including Baptists, planned prayer services for their country, while an American Baptist leader urged Christians everywhere to follow events and pray for peaceful resolution of a bloody...
Christian Ethicist Says Churches Need Own ‘Immigration Reform’
An ethics professor says all Christians in the United States are "guest workers" with an allegiance to God that supersedes national or political loyalties. Melissa Snarr, assistant professor of ethics and society at...
The fear factor
I noted in a recent blog that emergent church leader Doug Pagitt, popular pastor of Solomon's Porch in Minneapolis and author of several books that challenge traditional thinking about church, has been dis-invited from...
McCain Says He Isn’t a Baptist
GOP presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain said in a Web interview last week that he misspoke when he said recently he is "an active member" of a Southern Baptist church in Arizona and has been for years. While...
Southern Baptists Push Immigration Reform
On Sept. 16, Latino church groups demonstrated in front of the Georgia state Capitol against the failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform, and against the provisions of Georgia's Senate Bill 529. Demonstrations...
Will You Sign the Nazareth Manifesto?
I invite readers of EthicsDaily.com, their fellow church members, friends and the multitude of goodwill Baptists to sign "The Nazareth Manifesto" found in Luke 4:18-19, where Jesus announced his agenda. Bible...
Exercising freedom eliminates freedom?
Perhaps you have seen the Associated Press report about official "morality police" that have been sent through West Bank towns to enforce adherence to rituals associated with the month-log feast of Ramadan. Muslims...
Who is a conservative?
Last week I visited Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C., with my colleague and blogging partner Tony Cartledge who is a new faculty member in the divinity school there. Participating in two classes, including one...
Same question, different answers
Have you ever sat in worship, "up close and personal," with people who are very different than you -- at least in the obvious ways? Try it, and you'll discover that it adds a totally different dynamic to being...
Preaching Simplified
The fine art of preaching has long intrigued me. In the same way talented painters or sculpters have their very unique styles, good preaching can come in a variety of forms. Since moving to Macon, Ga., nearly eight...
Opting Out of Politics Not an Option for Christians
Some will object that there is no place for the church in politics. After all, politics is a messy and conflicted business. Why would anyone involve the church in that? In his essay "How We Got That Way," Walter...
Novelist John Grisham Terms White House ‘Bad People With Evil Intent’
A newspaper interview about his next book turned political when best-selling author John Grisham termed the Bush administration "bad people with evil intent" and the war in Iraq an "immoral abomination." Grisham's 20th...
Is Atheism On The Increase?
According to a recent article in the "Washington Post," atheism is on the rise in America. Margaret Downey, president of the Atheist Alliance International, reports that her organization's membership has doubled in the...
Prostitution, Politics and Grace in the Big Easy
"A pornographer, a prostitute and a public official" sounds like a setup line for a joke, but it isn't. It's actually the sad content of a story on a newspaper Web site that caught my eye. The New Orleans...
Sponsor switch sparks stress
Oh, the pain of it all. Could I find myself pulling for Junior?Some readers will immediately recognize my dilemma as NASCAR related. Others might need a bit of interpretation.I'm a so-so fan of the so-called "stock...
Thumbs Down, Thumbs Up
Editors and writers, of which I am both, learn quickly that not all readers have the same opinion of our work. This is most obvious when we receive very different feedback to the same article or column. Immediately...
Dobson Says He Won’t Support Fred Thompson
Focus on the Family founder James Dobson said in an e-mail to friends he will not support Fred Thompson for president, citing in part the GOP hopeful's lack of church attendance. The Associated Press reported parts of...
Clergy Sex-Abuse Survivor Questions Fairness of SBC Executive Committee Study
A clergy sexual-abuse survivor says the staff member guiding a Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee response to a motion calling for a national database of clergy sex offenders has a negative attitude toward...
Answering the Critics Who Say Church-State Separation Isn’t in the Constitution
How do you answer critics of the separation of church and state, who say that concept is not in the U.S. Constitution? How do you answer those who believe that the U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation?...