Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Settling Identity Crisis
One of the easiest ways to generate discussion in a Sunday school class is to introduce a character from movies or television. Characters—real or fictional—help us talk not only about issues and ideas but also about...
‘Dirty Pretty Things’
"There is nothing more dangerous than a virtuous man," says Guo Yi to his friend Okwe, who happens to be the protagonist of "Dirty Pretty Things." Okwe is not the only virtuous person in the film. Senay, Okwe's friend,...
‘Soft Money’ Links Regulators’ Interests to Companies
During the 2002 midterm elections, television icon Art Linkletter, of "Kids Say the Darndest Things" fame, informed the public, in 30 second-spots, that their congressperson "has been fighting for real prescription...
An Antidote to Cynicism
In her history of only 227 years, America has become the showcase of the world in providing liberties that allow the human spirit to soar to the heavens. Those entities in our society that have promoted or enhanced the...
‘Intolerable Cruelty’
Joel and Ethan Coen make wonderful movies, many of which focus on love and marriage. One of their funniest movies, "Raising Arizona," deals with a couple's search for completeness through the kidnapping of a child. "O...
Supreme Court Accepts Pledge of Allegiance Case
The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will hear a case deciding whether reciting the word's "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools violates the separation of church and state. As anticipated, the high...
Mt. Pisgah’s First 100 Years
The last Sunday in September, I traveled to represent the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission at the 100th anniversary of the founding of Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church. It was not an easy place to find. A small brick...
Robertson Revisits ‘Nuke’ Comment
Televangelist Pat Robertson returned Monday to a controversy over his earlier remark about blowing up the U.S. State Department. Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network issued a news release "correcting" the...
The Hopeful Heart
John Claypool, visiting professor of homiletics at Mercer University's McAfee School of Theology, has delivered another classic in The Hopeful Heart. Claypool is no stranger to understanding the "hopeful heart." He...
Rush to Judgment?
Two weeks ago, detractors of Rush Limbaugh labeled him a racist. Now they are calling him a hypocrite. The conservative talk-radio commentator stunned listeners by admitting that he is addicted to painkillers and...
Former President Continues Life of Christian Service
Tourists en route to Plains, Ga., on State Highway 41 are often surprised to see former President Jimmy Carter mowing the lawn or gathering fallen pecan limbs at the Maranatha Baptist Church, a contingent of Secret...
Jonathan Edwards’ Image Miscast by One Famous Sermon
Few people seem to be celebrating the 300th anniversary of Jonathan Edwards' birth. At least I wasn't invited to any parties, nor did I hear of any great festivities on Oct. 5, the day he was born in 1703. The lack of...
Consecrating Life: An Interview With Greg Wright
In December 2001, Greg Wright wandered down a rainy Seattle street looking for a movie theater. Not just any theater, but one hosting a press screening for the anticipated first installment of "The Lord of the Rings."...
Robertson Talks about Blowing Up State Department
Pat Robertson is shameless. He'll say anything. He'll even advocate blowing up the U.S. State Department. Interviewing the author of an anti-U.S. State Department book on the "700 Club," Robertson said: "I read your...
Jewish Leader Decries ‘Particularist’ Religious Claims
Christians should abandon the notion that theirs is the only way to salvation, suggests Abraham Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League, in a new book, Never Again? The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism. Abraham...
Maybe We Should Keep the Robes
Several years ago, a member of my Sunday school class laughed as she commented on her very young daughter's upcoming baptism. "I think she's only doing it so she can wear the robe," she said. "She's always liked...
FCC Says Broadcasts of Bono’s Curse Word OK
Rock singer Bono used a curse word at the Golden Globes last January, but those stations that aired the remark aren't guilty of violating decency standards, according to a recent finding by the Federal Communications...
‘Bonhoeffer’
This new documentary on German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer features more than grainy black-and-white footage of Hitler, "Achtung Juden" signs and book burnings—though those images are always unsettling. The result...
True Persecution
Fresh off the press and into the public is a book entitled Persecution. It is written by the brother of talk-radio personality Rush Limbaugh and seeks to demonstrate that the religious liberty so precious to all...
Poll: 45 Percent Feel News Media Too Liberal
Forty-five percent of Americans believe the nation's news media are too liberal, according to a new Gallup Poll. That percentage is pretty much unchanged over the last four years, despite attention to bestsellers...
Horace Bushnell: Prophet of Redemption through War
On July 26, 1865, Horace Bushnell delivered a speech that secured his position in American history as the prophet of the Civil War. The war recently had come to an end, but the blood of soldiers on both sides of the...