By Bob Allen The day after George Zimmerman was found not guilty of the second-degree murder of Sanford, Fla., teenager Trayvon Martin, a local pastor’s sermon series on the Ten Commandments landed on the Sixth Commandment, “thou shalt not kill.”…
Jury selection helped Zimmerman
By Alan Bean A jury comprised of five white women and one Latina has acquitted George Zimmerman on all charges. This outcome was largely determined by the way we select juries in America. Imagine that two women who looked like…
Christians and capital punishment
By Roger Olson To this day, the majority of Americans favor capital punishment for certain crimes, in spite of — or perhaps because of — the almost overwhelming negative judgment about it on the parts of intellectuals and writers. I…
A zeal he does not own
There is a wonderful, thought-provoking text by the hymn writer Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863) titled “There’s A Wideness In God’s Mercy. It speaks to this generation perhaps even more powerfully than to his own. It is not sung as often…
Forgiving Judas
By Miguel De La Torre Lately I have been rethinking Judas — history’s ultimate villain. Dante in Canto XXXIV places Judas in the Ninth Circle — the deepest realm of the Inferno. Under his feet are the most evil of…
Holy Week: Breaking the silence
By Bill Leonard “The Kingdom of God is here. And by the way, don’t tell anybody.” That’s what Jesus said to those he gathered up around the Sea of Galilee, at the start of things. His message, John Dominic Crossan…
Baptists go after payday loans
By Aaron Weaver Abortion, homosexuality and church-state separation are all issues on which Baptists have made their diverse opinions loudly known to the public. But predatory lending is not an issue that many associate with Baptists. Yet, Baptists in several…
They shoot preachers, don’t they?
In his book Don’t Shoot, criminologist David Kennedy identifies a disconnect between a criminal justice system built on the notion of personal responsibility and the fact that gang bangers think and behave as members of a group. You can’t reduce…
Slain pastor lawsuit headed for trial
By Bob Allen A former Georgia police officer must stand trial to defend himself against misconduct alleged in a lawsuit stemming from the fatal shooting of a Southern Baptist minister in a botched drug-sting investigation in 2009, the 11th U.S….
No prison for molester termed unfair
By Bob Allen A former Southern Baptist music minister who will serve no time in prison after admitting to molesting children nearly 30 years ago demonstrates that America’s justice system isn’t always fair, a newspaper in Jackson, Miss., editorialized Jan….
Gay minister arrested in sit-in
By Bob Allen An openly gay ordained Baptist minister and his partner were arrested Jan. 22 in Louisville, Ky., for refusing to leave the county clerk’s office after they were denied a marriage license. Maurice “Bojangles” Blanchard, 34, and his…
Former minister pleads guilty to abuse
By Bob Allen John Langworthy, 50, former associate pastor of music and ministries at Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, Miss., pleaded guilty in Hinds County Circuit Court to five of eight felony counts of gratification of lust against young…