WASHINGTON (ABP) — One thing is settled in the controversy over building an Islamic cultural center near the former World Trade Center site in New York: There is no legal impediment to the facility rising there. But, say experts in…
Church-state group discourages using public land for ‘Ground Zero mosque’
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A church-state watchdog group said a proposal by New York's governor to relocate a controversial Islamic center proposed in New York City to publicly owned property is legally flawed and should be abandoned. Barry Lynn, executive director…
Controversial theologian Clark Pinnock dies
HAMILTON, Ontario (ABP) — Clark Pinnock, an influential theologian whose spiritual pilgrimage led him from a fiery fundamentalism as a young professor to an openness that caused some to brand him a heretic, died Aug. 15 of a heart attack….
Judge throws out Missouri funeral protest law
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (ABP) — A federal judge ruled Aug. 16 that a Missouri law banning protests at or near funerals is unconstitutional. In 2006 Missouri passed a law prohibiting picketers within 300 feet of a memorial service. It was…
Hispanic evangelicals warn GOP against alienating Latino voters
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Leaders of the nation’s largest Hispanic evangelical organization warned leaders of the Republican Party Aug. 17 that their increasingly strident rhetoric on immigration puts the party at risk of losing an entire generation of Latino voters. Samuel…
Georgians learn German from Austrians thanks to Virginia Baptists
TBILISI, Georgia — An eight-day camp in the Caucasus Mountains to learn German may not sound like much of a vacation to some Americans. But for the young Georgians ages 12 to 23 who participated in the camp this summer,…
Exiled Palestinian pastor returns from Gaza Strip
AMMAN, Jordan (ABP) — The exiled pastor of Gaza Baptist Church began teaching Aug. 16 at Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary following a three-week visit to his homeland to preach, teach and distribute food and medicine to the poor. "While food…
Southern Baptist leader says Obama wrong about Ground Zero mosque
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — The head of the Southern Baptist Convention's moral-concerns agency said Aug. 14 that he disagreed with President Obama's assessment that Muslims have a constitutional right to build the so-called "Ground Zero mosque" in New York. "As…
Baptists respond to massive Pakistan flooding
ISLAMABAD, Pakisan (ABP) — Baptists around the globe are responding to the floods that have afflicted Pakistan for two weeks, sending money and resources in the aftermath of what could become the nation’s biggest natural disaster in modern times. {youtube}_rcTCmfN7rE{/youtube}…
Study says clergy neglecting self-care
DURHAM, N.C. (ABP) — Many clergy are caring for others but not taking adequate care of themselves, according to a recent study by Duke University. A survey of United Methodist ministers in North Carolina found them significantly more obese than…
Couple accused of stealing from Baptist church in North Carolina
GASTONIA, N.C. (ABP) — A North Carolina couple made their first court appearance Aug. 12 on charges that they embezzled more than $360,000 from their Baptist church. Alan Roland Linda Roland According to media reports, Alan Roland, 55, was treasurer…
Oil-patch chaplains show love in a tough workplace
HOUSTON (ABP) — It takes blood, sweat and tears to put gasoline in the cars Americans drive. It’s the blood and tears that concern new oil-patch chaplains in Texas. In spite of safety procedures, workplace accidents happen in oil fields,…