Today the Supreme Court will hear arguments in The American Legion v. American Humanist Association concerning the forty-foot tall the Peace Cross at a traffic junction in Bladensburg, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. Peace Cross in Bladensburg, Maryland, 2009.Ben Jacobson (Kranar Drogin) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D The cross is a memorial to American solders who died in World War I. It …
Month: February 2019
Samford’s Gate: Baptists and the Bible
When introducing students to Judaism, one text I always discuss is the Shema, the passage of the Torah that is the centerpiece of Jewish daily prayer. It begins at Deuteronomy 6:4 with the words "Shema yisrael," or in English, "Hear O Israel." It then continues The Lord is our God, the Lord is One. You shall …
Slavery, “Servants,” and Samford
In the middle of Samford University's campus, at the head of Centennial Walk, just below Davis Library, a black stone marker is set in the pavement. It reads: In MemoriamHarryThis marker honors the memory of Harry, college janitor and servant of President Talbird. At midnight, October 15, 1854, he sustained fatal injuries as he roused …
Baptists and Catholics (almost) Together in Birmingham
This June Baptists and Roman Catholics will hold major conventions at at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC), separately. There are two national meetings of Baptists and a diocesan meeting of Catholics. While the meetings are not at the same time, it will be unusual to have a trio of major religious meetings in the …
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National Prayer Breakfast Site was Almost a Church
"The site of the Washington Hilton, where the National Prayer Breakfast has been held for at least the last three decades, was almost the home not of a hotel, but a of church.
President’s Wall – A Fence with an Open Gate
Walking along Highland Avenue in Birmingham, Alabama, yesterday I saw this sign. It is located in front of the parking lot of Temple Beth-el. The "wall" is actually a brick and iron fence installed as part of an effort to beautify the synagogue's street front. There are no gates on the driveways that lead across into …
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