By Jim Denison Japan’s prime minister calls the March 11 earthquake and tsunami his country’s worst crisis since World War II. More than 12,000 are dead or missing, a number which will continue to grow. Nuclear reactors have been damaged…
Awakening in the Middle East
By Jim Denison Who would have imagined a month ago that Hosni Mubarak would be displaced by a pro-democracy movement fueled by social media? Or that activists would oust the dictator of Tunisia, force the leader of Jordan to replace…
The National Prayer Breakfast and redemption
By Jim Denison On Feb. 3, I was among more than 3,000 guests attending this year’s National Prayer Breakfast in Washington. Reflecting upon the experience, it seemed that all the presentations could be summarized in a single theological assertion: God…
Evangelism or politics?
By Jim Denison Baptists make up 17.2 percent of American adults but comprise only 12.7 percent of the new Congress. This is one of the findings of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which recently published a study…
The year of microterrorism
By Jim Denison How do we cope with a “war on terror” that seems to have no end? Time magazine called 2010 “the year of microterrorism.” The Department of Homeland Security stated last May that “the number and pace of…
The cave of Christmas
By Jim Denison I am traveling in the Holy Land as you read this column. Taking study tours to Israel is one of the highlights of my work. Our group will visit Bethlehem, where we will see the site of…
The ‘myth’ of Christmas
By Jim Denison I live in Dallas, often called the “buckle of the Bible belt.” You can imagine the stir caused by the Dallas-Fort Worth Coalition of Reason when it purchased signs on four Fort Worth city buses: “Millions of…
Sharia and the Constitution
By Jim Denison In last month’s midterm elections, voters in Oklahoma overwhelmingly passed an amendment to their state constitution prohibiting state courts from considering Sharia law when deciding cases. U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange then issued a temporary restraining order,…
Keeping things in cosmic perspective
By Jim Denison In the next five minutes while you’re reading this essay, 67 babies will be born in the United States. During that same time, 274 babies will be born in China, and 395 in India. The global landscape…