I grew up so terrified of God’s wrath that I drove through a stoplight while staring at my speedometer, afraid I’d lose my salvation for breaking God’s law in Romans 13 by going 36 mph in a 35-mph zone. When…
What about the science, faith and ethics of a coming coronavirus vaccine?
The race to find a safe and effective vaccine against the novel coronavirus is heating up, as society longs to get back to some sense of normalcy. But finding a vaccine is only one step on the journey that also…
In ‘demon sperm’ theology, the problem is not the demons
Stella Immanuel — the Cameroonian-American doctor at the heart of this country’s most recent culture war skirmish over the novel coronavirus and the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment — believes certain medical conditions are the result of “evil deposits”…
Amid its own racist history, United Methodist Church unites against racism
Two months have passed since the world watched George Floyd die under the knee of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. In that two months, United Methodist bishops have mounted an initiative echoing the Black Lives Matter movement that they call…
Ideas for churches studying the need for reparations
The July issue of Sojourners magazine included “A Christian Call for Reparations” by Kelly Brown Douglas, dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary and canon theologian at the Washington National Cathedral. Douglas’ call for reparations echoed the voice…
Public schools getting short shrift (again) in coronavirus relief package
“Reopen schools” is a good slogan, but it is far from a plan. The coronavirus continues to challenge public school administrators, teachers, parents and students who want a safe return to the classroom. Congress should do its part to support…
Coronavirus summer highlights the best and worst in Christian camps
I stood next to my friend in the parking lot of our Baptist church with my large suitcase while our moms took our photographs. I was 8 years old. And I was about to experience my first time away from…
At the intersection of Monument(s) and Avenue(s), a new vision rises
Statues are a funny thing. They say so much about people — their beliefs, their politics, their worldview. I grew up around all kinds of statues. In the home of my birth (and the city I lived in until I…
From Carver School to Baylor: A legacy of ‘doing the word’
Editor’s note: Laine Scales and Melody Maxwell have written a new book about the history of the Carver School of Church Social Work at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, its 1997 closing and its legacy carried forward at Baylor University. What…