The news broke recently that the fire chief for the city of Atlanta has been fired. Surely someone in such a position would only stand to be fired for a few reasons — gross incompetence, legal troubles, getting on the wrong…
Supporters say Muslim prisoner’s beard a win for religious liberty
By Bob Allen Religious liberty advocates said a U.S. Supreme Court decision Jan. 20 affirming a devout Muslim prisoner’s right to grow a beard for religious reasons is a win for the religious liberty of all Americans. The unanimous decision…
Reflecting on the contributions of Martin Luther King Jr
Inclusion reflex
Redemption at Duke Chapel
Admittedly jarring in light of the recent tragedies in Paris and Nigeria was the news that on Fridays at noon the Muslim call to prayer will be chanted and broadcast from atop the Duke University Chapel bell tower. Having travelled…
Once again the pen is mightier than the sword
I have a mighty pen I prefer over any other pen. I carry it with me always. When someone offers me a pen to sign a document or a payment slip, I pull out my mighty pen and sign it….
In hard-hit Appalachia, women find new opportunities
By Chris Shoemaker Women in Appalachia without access to higher education or who live in poverty have found hope in a new beginning, thanks to the New Opportunity School for Women at Bluefield (Va.) College. Founded in 1987 at Berea…
We need covenant parenting in covenant communities
Often, as we discuss sexuality and marriage, the word covenant comes up—specifically whether marriage should be a covenant between a man and a woman or whether LGBT friends have the right to enter into such a covenant. When we limit…
Clergy divided on Georgia religious liberty bill
By Bob Allen The top spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Georgia affiliate called on the state’s General Assembly to pass a new bill bolstering religious freedom at a Jan. 13 rally claiming Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran was fired for…
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…
Editor says Atlanta mayor should repent or resign
By Bob Allen A Georgia Baptist newspaper editor says Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed should either repent or resign for firing a fire chief who wrote a religious book that offended the city’s LGBT community. Christian Index Editor Gerald Harris said…
Dear church, here’s why people are really leaving you
By John Pavlovitz Being on the other side of the Exodus sucks, don’t it? I see the panic on your face, Church. I know the internal terror as you see the statistics and hear the stories and scan the exit…