By David Gushee This is third in a series of columns reflecting on a summertime trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories. Last time I discussed powerful evidence that Israel remains a society traumatized by the epochal evil of the…
Female jet pilot? Sure. Preacher? No.
By Susan Sparks One third of the U.S. Supreme Court justices are women; more than 50 female astronauts have traveled into space; and 41 women have won the Nobel Peace Prize. But place a woman in a pulpit and blood…
‘The Help’
By David Wilkinson In her popular debut novel, Kathryn Stockett depicts the working conditions of black domestic servants in the American South during the turbulent civil rights struggle of the 1960s. A film version opened in theaters Aug. 10. The…
Same old battles, same old demise
By Zachary Bailes Good for Bailey Nelson, and good for Flat Rock Baptist Church. Their expulsion from Surry Baptist Association demonstrates a commitment to the call of Jesus, not the call of a Baptist association. Their situation reflects the same…
75 years of religious liberty for all
By Andrew Gardner I am finishing up a student internship with the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. This year the BJC celebrates its 75th anniversary as a religious organization devoted solely to the protection of our first freedom. With…
News from Washington you may have missed
By Robert Shippey Tumultuous debate over the debt ceiling largely overshadowed something of extraordinary importance that happened last week in Washington. Participants from more 300 colleges gathered at the White House to participate in the President’s Interfaith and Community Service…
The church’s response to families with autism
By Theresa Christian I have been asked to leave church more than once because my son is autistic and can be disruptive. It is painful for our family to miss church, but we have spent more years outside of the…
Debt-ceiling compromise doesn’t fix economic injustice
By Zachary Bailes Well, the ceiling has been raised. While compromise has been reached in Washington D.C., the debate is not over. For months the debates will rage, and pundits will continue to put on their boxing gloves for the…
How Israel remembers the Holocaust
By David Gushee As a scholar, I have long recognized the Holocaust for the grotesque and epochal evil that it was. Before I went to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories this summer, however, I had little idea how much…