By David Gushee For President-elect Barack Obama, the agreement reached between the Bush Administration and the Iraqi government that sets a December 2011 exit date for American combat troops is a great Christmas gift. Indeed, the fact that this deal…
The Caboose of Christianity
By John Pierce We all have our blind spots. Clarity often comes only from the perspective of hindsight. That’s what leaders of Bob Jones University confessed in apologizing for the independent, fundamentalist Christian school’s past racist policies. A statement on…
Public ban on Christmas symbols may be great faith gift
By Norman Jameson No trees adorned with twinkling lights will bless — or aggravate — visitors to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s two main libraries this year, according to a Dec. 5 story in the Raleigh News…
Guest opinion: The caboose of Christianity
(ABP) — We all have our blind spots. Clarity often comes only from the perspective of hindsight. That’s what leaders of Bob Jones University confessed in apologizing for the independent, fundamentalist Christian school’s past racist policies. A statement on the…
A doomed, reactionary church?
By David Gushee The act of reflecting this week, in class, on the development of Catholic social ethics resonated in an unexpected way with the situation facing Christians today. It became clearer than ever to me that when Christians become…
Ethiopian eununchs and reading the text from the margins
By Miguel De La Torre As a man of color, I always read the story of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 with an emphasis on Africa. When we think of the gospel message moving beyond the Jews, we usually…
Discipline as a form of care
By Beth Newman Not too long ago, someone shared with me an instance of attempted church discipline. A pastor, on his own initiative, had approached a church member who had left her family to pursue a relationship with her “soulmate.”…
Seasonal mood swings
By James L. Evans At midnight after Thanksgiving Day, the Christmas shopping season officially begins. Many shopping malls will actually open at midnight. And even in this tough economy there will be folks who will be there when the doors…
Dear Michelle
By Amy Butler Dear Michelle: I’m probably supposed to call you something more important now that you’ll soon be our country’s first lady, but I’m not sure what I should call you exactly, and, anyway, we’re not much for titles…
A changing religious and political landscape
By David Gushee Credit for most of the material in today’s column goes to Faith in Public Life, which Nov. 13 released the results of a nationwide telephone poll of almost 1,300 voters. Key findings of their poll are in…
Georgia Baptists isolate themselves
By David Gushee On Nov. 12, in a front-page story, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution broke the news that the Georgia Baptist Convention has approved a new policy giving GBC executives the freedom to refuse donations from churches it finds to be…
Evangelicals and the Obama era
By David Gushee I began this election year with The Future of Faith in American Politics, a book arguing that there is an emerging political center in the white evangelical community. This center breaks with the evangelical right in that…