A new one-page resource advocates a “golden rule” for religious liberty. “Do not ask government to promote your religion if you don’t want government to promote somebody else’s religion; and do not permit government to hinder somebody else’s religion if…
Seminary president says ‘sanctified testosterone’ antidote for anemic church
The church cannot flourish without strong male leadership, a Southern Baptist seminary president said at a recent gathering promoting the idea that men and women are created for different and complementary roles in marriage and church. “Where there is a…
SBC leader to convene national conversation on race
Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd will convene A National Conversation on Racial Unity at the group’s annual meeting next month in St. Louis, the pastor of Cross Church in Northwest Arkansas announced in a blog May 2. Floyd said…
Youth volunteer at S.C. megachurch charged with abuse
A 20-year-old youth group volunteer at the nation’s largest Southern Baptist church has been arrested on a charge of sexually assaulting a minor. Leo LaSalle Comissiong III is accused of kissing and fondling a 15-year-old boy in February at the…
Bill would list schools asking for LGBT exemptions to Title IX
A Massachusetts congresswoman has introduced legislation to require the government to publish the names of colleges and universities that request religious exemptions to federal regulations that bar discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) unveiled…
Theologian says gender identity a ‘last wall’ in civilization
Allowing children to use the public restroom in school that corresponds to their perceived sexual identity if it differs from their birth biology is a line in the sand for Bible-believing Christians, the leader of an organization that affirms that…
Andover Newton enters partnership with Yale
Baptist-affiliated Andover Newton Theological School and Yale Divinity School have signed a letter of intent to enter a two-phase plan toward formal affiliation beginning this fall, administrators at the two schools announced May 2. If the first phase is successful,…
BJC, others, oppose discrimination by federal contractors
The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty was among 42 religious, education, civil rights, labor and women’s organizations opposing an amendment to a defense policy bill that would exempt religious organizations from a 2014 executive order by President Obama barring…
Arrest made in Philly church shooting
Criminal charges have been filed in a fatal shooting that took place inside a Southern Baptist church in Pennsylvania during a Sunday morning worship service April 24. Mark Storms, 46, of Landsdale, Pa., was arraigned April 28 on charges of…
Faith leaders denounce Trump’s ‘call to bigotry’
Fifty-five faith leaders invoked the memory of martyred Hitler opponent Dietrich Bonhoeffer in a proclamation April 28 denouncing presidential candidate Donald Trump. “Donald Trump directly promotes racial and religious bigotry, disrespects the dignity of women, harms civil public discourse, offends…
Missouri Religious Liberty Amendment dies in committee
A Missouri Baptist Convention-engineered proposal to strengthen religious liberty protections in the state constitution died April 27 when it failed to win a majority vote from the House Committee on Emerging Issues. “I am sorry to report that freedom suffered…
Mohler says Hastert conviction a morality tale
Wednesday’s sentencing of former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert in a hush money case involving sexual abuse serves as a lesson for all, says a Southern Baptist seminary president criticized two weeks ago for introducing a speaker publicly identified…