Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Debate Over Creationism a Luxury for the Powerful
Euro-American evangelicals, supposedly empowered by the recent election, are demanding that public schools teach the religious concept of creationism (a literal reading of Genesis 1-2). My question is which creation...
International Baptists Dispute Overseas Baptism Claims
Southern Baptist Convention reports of overseas baptisms overstate the impact of foreign missionaries in global evangelism, said international Baptist leaders contacted by EthicsDaily.com. "Last year Southern Baptists...
Baptists of the Year
Time Magazine has selected a man or woman as the person of the year since 1927. President Bush is the 2004 recipient. Past recipients have included Mohandas Gandhi in 1930, Adolf Hitler in 1938, Joseph Stalin in 1939,...
Let’s Not Forget the Future
What could be more important to moderate Baptists than our future? Some days, I fear that we are captured by our past. The pain of fundamentalism's "hijacking" of the SBC — that's how Jerry Falwell characterized it —...
Getting Off to a Clean Start
I don't remember ever being made to have a bath because it was Christmas, but it was a sure part of my childhood experience of New Year. I'm from Scotland, where New Year is an important event. Christmas was abolished...
Baptist Missions Board Endorses Effort to Halve Global Poverty
BMS World Mission, the oldest Baptist mission-sending body, has joined an international coalition of evangelical relief-and-development organizations to reduce global poverty by half within the next decade. "BMS does...
Baptist Networks Speed Aid for Tsunami Relief
As the death toll from Sunday's tsunami jumped to 116,000 with reports that 80,000 people were killed in Indonesia alone, Baptists worldwide sought to raise funds and network with partners for disaster relief. American...
Reports From Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (BWAid/HBAid)--Tears, pain and suffering on the Holiday Island. These were the first impressions of the Baptist World Aid/Hungarian Baptist World Aid Immediate Response Team consisting of special...
BWA, Election Top EthicsDaily.com Stories in 2004
Southern Baptists' departure from the Baptist World Alliance, election-year politics and a movie about Jesus' final hours topped an editors' ranking of the year's top news stories on EthicsDaily.com. 1. Southern...
Finding God in a World Of Tragedy
In the midst of our Christmas and New Year's celebration, tragedy has struck. A massive earthquake, reportedly the fourth largest in recorded history, has devastated central Asia and portions of India. Tens of...
Baptists Work With Indigenous Group to Meet Needs in Sri Lanka
Wednesday's death toll rose above 60,000 from Sunday's earthquake and flooding in South Asia, with thousands still missing. The U.N. said disease could double that number. Baptist relief agencies continued to collect...
Baptists Respond to Southeast Asia Tsunami (updated 9:05 a.m.)
Baptist relief agencies were among organizations scrambling to provide relief to victims of Sunday's tsunami that killed thousands and destroyed coastlines in South and Southeast Asia. Baptist World Aid and Hungarian...
Baptist Minister Named ‘Greatest Canadian’
A Baptist minister and father of Canada's socialized medicine was named "the Greatest Canadian" in a contest run by Canadian public television. Tommy Douglas, who died in 1986, served five terms as premier of...
Missouri Baptist Building Sale Critic Raises Liability Concerns
The Missouri Baptist Convention will reportedly be asked to amend a $2.75 million contract of sale for its office building to ensure that county taxpayers will not have to pay for any removal of asbestos or to get out...
Veterans Ought to Have a Home to Come Back to
It struck like a thunderbolt when I read the news report that U.S. veterans of the war in Iraq are already beginning to appear in our homeless shelters. That outrageous reality shows a tragic unwillingness to learn...
Religions Strive for Elusive Peace
The refrain for the Christmas season is "peace on earth," but this vision often seems confined to the realm of angels. On earth, the dreary round of violence by individuals and nations continues. The light of the...
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas
It appears that Christianity's monopoly of the national holiday known as Christmas is being challenged, and many of us don't like it. In recent weeks, groups across America have been organized to "fight" what is...
‘Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events’
When a movie tells its story through voiceover narration, it's usually a bad sign. Unfortunately, "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" does just that and relies on a shadowy narrator (Jude Law), who tells...
After the Lights Come Down
If lights and decorations are any indication, just about everyone celebrates Christmas. If lights and decorations are any indication, just about everyone celebrates Christmas. A nighttime drive through my neighborhood...
‘Spanglish’
"Spanglish," from movie maestro James L. Brooks ("Broadcast News," "As Good As It Gets"), is a light holiday treat. It's not a fabulous film, but a good one. It delivers some genuine laughs and much to ponder about...
Christmas Story Offers Civic Lesson
Buried within the Christmas story is a subplot that needs unearthing, perhaps more now than in a long, long time. Of course, big chunks of the Christmas story are well known, and that's part of the problem. So much of...