Recent Articles
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)
Lenten Lectionary | What Really Happened?
The Christmas narratives in the Bible are unique, but not conflicted like the resurrection narratives. The Gospel accounts leave the attentive reader wondering, ‘What really happened that day?’ Yet, they agree on two key elements.
What if Crucifixion Is Not Salvific?
We have so embraced a theology of substitution that to question its authenticity feels as if we are on the verge of heresy. And yet, this theology of substitution is but an interpretation.
How People of Good Faith Can Help Make #HealthForAll a Reality
The 75th anniversaries of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the establishment of the World Health Organization are observed this year. People of good faith must be a part of making #HealthForAll a reality.
Echoes of a Jesus Worldview
“Christianity goes astray when it does not look and talk like Jesus of Nazareth.” That statement was delivered recently by Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church Michael B. Curry to an ecumenical gathering.
World Health Day: A Brief History
This year’s World Health Day, April 7, marks the 75th anniversary of the World Health Organization. The WHO’s story begins in the early 1800’s with the establishment of effective trade routes all over the globe.
Noose to Needle Project Launches with a Discussion of Capital Punishment’s Connection to Lynching
The Noose to Needle Project hosted a virtual panel discussion titled “Noose to Needle: How Slavery, Lynching, and Racial Terror Birthed the Modern-Day Death Penalty” as part of its official launch on March 29. The new project seeks to demonstrate the historical connections between lynching and the current administration of the death penalty.
April 4, 2023
How Jimmy Carter Lived His Faith as President; I’m a Student in a Catholic School. It Isn’t a Safe Place for my LGBTQ+ Classmates; A Sacred Sculpture Sees the Light of Day in Northwest Washington D.C. (and more)
Churches Must Offer Creative Encounters for a Younger Generation of Seekers
Younger seekers don’t need coffee bars and stage lights during Sunday morning services. Church leaders must offer creative encounters if they want Generation Z to believe what they are saying.
Peacemaking Is a Call to Repent of Creating the ‘Repugnant Cultural Other’
Are you tired of culture wars? Do you feel weary of conflicted opinions fueled by endless anger, contested worldviews excluding each other, and confrontational ideologies as the default of public discourse? The Bible offers a better way.
Islamic Giving Enables UN Refugee Agency to Assist Millions Worldwide
Donations from Muslims around the world have enabled the United Nations to assist around six million forcibly displaced persons in recent years, according to a report from UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency.
April 3, 2023
Christian Faithful Mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem; Louisiana’s ‘Father of the Baptist Religion’ was Enslaved, Revolutionary War Soldier; Pro-Nazi ‘White Lives Matter’ Member Arrested for Firebombing Church Over Drag Show (and more)