By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist leader and scholar says Halloween is a good time for Christians to remember that evil spirits are real and to make decisions on whether or how to celebrate the holiday accordingly. Albert Mohler, president…
On serving God or money (and why Dave Ramsey should stick to personal finances)
When we as Christians formulate our opinions on social concerns, there are a number of Jesus’ teachings that we seem to forget. In the running for the top, most forgotten principle is Jesus’ quote in Matt 6:24/Luke 16:13: “You cannot…
A feast of ‘splendid nobodies’
By Molly T. Marshall Each fall I teach a course titled “Spirituality and Creativity” with the entering cohort in our create program, a rather up-tempo form of the master of divinity. We meet at Conception Abbey, a hospitable Benedictine monastery…
New book details Baptist/Hindu marriage
By Bob Allen Ordained Baptist minister J. Dana Trent got more than she bargained for when she tried to broaden the field on a dating website application by checking boxes for other religions along with Christian and “spiritual but not…
Do female pastors have to be feminists?
As I have adjusted to the life of a minister, I wonder if there are some assumptions that are attached to being a female pastor. In discussing with another female pastor, we both commented as to whether there would be…
SBC leader says don’t talk to press
By Bob Allen There’s no room in the church for whistleblowers, a Southern Baptist seminary president said in a chapel sermon Oct. 15. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson said the prohibition in First Corinthians 6 on church members…
Crafting a disciplined life
By Molly T. Marshall A recent book by Mason Currey on the daily rituals of artistic people has captured wide attention. He chronicles the patterns — some odd and eccentric — that empower creativity of writers, painters, inventors, musicians and…
What kind of Baptists are we?
In the 1950s and 60s, the unofficial public theology of America was dominated by theologians associated with what we now call “the Protestant Mainline”. A public theology makes biblical teaching relevant to the pressing political, economic and social issues of…
Who owns the land?
By Miguel De La Torre Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata coined the slogan, “la tierra es de quien la trabaja” — the land belongs to those who work it. The Bible seems to agree. The story of King Ahab, Queen Jezebel and…