Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Romney Defends Mormon View of Christ’s Second Coming
Unaware cameras were rolling, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke in unusual detail about his Mormon Church's unique beliefs about the Second Coming of Christ in a radio interview last week. The Church of...
What to read?
There is a biography of John Adams on my nightstand. It's been there, mostly, for more than a year. It's one of those Pulitzer Prize winning books that are good for you, and I'm determined to finish reading it, but...
Christian Zionism: An Oxymoron
A few weeks ago televangelist John Hagee took a group to the nation's capitol where he pushed his Christian Zionism agenda for Israel. His phrase "Christian Zionism" could not be more contradictory. It is more cult...
Defense Department Says Generals Improperly Endorsed Christian Ministry
A Defense Department report says four generals and three other officers violated regulations by appearing in uniform in a video used to promote a fundamentalist Christian ministry. The 47-page report recommends...
Friends in High Places
One of the joys of living in New York City is to be able to visit great historic churches and participate in their worship services. One Sunday in May 2000 I attended the Riverside Church, famous for the preaching of...
“I don’t belong to me…”
Campbell University celebrated graduation day for chancellor Norman A. Wiggins Aug. 5 in a two-hour service characterized by admiration, humor, and praise. The program featured hymns typically sung during Campbell's...
Baptist World Aid Appeals for Donations for Victims of South Asia Floods
The relief-and-development arm of a worldwide Baptist organization has issued a special appeal for donations for victims of floods in South Asia that displaced an estimated 10 million to 20 million people in northern...
House Advances Environmental Good with Energy Bill
Partisan political power matters morally. Partisan politics are often necessary in a sinful world. That doesn't mean partisan politics equal moral perfection or that one party is the party of God. It does mean that...
SBC Leader Urges Churches to Discuss ‘Exit Strategy’ From Public Schools
A Southern Baptist seminary president who two years ago called for an evangelical Christian "exit strategy" from public schools now chides churches for neglecting to help parents make responsible decisions about their...
Particularism and pluralism
Baptist historian Bill Leonard, dean of the divinity school at Wake Forest University, is a prolific writer who has the ability of writing in both an entertaining and thought-provoking fashion. During a Baptist History...
Not a controversy?
Readers who have followed our blog accounts of the Baptist History Celebration in Charleston this week will know that both Bruce Gourley and I have noted that the meeting has incorporated a diversity of Baptists, but...
Going Primitive
I've never been around so many Primitive Baptists as I have been at the Baptist History Celebration being held in Charleston Aug. 1-3.I haven't been avoiding Primitive Baptists, but there just aren't many of them...
Huckabee Hints at Third Party if GOP Shifts on Abortion, Gay Marriage
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee hinted in a recent speech to pastors in Iowa he might seek office as an independent or a third-party candidate if the Republican nominee for president is pro-choice. "You all know...
Immigration: What Should Lawmakers Do?
Nobody should think--lawmakers included--that illegal aliens are in their situation by choice. Given the option, most if not all would welcome the possibility of becoming a law-abiding citizen of this country. Nobody...
Video Draws Attention to Child Sex Trafficking in U.S.
A charity dedicated to prevention and rescue of women and children from sexual exploitation for money has released new video about child sex trafficking in the United States. The video, "Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking:...
Surrounded by history
Attending a Baptist history conference in Charleston is a bit like learning anatomy in the operating room -- the city reeks of history, and First Baptist Church of Charleston is at the heart of it. A plaque embedded in...
You have to love history
As a Baptist History Celebration got underway in Charleston Aug. 1, about 120 participants faced a nearly two-and-a-half hour session comprised mainly of four lectures, lasting until 10:00 p.m.You have to love Baptist...
James K. Polk: Our Worst President?
Some wars fall between the cracks. That appears to be what happened with Polk's War. James K. Polk was our 11th president. He is often listed as the worst president we've ever had. Polk's War was actually the Mexican...
Praying For Rain
Alabama, along with several other places in the country, is suffering through one of the worst droughts in decades. Agribusiness, whether it takes the form of cattle or produce, is dependent on water. And agribusiness...
Brownback, Huckabee Spar Over Supporter E-mail Termed Anti-Catholic
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said his campaign did not authorize or condone statements by an Iowa supporter criticized as anti-Catholic, but a spokesman for fellow candidate Sen. Sam Brownback said...
History: a place to begin
Today marks the debut of the "Baptists Today blog, something that will offer BT readers a daily tidbit of news, commentary, or a devotional thought to go along with all those spiffy links to news items from other...