By Bruce Gourley On June 30 the United States Supreme Court, in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, ruled that the religious beliefs of employers trump the free conscience and civil rights of employees. For traditional Baptists, the decision hearkens to earlier…
Baptist identity and Millennials: Re-imagining church
By Bruce Gourley Within recent months David Gushee, ethicist at McAfee School of Theology, has argued that it is time for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to grow up and adopt organizational doctrinal parameters. Not doing so, he argues, alienates young…
The religious war on freedom
By Bruce Gourley What is the enemy of religion? While evil is often the answer, a poll focused on religious liberty in America and released this month by the Barna Group points in a much different direction. When asked if…
The summer of Baptist discontent and hope
By Bruce Gourley During the summer months each year, Baptist groups in America gather to preach, worship, pass resolutions and reevaluate the mission and direction of their churches and denominations. In recent years, these summer convention gatherings have seemingly been…
A very brief primer on Christian nationalism
By Bruce Gourley Christian nationalism is a hot topic, as a read of recent Associated Baptist Press articles and attendant commentary reveals. To wit, some Christians today insist that America was founded as a Christian nation, and that the concept…
The Texas textbook war in historical context
By Bruce Gourley The latest skirmish in white Southern religion’s war against history recently reached its climax in Texas. As has often been the case since the antebellum era, cultural religion won and American history lost. Christian fundamentalists on the…
Losing the Bible
By Bruce Gourley The “Battle for the Bible” is over, and the Bible lost. Sometime within the past 33 years since Harold Lindsell fired the first public shot in the Bible battle, fundamentalist Christians (including not a few Baptists) quietly placed…