By Michael Ruffin I confess that until I read this article I had no idea what the religious makeup of the Supreme Court of the United States was. But now I find that we are faced, given the retirement of…
Post-Easter, post-bunny reflections
By Amy Butler It’s several days after Easter, but I still can feel the wake of Holy Week rocking my life. As the storm gradually subsides and I try to get myself upright in the aftermath of the most important…
Fair pay for ministry staff — right or wrong?
(Editor’s note: This is one in an occasional series of commentaries involving experts responding to ethical questions. The “Right or Wrong?” column is carried regularly by the Texas Baptist Standard.) By Cynthia Holmes Q: Many Christian institutions provide comparatively low…
Catholic sex-abuse cases share window in Baptist house
By Norman Jameson It’s easy for non-Catholic Christians to observe from a distance the clergy sex-abuse controversies that torment the Catholic Church. We take comfort that the deviant behavior of sick “celibate” priests did not occur within the confines of…
Are we Rome?
By Jim Denison Is America in decline? Yale historian Paul Kennedy argued in The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers that nations ascend due to the supremacy of their material resources. When they inevitably spend their wealth on military…
Them, us and the Passion of Jesus
By David Wilkinson Engaging Scripture and encountering the Lord of Scripture can be dangerous. Maybe that’s why many of us have learned the art of showing up Sunday after Sunday for “Bible study” without much risk of doing either. That…
Experiencing the passion of Holy Week
By Barry Howard This week is Holy Week — a time to experience the passion of Christ. Around the globe, Christians and other inquirers will be reflecting on the events leading up to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus…
After Easter, be more like Jesus
By Bill Webb The highest holy day of the year for Christians is a mere three days away. Christians will rightfully celebrate God’s sacrifice in the death of his Son on a ghastly cross. We will remember his death reverently…
The questions we aren’t asking about gays and the church
By Cody Sanders In a recent Web posting, Executive Director Randel Everett of the Baptist General Convention of Texas stated that the convention’s position on “homosexual behavior” has not changed within the 160-year-long history of Texas Baptists. Presumably this means…