Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
SBC Leader President Says Bible Doesn’t Demand Total Abstinence from Alcohol
A seminary president said there is nothing new or surprising about a recently passed Southern Baptist Convention resolution opposing the sale or use of beverage alcohol, but he doesn't believe the Bible teaches that...
Left Behind Or Led Astray?
Let's define success. The Left Behind series, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins has now sold over 60 million copies. There are 11 sequels to the original novel, and three prequels. The series has also spawned a...
Banned Substances
I don't participate in bicycle racing. I don't even own a bicycle, although if gas prices continue the way they are going, that may change. I don't keep up with competitive cycling and I don't watch the Tour de France...
SBC President Hopes More Churches Will Start Christian Schools
The new president of the Southern Baptist Convention said he is disturbed that many teenagers are leaving church once they graduate from high school and that churches need to find ways to connect with the younger...
Signers of Environmental Statement Funded by ExxonMobil
A recent statement by evangelical Christians downplaying the potential problems of global climate change includes eight signers whose six organizations have received a total of $2.32 million in donations from...
War Disrupts Lebanese Baptists Humanitarian Relief in Beirut
Lebanese Baptists withdrew relief teams Thursday from working with more than 760 mostly Shiite refugees sheltered at the Beirut Baptist School located in downtown Beirut due to air strikes. "Our people left BBSÂ early...
Choosing Air Conditioning Over the Poor
I always remembered them from childhood as long drawn out discussions that rarely seemed to talk about anything that really mattered to me. I am certain that this is more of a comment about my youthful concerns about...
Pastors Propose Responding to Bombs with Bibles
A group of Southern Baptist pastors are urging churches to commemorate the fifth anniversary of 9/11 by taking an offering to pay for smuggling Bibles into the Muslim world. "The terrorists sent us their bombs,"...
‘Collateral Damage:’ A Euphemism for Murder?
As a student and teacher of ethics, I am interested not only in what humans do but also in how we talk about what we do. That includes the words we use, or oftentimes misuse. I hope not to misuse language in the...
The Right And Left Hand Of God
For some time now, groups like the Christian Coalition, Focus on the Family, the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, have served as a conduit for funneling a particular political agenda into the...
Texas CLC Elects First Woman Director
The first woman to lead Texas Baptists' moral-concerns agency says her election is both historic and ironic. "I come to this position as a Christian Baptist woman," Suzii Paynter, whose election as director of the...
‘Lady in the Water’
"Lady in the Water," now in theaters, swings for the fences as writer-director M. Night Shyamalan stuffs his movie with a study of the creative process and a primer on purpose. Paul Giamatti plays maintenance man...
SBC President Unclear on Why His Views on Women in Ministry Changed
Southern Baptist Convention President Frank Page confirmed he has changed his mind about women in ministry, but said he doesn't recall when or why. EthicsDaily.com broke a story July 19 reporting that Page, who now...
The Sin of Sodom
United States' history has proven that most of its presidents, congressional leaders and Supreme Court justices have been guilty of the sin of Sodom. Many of the religious leaders today, specifically conservative...
Lebanese Baptists Question Proposed Middle East Truce Resolution
Lebanese Baptists questioned a proposed U.N. resolution drafted by the United States and France seeking a truce in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has lasted more than three weeks. Nearly 1,000 people,...
Turning Water Into Blood
Qana is about 10 miles east of the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre. According to tradition it is the village where Jesus Christ performed his first miracle by turning water into wine (John 2: 1-11). The presence...
Israel Strikes Christian Sections of Lebanon, Baptists Face Water Shortages
Israeli air strikes forced Lebanese Baptists to admit on Friday that the Christian areas of Beirut were no longer safe and caused SAT-7, a Christian satellite-TV network, to close its offices there. In an e-mail...
Women in Ministry and the ‘Clear Teachings of Scripture’
Changes of mind concerning women in ministry seem to be much in the news these days. According to EthicsDaily.com, the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Frank Page, wrote a doctoral dissertation years...
‘Barnyard: The Original Party Animals’
Even cows come of age, and in "Barnyard," they do it like "Dogs Playing Poker" jacked up on bovine growth hormone. Writer-director Steve Oedekerk delivers plenty of hilarious moments for children and adults in this...
Human Rights Watch Says Some Israeli Attacks Constitute War Crimes
A respected human-rights organization said some of Israel's indiscriminate attacks in Lebanon constitute war crimes and cannot be excused by blaming Hezbollah. "Israeli forces have systematically failed to distinguish...
In God We Trust?
Sunday marked the 50th anniversary of "In God We Trust" becoming the nation's official motto. Politicians and Christian leaders hailed the anniversary as if it meant something. But what is all the excitement about a...