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Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Sri Lankan Village Begins Recovery From Tsunami
PERALIYA, Sri Lanka—The international police agency Interpol dug up a mass grave here, looking for Europeans killed when the Dec. 26 tsunami washed a train off its tracks. They found two, among 2,000 bodies bulldozed...
Works Louder Than Words for BWAid Director
BANGKOK, Thailand--Paul Montacute's first airplane ride was to the 1963 Baptist World Alliance youth conference in Beirut. It was the first of many. Forty-plus years later, he travels the globe as the director for the...
‘Because of Winn-Dixie’
"Just about everything good that happened that summer happened because of Winn-Dixie," says Opal, the young girl at the heart of "Because of Winn-Dixie." This family film, which opens nationwide today, is adapted from...
‘Constantine’
John Constantine is going to die—again—and it seems he has hell to look forward to. But Constantine, played by Keanu Reeves in the movie that opens nationwide today, believes he can buy his way into heaven if he spends...
Professor Decries Unfair Tax Burden
Alabama has the "sorriest tax structure in the country," says a law professor who advocates fair taxation on biblical grounds. Speaking at a recent citizenship conference sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of...
Former Muslim Tapped as Dean of Falwell’s Seminary
Jerry's Falwell's choice as new dean of his Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary drew criticism from observers who said it could hurt relations between evangelical Christians and Muslim Americans. Falwell announced the...
Activist Calls for Pressure on Baptist Judge in Right-to-Die Case
The founder of an anti-abortion group is rallying support for efforts to prevent removal of a feeding tube that would end a brain-damaged Florida woman's life by urging public pressure on a Southern Baptist judge who...
Tsunami Disaster Need Increases, Responses Often Flawed
Seven weeks after the tsunami disaster that swept from Indonesia to Somalia, newspaper headlines and TV news stories have fallen off as nations continue to find corpses and victims cope with lost livelihoods. The...
Baptist Leader Condemns Lebanese Leader’s Murder
A Lebanese Baptist leader condemned Monday's assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister, who last fall greeted a European Baptist Federation delegation in his Beirut home. Rafic Hariri, a billionaire...
A Proper Public Faithfulness
In the past few years the identity of the religious right has crystallized around the issues of abortion and homosexual marriage. These two issues have made political activists out of many ordinary believers. On a...
‘Million Dollar Baby’
Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) is a pastor's nightmare: He attends every service, pays attention to what is said, and asks questions about the faith so tough they can make a priest curse. Frankie is also a part of the...
‘Raise Your Voice’ Hits DVD Today
Hilary Duff starrer "Raise Your Voice" comes to DVD today, sporting several extra features. The movie stars teen sensation Duff as Terri Fletcher, a girl who dreams of using her voice to make it out of her Arizona town...
Georgia Church Ponders Joining Virginia Group
Citing deteriorating relations with the Georgia Baptist Convention, First Baptist Church in Rome, Ga., is considering moving its membership to the Baptist General Association of Virginia. The church's deacon body...
‘Constantine’ Cast Reflects on Good, Evil
The conflict between good and evil is an age-old battle and one that Hollywood never tires of tackling, whether couched in westerns, science-fiction or religious wranglers. "Constantine," which opens nationwide Feb....
CBF Considers Cap on Funding for ‘Partners’
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship would provide no more than one-fifth of the Baptist Center for Ethics' annual funding—a reduction from its current level of support--under a proposal being presented to CBF leaders...
Live Life Like You are Dying
Tim McGraw won a Grammy Sunday night for his hit song, "Live Like You Were Dying." The song is about a man in his 40s who discovers he has a short time to live. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he goes out and has...
Human Connectedness Vital, Says ‘Winn-Dixie’ Cast
Actress Cicely Tyson was still reeling from two significant events in her life when she walked into a room full of religion press at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, Calif. First was the death of her colleague and...
Fired Baptist Journalist Feels Vindicated by Voter Rejection of Sales Tax
A Missouri Baptist journalist fired for reporting details of a proposed sale of the Missouri Baptist Convention headquarters says he feels vindicated by voter rejection of a sales tax to fund construction of a new jail...
Santeria: The Beliefs and Rituals of a Growing Religion in America
Fans of the 1950s sitcom "I Love Lucy" will remember Ricky Ricardo's signature song, "Babalu-Aye," accompanied by a Latin beat from actor Desi Arnaz's conga drum. What most viewers didn't realize, says author Miguel De...
Tsunami: Not Why, but What?
As a member of the clergy community, my colleagues and I have been asked many theological questions concerning the Tsunami disaster. It is no wonder that the biblical texts give us guidance in this area. The Bible...
‘Winn-Dixie’ Actress Mature Beyond Years
AnnaSophia Robb wears her 11 years with the maturity and insight of someone three times her age. The Denver native stars in the upcoming movie "Because of Winn-Dixie," based on the popular children's book about a girl...