Bolivia Finally Gives Evangelicals the Same Rights as Catholics

With new law, president Evo Morales comes through on his promise of greater religious freedom. Evangelicals in Bolivia received a major religious freedom boost this week from the same administration that banned evangelism last year. Months after Evo Morales criminalized proselytizing—before swiftly reversing course—the Bolivian president reached out to Christians to help draft legislation to recognize evangelical churches and institutions. This week, he made it... Read More

Mueller report: Russians hacked Florida county election system. Many Roger Stone references redacted.

The long-awaited, redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report released Thursday refers to several Florida links to Russia’s attempt to interfere with the U.S. presidential election. New information is sparse in relevant sections of the report, which isn’t in a searchable form and which blacks out some material — including details about some of the people and events related to Florida. “As you will see, most of the redactions were compelled by the need to prevent... Read More

The Coast Guard estimates it unloaded $62.6 million of weed and blow. That might be low

The U.S. Coast Guard unloaded 14,000 pounds of marijuana along with 3,660 pounds of apparently undervalued cocaine on Thursday morning at Port Everglades. The weights come from the Coast Guard, … Click to Continue » ... Read More

Broward rapper Kodak Black jailed at U.S.-Canada border near Niagara Falls; Fans upset after arrest sparks Boston no-show

South Florida rapper Kodak Black has been arrested at the U.S.-Canada border near Niagara Falls on gun and drug possession charges, forcing the cancellation of the Boston date on his current North American tour. U.S. border agents arrested Black, 21, whose legal name is Bill K. Kapri, and three others in his entourage on Wednesday as they tried to enter cross back into the United States from Canada, border officials and state police said. The arrests scuttled Kodak Black’s scheduled... Read More

Squall lines and a tornado threat in Deep South could mean a troubling Florida weekend

As severe weather battered the mid-Mississippi Valley area and roared southwestward into Louisiana and coastal Texas on Thursday morning, Florida may get a strong line of thunderstorms on Friday. Weather … Click to Continue » ... Read More

President Trump tried to seize control of Russia probe, Mueller’s report says

Public at last, special counsel Robert Mueller’s report revealed to a waiting nation Thursday that President Donald Trump had tried to seize control of the Russia probe and force Mueller’s removal to stop him from investigating potential obstruction of justice by the president. The report said that in June 2017, Trump directed White House Counsel Don McGahn to call the acting attorney general and say that Mueller must be ousted because he had conflicts of interest. McGahn refused... Read More

Easter Joy Belongs to the Melancholy

The celebration of Christ’s resurrection stands in contrast to Christmas joy. Easter joy has been harder to come by this year. Between the growing ugliness of American politics and the acrimony within the church body, I’ve found it harder to anticipate looking up from the broken body of my Lord to rejoice this Sunday in the resurrected and ascended Christ. When I shared my struggle with a good friend, he suggested I revisit a collection of sermons that the 19th-century priest John... Read More

Why ‘Being Christian Without the Church’ Fails the Good Friday Test

According to the gospel of John, the cross casts us into community. We Americans tend to be a sentimental people. This makes it difficult for us to look directly into the horror, shame, and degradation of a death by crucifixion. When Jesus says to Mary, “Woman, behold thy son” and to John “Behold thy Mother,” we often interpret this saying of our Lord as a sentimental invitation to take good care of your mother. I am a mother, and I definitely want to be taken care of!... Read More

Is the Cross Enough?

The truth of the gospel requires telling the whole story. Sitting across the table from me, he picks up a crumpled napkin. Amid our lively conversation, my friend—who is a pastor—explains his sermon preparation. He is brilliant and creative, deeply concerned with the Bible and why it matters to his congregation. Flattening out the napkin, he writes an X in one corner to represent the biblical text. Then he draws a giant cross in the middle of the square. Finally he adds an arrow... Read More