Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Cable Channel Says it Was a Mistake to Air ‘Justice Sunday’
The president of a board overseeing religious programming on a cable television channel in Louisville, Ky., says it was a mistake to air last weekend's "Justice Sunday" telecast, because it violated station guidelines...
Dangers Abound When Church Services Promote Political Agendas
Christianity is getting more coverage in the news these days. Fritz Stern, university professor emeritus at Columbia University, said some profound words in a talk titled "National Socialism (Nazi) as Temptation."...
Few Advise Careers in Ministry
Fewer than one-half of 1 percent of Americans in an April 18-21 Gallup Poll said they would advise a young man to enter the ministry as a career, and just 1 percent said they would suggest a young woman aspire to be a...
Get Real About Religion and Entertainment
Contrary to what some people believe, Hollywood doesn't revel in sex and violence. Hollywood revels in money. If sex and violence are the keys to that kingdom, Hollywood will produce those keys. It follows that if...
Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Against Sodexho Headed for Trial
Southern Seminary's new vendor for campus maintenance boasts on its Web site that "diversity is at the heart of everything we do." But according to a class-action lawsuit headed for trial this week, that commitment...
Prophets of the King
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and Ahab, king of Israel, joined forces to make war against the king of Aram. But before marching off on their holy crusade, Jehoshaphat insisted on consulting the word of God. About 400...
Hollywood Jesus Reviews: 2003-2004
HollywoodJesus.com, begun in 1997 as a way to engage the spiritual content in films, recently launched a book publishing division, Hollywood Jesus Books. Its previous books have included two by site contributor and...
European Baptists Decry ‘Modern-Day Slave Trade’
BUDAPEST, Hungary--European Baptist leaders pledged prayer and action against the worldwide sex industry in an April 14-16 consultation on "human trafficking" sponsored by the European Baptist Federation. The Budapest...
Frist Opposes Filibuster at Church Rally
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist defended removing Democrats' power to filibuster against judges nominated by President Bush in a videotaped message to a rally labeled "Justice Sunday" in a Kentucky Baptist church....
‘Kingdom of Heaven’ Principals Discuss Humanity’s Obligations
The night before Orlando Bloom met with journalists covering his upcoming Crusades movie "Kingdom of Heaven," the British actor attended a U2 concert in Los Angeles. Bloom, 28, praised the band's lead singer, outspoken...
Denominations and Rural Churches
The Rural Church Network met last week on the campus of the University of the South. This group, comprised of persons from national denominational offices and seminaries with responsibilities for rural church work and...
Senator Labels Comment by Southern Baptist Leader Anti-Catholic
A Colorado senator targeted in newspaper ads by Focus on the Family for blocking an up-or-down vote on President Bush's judicial nominees called on the group to distance itself from a Southern Baptist leader for...
Filibusters and Faith
This is a tough time to be a judge in America. Big names from the world of religion and politics claim that the judiciary is "out of control." These judicial reformers are working overtime to, in their words, give the...
Air Force Academy Cracks Down on Religious Harassment
Hoping to avoid a repeat of a scandal two years ago over sexual assault, the U.S. Air Force Academy is requiring religious-sensitivity training amid complaints that dominance by evangelical Christians at the school...
BCE Executive Director Gives a Word of Gratitude
I lost over 40 pounds. I lost my energy and endurance. I lost my hair. I lost a good deal of memory of a month of hospitalization. What I lost physically, I more than gained spiritually. I gained a deeper awareness of...
Let Us Break Bread Together
For most of Christian history, it was a commonplace that observance of Jewish ritual was at best meaningless, perhaps even harmful, and certainly to be avoided by Christians. For Jews, Christianity was the hostile...
Let Us Break Bread Together: A Passover Haggadah for Christians
In their book Let Us Break Bread Together: A Passover Haggadah for Christians Pastor Michael Smith and Rabbi Rami Shapiro begin with good intentions. They want Christians to have an enriched understanding of the...
Harvard Scholar Gives Inaugural Lecture at Samford
A Harvard scholar and minister discussed honoring the body for an inaugural lectureship at Samford University Monday night. Stephanie Paulsell, associate dean of ministry studies at Harvard Divinity School and author...
A Tale of Two Churches: A Microcosm
"Justice Sunday--Stopping the Filibuster Against People of Faith," is being staged at Louisville's Highview Baptist, a church. The name is so similar to my church, Highland Baptist, that they are often mistaken for...
Which God is Dead?
The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) made the scandalous proclamation that "God is dead" in one of his well-known works, Die fröhliche Wissenschaft (1882). The church's initial reaction was to...
Panel Discusses Crusades in Conjunction With Movie
A panel of history and religion experts put an upcoming movie about the Crusades in perspective for journalists covering the movie. Three scholars spoke to journalists recently at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Pasadena,...