Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Being Good Stewards of God’s World
It still surprises people that evangelical Christians are concerned about environmental issues. As the executive director of the Evangelical Environmental Network, I can't count the number of times I've seen in print...
Boykin Broke Rules in Speeches to Churches, Probe Determines
A 10-month Defense Department investigation has found that a senior Pentagon official violated internal policies when he spoke before church groups depicting the war on terrorism as a clash between Judeo-Christian...
The Religion of Politics
The election season is upon us. The red, white and blue streamers are out. The "vote for" whomever signs are up. There are songs of partisan loyalty in the air. The news networks are firing up their huge electronic map...
The Spirit of the Law
An aggressive and deliberate beetle attack nearly destroyed a couple of my rose bushes last summer. With branches stripped of leaves, buds and blooms, their demise appeared imminent. Weeks of careful spraying and...
Everybody Wants You to Vote
If you're Hispanic, or think Bush has to go, or want to defend "traditional marriage," there's an organization that wants you registered. They want you to rock the vote, vote your values, double your vote and declare...
Saudis Launch U.S. Ad Campaign
The Saudi government has launched a U.S. radio advertising campaign to reinforce its image as an ally in the war on terror. The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C. initiated the campaign Aug. 13,...
Family Meals Linked to Teens’ Emotional Well-Being
Adolescents who eat regular meals with their family do better in school than their middle- and high-school peers, and are significantly less likely to use cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana. They also are less likely to...
Newspaper Denies Misquoting SBC Leader
The Wall Street Journal stands by quotes attributed to a Southern Baptist leader and challenged Monday in Baptist Press. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission,...
Ministerial Ethics: Moral Formation for Church Leaders
The latest edition of Ministerial Ethics is a welcome revision and expansion of the original 1993 edition. The insertion of a new Chapter 7 on clergy sexual abuse is very timely in light of the Catholic Church...
Biblical Morality and Tax Cuts
Gov. Bob Riley of Alabama is a Bible-quoting, tee-totaling, Republican businessman who as a congressman represented a mostly rural district. Prior to his run for the governorship, he distinguished himself as a staunch...
Baptist Commentators Warn Against Mingling Church and Politics
Churches should promote good citizenship but avoid partisan politics, say three Baptist commentators responding to recent events. Southern Baptist pastors Jerry Falwell and Ronnie Floyd both were both accused of...
Revival Time in Rural Churches
The heritage of the Christian religion in the rural South is tied to revival meetings. More than two centuries have passed since the great revival which broke out in the Cane Ridge meetinghouse near Paris, Ky....
Religious Polls from Yesteryear
In the spirit of recent discussions on public opinion polls showing preference for President Bush among voters who are most religious, I offer the following look at imaginary religious polls that might have been taken...
Southern Baptist-Jewish Dialogues
The Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention established the Department of Work Related to Nonevangelicals in January 1966 with the assignment of helping Baptists relate to Jews, Catholics, sectarian...
Book Assails ‘Gay Agenda’
A Southern Baptist pastor criticized for mingling politics and the pulpit says he is being singled out for speaking out against homosexuality. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State last month...
Baptist Groups Respond to Sudan Crisis
Baptists around the world are among organizations mobilizing for relief in western Sudan, where thousands have died in ethnic violence that some label genocide. More than 1.2 million people have been displaced in the...
Make These Their Best Years
"These are the best years of my life." That's what 49 percent of Americans aged 65 to 69 said in a survey reported by the National Council on Aging. Almost that many in their 70s (44 percent) said the same thing. How...
An Open Letter to the CBF and SBC, From a Younger Evangelical
My brother-in-law and I are different yet the same. He recently completed course work at one of the Southern Baptist seminaries and plans to work with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention....
Pride and Prejudice
The 15th international AIDS conference opened in Bangkok July 11 with elephant parades and Thai dancers in abundance. The Hollywood glitterati were also there in force--Richard Gere, Ashley Judd, Rupert Everett, Oprah...
Stories About Presidential Candidates Confuse Truth
An EthicsDaily.com reader recently forwarded to me an e-mail she received about John Kerry. She wanted to know if the story was an urban legend. "I Hope None Of You Were Going To Vote For Him," began the story in...
Kentucky Baptist Convention Candidate Linked to ‘Trail of Blood’ Theology
A professor and pastor identified with a view that Baptist churches date in unbroken succession to Jesus' time is running for president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. The Western Recorder reports this week that...