Last week the White House took action against the various violent attacks happening all over the world in recent months by hosting a Summit on Countering Violent Extremism. While it is perhaps laudable that this White House stands opposed to…
A long line of sinners
March 2, 2015 By Terry Austin In the Central African Republic, a political/religious faction known as Anti-balaka has been accused of violent crimes. Their actions include gruesome mutilations, forcing thousands of people from their homes and killing an untold number….
Beating back ISIS
By Martin Accad Every few days, we seem to wake up to another massacre committed by ISIS. And these are, of course, only the ones that the media reports. ISIS, in reality, is committing massacres on a daily basis. We…
Uncoerced faith remains a burning question
By Bill Leonard On Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015, the terrorists who call themselves an Islamic State released a lurid video showing the decapitation of 21 Egyptian laborers working in Libya. Taken hostage in January, largely because they were Coptic Christians,…
Baptist pastor inspired by Jews, Muslims during Holy Land pilgrimage
By Jeff Brumley It wasn’t Jim Somerville’s first visit to the Holy Land — or even his third or fourth. But the 10-day journey in early February was the first he had made with Muslim and Jewish clergy from Virginia. The…
Another shooting? Not again.
Not again. That was my first thought upon seeing countless posts on Twitter about a shooting in Chapel Hill. By now, many of you have heard about the shooting of Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife, Yusor Mohammad, 21, and…
Critiquing Islam – and ourselves
When bad religion makes headlines
The recent hoopla over using the Duke University chapel for Muslim prayers raises interesting issues, and is just another sign of our highly-religious nation’s deeply troubled understanding of its own convictions. The value of religious principles to our nation’s values…
Though reversed, approving Muslim calls to prayer at Duke not threatening, theologian says
By Jeff Brumley This story has been updated from an earlier one posted before Duke University announced its changed policy. Baptists, if no one else, should not have opposed Duke University’s decision this week to allow a Muslim student group to…
Blasphemy and freedom
The Charlie Hebdo incident: we cannot not sight it and refrain from all comment. It would be redundant to revisit here the obvious aspects of the incident. Thus, obviously, the murderers at the office of the French satirical magazine were…
In wake of Paris attack, Al Mohler says West faces religious war
By Bob Allen Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., said in a podcast briefing Jan. 8 that U.S. Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) was on target in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt about…
Interfaith dialogue requires hard work of forging relationships, Baptist pastor says
By Jeff Brumley Interfaith dialogue is about much more than symbolism, say those committed to the process. That’s because effective interfaith conversations require relationships, and relationships require more than annual prayer breakfasts or worship services that rotate among churches, mosques…