Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
May 14, 2018
Mormon Church Releases a List of ‘Legal Issues’ With Utah’s Medical Marijuana Initiative (Salt Lake Tribune)Indonesia: Family, With Children in Tow, Carry Out Suicide Bombings at 3 Churches (New York Post) Middle East:...
Fast food and making change
Maybe it's a sign of age, but I cannot bring myself to make small purchases with a credit or debit card when cash money is still available. I know that there are many people who carry no cash at all, and pay for...
The bad news, good news of evangelical decline
By John D. Pierce The bad news: White American evangelicals are the strongest proponents of a political agenda that advances harsh immigration policies, misconstrues “religious liberty” into a license for...
Many Women Face Complicated Feelings on Mother’s Day
This weekend, Mother's Day, while joy-filled for many, is full of anxiety for others. If you're in the anxiety-producing camp, know I am with you. As I've shared elsewhere, I have Mother's Day pain. It's so hard to...
Time to Bust the Myth of Biblical Womanhood
Rachel Held Evans wrote a stunningly provocative book, published in 2012, titled "A Year of Biblical Womanhood." In it, she vividly shows us how "biblical womanhood" is not a constant. It is a culturally constructed...
Christian Right’s Political Spats Spur Growth of ‘Nones’
What, if any, relationship exists between the Christian Right's public conflicts over policies and the growth of "nones" (people claiming no religious affiliation) in the U.S.? That question was the focus of research...
May 11, 2018
Southern Baptists’ Paige Patterson Apologizes for Comments ‘Hurtful to Women’ (Baptist Press) Why Paige Patterson’s Apology May Not be Enough (RNS) Texas Church Damaged After ‘Package Bomb’ Went Off (KHou) Head of...
What does it mean to believe in God?
By John D. Pierce “It’s good that you believe that God is one. Ha! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble with fear.” Rather than using the more-commonly translated — “Good!” or “Good for you!” — the Common...
My First Ethics Professors: Motherly Wisdom
As a young boy, I had no idea the rarity of my experiences. When my mother decided to return to college in pursuit of a degree in education, she turned to my great-grandmothers and grandmothers to help care for me....
The Sinfulness of Trump’s Immigration Policy
It's not often you hear the words "sin" and "immigration policy" in the same sentence, but there is simply no other way to talk about the atrocities that the Trump administration is committing against immigrants. Right...
How Christian Views Have Shaped Criminal Justice System
I criticized in a recent column the idea that Christians should not cooperate with the criminal justice system to the point that churches refuse to call police. That does not mean that churches should accept every...
May 10, 2018
Fight Over Chaplain Leads to Shouting Match Between Lawmakers on House Floor (CNN) Mormon Church to End 105-Year Relationship with Boy Scouts (CNN) Conservative Evangelical Women are Calling out a Leader’s Sexism. It’s...
Time to dream again?
By John D. Pierce Congregational leaders of my generation considered Bob Dale’s earlier best-selling book, To Dream Again, to be a lifeline. It was their go-to book for re-envisioning a church’s mission in changing...
Profiles in Goodwill: Meredith Stone
Meredith Stone is assistant professor of Christian ministry and Scripture and director of ministry guidance at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. 1. Where did you grow up? Bryan, Texas. 2. What is your...
The ‘Blood of Christ’ – Transaction or Transfusion?
What we traditionally call the "doctrine of atonement" has been a recent conversation topic around the theological table. It has been a helpful dialogue in bringing some familiar images and formulas into the clarifying...
7 Bad Race Habits – And Why You Must Break Them
Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove urges readers to recognize and address our racial habits in his recent book, "Reconstructing the Gospel: Finding Freedom from Slaveholder Religion." "Change your racial habits and you change...
May 9, 2018
Pence Helped Pick Christians from Congressional Bible Studies for Trump Administration, Ralph Drollinger Says (Christian Post) Christian Right Contributed to Declining Church Memberships, Study Finds (Christian Post)...
From The Pews: The Damage from Pastors’ Hidden Lives
No matter how many seminary classes you had discussing and debating ethical dilemmas that pastors have encountered in their parishes, there is no way to prepare completely for what you will face as you minister in our...
The Convergence of Protestant, Catholic Ethics – Part 2
During the latter part of the 20th century, as I wrote previously, Vatican II reforms and growing concerns about secularism began to draw Protestants and Catholics together. This convergence has continued into the...
How Racism, Sexism Subtly Infiltrate Church, Mission Work
Racism and sexism are increasingly, and belatedly, being identified as big issues at North American, Western European and Australian universities and are not merely "developing country" phenomena. See, for instance,...
May 7, 2018
Southern Baptist Women Ask for Seminary President Paige Patterson to be Fired for His Remarks (Charlotte News-Observer) Beth Moore Pens Open Letter to Christian Brothers in Sexism; Gospel Coalition Leader Offers...