Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Religion Important, but Overlooked, Element in Immigration Debate, Experts Say
Religion has a major role to play in the outcome of immigration debate but is largely overlooked amid local tensions and failed efforts in Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform, three experts said in a...
Alleged Victim Says Former Pastor Told Him Sex Was Test of Faith
An alleged victim of a former Southern Baptist pastor facing felony charges of sexual battery by an authority figure testified recently in court they entered into a long-term sexual relationship because the preacher...
What Government Can–and Can’t–Do About Poverty
The persistence of poverty, and in particular of children living in poverty, prompts the question: What can (and can't) government do to respond? Complicating matters is the fact that this question is raised in an...
Clean hands and a pure heart?
The next time you're in a public restroom, look around -- someone may be watching, and not just for foot tapping in the stalls. A recent study reports something we instinctively know: women are more likely than men to...
American Baptist Pastor Brings International Spotlight to Jena 6
An American Baptist pastor in Arlington, Texas, is credited with bringing international attention to a civil-rights case in a small Louisiana town known worldwide as the Jena 6. Thousands of activists were expected to...
One Nation Under Surveillance
Our nation is under surveillance for fear of terrorists. Terrorists are people who have given up hope of finding justice in this world. Their aim is either to change the world or destroy it. In their eyes, they've got...
Baptists in Tennessee, Texas, Use Lawsuits to Settle Disputes
Friday was a busy day for Southern Baptists in court: The Tennessee Baptist Convention amended its breach-of-contract lawsuit against Belmont University, adding claims that the university's charter is illegal. A...
‘Discount Knowledge’
Country music singer Rodney Atkins has a line about getting “discount knowledge at the junior college.” My introduction to post-secondary education came at what was then called Dalton Junior College in northwest...
SNAP Calls for ‘Open and Transparent’ Study of Sex Abuse by Clergy
A victims' advocacy and support group on Monday asked Southern Baptist Convention leaders to seek input from outside experts and victims in developing a denomination-wide response to sexual abuse by clergy. In June SBC...
DVD Challenges Myth, Explores Role of Religion in Politics
Why does "Christian politics" in America usually mean "conservative politics?" Why do polls show that the most frequent churchgoers vote Republican? The questions go to the heart of American voting behavior, with...
Huckabee Defeats Field in ‘Values Voter’ Straw Poll
Former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister Mike Huckabee scored big in a Monday "values voter" presidential debate sponsored by and for social conservatives. Huckabee was the overwhelming favorite in a straw poll of...
The Invisible Blog returns
After weeks of functioning beautifully, my blog disappeared from cyberspace last Friday. It was still there, but invisible, caught between servers in some sort of redirect loop that I (obviously) don't fully...
What Would the Hebrew Prophet Micah Say About Pain Without Morphine?
Zainabu Sesay will die in pain in Sierra Leone from breast cancer that has spread into her lymph glands. A tumor has "burst through her skin, looking like a putrid head of cauliflower weeping small amounts of blood at...
What Happens When You Fry Baloney?
Ever wonder what happens when you fry baloney? I expect puzzled looks from my students every time I ask this question. Why would anyone in their right mind fry baloney? Still, usually a few students provide the correct...
Carter Center Conference Urges Faith Leaders to Be Moderating Influences in Conflict
Faith-based communities and religious institutions can be voices of reason and compassion against escalating conflict that leads to mass atrocities. Or they can be equally culpable by creating a victim mentality and...
Picking on Pastors?
While working on the next print edition (October issue) of Baptists Today a concern suddenly hit me. The fear was that it might come across as though we were picking on pastors. My editorial about evangelism mentions...
California Southern Baptist Pastor Charged With Molestation
A Southern Baptist pastor in Fresno, Calif., was arrested Monday on felony charges of child molestation. John Earl ("Jeb") Bonine, 43, pastor of Sierra Heights Baptist Church, remained in jail Thursday, where he is...
Falwell Is Back Mobilizing Christian Voters
Falwell is back. What are centrist-to-progressive people of faith going to do about his agenda of using pulpits to mobilize Christian voters? When Jerry Falwell first emerged with the Moral Majority in the late 1970s,...
Fraidy Cat
When you were young, did anyone ever call you a "fraidy cat" or a "scaredy cat?" Those phrases were usually used after someone had double-dog-dared you to do something stupid. You were actually exercising some wisdom...
Do You Like Being Repressed? I Don’t.
"Max, am I going to have to blog about this?" I asked my 5-month-old while reading aloud "Pastor Provocateur," Collin Hansen's parting feature article in Christianity Today on Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in...
The Role of Religion in Politics
I was privileged recently to participate in a project sponsored by the Baptist Center for Ethics. The BCE folks pulled together six ministers and four politicians, along with some other interested parties, and...