Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
‘The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right’
Michael Lerner, a liberal public intellectual and rabbi, fears the Religious Right--its power, militarism and moral contradictions. But he admits he appreciates it, too--its confidence about its beliefs, its...
‘The Left Hand Of God’
"The unholy alliance of the political Right and Religious Right threatens to destroy the America we love. It also threatens to generate a popular revulsion against God and religion by identifying them with militarism,...
Decision to Drop Preschool, Children’s Literature, Sends Churches Searching for Alternatives
A recent decision by Smyth & Helwys to discontinue its preschool and children's Sunday school curricula lines caught customers off guard and left some scrambling to find another publisher. Smyth & Helwys...
Bush Defends Iraq Policy, Urges End of Dependence of Foreign Oil
President George W. Bush defended his policy in Iraq, while challenging the United States to reduce its dependence on foreign oil by developing alternative energy sources and invest in education in math and science, in...
Baptist Foundation of Arizona Case Has Similarities With Enron
All eyes are on Houston this week, as jury selection gets underway for the long-awaited criminal trials of former Enron leaders Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling on charges of corporate fraud. Meanwhile in Phoenix,...
Video Shows Held Peace Activists in Iraq
Family and friends of Christian peace activists held captive in Iraq said they were encouraged that a videotape aired Saturday showed them alive but worried about their captors' latest threats to kill them. Christian...
Dispatch from the Desert: A Lesson in Civil Society
The Society of Christian Ethics and The Society of Jewish Ethics held their annual meetings concurrently in Phoenix earlier this January. Both societies are academic in nature and in membership, comprised of professors...
Chinese Honor Man’s Best Friend During Year of the Dog
The Chinese began to celebrate the Year of the Dog on Sunday, Jan. 29. It is the 11th symbolic animal of Twelve Terrestrial Branches that make up the cycle of a normal life on earth. Anytime we live past 60 is...
Seminary President Plays Role in IMB Debate
A majority of International Mission Board trustees--who succeeded last fall in passing controversial personnel policy changes against use of private "prayer language" and tightening baptism requirements for...
How Enron Buried Bill Peterson
The criminal trials of Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling for their roles in the Enron scandal begin today. The New York Times published an article last week about how a "Big Test Looms for Prosecutors at Enron Trial." It will...
SBC Publisher Hawks Homeschooling at Trade Show
Building on a Southern Baptist Convention resolution urging parents to remove their children from public schools that promote homosexuality, the denomination's publishing house is seeking to make inroads into a growing...
Reading the Bible While Listening to State of the Union
If a biblical prophet gave the 2006 State of the Union address, what would the message be? The prophet Nathan might retell his story to King David about the rich man who took the poor man's only lamb and grilled it to...
“Nanny McPhee”
"Nanny McPhee"—with its gaggle of children—is more than the hoity-toity version of "Cheaper by the Dozen" or "Yours, Mine and Ours." It's a descendant of "Mary Poppins" and "Cinderella," moving beyond slapstick to deal...
SBC at ‘Crossroads,’ Embattled Trustee Tells Crowd
TULSA, Okla.--"We are at a crossroads as a convention," Wade Burleson told about 80 persons gathered for a Tulsa Metro Association luncheon Jan. 16 at the Radisson Inn. Burleson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in...
Magical Movie on Childrearing Draws Adults and Children
"There is something you should understand about the way I work," says Nanny McPhee. "When you need me, but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me, but no longer need me, then I have to go." That's how the...
‘Annapolis’
Go into "Annapolis" expecting a pre-hung script for a Hollywood military drama, and you won't be disappointed. A bulked-up James Franco ("Spider-Man" and TV's "Freaks and Geeks") stars as Jake Huard, an underdog...
Ministry Uses Mosquito Nets to Fight Malaria
Lots of churches are involved in fighting AIDS in Africa, while a more rampant and deadly disease--malaria--goes largely unnoticed, says Charles "T" Thomas, coordinator of the Cooperating Baptist Fellowship of...
Legislatures Seek to Curb Protests at Military Funerals
In what could prove to be a textbook case of the adage "hard cases make bad law," at least nine states are brushing aside First Amendment concerns to consider bills outlawing protests at funerals of American soldiers....
Industrial Relations and Restorative Justice
For 13 years, I headed a small hospitality/accommodation business employing about 20 full-time staff and an equal number of casuals. We were usually harmonious, but at one stage we experienced significant industrial...
‘The Gospel’
"The Gospel" opened on fewer than 1,000 screens back in October, easily recouping its small budget in the theater before moving on to DVD, where it just arrived. "The Gospel" updates the "prodigal son" story, using...
Seeing God from the Back Side of Life
Pat Robertson opened his mouth and inserted his foot again recently. He traced the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin as well as the recent massive stroke of current Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the...