AUTHOR_ARCHIVES
A Call to Take Responsibility
This has been such an overwhelming and tumultuous week, I have tried to find ways of expressing the overwhelming sadness and I have found in part with Ray Aldred of the Vancouver School of Theology. – Jeremy Bell, General Secretary of the NABF. As Canada grapples with the discovery of the unmarked graves of 215 children […]
New Podcast: Dangerous Dogma
There are a lot of problematic ideas animating American Christianity today. The false hopes stirred by the prosperity gospel linger. White supremacist and patriarchal readings of scripture continue to deny the Image of God and equal humanity inherent in each person while contributing to the perpetuation of unjust social structures. The White Nationalism that helped […]
Tulsa Pastors Honor ‘Holy Ground’ 100 Years After Massacre
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — When White attackers destroyed the prosperous Black neighborhood of Greenwood 100 years ago this week, they bypassed the original sanctuary of the First Baptist Church of North Tulsa. By the church’s own account, the attackers thought the brick veneer structure was too fine for a Black-owned church. The mob destroyed at […]
So, Why Am I a Christian?
I have a bias that causes me to gravitate towards smart Christians. When someone accomplished in business, science, or other areas of intellectual achievement professes faith in Jesus Christ, I take notice. There’s comfort in realizing someone with more mental horsepower than me believes what I do. “If they think this is all true,” I […]
Raphael Warnock, the ‘senator reverend,’ keeps preaching most Sundays
Faith and politics are intertwined for Georgia Democrat By Paul V. FonteloPosted May 19, 2021 at 5:30am Less than 24 hours after the Senate passed its massive pandemic relief package during a marathon session in early March, Raphael Warnock was back in Atlanta doing what he’s done for years — preaching in a church. Donning his kente cloth-trimmed […]
Pentecost Sunday Brings ‘Fresh Hope for New Beginnings’ as Pandemic Eases
As this year’s Pentecost celebration approaches for congregations, the parallels feel stronger than normal to that initial moment when the Holy Spirit was poured out on Jesus’s disciples. This year the Spirit arrives as a yearlong pandemic hopefully draws towards an end. But emerging from the pandemic can be even more complicated and controversial for […]
Russell Moore, Baptist Ethicist & Trump Critic, to Leave ERLC
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — Russell Moore, the embattled Southern Baptist ethicist and “Never Trumper,” is resigning as president of his denomination’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Moore will be joining the staff of Christianity Today — an evangelical magazine, founded by the late evangelist Billy Graham — as a public theologian. In his new role, Moore will help […]
PBS’s Billy Graham Documentary Captures Preacher’s Pull & Ambition
(RNS) — How did Billy Graham become the most famous evangelist in America? Does he deserve blame for paving the way for the religious right? How should we see his place in America’s political and spiritual history? The PBS series “American Experience” explores these questions in a fascinating two-hour documentary premiering Monday (May 17), offering […]
An Answer To Rex Murphy’s Questions on Racism In Canada
The rise of violence against people of Asian descent has always been amongst us, but has been accelerated and is recently even more disturbing. Bloomberg news service indicated that Vancouver, based on reported incidents to police, has more reported instances of Asian discriminatory acts than the top 10 American cities. Indeed, by this measurement for […]
The Debate Over Women Pastors is a Southern Baptist Smoke Screen
(RNS) — Over the past two weeks, Christian leaders and commentators have been setting news outlets and social media ablaze with arguments over women’s ordination, women as pastors, and women’s callings. It’s a long-running, on-again, off-again debate in Southern Baptist and other evangelical circles. The arguments rarely change, largely because the point of the blaze […]
