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Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Harry Potter As Teacher Of Christian Values
Well, he's back. Harry Potter, the wily young wizard featured in four best-selling novels and two hit movies, is back in a fifth novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The 870-page tome from author J. K....
Walter Rauschenbusch: Theologian of Justice
Biographer Dores Sharp reports that 3-year-old Walter Rauschenbusch responded to the common question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" with the uncommon response, "I want to be John the Baptist!" Out of the...
Disney Moves Into New Ratings Territory With PG-13 ‘Pirates’
Jerry Bruckheimer, one of Hollywood's most powerful and prolific producers, has turned a Disney theme-park ride into more than a movie. He's turned it into a PG-13 movie—a first for the studio. "Bruckheimer has...
Fundamentalists Launch Billboard Campaign Against Middle-East Peace
Fundamentalist Christians have launched a nationwide billboard and bumper sticker campaign, opposing President Bush's plan for peace in the Middle East that calls for a Palestinian state with permanent borders by 2005....
Vatican Council II Opened Door to Ecumenical, Interfaith Dialogue
There are many persons of goodwill who continue the important work of mutual understanding and cooperation, but more than any other factor, it was Vatican Council II that opened the door to ecumenical and interfaith...
Ethicists Decry Teen Alcohol Study
Researchers hoping to test how alcohol affects sleeping in teens are coming under fire from ethicists arguing that such research puts children at risk. Brown University Medical School wants to study how drinking...
SBC Speakers Use Analogies for ‘Kingdom’ Families
Speakers at this week's Southern Baptist Convention alluded often to a family theme, sometimes with colorful analogies about what a "kingdom family" might look like. The SBC pledged this year to build such families...
Jewish Group Condemns Mohler’s Comments
The Anti-Defamation League has condemned remarks by a Southern Baptist leader calling for renewed attempts to evangelize Jews as "outrageous and offensive." The ADL, the world's leading organization opposing...
Cultivate the Quality
One sure way to get some people to close not just their ears but also their minds and their mouths is to talk about giving. Yet we can't honestly talk about God and the message of the gospel without factoring it into...
Southern Baptists Soften Their Anti-Gay Rhetoric
The Southern Baptist Convention Tuesday launched a new program encouraging churches to reach out to persons who "struggle with unwanted same-sex attractions." A 2-year-old Task Force on Ministry to Homosexuals, formed...
Mel Gibson’s Film Stirs ‘Passion’ in Faith Communities
Mel Gibson is fending off charges of anti-Semitism in his yet-to-be-released movie, even as groups concerned about the script try to clarify their role in Gibson's faith-filled endeavor. "The Passion," a movie about...
CBS, New York Times Squabble Over Proposal to Jessica Lynch
A CBS News proposal to interview former POW Jessica Lynch has raised concerns about media conglomeration—and sparked a war of words between CBS News and the New York Times, which first reported on the proposal Monday....
Authorities Declare ‘James Ossuary’ a Fake
An ancient stone box that purportedly once held the bones of Jesus' brother is a fake, the Israeli Antiquities Authority said Wednesday in a press conference. If authenticated, the inscription "James, Son of Joseph,...
SBC Leader Compares Judaism to ‘Deadly Tumor’
A Southern Baptist Convention leader compares the Jewish religion to a "deadly tumor" in an analogy illustrating what he says is a Christian mandate to evangelize Jews. Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist...
Bush Addresses SBC Via Tape
President Bush sent a videotape message to the Southern Baptist Convention Tuesday morning in Phoenix. It was not announced ahead of time or listed in the convention program. Last year Bush addressed the SBC live via...
Woman Sues to Distribute Bibles on Bus
A Wisconsin woman is suing for the right to hand out Bibles on her county's buses. Gail Anderson had been offering the Bible to fellow passengers since she began riding the bus in 1999, the Associated Press reported....
Rock-And-Roll, Minus Drugs and Sex, In For ‘Straight-Edge’ Teens
Straight-Edgers may not be walking the traditional "straight and narrow" in every way, but this breed of teen thinks it is cool to be drug-, alcohol- and smoke-free. Young punk and hardcore music fans started the trend...
Grace in the First Person: Growing Into Life and Faith
Summer is the time to grab a book and head to some leisurely spot to unwind. Knapp, a Virginia artist who runs a one-woman studio from her home (located in a lawnmower shed she calls her "shedudio"), sculpts with words...
Southern Baptists Kick Off Meeting With Family Rally
The Southern Baptist Convention opens today, following a pre-convention "Kingdom Family Rally" at the Phoenix Civic Plaza. An SBC Council on Family Life outlined a strategy Monday night that chairman Tom Elliff claims...
Ten Films to Stir the Spirit: Part 3
Several readers have asked EthicsDaily.com to recommend films to jumpstart spiritual discussions. EthicsDaily.com's three movie reviewers each weighed in, offering 10 films apiece. "Cimarron," 1930, Not Rated This is...
Alzheimer’s Disease and Spirituality: Remembering and Being Remembered
The spiritual, somatic, psychological, mental and social being we call "human" experiences all of life as a whole. When one dimension of personhood changes, all other dimensions of personhood change. No condition...