People of faith, whatever the specific tradition, now confront a 21st-century global reality: Worship can get you killed, anywhere in the world.
Firearm violence: America’s pre-existing condition
Firearm violence is more than a national problem; it a national disgrace that increasingly defines our national identity, our common humanity and our ‘witness’ in the world. If history is any indication, little or nothing will change in the land of the free and the home of the targeted.
‘Thoughts and prayers’ not enough to end gun violence, religious leaders say
It’s all too easy to fall into despair, give up or become cynical about the epidemic of gun violence gripping the nation. Latasha Hobbs of Jacksonville, Florida, says don’t do it. Don’t give in. “Our country is hurting. We have…
CBF leader condemns ‘white nationalism’ after synagogue attack
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter voiced solidarity with “our Jewish neighbors and friends in cities and towns across the country” in the aftermath of Saturday’s mass shooting inside a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “We condemn ideologies of white…
‘Nobody in their right mind’ would do what this peace activist has done
The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America has grown a lot since its founding in 1984. Its focus over the years has expanded from poverty and nuclear proliferation to racial justice, gun violence and immigration, among other issues. And a…
Americans seeking self-care in age of Trump, mass shootings and nuke fears
Anyone who even casually consumes news websites or social media is confronted with an array of anger- and fear-driven reports of End Times-inducing developments. So, it may be no coincidence that new Barna research has found “that most Americans are open to investing in their mental health through counseling” and that discussions about self-care have become mainstream.
Paul Ryan and the House chaplain: Proof that prayer works?
The scientific study of prayer focuses on the things for which people most often pray — health concerns, financial difficulties, or societal problems — but the prayers we do not pray are the best evidence that prayer works.
Inspired by youth, churches rising to oppose gun violence
Inspired by the concept that nothing changes if nothing changes, people of faith are responding the gun crisis by organizing everything from congregational letter-writing campaigns to strategy conferences to local gun buybacks. Clergy and laypeople involved say the key is doing something — anything — rather than caving in to the enormity of the gun violence issue.
If character is ‘irrelevant’ in politics, eventually the Church will be, too
It is a confusing time, but one thing is crystal clear to me: if committing an adulterous affair with a porn star, if that kind of morality and that kind of character is “completely irrelevant” to a Church that has always said exactly the opposite, there is another thing that will be “completely irrelevant” to today’s culture — and that is, sadly, the Church.