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Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Songwriting as Storytelling: An Interview with Kate Campbell
"Write what you know." This bit of knowledge came to Kate Campbell early in her music career, and it is something she said has become a rule for her songwriting. This bit of knowledge came to Kate Campbell early in her...
Criswell Supported Peace Conference, Played Pivotal Role in Baptist Peacemaking
W.A. Criswell wanted Southern Baptists to take the biblical call to peacemaking more seriously and prayed for a solution to the waste spent on armaments. At dusk on Jan. 2, 1979, I met with Dr. Criswell in his private...
Fred Shuttlesworth and Racial Justice: An Old Perspective for a New Millennium
The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday affords Americans a built-in opportunity to revisit the issue of racial justice. It is also a window through which we may re-view the lives of others who, like King, pushed America...
A Faithful Remnant: Southern White Supporters of the Civil Rights Movement
To tell the story of the American Civil Rights Movement is to tell, largely, an African-American story. The movement originated in the African-American community, the leadership of the movement was overwhelmingly...
Martin Luther King and Selma’s 1965 Voting Rights Campaign
On Jan. 2, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. led a "mass meeting" at Brown Chapel in Selma, Ala. This meeting kicked off the involvement of King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in Selma's voting rights...
Community Works Together to “Turn on the Heat”
Floyd County, Ga., residents are turning on the heat for their less fortunate neighbors. As part of a joint effort between area churches, the Salvation Army, Good Neighbor Ministries and the Floyd County Baptist...
Sierra Club, National Council of Churches Run TV Ads on U.S. Energy Policy
(NCC) Washington, D.C.—For the first time ever, the Sierra Club and National Council of Churches are teaming up to protect America's beautiful landscapes, launching TV and newspaper ads calling on Americans to "keep...
Single-Parent Families Increase Worldwide
Around the world, the number of one-parent families is on the rise. World trends are similar to those in the United States, where the number of single-parent families is growing while the number of nuclear families...
Re-Entering Church Gracefully
Recently, while attending a major sporting event, I noticed a peculiar sign near the gate as I gave my ticket to the gate attendant. In bold black letters the sign read, "Absolutely No Re-entry." In other words, if you...
Fears of Famine Grow In Afghanistan, Despite U.S. Assurances
Humanitarian aid workers in Afghanistan are not ready to call famine relief efforts in the region a success. Following recent assurances from the White House and the United Nations that widespread famine has been...
UK Muslims Outpacing Anglicans in Growth
Practicing Muslims in Great Britain could outnumber worshiping Anglicans by 2013, according to a new survey. In 2000, there were about 620,000 practicing Muslims in Great Britain, and they are expected to reach 750,000...
China Indicts Man for Bible Smuggling
The Chinese government recently indicted a Christian businessman for bringing Bibles into China. Li Guangqiang, a 38-year old Hong Kong trader, was arrested in July 2001 and indicted in December, after making two...
Of the Harboring of Terrorists
"If you harbor a terrorist, you are a terrorist." –George W. Bush, Oct. 26, 2001 Carla and Ron Bluntschli stayed on in Haiti after their Mennonite Central Committee term ended in 1993. After the military ousted Haiti's...
Christian School Seeks Exemption From `Unlimited Filth’ on Internet
Citing a concern about "unlimited filth" online, a small Christian school in Knoxville, Tenn., has requested that the state legislature permit exemptions from a law requiring computer education. The state has required...
Presbyterian Leader Warns Against Withholding Money
The leader of the Presbyterian Church (USA) said pastors and churches who withhold money from the denomination in protest are violating their ordination vows and promoting schism. In a strongly worded Jan. 3 letter to...
Americans Falling Prey to the Silent Killer
Obesity claims more than 300,000 lives a year and according to Surgeon General David Satcher could surpass smoking as the nation's No. 1 preventable health problem. Obesity claims more than 300,000 lives a year and...
Glory, Glory in Red and Gold
Christmas always decorates the world, and in beautiful, colorful ways; not only sanctuaries, but homes, yards, shops and squares. It is one of the best parts of the holidays, a yuletide feast for the eyes. So it was...
Original Christmas Music
In Luke 1:46-56 we find a story culminating in Mary's song, the first Christmas music on record, so to speak. The angel Gabriel had just delivered to Mary the startling news of maternal expectation and paternal...
What is Kwanzaa?
Seven-year olds now come home from school talking about Kwanzaa. Stores offer Kwanzaa greeting cards. Libraries display children's books on Kwanzaa. But many Americans have no clue what Kwanzaa is or why it is...
What’s Become of Press Coverage of Religion?
Just when we need it, it's not there. I refer to the need of the American public for thoughtful analysis of religious issues. Religion played a significant role in the World Trade Center attack, and religion has been...
Kentucky Creationist Proclaims War on Evolutionism
"This is a cultural war," said Ken Ham told the Los Angeles Times. Ham is director of the global ministry Answers in Genesis and creator of a museum he said will take the "offensive against the scientific...