WASHINGTON (ABP) — A group of high-ranking Pentagon officials improperly endorsed and aided an evangelical Christian ministry, according to a Defense Department investigation recently made public. The Department of Defense inspector general's report was dated July 20 and released to…

CHICAGO (ABP) — In what pro-gay activists hailed as a historic opening, members of the nation's largest Lutheran denomination voted Aug. 11 to loosen a policy that bans gay ministers from having sexual relationships. By a 538-431 margin, delegates to…

GHAZNI, Afghanistan (ABP) — Two of the 23 South Korean hostages kidnapped by the Taliban last month were released Aug. 12. Associated Press reported Kim Kyung-ja, 37, and Kim Ji-na, 32, were driven to waiting Red Cross vehicles in rural…

UNEDITED NEWS RELEASE — BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Social Work Program received notification that their program has been reaccredited by the Council on Social Work Education for another eight years. By successfully meeting the standards of…

CHARLESTON, S.C. (ABP) — Perhaps the most notable thing about the recent “Baptist History Celebration,” held in the mother church of Southern Baptists, is that it happened at all. But historians from an astonishing array of Baptist groups — liberal,…

NEW YORK (ABP) — If scientists could chart physical changes that happen in the brain during prayer, would it mean that prayer is something that happens only in the mind? And if brain scans show unique molecular activity during meditation,…

ARLINGTON, Texas (ABP) — Benjamin Cole, a young pastor who is one of the most vocal critics of some Southern Baptist Convention leaders, is leaving to join the Oklahoma church staff of fellow reform-minded blogger Wade Burleson. Cole, who currently…

NEW YORK (ABP) — If science demonstrates that prayer is more neurological than metaphysical, will it cause the believers to abandon their faith, reduced to a figment of their imagination? It's highly unlikely, experts in the field of neurotheology agree….

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Beginning with ancient Christians martyred by the Roman Empire and running through Thomas Becket, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and beyond, church leaders often have spoken truth to the secular powers — regardless of the consequences. But in the months…

DALLAS (ABP) — Christians who strongly favor or oppose the war in Iraq don't have to look far to find someone who disagrees with them. They may be sharing the same pew. In virtually every congregation, there are believers on…

DALLAS (ABP) — Whatever the outcome, the 2007 presidential race in the Baptist General Convention of Texas will be historic: Texas Baptists will either elect their first female president or choose their first president in more than 20 years not…

(ABP) — Baptists share common roots with the so-called “peace churches,” denominations with a history of pacifism and peacemaking. But despite that common bond, historians say, most Baptists have become more accepting of war. Peace groups like the Quakers, Mennonites…