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Check out news and opinion posts across the years
R-Rated Summer Blockbusters Rekindle Ratings Debate
With some of summer's blockbusters having garnered an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, the issue of film ratings has marched again into the papers. Weekend before last, the PG-13 "X2: X-Men...
At-risk clergy
Is your pastor at risk of burnout? Over the last few years, I have participated in the Pulpit and Pew Project, funded by the Lilly Foundation and administered through Duke University. This group was formed to study the...
Gallup Poll Finds Gambling Is Morally Acceptable
Gambling is morally acceptable for most Americans, according to a Gallup survey conducted soon after two online publications reported on the gambling practices of the well-know moral crusader William Bennett. The...
“Daddy Day Care”
It's easy to find fault with Eddie Murphy. His recent movie track record is not good. He had what I called the trifecta of bad movies last year: "Pluto Nash," "Showtime" and "I Spy." Now Sony Pictures rolls out another...
BWA Leader Calls for International Mission Agency
Baptist World Alliance leader Denton Lotz is calling for establishment of a new international mission agency to send and support missionaries from countries that lack resources to do it by themselves. The new agency...
Anti-Spam Proposal Falls Short, Consumer Groups Say
Washington is considering legislation to can spam--unsolicited e-mails that account for up to 75 percent of all online messages--but consumer advocates fear lawmakers won't do enough to curb unwanted messages. Rep....
“Boomtown”
Television is a minimalizing medium. Thirty- or 60-minute shows don't allow for much subtlety, so producers reduce characters to caricatures and simplify complex issues to make them fit into the allotted time. Those...
Americans Dining Out More, Gallup Says
Many restaurants were full this past Sunday for Mother's Day. But according to a recent Gallup Poll, eating out has become a way of life for Americans, and not just on special occasions. The mid-April poll found that...
Three Southern Politicians Given ‘Profile in Courage’ Award
Three Southern politicians who alienated voters in their states over the Confederate flag received the Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum Monday. Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, former...
‘Teaching’ Compassion
In my work with homeless families, I often encounter surprises—not all of them good. But once in a while there is a wonderful surprise, like recently when a parent of several children formerly in our program wrote a...
Living With Oxymorons
An oxymoron is when two words with contradictory meanings are used to describe a person or thing. Some oxymorons are humorous: submissive cat, slow-growing kudzu and Yankee-style grits. Other phrases become oxymorons...
13 Southern Baptist Missionaries Fired for Refusal to Affirm Faith Statement
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--The Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board has terminated 13 missionaries who refused to affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message. It is thought to be the largest group of SBC...
Pennsylvania Amish Petition for Right to Board Horses
Talk of changing a zoning code that prevents some Amish families from keeping horses has turned from a local spat into a religious-freedom issue. The three supervisors of Walker Township, Pa., heard arguments from...
Men and Women in the Church: Building Consensus on Christian Leadership
I read this book with fear and trembling. Sarah Sumner is the chair of the department of ministry and associate professor of ministry and theology in the Haggard School of Theology at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa,...
‘American Candidate’ Reality Show Still Seeking Bid
Cable channel FX axed plans for reality show "American Candidate" last Friday, but creator R.J. Cutler said the project—aiming to put a grassroots candidate in the 2004 presidential election—will find a new home....
Church as Royal Priesthood
The story made newspaper headlines and television newscasts this week: a "powder puff" touch-football game involving girls from an affluent Chicago suburb turned not just ugly but downright dangerous. The story made...
Famine in Ethiopia Could Rival 1984-85
Almost 20 years ago, the world rallied in response to media images of starving people in Ethiopia. Today, a famine that some fear could be worse than the one that killed nearly a million people in 1984 and 1985 is by...
“X2: X-Men United”
Moviegoers with only a passing knowledge of X-Men will probably not like this sequel to 2000's successful "X-Men" movie. This latest adaptation of the comic-book series will seem like an endless series of events with...
Bennett’s Gambling Prompts Discussion on Morality
Arguably America's most partisan moral crusader has tarnished his much-honed public image as the master of virtue and pundit of cultural decline. William Bennett, who rode to fame and wealth as author of "The Book of...
Baptist Pastors: Mothers Influenced Ministry
The current generation of Baptist pastors didn't grow up with "minister mothers"—at least in the formal sense—but that's not to say that mothers didn't influence their vocational choice.Jeff Rogers, pastor of First...
The Story of Mother’s Day Extends From Greece to Grafton
The history of today's Mother's Day celebration is like a rope woven from separate strands and different fibers. The history of today's Mother's Day celebration is like a rope woven from separate strands and different...