Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Prominent Black SBC Pastor Settles Sexual-Assault Suit
The pastor of the largest predominantly black church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention has settled out of court a lawsuit accusing him of unwanted homosexual advances, according to televised reports. A...
Bush Endorses ‘Marriage Protection Week’
President Bush has signed a proclamation declaring Oct. 12-18 Marriage Protection Week, taking sides in a political debate pitting religious conservatives against gay-rights organizations. Bush's proclamation doesn't...
Black, White Churches Team Up for Ministry
NCAA Division II's Winston-Salem State and Division I Wake Forest University don't play each other during the college basketball season, but the two teams took the court together recently—on the same side....
Watershed Environmental Bill Scheduled for Vote
"No excuse for inaction on this issue is acceptable … National leadership on this critical issue is long overdue." Sen. John McCain made this statement recently at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing he convened as...
The Violent Take It Away
Kate Campbell was in Birmingham recently. A country singer with a soulful voice and distinctly Baptist theology, Campbell was in town to lend support to the Perry County initiative known as "Sowing Seeds of Hope."...
Founders of World Religions: The Buddha
He was a social reformer, a religious revolutionary and a wise mentor. He gathered followers, taught them in parables and discourses and founded a community of disciples. His story shapes the lives of people worldwide....
Nader Group Takes on Product Placement
More "embedded" advertisements mean more susceptible viewers—and for the sake of honesty, the government should step in. So says a consumer watchdog group backed by Ralph Nader. Portland-based Commercial Alert, founded...
The Way of NASCAR
According to a recent National Public Radio report, several Democratic presidential hopefuls are looking for ways to reach a previously untapped source of potential voters that has been identified in the world of stock...
Is Rush a Racist?
Radio-talk show host Rush Limbaugh resigned from ESPN's NFL pre-game show after making controversial remarks about the Philadelphia Eagles' Donovan McNabb, an African-American and three-time Pro Bowl quarterback. "I...
Apologize, Retract or Repent?
In June 2003, U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow of South Dakota attempted to set a record of sorts. In order to attend different events in Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska in the same weekend, he drove 1,100 miles—very fast. "I...
Interest in ‘Animal Spirituality’ Increases
Children aren't the only ones asking if they'll see their pets in heaven. Theologians wonder too. With 62 percent of U.S. households having pets, according to the recent National Pet Owners Survey, the link between...
Grieve, But Grow!
I watched recently as one of my twin nephews, both starters on their high school football team, went down with a season-ending knee injury. In the scheme of the world's problems, a torn ACL may not sound like much. But...
Americans Mixed on Church-State Separation, Poll Says
Seven out of 10 Americans think it is OK to display the Ten Commandments in a public school or government building, but nearly two thirds would oppose a similar display containing a verse from the Koran, according to a...
‘Luther’
Martin Luther is arguably the most important historical figure of the last thousand years. "Luther" won't be the best movie in 1,000 years, but it is a good film about a great story. "Luther" opens with a law student...
Touching The World And Reading The Bible
Last spring I taught a course on the book of Psalms and the Israelite Wisdom Literature. One aspect of these texts that receives too little attention is the significance of creation traditions within them. Psalms 8,...
‘How Not to Preach Ethics’
Maybe part of the reason I studied ethics in seminary was that I heard so many examples of bad ethics from the pulpit while growing up. It wasn't that preachers actually spoke evil (or only rarely so) as much as that...
22 Million Americans Abuse Drugs or Alcohol, Study Says
An estimated 22 million Americans abused drugs or alcohol or were dependent on one or both in 2002, according to recent statistics by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. According to the September report,...
The Clouds of War
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not...
Executive Coaching
Over the years, many different methods of attaining personal growth have surfaced, such as counseling, consulting, training, teaching, apprenticeships, seminars, therapy and mentoring. These methods have proven...
Christianity Demands Reflection on Hard, Lite Torture
Can Christians engage in committing acts of torture? And if so, how is the act reconciled with the basic message of the gospel? His home computer revealed al Qaeda plans to blow up 11 commercial airliners, one of which...
Poverty Rate Rises, Income Drops, Census Bureau Reports
The number of Americans living in poverty grew by 1.7 million last year, according to new estimates by the Census Bureau. The new report, the Current Population Survey, is considered more accurate than preliminary...