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Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Virginia Editor Recommended for Pastorate
The editor of Virginia's moderate Baptist newspaper is being recommended as pastor of a Richmond church. Michael Clingenpeel, editor of the Religious Herald for 12 years, is unanimous nominee of the pastor search...
Virginia Editor Recommended for Pastorate
The editor of Virginia's moderate Baptist newspaper is being recommended as pastor of a Richmond church. Michael Clingenpeel, editor of the Religious Herald for 12 years, is unanimous nominee of the pastor search...
German TV Show Labels Iraq Missionaries ‘Holy Warriors’
A German television program denounced Southern Baptist missionaries in Iraq as "America's Holy Warriors," comparing their spiritual and humanitarian work to Islamic terrorist attacks, Assist News Service reported...
Ten Big Words in a Very Small Package
"When I ran for governor many years ago I estimated I shook 600,000 hands, and when I was president I visited all 50 states, and since I left office my wife and I have traveled to more than 120 nations. "When I ran for...
Heart & Soul: An Interview With Louis Schwartzberg
The documentaries "Super Size Me" and "Fahrenheit 9/11" have energized the box office in recent weeks. Another one hits theaters today: "America's Heart & Soul," a collection of vignettes about ordinary Americans...
Bethlehem Besieged: Stories of Hope in Times of Trouble
Mitri Raheb is the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church of Bethlehem and director of the International Center of Bethlehem. He is Arab, Palestinian and Christian, in his own words, "an Arab Christian...
‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ has Parallels to ‘The Passion’
Michael Moore's controversial documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" is drawing comparison to the year's last big surprise blockbuster, Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." "Fahrenheit 9/11" opened in 868 theaters,...
The Slippery Slope of Conservatism
"Torture, burning at the stake and other punishment for the faithful condemned as witches or heretics by church tribunals during the Inquisition was not as widespread as commonly believed, the Vatican said Tuesday."...
Baptists Value Freedom Above Order, Pastor Says
Church leaders through the ages often suppressed freedom to protect order, but Baptist forebears that developed apart from state-sponsored religions affirmed freedom as a central principle and practice, says a South...
Adults Need to Connect Bible Study and Life, Editor Says
Adults in Sunday school need "connectivity" between the Bible and life, a veteran curriculum editor told Baptists in Birmingham, Ala., Saturday morning. Jan Turrentine, curriculum editor for the Baptist Center for...
The Death of Civility
The coarser side of American politics was on view recently as Vice President Cheney and Sen. Patrick Leahy engaged in a brief exchange on the floor of the U.S. Senate. During the heated discussion the vice president...
Fostering Good Will for the Common Good
Moderate Baptists and Jews face each other today in some ways as Esau and Jacob faced each other after their rupture years earlier over the blessing of their father Isaac. We are uncertain. We are not sure what to do....
New Show to Find Christian-Gospel Superstar
A new fall TV show will try to find the next superstar in the world of Christian and gospel music. "Gifted," a 10-episode series beginning Oct. 1, will air on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and narrow contestants...
A Model For Christian And Jewish Relations
It has to be one of the most frustrating political and religious conundrums ever encountered. For centuries now relations between Jews and Christians have rocked back and forth, from bad to horrible. The horrible...
CBF Meeting Has Ecumenical Flavor
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship reached out in ecumenical and interfaith efforts at its June 24-26 General Assembly in Birmingham, Ala. The Fellowship, which claims 1,800 churches and 450,000 members, voted to...
BCE Luncheon Aims at ‘New Era’ of Baptist-Jewish Relations
About 500 Baptists and Jews gathered for a Friday luncheon sponsored by the Baptist Center for Ethics encouraging "a new era" of improved relations between the two faiths. Between markers of a 1980 comment by an SBC...
BWA Leader Defends Meeting With Castro
Among criticism against the Baptist World Alliance by leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention was that BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz "cozied up" to Fidel Castro by meeting with the Cuban dictator. "I didn't cozy...
‘The Notebook’
"The Notebook" is a beautifully shot love story. From the opening frames to the last, viewers experience a cinematic atmosphere as enveloping as the love of the film's main characters. The film, based on a Nicholas...
Handkerchiefs and Egg Money
Every time I see a simple handkerchief, I think about my great-grandmother. Although she died decades ago, she was a significant part of my early childhood. The mother of my maternal grandmother, she was a feisty Cajun...
True Love Lasts Forever: An Interview With Nicholas Sparks
The wait is finally over for fans of Nicholas Sparks' first novel, The Notebook: The movie version hits theaters nationwide today. Starring James Garner, Gena Rowlands, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, the filmed story...
The Reagan Legacy
When we speak of the Reagan Legacy, we must first describe the old system being overthrown. Beginning with the Great Depression of the 1930s, this nation embarked on a program of funneling federal dollars into welfare...