By Nathan Webb The relationship of government and religion in America has long been a controversial topic. Early colonists came to America with the hope of creating a nation in which their religion was not controlled or restricted by the…
When atheists and Baptists agree
By Rachel Held Evans I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that the Earth is roughly 4.5 billion years old. This position routinely puts me at odds with two groups of people — atheists and Baptists. In fact, over…
Do non-believers know more about faith than believers?
By Jim Denison Do atheists and agnostics know more about Christianity than Christians? That’s what you would think if you scanned the headlines generated by a recent Pew Forum test on religious knowledge. The Los Angeles Times headlined its…
The Politics of Jesus
By James L. Evans Over the 10 years I have been writing a syndicated newspaper column, readers at various times have complained that the content is too religious for the editorial page or too political for the religion page. I…
Making space for talking about grief
By Amy Butler Knowing the one-year anniversary of her mother’s sudden death had just passed, I asked a friend over coffee the other day to tell me how she was doing. We talked about the year gone by, about…
We don’t have time
By Elizabeth Mangham Lott Reading about Al Mohler’s embarrassment that he once advocated for female clergy brought to mind the great Anne Lamott story about shopping with her friend. Pam had cancer and just three weeks to live when the…
When ministers fall
By David Gushee The city of Atlanta has been riveted this week by sexual-coercion lawsuits filed by four young men against megachurch pastor Eddie Long, who leads a wealthy 25,000-member congregation in nearby Lithonia. It has been major news…
Public professions and sexuality
By Cody Sanders While I came to understand the meaning of embracing the Christian faith fairly early in childhood, a lengthy period of time elapsed before my journey down the aisle to make a public profession of faith. Some churches…
Of mosques, Islamophobes, freedom and responsibility
I’ve been trying to sit out the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” controversy. This is one of those toxic issues sure to contaminate anyone who touches it. Nonetheless, in light of the invective and hatred that has been unleashed during…