By Marv Knox Rights, responsibility and respect provide the infrastructure for bridges of understanding between faith groups, Baptist religious-liberty advocate Brent Walker stressed in a symposium at Harvard University May 1. Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for…
Joining God as co-creators
By Marv Knox Creativity is older than dirt. Literally. Just look it up. The first verse of the Bible says, “In the beginning, God created … .” According to Scripture, creativity started eight verses before the arrival of dirt, which…
America’s God-awful perspective on God-absent prayer
By Marv Knox Imagine you’re God, and you care about what happens in Anytown, USA. It’s Tuesday evening, and you’re ready for someone in Anytown to request your guidance over the city council meeting. The mayor calls on the ministerial…
‘What’s mine is yours’ defines ‘kingdom economics,’ New Testament scholar insists
By Marv Knox Jesus’ perspective on economics can be up summed in four words — “What’s mine is yours,” New Testament scholar Hulitt Gloer stressed during the annual T.B. Maston Lectures in Christian Ethics. And while such a standard may…
Baptists’ way forward — repentance & forgiveness
By Marv Knox Reading the cover of the latest edition of The Christian Century felt a bit like yanking the scab off an old wound. Two conversation bubbles square off on a blue-and-red page. “Conservatives are closed-minded,” one insists. “Liberals…
What’s so beautiful about America?
By Marv Knox The blogosphere, Facebook, Twitter and, no doubt, millions of e-mail accounts just about melted down lately, thanks to a Coca-Cola commercial. Maybe America needs to hold a can of Coke up to its collective face and chill…
Judgment and empathy
By Marv Knox Let’s face it: a white person doesn’t know what being black feels like, and a man can’t completely understand a woman. But during this long, hard summer, I’ve tried. First came the George Zimmerman trial. A Hispanic…
A modest proposal for a fractured Baptist family
By Marv Knox Do you think Baptists ever will get back together again?” a young friend asked over lunch the other day. His question arose naturally, because this is convention season for Baptists. The Southern Baptist Convention conducts its annual…
A modest proposal for a fractured Baptist family
By Marv Knox Do you think Baptists ever will get back together again?” a young friend asked over lunch the other day. His question arose naturally, because this is convention season for Baptists. The Southern Baptist Convention is conducting its…