In the year 1741 at the Congregational Church in Enfield, Conn., Jonathan Edwards, pastor of the Congregational Church in Northampton, Mass., declared: The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some…
Is modesty the best policy during ‘Hot Girl Summer’?
As temperatures rise, Christian women must pack away their beloved infinity scarves, sacrificing the classic “Christian Girl Autumn” style to avoid heat-stroke in the brutal summer sun. The social media reversal of Christian Girl Autumn is the secular “Hot Girl…
Does the defense of Tucker Carlson stand a prayer?
Mixed messages galore follow in the wake of Tucker Carlson’s abrupt firing by Fox News. The latest theory is that Carlson was fired for giving a speech to the Heritage Foundation filled with religious overtones and a recommendation for people…
Letter to the Editor: BNG editor is not a lonely radical
Letter to the Editor April 25, 2023 Dear Editor: Mark Wingfield, executive director of Baptist News Global, wrote: “Donald Trump is the most dangerous pathological liar on the American scene in my lifetime.” This is from his article about Trump’s…
Holy imagination
The 2001 song “I Can Only Imagine” was written by Bart Millard and recorded by the Christian band MercyMe. Based on an imaginary experience in heaven, the lyrics include: I can only imagine what it will be like When I…
Three simple ideas for extending children’s ministry at church
It’s Sunday morning, after the morning worship service. Parents trickle to the nursery to pick up their children. Parents begin to talk and fellowship as children run in circles and tug on legs and shirts to leave. It’s Wednesday night….
Of politicians and pastors who can’t quit
Politicians and pastors may share more things in common than you would imagine, but one common trait is ego. It takes a strong ego to subject yourself to a run for public office, and it takes a strong ego to…
What would Jane Jacobs do? Toward a new model for houses of worship
Cities need to prepare for a wave of declining houses of worship. While faith institutions, at least the Christian ones, have been asking What Would Jesus Do? municipalities need to get them to ask another question: What Would Jane Jacobs…
Struggling to believe
I’m struggling to believe. Not in God. Not in Jesus. But in the church. I’m wondering if we’ve gotten it all wrong, the songs and sermons, altar calls and Bible studies, missionaries and seminaries. You see, I’m finding little evidence…
‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife’ and other posters I do not want in a first grade classroom.
Editor’s note: This is the first opinion piece in a new series on religious liberty authored by BJC Fellows and made possible by a grant from the Prichard Family Foundation. Picture yourself in a first grade classroom, one with…
A baptism that redeemed us all
During my lifetime, I’ve witnessed the baptisms of about a thousand people — mostly children and teens, few adults. While all baptisms are meaningful and contain an element of tenderness and vulnerability, there is something a bit “different” about adult…
The Christian Right continues its futile but dangerous war of reaction
For a long time, it was clear the white Christian Right in the United States was waging a war of reaction (sometimes open, sometimes clandestine) against just about every social, cultural and legal change that has taken place in our…