Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Heavy Backpacks Injure Students
The U.S. Consumer Products and Safety Commission reported that nearly 7,000 American children were injured last year because of the weight of textbooks they carried in their backpacks. The U.S. Consumer Products and...
Military Recruiting Leads to Controversy at EMU
HARRISONBURG, Va. - When military recruiters set up their tables at Eastern Mennonite University Oct. 3, several students and faculty were appalled. EMU administrators, however, said they tried to turn the event into...
St. Christopher?
Some historians have concluded that Columbus was motivated by fame and raw greed. Other historians see more complex motives and point out Columbus' strong religious piety. "What some historians have termed a...
What to Do With Stuff and Things
We went to an auction last month. An old man died and his children were selling all his stuff. I like auctions: the people, the food and, of course, the stuff. I like to look at all the stuff. Jesus would go to an...
BCE Hires Staff Member, Elects Officers
The Baptist Center for Ethics added a staff member and elected new officers at its annual board meeting on Sept. 30-Oct. 1. BCE's board of directors hired Jan Turrentine as an associate director responsible for...
Second-career Ministers Bring Experience of a Different Kind
Before he entered Howard Payne University, Matthew Winn struggled between pursuing a business career or entering vocational ministry. He chose the business route and achieved success as an accountant, chief financial...
Praying Through a Problem: An Interview With Jerry Woodfill
On April 13, 1970, Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert were 200,000 miles from Earth. As the crew of Apollo 13, they were headed to the moon, intending to land in the Fra Mauro area. That objective suddenly changed...
Bush Seeks Public Support for War, Skips Just War Theory
President Bush sought last night to increase public backing for a U.S.-led war against Iraq, hoping to build support for congressional resolutions authorizing the use of military force and to obtain a legitimizing...
Bush Uses ‘Weapon’ Words to Make Case Against Iraq
President Bush used the word "weapons" several dozen times last night to make the case for possible military action against Iraq. His speech in Cincinnati came one year after Bush ordered the first military strikes in...
All Nature Sings
This is an excellent season to get out and enjoy the beauty of the "rocks and the trees." Here are some activities that could get you and your family out to enjoy the "beauty of the earth" this autumn: The psalmist...
A Time to Assist in Dying?
This column explores the ethics of taking actions which may hasten death for a person who is in the last stage of a terminal illness, or whose suffering cannot be ameliorated by physical, emotional or spiritual means....
Youth See More Alcohol Ads Than Adults
American youth, aged 12 to 20, saw more alcoholic beverage ads in 2001 than did people of legal drinking age, according to a recent study by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth. "Total youth exposure to beer and...
Cable Channel Will Let Viewers Pick ‘People’s Candidate’ for Presidency
Cable channel FX has announced it will carry a new reality series in 2004 that will allow TV viewers to choose a "people's candidate" for the American presidency. "More than four decades after the Nixon-Kennedy debates...
Taking Religion Seriously Across the Curriculum
It's time those who set the educational standards in our state and nation bring balance to the classroom by taking religion seriously across the curriculum. Many evangelicals speak with certainty that America's moral...
Poverty Increases First Time in Four Years
The 2001 U.S. Census Bureau report on income revealed that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. According to the annual report, there are 1.3 million more poor Americans, bringing the total for...
“Sweet Home Alabama”
If you are looking for a good vision of the New South and the prodigal returning, don't look here. She was leaving to make it, because her dreams were bigger than a job in the mill, a double-wide and a Trans Am in the...
European Baptists Oppose Unilateral War Against Iraq
The Council of the European Baptist Federation adopted a resolution last week opposing unilateral military action and supporting the United Nations. Meeting in Oslo, Norway, the council called on its member unions to...
Moving Toward Maturity
How "grown up" are you as a Christian? Each member of the body of Christ is called to encourage one another toward maturity in Christ, that his name may be glorified and his church strengthened. He flung open the door...
Our Forgetfulness of Palestine’s Plight
For many Americans, the travails of the Palestinian people barely register on the radar. Our awareness of the decades of injustice there, perhaps because of our country's enigmatic relationship with Israel, seems at...
The Invisible Poor: Still With Us
Perhaps the poor will always be with us. And consequently, so must the merciful acts of Christian believers. After falling for four consecutive years, the official poverty rate in the United States rose from 11.3 to...
Survival Guide for Orthodox Churches
Recommendation: Secure a Starbucks franchise; locate it in what is now the prayer room just off the foyer. If a communion service is absolutely necessary, develop techniques to make it move a little quicker; research...