Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Baylor President Stepping Down
Baylor University President Robert Sloan will step down at the end of the current semester and accept a new role of chancellor June 1. Sloan announced the decision, which he said was reached mutually by him and the...
Blue Like Jazz
On an unseasonably warm Wednesday evening in mid-January, I set out for the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville to see a program featuring Donald Miller, author of a popular book called "Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts...
Tsunami Disaster Generates Hoaxes
The Dec. 26 tsunami disaster in South Asia, like the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, sparked numerous Internet hoaxes intending to make an already stunning event even more so. Bogus stories mixed with true ones...
Reaction Muted to Bush Comments on Gay Marriage Ban
Early reaction among the religious right to comments by President Bush that he would not push for a constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage appeared muted, despite high expectations prior to re-election that...
Experts Say Global Poverty Can Be Reduced by Half
An international team of experts on Monday unveiled a comprehensive strategy to cut extreme poverty in half and improve the lives of at least 1 billion people in developing countries by 2015. The report, put forward by...
Inaugural Protest Circulates Via Internet
As supporters of President Bush gather to celebrate Thursday's $40 million presidential inauguration, an Internet campaign is trying to organize a boycott on any spending that day to protest the war in Iraq. No one...
Where is God Now?
Soon after arriving in Sri Lanka, just two days after the catastrophic tsunami leveled village after village, I found myself confronting a very personally challenging question. On the road south from the capital,...
The Value of a Good Name
"A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold." Proverbs 22:1 (NKJV) It takes a long time to build a good name and a relatively short time to lose one. Building a good...
Baptists Prepare for Long Haul in Tsunami Response
The death toll from the Dec. 26 Southeast Asia tsunami catastrophe passed 175,000 on Monday when Sri Lanka confirmed thousands more dead, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, relief workers feared for their safety amid...
Bush Says He Won’t Push for Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage
In a move likely to anger his conservative base, President Bush said in a Sunday front-page story in the Washington Post that he would not lobby the Senate to pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage....
It Takes a Lot of Strength to Tear Down a Wall
Not long ago, while traveling through a community in northeast Alabama where I served as a minister in the 1980s, my wife and I drove down the street where we used to live, and "the wall" was still there. There was an...
‘Uncircumcised’ Hispanics Problem for Dominant Church Culture
When the pope made a papal visit to Miami in 1987, delighting Miami's large Hispanic community, a local enterprising Euro-American shirt-maker decided to capitalize on the event. He made thousands of shirts which in...
Pro-Gay Baptists Protest ‘Pastoral Letter’
An organization of pro-gay American Baptists issued an open letter last week strongly condemning a call by denominational leaders for a moratorium on performing same-sex marriages or elevating homosexuals to...
The Power of the Majority
Next week President Bush will raise his hand and receive the oath of office. He will promise to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Afterwards, as is the tradition, Mr. Bush will...
Something More Important: An Interview With Paul Weitz
Paul Weitz recently spoke with EthicsDaily.com by phone from Los Angeles about the new movie and how fatherhood has affected his work. But now the smallest Weitz is one and the movie starring Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace...
‘Racing Stripes’
The new Warner Bros. film, which opens nationwide today, centers on a plucky zebra who thinks he's a race horse. It's cookie-cutter storytelling—an underdog, a formidable challenge, some unlikely help—but well done....
‘In Good Company’
The latest movie from writer-director Paul Weitz is, to use a favorite adjective from the film itself, "awesome." Weitz demonstrated a fine sensibility with "About a Boy," and he does it again with "In Good Company,"...
Popular ‘Bible Bobbleheads’ Prompt New Ones
The success of three "Bible bobbleheads" has led to the release of three more bobbers based on biblical characters. John the Baptist, Esther and Daniel bobbleheads are the newest creations from Isaac Bros., the Allen,...
Desperation is Reality
When I first heard of the show I thought it was a reality show. After all with a title like "Desperate Housewives" how could I imagine otherwise--another entertainment offering for the folks who cannot get enough...
‘Coach Carter’
"Coach Carter," which marries lessons in basketball with those of becoming a good citizen, crosses "Lean on Me" with "Hoosiers" and results in an inspiring story. The movie, which opens nationwide tomorrow, is based on...
Aid Leader Calls for Asian ‘Marshall Plan’
An Australian Baptist minister who leads a key aid group says something like the Marshall Plan used to rebuild post-World War II Europe is needed in the aftermath of Southeast Asia's tsunami disaster. Tim Costello,...