By Bob Allen President Obama announced plans May 11 to reappoint African-American Baptist leader William J. Shaw to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Shaw, immediate past president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., was appointed in…
No news, bad news
By David Gushee Thinking it’s been a while since I wrote about public policy, I remembered why: no one in Washington is actually making public policy right now. A more precise way to say it is the legislative branch of…
Baptists split on NC gay marriage ban
By Bob Allen Some religious leaders hailed North Carolina’s May 8 passage of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman as a win for family values, while others vowed to continue the fight for what…
Osama bin Laden, one year later
By Jim Denison Bin Laden dreamed of blowing up oil tankers, hoping to devastate the global economy. He was not informed in advance of the attempted bombing of Times Square in May 2010, and was skeptical of Anwar al-Awlaki’s work…
Author says young Christians tired of culture war
By Bob Allen Author Jonathan Merritt wrote a USA Today op-ed piece that ran the day before the official May 7 release of his new book, A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars. The son of…
Former SBC officer arrested in protest
By Bob Allen A former Southern Baptist Convention official was arrested May 4 for kneeling and praying outside the White House on behalf of blind Chinese human-rights activist Chen Guangcheng. Wiley Drake, who served as second vice president of the…
Show death penalty the door
By Jimmy Carter For many reasons, it is time for Georgia and other states to abolish the death penalty. A recent poll showed that 61 percent of Americans would choose a punishment other than the death penalty for murder. Also,…
The future of the Arab Spring
By Jim Denison I am writing from Israel, where I lead a study tour each spring. From this vantage point, the status of the Arab Spring after a year is especially relevant. What is the future for this conflicted region?…
What will churches do about wounded vets?
By Zachary Bailes On Monday, it was announced that The Huffington Postwon the coveted Pulitzer Prize for national reporting. Beginning on Oct. 10, 2011, they ran a 10-part series titled “Beyond the Battlefield.” The series was an exploration of the…