“They stole $77,000. And that was all of my savings.” Her voice was so soft I (Doug) had to lean in to hear her. “I’ve talked with the local police, the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission. The money is...
A Florida bill that would allow parents to file wrongful death lawsuits in cases involving fetuses is little more than an effort to punish abortion providers, according to some of the state’s leading abortion-rights advocates. House Bill 651 would create…
When conservatives gained control of the Southern Baptist Convention and its agencies and seminaries in the late 20th century, a top priority was to convert the Christian Life Commission into an anti-abortion advocacy group. That came true with the first…
“What prepares men for totalitarian domination … is the fact that loneliness … has become an everyday experience of the ever-growing masses,” according to Hannah Arendt in The Origins of Totalitarianism, written in 1951. Loneliness, it seems, has moved from…
Many years ago, I read a comic novel in which one character’s hobby was described as “leaping to the defense of ….” We United Methodists are sometimes accused of the same predilection, of being theologically and spiritually wired to stand…
Alabama joined a lineup of the world’s most notorious human rights violators by being the first state to use nitrogen gas to execute a condemned prisoner who suffered intense pain before dying. “The death penalty is a violation of human…
I interact with the “nones” nearly every week, and I’m constantly surprised at how religious they are. In recent years, American religious leaders have been obsessed with classifying, describing, understanding, discussing and evangelizing the “nones,” those people who when asked…
The D. James Kennedy Center for Christian Statesmanship, founded 29 years ago, has named a 33-year-old “recovering Capitol hill staffer” and former Trump administration aide as its new executive director. “I’m excited to engage with both elected officials and Hill…
It’s hard to believe a full month has passed since Christmas. Technically, there is more daylight in January than in December. The sun is slowly but surely rising sooner and setting later. Yet, the world feels darker now that Christmas…
It has taken a pandemic and roughly two years of discussion, but First Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, is beginning to see how it might downsize without having to abandon its campus, while simultaneously expanding its downtown ministries. Senior Pastor…
The Heritage Foundation, one of America’s most influential conservative think tanks and advocacy organizations, has changed its core values to accommodate Donald Trump. Heritage was founded in 1973 by brewer Joseph Coors and Paul Weyrich, a former John Birch Society…
I wonder why some people write memoirs and some do not. Recently I have been considering the possibility of writing a memoir. You are likely thinking, “Why would he even consider writing a memoir?” That is a fair question. As…
Two seminaries that partner with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship have announced changes to their core curricula that address the changing needs of students seeking theological education. Wake Forest University School of Divinity has completely revamped its master of divinity degree,…
