Recent Articles
Urging Big Business to ‘Invest In Our Planet’
Big business has a pretty terrible reputation with environmentalists, and sometimes that is quite justified. How can people of good faith encourage companies to ‘Invest In Our Planet’?
Fewer in U.S. Say Climate Change is Driven Primarily by Human Causation
Less than half of U.S. adults think climate change is mostly or entirely caused by humans, according to a report published April 10 by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
April 18, 2023
Oklahoma Governor Calls on Officials to Resign After Horridly Racist Audio Emerges; SBC’s Ethics Leader, Covenant School Parent Urges Tennessee to Pass Proposed Gun Reform; From Legislative Chambers to Schools, Democracy for Black Americans is Under Attack, Report Finds (and more)
What Can We Do With a Global Population of Eight Billion?
The world’s population reached the eight billion mark on November 15, 2022. The number is mind-numbingly colossal. How can we find a practical, sustainable way of living that promotes the common good?
Has the Pandemic Taught Churches Anything?
Times have changed but many churches have not despite the lessons the pandemic offers. The #PandemicPastoring Report’s study guide offers another opportunity to learn from it.
Religiously Unaffiliated U.S. Latinos Increase, Catholic Latinos Decline
The number of religiously unaffiliated U.S. Latinos is increasing, while the number of Roman Catholics continues to decline, according to a Pew Research Center report published April 12.
Wisdom Wherever You Find It | How Will I Be Remembered?
A question about Passover during my training to become a rabbi offered a lesson in wisdom, humility and character. Most of us have at least one (and maybe many) memories of similar encounters that helped to determine our character.
Bible Engagement Stabilizes in 2023 After ‘Unprecedented Drop’ in 2022
The number of U.S. adults who are ‘Bible Users’ stabilized in 2023 after an “unprecedented drop” in 2022, according to a report published by the American Bible Society.
Look Back | Resurrection’s Hope Amid a World of Death
How do we reconcile the hope of the resurrection with the reminder of death that surrounds us? Why does death come to good people and others who continue to abuse and hurt seem to prosper?
April 14, 2022
Tuscaloosa Church Provides Market-Style Food Pantry; Fox News Writer Pretends that Rising Secularism Means Christian Persecution, When in Reality Aggrieved White Christians are the Persecutors; Holy Land Christians Say Attacks Rising in Far-Right Israel (and more)
Say “No” to Religious Charter Schools
The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 5-0 to disapprove the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School’s application. This is the latest in a series of efforts to dismantle the wall of separation between church and state.
Why National Health Care Decision Day Matters
Then Governor Sarah Palin falsely claimed in 2009 that a provision of the Affordable Care Act would create “death panels.” Here is what the provision, which wasn’t included in the ACA, was about and why its intent is important.
U.S. Divided on Relationship Between Legality and Morality
U.S. adults are divided on whether an illegal act should always be considered an immoral act. They are also divided on whether or not disobeying a law is unjust.
April 13, 2023
How a Nashville Suburb’s LGBTQ Pride Festival Became a Bitter Flashpoint; Keith Secor: A School Shooting Came to Nashville. Country Music Can Help Stop the Next One.; How Americans Really Feel About Abortion: The Sometimes Surprising Poll Results as Court Ruling Threatens Mifepristone Access
Avoid Exclamation Points! Or Not?
Want to start an argument with a group of grammarians? Just bring up the subject of exclamation points, and the verbal sparring will begin. So, what are some guiding principles for when to use them?
Moral Passion: Unleashed but Ungrounded
We see plenty of moral passion these days in the way people respond to issues. This should make an ethicist like me happy because ethics is not about objective, emotionless, rational calculation. However, it does not.
Report: More Donors Plan to Scale Back Contributions in 2023
Around one in four U.S. adults plan to scale back their philanthropic contributions in 2023. Even so, most 2022 donors do plan to continue giving this year.
April 12, 2023
Authoritarian Christian Nationalist Leaders Pray for God’s Intercession After Trump Indictment, Do Trump’s Bidding in Calling his Indictment ‘Demonic’; Attorney and Author: Christian Nationalist Judge Strikes Down FDA-Approved Abortion Pill for Brazenly Ideological Reasons; Uzbekistan: Easter Church Raid, Baptists Tortured, Prison Ramadan Fast Ban (and more)
40 and Counting
April 2023 marks the 40th anniversary of the first edition of SBC Today (now Nurturing Faith Journal), and the 23rd anniversary of the first edition of the journal under my editorship. Reflecting on the past two decades, I’m left with gratitude and hope.
What About the Children?
Corporal punishment is prevalent in the U.S. Nearly all children experienced it in 1999, and more than one third still did 20 years later. Tragically, this mindset informs and shapes attitudes, actions and policy decisions.
U.S. Adults See Religious Charitable Organizations as Most Trustworthy
Religious charitable organizations are seen by U.S. adults as the most trustworthy and transparent philanthropic entities, according to a report published April 6 by Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
April 11, 2023
Abortion Pill Order Latest Contentious Ruling by Trump-Appointed Texas Judge; Texas Judge’s Mifepristone Ruling Questioned by Doctors; Biden Administration Appeals Texas Abortion Ruling, Setting up Legal Fight; How Rural America Steals Girls’ Future (and more)
New Book Introduces Readers to Harriet Tubman, the Public Mystic
Harriet Tubman has many titles. Therese Taylor-Stinson’s new book ‘Walking the Way of Harriet Tubman: Public Mystic and Freedom Fighter,’ introduces readers to the mystical side of the Underground Railroad conductor.
Pew Data Analysis Finds Overall Decline in U.S. Religious Service Attendance
What has been the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on religious service attendance among U.S. houses of faith? That question is explored in a new Pew Research Center report published March 28.
Easter Light
The earth was dark twice. Once at the original creation before God first created light. A second time when the world was crucifying God. The resurrection is God’s response, declaring once again, ‘Let there be light!’
April 10, 2023
Senate Chaplain on Prayer after Nashville Shooting: ‘There Comes a Time When Action is Required’; Nebraska Church Raises $520k to Erase Medical Bills; A Teacher Who Refused to Call Trans Students by Their Preferred Names Because of His Christian Beliefs Can’t Have His Job Back, Court Rules (and more)
Keeping Hope Alive in Louisville
In Louisville, Kentucky, this week, Simmons College of Kentucky announced the establishment of the Jesse L. Jackson Center for Racial Justice at a unity service to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Healthy We, Healthy Me
Possibly we can be forgiven for over-emphasizing how independent we are when it comes to our health. But the ideological pathology of individualism makes us all sicker than we need to be.
Dogwood Blooms and the Tears of Jesus
A solo hiking trip offered a time for reflection with only the sounds of nature. Encountering Dogwood tree blooms on parts of the trail, I began to reflect on the tears Jesus wept in the Gospels.
April 6, 2023
As Antisemitism Reaches Crisis Level, Christians Must Fight. Here’s How.; A Century-Old CT Law Bans Ridicule Based on Race, Religion and Nationality. The Supreme Court Weighed in on It.; SBC Reform Task Force Reconsiders Contract for Database in Major Setback from Reform Abuse (and more)