Richard B. Hays, George Washington Ivey Professor Emeritus of New Testament and former dean at Duke University Divinity School, faced many health challenges in recent years with grace and faith. Many family members, friends and former students now mourn his…
A peaceful January 6 offers little reassurance about our democracy
On Sept. 11, 2024, two months prior to the 2024 election, the Secretary of Homeland Security designated Jan. 6, 2025, as a “National Special Security Event.” The press release announcing this decision explained this designation had been made based on recommendations from…
Letter to the Editor: The misnamed ‘conservative resurgence’
Dear Editor: I enjoyed your recent article on discovering the history of the phrase “conservative resurgence.” I appreciated reading about the frustrating walk you and your colleagues had in describing the events at the time. Pastors and journalists share the…
‘He’s only the governor of Georgia …’
I stood at the front of the press corps on the White House lawn on Oct. 6, 1979, as President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter emerged from the front door to greet Pope John Paul II, who had…
The light in my mother’s eyes
My mother had light in her eyes. She was a delightful combination of my grandparents. My grandmother had a strong sense of right and wrong, a strong sense that her way was right and yours was wrong. So much was…
In light of New Orleans, Christians have a better message to fight radicalization
The recent terrorist attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day has shaken the nation. As details emerge, the tragedy underscores the urgent need to confront the forces that fuel radicalization and extremism. In the face of such senseless violence,…
It’s 2025: Where’s our witness?
We were out visiting for the church, the Deacon and I, two Baptists prepared to “win the lost for Christ” on a steamy summer Sunday afternoon in Fort Worth. The Deacon was a committed soul winner, and I was a…
Jimmy Carter and ‘the way things are’
Editor’s note: This column was published March 2, 2023, in the Pine Belt News of Hattiesburg, Miss., and is republished here with slight edits to fit the remembrance of Jimmy Carter. In Jimmy Carter’s boyhood autobiography, An Hour Before…
The fear driving Trump’s grift
Shortly after the 2024 presidential election, I dreamed a dream. I was on a sidewalk in what appeared to be a seedy part of town. Weeds were pushing through sidewalk cracks. Volunteer bushes were brushing up against the gigantic wall…
Ask Lazarus: Not all resurrection stories have pleasant endings
I don’t mean to sound morbid, but I’m sure I’m not the first person to notice how eerily similar funeral services are to the ritual of sentencing a person to prison. With the ritual of a funeral ceremony, many people…
Estranged for the holidays? You’re not alone
Although family togetherness characterizes the Christmas season, some of us may find ourselves relationally poorer this New Year. No one has died, and yet gifts are unsent and places are empty at the table. If this sounds familiar, you’ve got…
Make a resolution to embrace your true self and the rest will fall into place
We live in a hyper-competitive society. Many of us tirelessly strive to keep up with the Joneses. As one year draws to a close and a new one begins, what do we have to show for it? Copious amounts of…