As you would expect, I get lots of email about religion- news stuff. That tends to happen when you’ve been in the religion-columnist business — in one form or another — since 1982. All that old snail mail on dead-tree…
Bruises that forever hurt: The death of a reporter and friend
But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. -Isaiah 53:5 (NRSV) Just one week ago, I wrote about…
Belonging: Maybe fences don’t make good neighbors
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” –Mother Teresa It is Friday night, and 125 friends, new and old, crowd the yard at QC Family Tree. We are gathered to…
Centennial of the lynching of Leo Frank . . . and the struggle over the meaning of freedom
In August 1913 the body of 14-year-old laborer Mary Phagan was found in the basement of the National Pencil Company in Atlanta. The company’s Jewish-American superintendent, Leo Frank, was eventually convicted of the crime and sentenced to death by hanging….
For some, another threat to church survival: natural beauty
By Jeff Brumley The American church, it seems, just can’t catch a break. The “nones” won’t come in, the “dones” are … well, done, and the rest of the membership is slowly but surely dying off. Attendance and tithing are…
Between the World and Me: A reflection
Over the weekend, I ventured out to Barnes & Noble in Atlanta to pick up a couple books. I bought March, a graphic novel that is a first-hand account of Congressman John Lewis’ life and struggle for civil rights. I…
Coalition opposes taxpayer-funded discrimination
By Bob Allen American Baptist Home Mission Societies and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty are among 130 religious, education, civil rights, labor, LGBT, women’s and health organizations asking President Obama to review a Bush-era legal opinion allowing faith-based…
Anti-nuke activist chastises politicians for rhetoric about proposed Iran deal
By Bob Allen A leading evangelical voice for nuclear disarmament criticized politicians for comparing a widely debated nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran to the Holocaust and saying it fulfills End Times prophecy in the Bible. In an interview with the Christian Post, Tyler…
Chipping away at the block of wood in my eye
Introductory word: Family Systems Theory calls for a focus upon one’s self, rather than upon another, when seeking to improve interpersonal dynamics. After all, one’s own part within a relationship is the only part one has the power to change….