By Wesley Spears As a student at Samford University, I find myself in and out of professors’ offices a lot. As a religion major, most often it’s to meet with my faculty adviser, Dr. Jim Barnette. In his office hangs…
Encountering the Palestinians and their plight
By David Gushee This is third in a series of columns reflecting on a summertime trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories. Last time I discussed powerful evidence that Israel remains a society traumatized by the epochal evil of the…
High anxiety
By Bill Wilson Anyone feeling anxious? A better question: anyone not feeling anxious? God’s people in the 21st century suffer a serious malady. We mouth the words of faithfulness while we live lives dominated by anxiety and frustration. For every…
Female jet pilot? Sure. Preacher? No.
By Susan Sparks One third of the U.S. Supreme Court justices are women; more than 50 female astronauts have traveled into space; and 41 women have won the Nobel Peace Prize. But place a woman in a pulpit and blood…
‘The Help’
By David Wilkinson In her popular debut novel, Kathryn Stockett depicts the working conditions of black domestic servants in the American South during the turbulent civil rights struggle of the 1960s. A film version opened in theaters Aug. 10. The…
Give us (all) our daily bread
By Amy Butler This week the Lord’s Prayer and the national budget crisis crossed paths in my mind. I thought more this week about the Lord’s Prayer than I have in a long, long time. That’s kind of a…
Same old battles, same old demise
By Zachary Bailes Good for Bailey Nelson, and good for Flat Rock Baptist Church. Their expulsion from Surry Baptist Association demonstrates a commitment to the call of Jesus, not the call of a Baptist association. Their situation reflects the same…
75 years of religious liberty for all
By Andrew Gardner I am finishing up a student internship with the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. This year the BJC celebrates its 75th anniversary as a religious organization devoted solely to the protection of our first freedom. With…
News from Washington you may have missed
By Robert Shippey Tumultuous debate over the debt ceiling largely overshadowed something of extraordinary importance that happened last week in Washington. Participants from more 300 colleges gathered at the White House to participate in the President’s Interfaith and Community Service…