Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Learning From Our Muslim Neighbors
I remember a conversation in the early 1980s with some high-ranking academicians in Holland. As we were talking about the diversity of cultures, one of my colleagues remarked: "Holland is a country of the coexistence...
Pulpit Rhetoric Enrages Muslims and Endangers Christians
The crude and careless rhetoric of a Southern Baptist preacher may have endangered the lives of Christian people around the world. In a sermon at the annual Southern Baptist Convention, Rev. Jerry Vines launched an...
Baptist World Aid Helps in West Bank and Gaza
Baptist World Aid (BWAid) the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) has sent $10,000 to assist in food distribution in the West Bank and Gaza. BWAid is working with and through the Association...
SBC Leaders Offer Sinking Defense of Vines
Almost two weeks after Jerry Vines' inflammatory remarks about Islam, Southern Baptist Convention leaders are still scrambling to defend him. Speaking at the pastors' conference, Vines, former SBC president, condemned...
“Devil’s Playground”
"The day you turn 16, your whole life changes." So says an Amish teenager reflecting on rumspringa, a period lasting anywhere from ages 16-21 in which Amish youngsters are free to sample "English" culture—that is,...
Documenting the Devil’s Playground: An Interview with Lucy Walker
"Heaven and hell for Amish people are as real as New York and Chicago," said Lucy Walker, the director of a new documentary that airs tomorrow morning on Cinemax. "Devil's Playground" chronicles rumspringa for Amish...
Examining Accusations of Muhammad’s Demon-Possession and Pedophilia
Imagine the outcry if a person of another faith pronounced at a public meeting that Jesus was a "philandering megalomaniac with a misguided death wish." Such a statement would misrepresent history and offend Christian...
White House Steps Back from Vines
The White House finally moved to distance itself from anti-Islamic statements made at the Southern Baptist Convention meeting last week in St. Louis. Speaking to pastors at the conference, Jerry Vines, former SBC...
White House Says Bush Disagrees with Vines
During a press briefing yesterday afternoon, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said President Bush "definitely disagrees with" Jerry Vines' anti-Islamic statement. Speaking to the pastors' conference, Vines, a former...
“Scooby Doo”
Scooby Doo? Scooby don't. If you're between 30 and 40, you know about "Scooby Doo." The cartoon began running in 1969 and has not stopped. "Scooby Doo" is about four friends: Fred, the dashing one with lots of ego;...
Not That Kind of Baptist
My life as a Baptist is a positive one. I am pastor of a congregation that is loving, accepting and desirous of presenting the gospel as good news. Unfortunately, not all Baptists experience such a positive and loving...
“Windtalkers”
Many have been willing to die for their beliefs. From the patriots who forged our nation to modern advocates of change and revolution—like Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi—many have stood tall and sacrificed all for...
Sing a Song of Justice
Is social justice an appropriate theme for Christian worship, hymns and songs? If the Bible is our guide, then the answer can only be yes. A brief sampling of Scripture's own hymnal, the book of Psalms, easily makes...
Watching What We Watch: Prime-Time Television Through the Lens of Faith
Most culture-monitoring books and magazines begin with the understanding that the author's responsibility is to label and separate wholesome movies and television programs from their wicked counterparts. This labeling...
Mennonites ‘Almost Like the Baptists’
"We are almost like the Baptists." Mennonite Brethren often use this comment when describing themselves to people who are not familiar with Mennonites. Is it a good comparison? When most people think of Mennonites,...
Vines’ Anti-Islamic Remarks Put Missionaries at Risk
As news spreads throughout the Islamic world via IslamOnline.net, MuslimNews.co.uk and Islam.org about the Rev. Jerry Vines' anti-Islamic remarks at last week's annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, many...
Four Faiths Divided by Monotheism
Winston Churchill said that the Americans and British were "two great peoples divided by a common language." In a similar manner, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism are four great religions seemingly...
Tough Tips for Parents
Father's Day has come and gone, but the importance of parental nurture, tough love and firm discipline remains. Dr. John Rosemond, a nationally renowned columnist and family psychologist, recently visited our community...
Marie Peterson: Testing Courage and Commitment
With all the turmoil in Israel these days, who knows when it will be safe to travel there again; which makes the last trip all the more precious. We were a diverse group: several students; four married couples; a...
Spirituality and Health Care: Not Only for the Patients
Allow this formulation of spirituality: an individual and corporate journey for life's meaning and purpose, for coherence between inner and outer perspectives, and for a sense of well-being. Spirituality in the...
Most Americans Planning Summer Vacations
Vacation season is here and Americans' vacation plans for this year are consistent with the past several years, according to a recent Gallup poll. More than half of adult Americans (55 percent) plan on vacationing this...