Recent Articles
May 3, 2021
In today’s curated news and analysis headlines: Can Evangelical Christians Become Woke?; Faith, Freedom, Fear: Rural American’s Covid Vaccine Skeptics; Colorado Springs Pastor’s Artwork About Sexual Abuse in the Church to be on Display; Israel Holds Day of Mourning for 45 Victims of Deadly Stampede During Religious Celebration; Pope Francis Issues Orders Aimed at Cracking Down on Vatican Corruption; and more.
People of Good Faith: Hal Bass
Hal Bass is professor emeritus of political science at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He is a member of the Good Faith Media strategic advisory board for news and opinion.
New Nurturing Faith Titles Focus on Dementia, Tension
“Staring at Dementia” by Danny E. Akin and “Tension” by Gerald L. Borchert are the latest releases from Nurturing Faith books, the publishing imprint of Good Faith Media.
US Homelessness Continues Inching Upward
More than half a million people in the US were homeless in early January 2020, a federal report found. It’s the fourth year in a row that the total number of unhoused persons increased, a trend one official called ‘very troubling.’
‘Nomadland’
Winning the Oscar for best picture, ‘Nomadland’ tells the story of a woman who, after her husband dies and her town shrivels up when the local plant closes, begins to live a life on the road and meets other nomads in her journey.
April 30, 2021
In today’s curated news and headlines: 3 Indicted on Federal Hate Crime Charges in Ahmaud Arbery Shooting (New York Times)
Lubbock Churches Weigh in on Ordinance to Outlaw Abortion, But Not all Are on the Same Side; Evangelicals are Losing Their Climate Skepticism; and more
Rick Santorum Is Wrong – and Right
Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum severely devalued the cultures, systems and religions of Indigenous peoples, claiming the US was ‘birthed from nothing’ when colonists arrived. While his main claim was wrong, he got one thing right.
Why We Need to Change Our Culture of Loneliness
More Americans are living alone. This trend – along with the rise in online interactions, work-from-home policies and social distancing over the last year – adds to a culture of loneliness. This failure to connect has consequences.
India’s Deadly COVID-19 Surge: ‘Scary, Heart-Breaking’
India is seeing an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases, which began to spike in March with a seven-day average now surpassing 300,000 cases per day. Urging prayer, a pastor there called the situation ‘scary and heart-breaking.’
April 29, 2021
In today’s curated news and analysis headlines: For Evangelical Leader Jamie Aten, Advocating for Vaccines Led to a Death Threat; Cancel Culture Looks a Lot Like Old Fashioned Church Discipline; Ancient Christian Thinkers Made a Case for Reparations that Has a Striking Relevance Today; Muslims in Germany: Religion is Not a Good Gauge of Integration; and more.
Don’t Underestimate Breathing
People in space are strongly aware of how vital it is to breathe. So are people down below who live in a state of fear, worried that their skin color alone makes them a target of suspicion and violence. It shouldn’t be that way.
Children Easy Targets for Latin American Gangs
COVID-19 has devastated many families, particularly those living on the edge of poverty. That’s especially true in much of Latin America, with few opportunities for education or employment. Many children will be recruited by gangs.
After COVID, We All Have Stories That Needs Telling
In COVID-19’s desert experience of isolation, houses of faith should consider how to heal the parched social distancing when their communities come back together through the power of telling their stories of grief, loss and hope.
April 28, 2021
In today’s curated news and analysis headlines: Alliance of Baptists Updates its Covenant and Hears Call to Action Against Justice; Oklahoma Governor Signs Near-Total Abortion Ban into Law; We Went Inside the Tennessee Church Whose Trump-Revering Pastor Combines Politics with Christian Nationalism; The Final Hours of the Legislature: Race, Religion and Voting to the Fore; and more.
How to Respond (If At All) to Misinformation
How best should you respond to social media posts that pass along clearly inaccurate and potentially harmful information? We need to be mindful of our quick keyboard retorts. Being right isn’t always the right response.
Baptists Raised Alarm About Genocide 100 Years Ago
While it took over a century for a US president to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, at least one Baptist body responded as it was taking place, providing a roadmap for how Baptists today can stand up for oppressed people.
Slim Majority in US Favors Stricter Gun Laws
A slim majority (53%) of the US supports stricter gun regulations, a report found, dropping seven points from 2019 when 60% favored tighter laws. It is the first time since 2017 that the desire for stricter laws declined.
April 27, 2021
In today’s curated news and analysis headlines: Violence-Legitimizing Verses in Religious Texts Increase Support for Lethal Violence; NYPD Investigate 6 Attacks at 4 Synagogues Over a Two-Day Span; Dissident Episcopalians Awarded $100 Million Worth of Property as U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Take up Fort Worth Case; and more
Let’s Face the Truth: Not Every Cop is Good
Police. Brutality. Two words that should be an oxymoron but sadly aren’t. While policing is a good job, we should not assume every person who holds the position is a good person or is doing the job for all the right reasons.
Reaction & Response: Biden Most Popular Among ‘Nones’
President Biden, like President Obama, is most popular with people claiming no religious affiliation, a report said. While 71% of ‘nones’ approve of Biden’s presidency, only 26% of church-going white Protestants feel the same.
6 Ways You Can Work Toward Racial Justice
How can white people work toward racial justice right now? I both love and hate being asked this question. Whether you are new to this conversation or are curious about how to turn your anger into action, here are 6 ideas.
Breathing Room: 4 Takeaways from Chauvin Verdict
More than 1,000 people are killed by police in the US each year, but few law enforcement officers are convicted. Since Derek Chauvin’s trial began, 64 more people have been killed by police. Here are 4 takeaways from the verdict.
April 26, 2021
In today’s curated news and analysis headlines: Baylor Professor Gets Grant to Explore Racial Mythologies;
After Chauvin Verdict, Boston’s Twelfth Baptist Church Offers Time to Heal; Vaccine Hesitancy Raises Concerns in Arkansas; To Some It’s Just Jail House Religion, but to Others Prison Ministry is a Path to Hope; and more
Blood Quantum Dispelled by Raceless Gospel
When humans are defined by race, it immediately sets the tone for dehumanization and devaluation of diversity. That’s why practices like blood quantum, which demanded proof of existence from darker-skinned people, were wrong.
How Hoarding COVID-19 Vaccines Hurts Poor Nations
By hoarding vaccines and medical supplies and ignoring the needs of poor countries, wealthier nations like the US hinder the global efforts to get COVID-19 under control. Distribution has to focus on hot spots, not wealth and power.
Why You Need to Dispose of Unused Meds Now
Danger may lurk within your medicine cabinet. Opioid-involved deaths dramatically increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why it’s vital to get rid of your unused or expired prescriptions during Rx Drug Take Back Day.
April 23, 2021
In today’s featured news and analysis headlines: Denver’s New Hope Baptist Church Working to Help Community Heal After Verdict in Chauvin Trial; Faith-Based Outreach is Critical Tool for Moving Many Vaccine Hesitant Americans Toward Acceptance; Christian Nationalists Form New Website to Defend Their Racism; Shakespeare’s Musings on Religion are Like Curious Whispers – They Require Deep Listening to be Heard; and more.
Chauvin Guilty Verdict Lets Us Breathe Again
It’s been almost a year since George Perry Floyd breathed for the last time face down on a Minneapolis street on May 25, 2020. With April 20’s guilty verdicts, our hope for accountability concerning his death was not in vain.
After Chauvin Verdict, Will US Seriously Address Racism?
With the guilty verdict against Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, it remains to be seen if the United States begins to seriously address the systemic problem of racism that has haunted it since its founding.
Jitsuo Morikawa: Father of Baptist Environmentalism
As we celebrate Earth Day 2021 amid a global pandemic and with a climate crisis upon us, we should look to the example of Jitsuo Morikawa, an often-neglected Japanese-American Baptist hero for wisdom and inspiration.