By Bob Allen The driver of an SUV that crashed into a church van killing two people in east Tennessee Sept. 16 has been indicted on 36 counts including vehicular homicide and drug possession. Police believe Tyler Schaeffer, 21, of…
Voters reject ‘no-aid’ repeal
By Bob Allen Florida voters rejected a measure to repeal the state’s ban on public funding for religious organizations, 55 percent to 45 percent, Nov. 6. Amendment 8 would have removed language from Florida’s constitution prohibiting state funds from being…
Nigerian Baptists respond to floods
By Bob Allen The Baptist World Alliance has dispatched $10,000 for flood relief in Nigeria, where heavy rains have killed 363 people since July. More than two million Nigerians have been forced from their homes by this year’s floods, the…
Evangelicals and abortion: chicken or egg?
News analysis by Bob Allen Heading into a presidential race in which taxpayer funding of abortion tops the Family Research Council’s “values voter” guide, author Jonathan Dudley suggested in a recent CNN religion blog that as late as the 1960s…
NJ churches damaged in storm
By Bob Allen Baptist leaders in New Jersey estimate between 20 percent and 30 percent of the state’s 280 American Baptist churches sustained damage from Hurricane Sandy. Lee Spitzer, regional pastor for the American Baptist Churches of New Jersey, described…
Criswell College sues over health mandate
By Bob Allen Criswell College, a Southern Baptist Bible school with informal ties to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, sued the federal government Nov. 1, claiming the contraceptive mandate in President Obama’s Affordable Care Act violates the school’s opposition…
NAACP criticizes Franklin Graham
By Bob Allen A group of African-American leaders in North Carolina has called out evangelist Franklin Graham a second time for attempting to raise doubts about whether President Obama is a Christian. A seven-page, 2,500-word letter on the NAACP of…
States eye ballot questions
By Bob Allen With the eyes of the nation trained on a presidential race that pollsters say is too close to call, voters in 38 states will decide in ballot initiatives Nov. 6 on hot-button issues including marijuana, marriage and…
Carter Center supports Israel probe
By Bob Allen Former President Jimmy Carter commended 15 Christian leaders whose recent call for Congress to investigate human-rights violations by Israelis against Palestinians caused tension between Jewish and mainline Protestant denominations in the United States. The Atlanta-based Carter Center…