This weekend, I have found strength and solidary in the words of Galatians 5: “Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit.” In this same chapter, we are told that it was for freedom that Christ has set us free. All…
Here’s what pastors said this Sunday in churches not celebrating the Supreme Court’s abortion decision
While conservative evangelical and Catholic churches across America celebrated Friday’s Supreme Court ruling rescinding a federal right to abortion care, sermons and prayers in other congregations ranged from lament to outrage to calls for simply getting along with each other….
Women of childbearing age are least likely to see strict abortion laws as best deterrent against abortion
There is the question of whether abortion should be legal in the United States, but there’s also a separate question about whether restricting abortion effectively reduces the number of procedures done. Abortion opponents believe outlawing abortion is the best way…
American support for abortion rights at highest level since 1995, Gallup says
The leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade has galvanized greater pro-choice identification among American voters and intensified explicit support for legal abortion, according to polling conducted by Gallup. The survey of 1,007 U.S. adults…
New platform of Texas GOP is laced with Christian privilege
The Republican Party in the nation’s most populous state controlled by that party has a new platform that invokes the name of God 17 times, calls for special privilege for Christians and demands that Christian prayers, Bible reading and the…
The SBC rebuffed its most extreme factions but remains extremely conservative
By some accounts, the Southern Baptist Convention once again rejected its most extreme factions during this year’s annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif. But by any outside measure, the nation’s largest non-Catholic denomination remains extremely conservative. Defining the term “conservative” within…
Attempt to dismantle SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission fails
In yet another setback to the most conservative wing of the Southern Baptist Convention, an attempt to disband the denomination’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission failed June 15. This vote was the culmination of a years-long campaign against the ERLC…
The oxymoron of being both anti-abortion and pro-gun
The recent mass murder events help to nudge the conscience, a conscience that has been beaten senseless by the incessant beating of the anti-abortion drum and the idolatrous-like worship of the Second Amendment. The oxymoron of being both anti-abortion and…
No, there are not two equally valid sides to some issues
In the 1980s and ’90s, while I was teaching English, I also was a debate coach. High school debate is a lot of fun, primarily because the drama of teenagers is just as present there as it is on the…
The European option: Why we need a third way on abortion
Since learning of Samuel Alito’s leaked draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, I have emersed myself in the resulting tidal wave of news reports, opinion pieces, blogs and podcasts. The New York Times podcast The Daily has been one of…
Stop using Jesus to disguise your predatory patriarchy
By now the whole country has heard of the imminent possibility of overturning the legal precedent of Roe v. Wade, which provides the foundational grounds upon which access to abortion care and reproductive justice in this country has been laid….
Oklahoma legislators say life begins at ‘fertilization’
Oklahoma legislators appear to know the exact answer to a question that has vexed doctors and theologians for centuries: When does life begin? According to a controversial bill adopted by the Oklahoma Legislature May 19, life begins at fertilization. “If…