The University of Mississippi just can’t outrun its association with bigotry. In 2012, a crowd of angry white students expressed their displeasure in the wake of Barack Obama’s re-election. And just last week, a small group of freshmen wrapped an…
What Norman Rockwell and Blanche DuBois have in common
By Mark Wingfield Say the name “Norman Rockwell,” and immediately iconic images of vintage Americana spring to mind. His paintings of Boy Scouts of America and for the covers of the Saturday Evening Post all portray a vision of American…
Proof being a pastor is a tough job
As I’m shaking hands with church goers after worship one Sunday, I talk with a congregant about meeting him during the week. His reply? “I thought pastors only worked one day a week!” Truth be told, we full-time (and part-time…
Reserving the right
By Bill Leonard When I was a kid in Decatur, Texas, there was a hole-in-the-wall diner called Shorty’s Stop located just off State Highway 81 in that county seat town. Some guy named Shorty owned the place where I had…
On the right side of history
By Miguel de la Torre Imagine for the moment that I found fundamentalist Christians to be an abomination to the gospel message of Jesus Christ; or that I believe that the Tea Party is satanic. Now imagine that I own…
The value of remembering
A friend called last week to ask me to think back to the beginning of a community service organization I helped to launch almost 20 years ago. Despite some time in reflection, there was very little I could add…
No marriage at all?
By Corey Fields In a recent interview with News 9 in Oklahoma City, state representative Mike Turner said, “[My constituents are] willing to have that discussion about whether marriage needs to be regulated by the state at all.” When I…
“Corporations are people, my friend” — Hobby Lobby and religious freedom
Less than two years after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s most significant legislative accomplishment, “Obamacare” is set to be back before the High Court next month. Oral arguments for Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores,…
What will ex-Southern Baptists be when they grow up?
By David Gushee Follow David on twitter: @dpgushee It has been 35 years since the Southern Baptist Convention “conservative resurgence/fundamentalist takeover” began in earnest, 27 years since the Alliance of Baptists was formed by frustrated Baptist progressives, and 23 years since the…
Charity in all things
Now that the debate billed as a kind of clash-of-the-titans has finished the real curiosity for me is found in reading the write-ups. When I first heard that Ken Ham was going to debate Bill Nye I was intrigued. I…
Finding new meaning in ‘blood’ language
By Andrew Gardner For numerous people the sight of blood can cause a level of queasiness unmatched by anything else. In a somewhat related manner, for some Christians who characterize themselves as moderate, progressive or (dare I say) liberal, the…
A kiss of solidarity
By Bert Montgomery A picture is worth a thousand words, they say. This week, I learned just how true that is. I’ve written thousands of words over the past several years about how the Church has failed our gay and…