Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
‘Closer’
In recent interviews, actor Jude Law has described the characters in his latest film, "Closer," as "mature adults." Jude Law is a terrific actor, and his assessment is a terrific misstatement. The four characters in...
Networks Refuse Church Ad Welcoming Gays
The United Church of Christ protested two networks' refusal to air an ad welcoming gays to their congregations. CBS and NBC refused to air the 30-second commercial geared to Americans who feel alienated from the...
Take the Erin Challenge
For a long time, 10-year-old Erin Strnad of McCalla, Ala., had saved coins in a 3-foot-tall replica of a soft drink bottle, with no particular plan in mind for them. It turns out that the amount she saved is enough to...
A Different Standard for Mothers?
It was a rare moment. With my parents and children around the dinner table, we hit on a topic to which my mother and daughter both responded passionately. "You shouldn't have children unless you are going to take care...
Are These the New Dark Ages?
The period between the 400s and the late 900s A.D. was termed The Dark Ages by scholars who later lamented that during that epoch almost all love for learning, art and craftsmanship disappeared in Western Europe....
Seasonal Mood Swings
Not once did I think about going to the mall at midnight on Thanksgiving Day—but there were many, many who did. And they didn't just go and leisurely shop. No, these were more like shopping storm troopers battering...
Group Says Falwell Lied on ‘Meet the Press’
A liberal media watchdog group says Jerry Falwell lied Nov. 28 on national television when he defended remarks he made three years ago about abortion rights activists, homosexuals and others being responsible for the...
Values, Voters and Voyeurism Collide in Entertainment
The aftermath of the 2004 presidential election has left a buzzword standing: values. Newspapers, magazines, radio talk show hosts and news channel pundits can't get away from the alleged role that values played in...
Baptists Debate Evolution, Theology
A clash between faith and science is taking center stage at a Baptist college in Tennessee. The Tennessee Baptist Convention recently authorized an investigation into what is being taught at the state's three Baptist...
The Small Bible
I have got to get me one of those new small Bibles. I haven't seen one yet, but I know they must be out there. From what I hear, lots and lots of people have them. It certainly sounds like these new small Bibles make...
The Key to How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Before beginning my day of teaching on the morning of Nov. 23, I did something many folks might not expect a minister and theologian to do. I drove to the nearest music store and bought the latest CD by the world's...
Falwell Labels Political Foe ‘Anti-America’
Jerry Falwell accused a fellow minister who differs with him politically of being "anti-America" on a Sunday news program. Jim Wallis of Sojourners magazine and the Call to Renewal political action group joined Falwell...
Critic Alleges Conspiracy to Hide Details of Missouri Baptist Building Sale
Missouri Baptist Convention leaders either were misled or conspired with local government officials to violate a state open-meetings law, says a local critic of a deal negotiated behind closed doors to sell the...
Working Together on Abortion
Considering the depths of rancor existing between those advocating pro-life and those advocating pro-choice, we are left to wonder if common ground can ever be found. Cristina Page, who serves as the program director...
Campolo Says Church Will Suffer for Partisan Politics
The church in America is going to suffer for allowing secular political divisions to enter religion, author and activist Tony Campolo said on a Sunday talk show. "When the church gets aligned with a political...
What Can We Think of Next?
At my grandmother's house, sleeping in meant getting up at 5 or 6 a.m. instead of the usual 4. On a typical day, by 6 a.m. she would have swept and mopped the floors, made a big pan of biscuits and done a couple of...
Hunting Down a Moral America
While deer hunting early one December morning with my uncle we kicked up a big buck in some thick brush. We raised our shotguns and fired at almost the same instant. As the buck went down my uncle began to shout, "I...
Finding a Reason For Giving Thanks Worth It
Although most shopping malls are already decorated for the holiday season, which traditionally begins Thanksgiving weekend, finding something for which to be thankful is a task for many. The death of my eldest brother...
Thanking Those Who Touch Our Lives
Samuel Leibowitz, a criminal lawyer, saved 78 people from the electric chair. Not one ever thanked him. Art King helped 2,500 people find jobs through his radio program, "Job Center of the Air." Only 10 ever thanked...
Does Congress Suffer from Malignant Power?
Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Okla.) allegedly placed in a congressional spending bill that passed on Saturday a frightening provision allowing two committee chairmen and their staffs to look at any American citizen's tax...
Gratitude Is the Real Gift
As we enter this season of Thanksgiving, I'm not only thinking of the importance of gratitude for our many gifts, but also of the gift of gratitude itself. It is true that we are blessed beyond measure. God really has...