Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
MC USA Calls for Spiritual Response to Threat of War
NEWTON, Kan. - As the United States prepares to invade Iraq, the Mennonite Church USA Executive Board is asking Mennonites to kneel in prayer. In a letter to congregations, Jim Schrag, executive director of the MC USA...
“The Life of David Gale”
Robert Altman's film "The Player," arguably the best film released in 1992, skewers Hollywood through several different storylines, including one about two struggling writers who want to make a serious statement about...
Christian Relief Agencies Brace for Vast Humanitarian Needs in Iraq
Christian relief agencies are preparing for a massive humanitarian response should the United States attack Iraq. Some leaders of these agencies are also concerned that the months of intense media focus on the march to...
Country Funerals Call Forth Value of Christian Walk
When one has occasion to participate in the celebration of a well-lived godly life, the value of the Christian walk becomes clearer and is vindicated. Each grieving family had members in the Baptist ministry. Each...
“The Jesus Experience: Christianity Around the World”
"The Jesus Experience" is more than a collection of how cultures have painted Jesus, though it is certainly that. It's also a look at how humans, claiming Jesus as their own, have acted. These stories inspire and...
President Says Mission Is Disarmament, Never Mentions Democracy
President Bush referred repeatedly to disarmament of Iraq in a prime-time press conference for a skeptical global audience last night, but he did not mention the word democracy once. Bush used the word disarmament or...
Public Agenda Study Gathers Current Immigrant Experience
"Now That I'm Here: What America's Immigrants Have to Say About Life in the U.S. Today," a new study from Public Agenda, reveals current immigrant attitudes toward America. "Now That I'm Here: What America's Immigrants...
War Fails Just War Test, No Hope of Reasonable Success
President Bush switched arguments again for why the American people should support a war against Iraq. His newest pitch is democracy. Speaking at the conservative American Enterprise Institute last week, Bush said...
Do Faiths Play a Trump Card of Science?
Science has given evangelical critics a powerful trump card for disputing Mormon faith claims. Thomas Murphy, an anthropologist at Edmonds Community College in Lynwood, Wash., and also a Mormon, disputes one of the...
President’s Private Faith Undergoes Public Scrutiny
Americans may have gotten past the notion that polite people don't discuss politics and religion in public. But when an article about the president's religion appears in the Baptist Standard, the editor's phone lines...
Going Public: An Inside Story of Disrupting Politics as Usual
The philosophy and methods described in Going Public not only work, but are congruent with core Christian values. Christian leaders who are struggling to articulate why and how the church might improve the quality of...
The Sights and Sounds of a Sabbath Day
I sit now and stare at the trees. Their bent and broken shapes are sure to last, reshaping their setting against a sky that is sometimes blue, sometimes gray. They will remind me, I am sure, of the sabbath day that was...
Worldwide Public Opinion Opposes War
Public opinion polls in democratic nations around the world show overwhelming opposition to an American-led war against Iraq. Nowhere is public opposition higher than in Turkey, where the parliament failed to approve...
Washington Held Deist Beliefs
Like many public figures of the day, Washington was reticent about sharing his views on religion, but his letters, diaries and speeches reveal that many of the stories about his religious views had no factual basis....
Do You Shirk Responsibility Like Jonah?
Jonah admitted he had angered the God—the God of heaven who made the sea and land. He told the sailors to throw him overboard and the sea would become calm. Amazingly, Jonah chose to die rather than change his ways....
Teens Consume One-Fifth of Nation’s Alcohol
Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association's Feb. 26 issue that underage drinking amounted to 19.7 percent of alcohol consumed, or...
Critics: Disney Movie Incorrectly Labeled ‘True Story’
A new Disney movie claiming to be "based on a true story" has many critics calling for the Mouse House to recant. "Hidalgo," starring Viggo Mortensen as an American cowboy who participates in a 3,000-mile horse race...
More Groups Embrace Ethics Code for Ministers
In evangelical life, the high value placed on ministry as a "calling" and the relatively low value placed on ministry as a "profession" traditionally meant that ministers were expected to know how to behave apart from...
Revelry and Solemnity Collide
Revelry and solemnity will converge this week, if only for a moment. In the convergence, a great reversal occurs. We reclaim the nearly lost image of the Christ as the one who joined The Party. And then we set aside...
Is ‘Courageous Church’ Redundant?
Courage is a rare and rich commodity. In the aftermath of Sept. 11, Americans were abuzz with talk of the courage shown by fellow Americans in such trying times. For the church, courage doesn't necessarily exhibit...
Fred Rogers: Spirit Responds to Need, Not Judgment
Many people will remember Fred Rogers as the cardigan-and-tennis-shoe-wearing host of PBS's immensely popular show, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." Until now, few may have known Rogers was an ordained minister in the...