Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
The Religious Right’s Vaccination Vexation
When it comes to teen sex, all parents hope and pray that their children make wise choices. Children as young as 12 or 13 weigh decisions with consequences that could impact the rest of their lives in a dramatic way....
Rabbi Warns Against ‘Christocrats’ in Book
A rabbi who has observed and worked with evangelical and fundamentalist Christians for 35 years has written a book warning of efforts to turn the United States into a "Christian nation," ruled by the extreme Christian...
Baptist Women’s Groups Sponsoring Second Conference on Ministry to Women in Prostitution
Psychologist, author and lecturer Dan Allender, who has written extensively on recovery from sexual abuse, is scheduled as keynote speaker for an International Christian Conference on Prostitution, April 22-27, 2006 at...
Ethicist Says ‘The Passion’ Failed to Deliver Spiritual Awakening
The Ash Wednesday release two years ago of "The Passion of the Christ" didn't turn out to be the evangelistic bonanza hoped for by many evangelicals, but it succeeded in turning director Mel Gibson into the world's...
Is The Passion Biblical or Extra-Biblical?
Christians will likely ignore the most biblically sound theme in Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ," and they will likely embrace the most biblically faulty problems of the movie. Both offer insightful...
Leader Doesn’t Expect SBC to Ask WMU to Surrender Auxiliary Status
The head of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention said while a referred motion from last year's convention is still being studied, he doubts the SBC will invite the Woman's Missionary Union to...
IRS Probes Political Activity by Non-Profits
An Internal Revenue Service investigation into political activity by tax-exempt organizations found "a disturbing amount of political intervention" in the last presidential election, according to report released...
Google Would Rather Rake in the Cash Than Spread Freedom
The money-rich capitalists at MSN.com, and Yahoo, Inc., and the young millionaires at Google never let freedom of speech or "do what's right" interfere with making more money. Google's decision to launch a censored...
Pastoral Ethics in Crisis Times
Some of us see ourselves as "good in a crisis." Some of us don't. For pastors, though, the real question is not, "How do you see yourself?" but rather, "How do your people experience you as a crisis leader?" Some of us...
Racial Profiling is Everyone’s Business
When I was in my mid-20s, I decided to spend a spring weekend in the Big Apple. I was a young Latino man with shoulder length hair. I wore my hair in a bright red bandana (which I still own). At the time, my only...
Baptist Leader Calls for System of Christian-Run Schools
A "Kingdom Education" leader in the Southern Baptist Convention says America needs a new Christian-run "public" school system committed to turning out followers of Jesus Christ. "We have allowed Satan to run his...
U.S. Religious Delegation Meets with President of Iran
A group of U.S. religious leaders, including a Baptist minister, met two-and-one-half hours Sunday with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It was the first time an American delegation had met in Iran with an...
History is a Jigsaw Puzzle
Up until four years ago the lands of Iraq and Iran would have been hard for many Americans to find on a world map. We knew next to nothing about their history, language and culture. We only knew they had a dictator of...
Profile of a Real Christian
What does a real Christian look like? Christians come in all shapes and sizes. Like dieters, some are dedicated and others are derelict. Some are near their goal and others have many miles, or pounds, to go. Christians...
Presidential Race a Possibility for SBC in Greensboro
Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention could face a rarity when they elect a new president this year in Greensboro, N.C.,--a choice. No one has officially declared a candidacy to succeed current SBC President...
Baptists Attend World Council of Churches Assembly
PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil--More than 60 Baptists attended a meeting with Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Denton Lotz at the ninth World Council of Churches assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Because of the way it is...
The 52 Hertz Whale
A year ago I read an article in The New York Times that continues to haunt me. I clipped it, as I do with many articles that shed light on the mystery of life. There's no rhyme or reason to my filing system, so I...
Going To The Whip
Laura Hildebrand, author of the award winning book about the legendary, Seabiscuit, has emerged as an outspoken critic of the riding crop or "whip," when used to enhance race horse performance. According to Hildebrand,...
Don’t Punish the Palestinians
As the results of the recent Palestinian elections are implemented, it's important to understand how the transition process works and also how important to it are actions by Israel and the United States. Although Hamas...
Making Healthy Choices
"Religion no longer works for me," he said. "I've gotten cynical and weary of the formulas and cliches that make up most of the Christian message." He's not alone. A great many people, including many church-goers and...
Executive Committee Defers Action on ‘Invitation’ to WMU
The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee for a second straight meeting didn't act on a referred motion to invite Woman's Missionary Union to submit to convention control. At the SBC annual meeting last June...