Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Elephants in the Room
Mid-morning on Sept. 11, 2001, when it seemed all America was glued to TVs or to streaming video of the terrorist assault on the Twin Towers, my eyes were fixed elsewhere. Alone in Pastor Robert Walker's borrowed...
Advocates Say Homeschooling Growing Among African-Americans
Seeking to counter stereotypes that homeschooling is driven by white parents motivated by racial prejudice, advocates say the movement is gaining appeal among all ethnic groups. Articles have claimed that...
‘American Virgin’
Adam Chamberlain is a young man who seems to have it all: a lovely fiancée, a best-selling book and regular appearances on television. For most 20-year-olds, that's the American Dream. But Adam has also done something...
Fairness and Justice to Aliens
The Senate Judiciary Committee cleared the way for 11 million illegal immigrants to seek U.S. citizenship without first having to leave the country, the Tennessean reported Monday. For most Republicans, this is not...
Politicians, Theologians Debate Immigration
Debate in Congress over immigration reform is dividing Republicans, prompting protests and raising concern for legal immigrants who view it as a sign that an "anti-immigrant" sentiment is growing in the United States....
States Ponder Bible Teaching in Schools
Georgia's Legislature on Monday passed a law allowing state funding for Bible classes in public schools. The bill, passed by the Senate 45-2 after also receiving strong bipartisan support in the House, now goes to Gov....
Immigration Policies of the USA: A Christian Perspective
Monday evening, when I entered my class of "Who is Jesus" at the Leland Center, I could not anticipate I would not be able to deliver my prepared notes. Students prevented it when they began to discuss among themselves...
Affirmation and Prayer for Our Schools–An Idea for the Local Congregation
Religion imposed on students in the public school--as a Baptist Christian that is something I strongly oppose. But, I strongly support authentic, un-coerced Christian faith being lived out by educators and students in...
Released British Hostage Greeted by Controversy, Welcomed by Church
Appearing rested, relaxed and slightly thinner than before his 117-day captivity in Iraq, freed British hostage Norman Kember attended Sunday services at a Baptist church in northwest London where he has worshipped for...
America’s Late, Great Public Schools
Thomas Jefferson was convinced that democracy depended on a well-educated citizenry and he was right. Our nation's founders rejected the rule of divinely ordained aristocratic elites. We were to be governed by the...
‘V for Vendetta’
In Romans 13, Paul wrote: "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God....
Virginia PTA Leader Says Christians Have Place in Public Schools
While some religious voices say otherwise, Stella Edwards, legislation chairperson for the Virginia PTA, believes Christians should engage, and not abandon, public schools. "I truly take exception to the idea of...
BCE Celebrates 15 Years With Tribute to Barnette, Maston
The Baptist Center for Ethics will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a June 22 luncheon honoring ethics pioneers Henlee Barnette and T.B. Maston, held in conjunction with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General...
The Children of Abraham
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine stands as one of the most difficult, and most deadly, political conundrums we face as the human community. At every corner peace is stymied by tightly held absolutes....
British Baptists Rejoice at Hostages’ Release
Baptists in the United Kingdom rejoiced at Thursday's news of the rescue of Norman Kember and two other Western peace activists held hostage since Nov. 26 in Iraq. Kember, a 74-year-old retired medical physicist, is an...
Baptist Faith ‘Under Assault’ From Within, Professor Warns
Despite purging "liberalism" from the Southern Baptist Convention through the "conservative resurgence" of the 1980s and 1990s, today's Baptist witness is "besieged," "under assault" and faces "potentially debilitating...
Abortion Laws and Red Herrings
Earlier in March the Tennessee Legislature took the first step toward officially amending the state constitution on the hot issue of abortion. Following South Dakota's lead, the Senate approved Senate Joint Resolution...
IMB Trustees Silence, But Don’t Remove, Dissenting Trustee
International Mission Board trustees voted Wednesday to reverse an earlier vote calling for removal of an Oklahoma trustee who led criticism of a new rule banning appointment of missionaries who use a "private prayer...
‘Truthiness’ at Center of Missouri Baptist Debate
In January the American Dialect Society selected its 2005 Word of the Year: "truthiness." The ADS, founded in 1889 to study the English language and its development, is made up of linguists, lexicographers,...
Missouri Baptist Leaders Trying to Harm Conference Center, Trustees Say
While suing to determine who legally owns Windermere Baptist Conference Center, leaders of the Missouri Baptist Convention have tried to harm the camp by dissuading groups and speakers from attending, interfering in...
Afghan Man on Trial for Converting to Christianity
A trial of a man facing possible execution for converting to Christianity is being viewed as a test case for Afghanistan's new Constitution and fledgling democratic government. According to reports, Abdul Rahman, 42,...