No longer content to govern itself, the church has spread out to rule the culture through legislative force, attempting to use the tools of government to order the lives of consenting adults. Like an empire, the church finds itself on patrol beyond its rightful territory, which is shocking when one considers how much space the church has been given, by God first and this country second. The church already possesses the freedom to engage the culture through dialogue, art, the... Read more

Here we go again. Another election cycle in which climate science is being debated by high ranking elected officials, party activists and interest groups with the power to sway what our candidates say they believe and how they act in office. It seems inconceivable that at a moment when there is virtual scientific consensus that climate change is happening, and is significantly affected by human behavior, that there are those who persist in denying the single greatest threat to life... Read more

When Marguerite Driessen, a professor here, entered Brigham Young University in the early 1980s, she was the first black person many Mormon students had ever met, and she spent a good bit of her college time debunking stereotypes about African-Americans. Then she converted to Mormonism herself, and went on to spend a good deal of her adult life correcting assumptions about Mormons.So the matchup in this year’s presidential election comes as a watershed moment for her, symbolizing the hard-won acceptance... Read more

by Gee JoynerRhetoric Race and Religion ContributorFrom: Rainbows and Lilacs It has been a couple of weeks since President Barack Obama openly admitted that he supports Gay Marriage and all the rights and privileges thereof. All forms of media have been inundated with opinions and viewpoints either in support of the President’s proclamation or demonizing his attempt at creating a discourse in this nation, which was allegedly founded on the ideological concept of “liberty and justice for all.” Yet, somehow,... Read more

Every week as he delivers the sermon at the oldest black church in Los Angeles, pastor William Eps stands where history was written. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Second Baptist Church throughout the 1950s and ’60s. Today social justice remains just as important to the 127-year-old church—but the faces of the community it serves have changed dramatically. Decades ago, members of the predominantly black congregation lived nearby and walked to services. Today the church is a commuter congregation—its black... Read more

by Brian FoulksRhetoric Race and Religion Contributor I once read an article that suggested that the best thing that ever happened to Christianity was Philosophy. Philosophy caused Christianity to explain it vagueness and affirm its foundational truths. It caused Christians to answer the question of Why?-a definite question with a mass of rhetorical responses. In the past couple of months, questions have been brought to the table that has once again cause Christianity to explain itself. These questions have produced... Read more

President Obama’s affirmation of same sex marriage has raised evangelical ire. While polls indicate that Americans are evenly split over the issue, a multi-racial chorus of evangelicals has sang a sad song of dismay with the refrain “pro-gay marriage is anti-Christian”. What is really at stake in this recent dust up is the age old tension between religion and democracy in the United States. One way to read the history of the United States is to comprehend the way in... Read more

The Rev. Chris Beard is a theological conservative, make no mistake about it. He believes the Bible is the word of God. He believes the Holy Spirit speaks to him directly. He believes, as an article of faith, that abortion and same-sex marriage are wrong. Still, when a group of religious leaders in Ohio held two days of meetings in Cincinnati recently to talk about economic and racial justice, issues usually associated with the political left, there was Beard, a... Read more

Memphis is the denominational home of the Church of God in Christ, Cumberland Presbyterian and Christian Methodist Episcopal churches. It is said there is a church on every corner, and in some faith traditions, future pastors start preaching as mere youngsters, honing their spirit-led gifts in the years to come. A trend led by church leaders such as Dr. James L. Netters is for those pastors, particularly in the churches where seminary degrees are not required, to obtain an education... Read more

The reaction was swift to news that a conservative super PAC was considering ads that attacked President Obama by tying him to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the controversial pastor whose church Obama attended in Chicago. A consensus was reached quickly: Such attacks are out of bounds. Mitt Romney’s campaign manager, Matt Rhoades, said in a statement, “It’s clear President Obama’s team is running a campaign of character assassination. We repudiate any efforts on our side to do so.” That wasn’t... Read more