By Marv Knox The tension between Christian compassion and the duties of citizenship — particularly the responsibilities of public officials — has been in the news lately. Maurice Clemmons was free to walk into a Lakewood, Wash., coffee shop and…
In pre-Copenhagen rally, did we ‘Wave’ cynicism good-bye?
By Jonathan Langley An estimated 40,000 people (all of whom had been asked to wear blue clothing and paint their hands blue) gathered at noon on Dec. 5 in Grosvenor Square, in the heart London, for what had been billed…
Bearing a Christian witness as the war expands
By David Gushee I have decided that it is not my place as one offering Christian moral witness to endorse any nation’s wars, including my own. This is a change for me. In previous times I have weighed in either…
Hope and Advent’s apocalyptic readings
By Molly T. Marshall As I have been reading Time and Newsweek and The New York Times this past week, I have noticed a trend as writers seek to describe the decade that is quickly winding down. Their words are…
Thanks for the negative space
By Amy Butler My oldest son is a very gifted artist. There is much wondering about exactly how and why this is the case, given his genetics. Nevertheless, he produces some incredible work. Watching him learn his craft at a…
On gay rights, is there common ground?
By Cody J. Sanders In October, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law. It extends existing federal hate-crimes laws (which already include protections for racial and religious bias) to include protections…
Suffering, theodicy and the Incarnation
By Jim Denison “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). Lester Denison died 30 years ago this month at the age of 55. The great tragedy of my life is that my father never met my sons. The night my father died, I…
Thankful for finding my long-lost brother
By Bill Shiell My dad left one treasure for me to find after he died. Without a map for guidance, I needed providence and social media on my journey to discovery. My father’s life was not scripted for a bookstore’s…
Georgia Baptists, the Bible and women pastors
By Bob Setzer In a recent Baptists Today article, I read about a 19th-century Baptist congregation that censured a slave for dancing. The slave was a “member” of the church, though as human chattel, it was his job merely to…