Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Christian Groups Mix Missionary Work With Aid
Some Christians view sending disaster relief to tsunami victims in Southeast Asia as an opportunity to preach the gospel. The notion doesn't sit well in some places. "Christians See Conversion Opportunities in Disaster...
Southern Baptist Leader Cites Affinity for Pope
A Southern Baptist agency head quoted in a national magazine said he shares more common ground with the Catholic pope than with fellow Baptists Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. "I've got more in common with Pope John...
‘Catching Light: Looking for God in the Movies’
Interest in religion and film continues to surge, and publishers are feeding that interest with waves of books on the subject. Some are specific (e.g. analyses of spiritual themes in "The Lord of the Rings"), whereas...
Robertson Predicts ‘Triumph’ in Second Bush Term
Pat Robertson, who began last year with a prediction that President Bush would win re-election in "a blowout," says he has another word from the Lord. On the Jan. 3 broadcast of Christian Broadcasting Network's "The...
What’s the Truth about Baptist Generosity?
If we accept the premise that red states are more generous than blue states because of their religion, then how do we explain why Southern Baptists give so pitifully to the denomination's world hunger fund? The...
‘Incredibles’ Best Movie of 2004
EthicsDaily.com movie reviewer Mike Parnell offers his "Top Ten" movies from 2004. No. 1: "The Incredibles" This is the best movie of the year. Most impressive is that "Incredibles" was marketed as a family movie, but...
Love and Compassion Also Left in the Wake
I began this year with a study of Jeremiah, the longest and one of the most complex books of the Bible. Robert Carroll once wrote: "The reader who is not confused by reading the book of Jeremiah has not understood it."...
Baptists Cooperate to Meet Tsunami Needs
Mounting human needs in tsunami-stricken South Asia are prompting record gifts and unprecedented cooperation among Baptist relief agencies. The Asian Baptist Federation, one of six regional bodies comprising the...
Limbaugh Says Muslim States Stingy With Tsunami Relief
Amid charges that the United States was slow or stingy in its response to the South Asia tsunami disaster, radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh shot back that predominantly Muslim nations aren't doing any better....
Evangelism and the Hope of a Better World
Let's assume for a moment that evangelicals are right when they say that Jesus is the full and final revelation of God and that having a personal relationship with Jesus is the only way to have eternal life. Let's also...
‘Sideways’
Though originally released in October, "Sideways" is still knocking around various cities and screens. It's a small film with a big appetite, gobbling up critical praise on its way to the Golden Globes and Academy...
Tsunami Relief Effort Continues to Grow
Ten days after a tsunami killed thousands and displaced millions in Southeast Asia, aid workers continued to learn more about the scope of the disaster while relief funds for victims poured in from around the world....
Baptist Leader Says He Would Protest Draft
A moderate Baptist leader has pledged to engage in civil disobedience should the United States reinstate a military draft. Religion News Service reported Tuesday that the Selective Service System had asked the Church...
Religious Leaders Urge Attorney General Nominee to Denounce Torture
More than 225 religious leaders have signed a letter calling on U.S. Attorney General Nominee Alberto Gonzales to denounce all uses of torture. The leaders, from Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communties...
Dobson Distorts Faith, Threatens Democrats
Fundamentalist leader James Dobson reads from a small Bible, having shrunken the Christian moral agenda to the anti-abortion and anti-homosexuality issues. Puffed up from President Bush's election, Dobson now threatens...
Southern Baptist Critic Warns of ‘Closed Door’ Ecumenical Dialogue
Southern Baptist leaders have taken decisive steps to disconnect from ecumenical dialogues, says a critic who believes such relationships are prone to misinterpretation and misuse. Yet some prominent Southern Baptists,...
Baptist Leader Sends Pastoral Letter to Tsunami Victims
Denton Lotz, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, on Tuesday sent a pastoral letter to Baptists in Asia expressing shared grief of Baptists worldwide and pledging long-term support and aid to victims of...
Baptist Pastor Views Tsunami as God’s Judgment
The Southeast Asian tsunami that killed perhaps 150,000 signaled God's wrath for sexual sin, says the controversial Web site GodHatesFags.com. "Thank God for the tsunamis—and for 5,000 dead Swedes," proclaimed the...
Missouri Baptist Sex-Discrimination Lawsuit Settled; Other Legal Woes Continue
The former comptroller of the Missouri Baptist Convention has settled her federal lawsuit alleging sexual discrimination. In a separate development, a critic of a proposed purchase of the Missouri Baptist Building for...
A Vision for Rural America
The settlement and development of rural America was driven by a social vision attributed to Thomas Jefferson. He believed that our nation would become primarily characterized by the majority of people living and...
E-mail Dialogue and Family Diversity
The family from which I come and that into which I married both tend toward Christian conservatism in all matters religious and political. Since "9/11", our differences ideologically have emerged most noticeably in...