Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
‘The Fighting Temptations’
If you know who Beyoncé Knowles and Rue McClanahan are, you'll be shocked to see them on stage together. Did any of us ever think that would ever happen in any universe? But the real irony of "The Fighting...
Walking the Perfect Streets: An Interview With T-Bone
In Paramount's upcoming movie, "The Fighting Temptations," pay attention to the tattooed rapper in the orange correctional jumpsuit. That's not just any actor; that's Christian rapper and hip-hop artist T-Bone. T-Bone,...
Faith, Freedom and Football
After the diversions of the conflict over the Ten Commandments monument in the Judicial Building in Montgomery and the campaign and election regarding an amendment that would have reformed the tax structure of the...
‘Matchstick Men’
A recent survey declared 1939 the greatest year for movies. That year W.C. Fields starred in "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man," one in a long line of con movies with flim-flam men, grifters and con men as protagonists....
‘Neoliberal’ Economic Policies Widen Gap Between Rich, Poor
We recently observed Labor Day with news from the Department of Labor that our nation lost 700,000 manufacturing jobs since Labor Day 2002. In fact, since Bush II took office, 2.5 million jobs have been lost, about...
Web Site Launches to Support Gibson’s ‘Passion’
A Christian women's group has launched a Web site supporting Mel Gibson's upcoming movie on Jesus' death. Women Influencing the Nation, or WIN, launched SeethePassion.com to build support for Gibson's "The Passion,"...
Should I ‘See You at the Pole?’
As a parent, I stop sometimes in the morning with my first grade daughter and watch as students raise the flag at school. This Wednesday will likely find a different group of students gathered at the flagpole for the...
Six Principle Baptists
In the 17th century, a small group of Baptists began to form churches in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. They were known as Six Principle Baptists. What set them apart from other Baptists, besides their...
TV Columnist Blasts New Season, Efforts to Reform TV
A Pulitzer-Prize winning TV critic has lambasted the upcoming new shows on network television, also criticizing media watchdog groups whose efforts, he said, have proved futile. "Cry havoc and let loose the dogs of...
Bush’s Job-Approval Falls to 52 Percent
President Bush's job-approval rating dropped seven points in the last two weeks, falling within one point of the lowest of his presidency, according to a Gallup Poll released Friday. The CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll...
‘Secondhand Lions’ Cast Soak Up Lone Star Life
Oscar-winner Robert Duvall appears to like talking about people, places and cultures as much as—if not more than—movies. Talking with religion writers recently in Beverly Hills—about his upcoming film "Secondhand...
Panel Urges National Strategy to Fight Underage Drinking
The National Academy of Sciences issued a report Sept. 9 calling for a comprehensive national plan to combat underage drinking. The panel urged alcohol manufacturers, businesses, the entertainment industry, parents and...
Report Documents Severity of Underage Drinking Problem
On Wednesday, the National Academy of Sciences, responding to a request of Congress, delivered a report on the impact of underage drinking. Included in the report is a strategy to address this national crisis. The...
Top Actors Discuss Importance of Family
In the upcoming movie "Secondhand Lions," starring Robert Duvall, Michael Caine and Haley Joel Osment, a mother leaves her teenage son on a central Texas farm with his two eccentric great uncles. Osment's Walter,...
Doing the Will of God
If people in the news offer any reliable indication, our world is full of those who both understand and do the will of God: --A bigamist tells a 14-year-old girl if she fails to submit to God's will and marry him, she...
Crossing That Dangerous Line
Nurturing an appropriate sense of value in people is part of the work of both families and churches. Every day brings new examples of the turmoil and torment that result when people lack self-respect and consequently...
Two Years After 9/11, Bin Laden Still At Large
Two years after allegedly masterminding terrorist attacks in the United States, Osama bin Laden appears no closer to being brought to justice. Pakistani troops this week moved into a remote tribal area where bin Laden...
Let Us Pray
In 1 Cor. 14 Paul addressed confusion in worship that arose when Christians spoke out of turn. Another kind of confusion happens in our present day worship services when someone stands before the congregation and says,...
Surrender to Love
If you are looking for a brief, comprehensible introduction to the heart of Christian spirituality, Surrender to Love deserves serious consideration. David G. Benner is director of the Institute for Psychospiritual...
News Outlets Question Baylor Conflicts of Interest
Two media outlets have raised questions about potential conflicts of interest among Baylor University regents. The Dallas Morning News first raised the issue in an article published Sunday, Sept. 7. Potential conflicts...
‘The Secret Lives of Dentists’
One of the major criticisms some Christians level against Hollywood is that sin is portrayed constantly on screen. For years I have argued that, in most cases, there must be sin for there to be conflict, and thus a...