Christians often have been reminded that some of their forebears supported slavery, but many do not know Christians ended slavery in the United States. Southern Baptists, in particular, frequently are reminded their convention began amid the defense of slavery. Yet...
The president of the Southern Baptist Convention sat for an interview with an openly gay journalist and told him on national TV Oct. 9 that he could not be a good Christian and Southern Baptist. On the CBS program “60…
Letter to the Editor October 9, 2022 Dear Editor: My first recollection of the song “Ship of Fools” was in college while reading Book VI of Plato’s Republic in a political science class. An allegory using a ship with a…
It hasn’t been a good week for Southern Baptist Convention entities defending themselves against lawsuits. Court filings in the two most prominent such cases have accused SBC leadership of intentionally misleading the court and, in one case, committing perjury. The…
Mercer University’s Tift College of Education is embarking on a partnership with five Georgia school districts to strengthen teacher recruitment and workforce diversification through a $9.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. In announcing the project, the Macon,…
I never imagined I would utter, much less think, these words: “I am proud to be a Baptist.” But it happened. I don’t need to recount the long laundry list of problems with our denomination or with the church in…
Leroy Barber, co-founder and president of the Voices Project and former director of Innovation for the Greater Northwest area of the United Methodist Church, has joined Neighborhood Economics as its new executive director. Neighborhood Economics is an organization dedicated “to…
John Chrysostom in his Major Treatises on Virginity argued that the first human beings were “adorned by virginity,” as they lived in a perfect and non-sexual state before the fall of humankind. Once the first sin occurred, this adornment ended,…
Thom Rainer is widely known as the former head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Lifeway Christian Resources, but now he is set to open a new chapter as he launches both a new company and a new book, I Am…
When the AIDS epidemic descended upon cities on America’s West and East Coast (but not in the American South just yet), religious “authorities” such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and Billy Graham declared it to be God’s judgment for sin….
The Texas Baptist pastor who found himself at the center of a Supreme Court case on religious liberty for Death Row inmates was able to fulfill that inmate’s wishes as he was put to death by the State of Texas…
The need for Congress to end its decades-long failure to address immigration reform took on immediate urgency Oct. 5 when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals deemed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy illegal. For Dreamers who have lived…
A group of leading social justice activists, faith groups and religious leaders will host an Oct. 9 workshop to counter the growing threats of white supremacy and Christian nationalism by educating and inspiring voters. The virtual event, “Liberate Democracy: Vote…
