A Virginia judge ruled on Dec. 19 that three parcels of land belong to parishes that have broken away from the Episcopal Church, handing conservatives an important, if tentative, legal win. An 1867 state law, passed as Virginia congregations separated…
News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for January 15, 2009
STAFF CHANGES • Kendell Smith, to Sandy Level Church, Sandy Level, as pastor. • Elizabeth Hagan, to Washington Plaza Church, Reston, as pastor. • Gerald Reeves, to Kentuck Church, Ringgold, as pastor. • Ed Vogt, to Sandusky Church, Lynchburg, as…
SECOND OPINION: Is your church an open door?
The church my family and I attended in my early childhood was always unlocked. In fact, I don't think they even had a key to the door! In this country setting where everyone knew everyone else within several miles of…
Most Americans believe in multiple paths to salvation, survey reveals
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Most American Christians believe at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life, a new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life reveals. Even among evangelicals, who profess belief that an individual must…
Happy Birthday, Baptists
Some Christians before 1609 held what many refer to as distinctively Baptist beliefs. Baptists in 1609 practiced believer's baptism, but they didn't immerse. Even so, most church historians agree Baptists emerged as a distinct movement 400 years ago. From their…
FAITH DIGEST
ACLU sues over inmate's right to preach. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit on behalf of a New Jersey prison inmate who was ordained behind bars eight years ago and now contends his religious freedoms were violated when…
Patterns in denominationalism
With approximately 35 million members and over fifty distinct groups in the United States, Baptists make up the largest and the most diverse American Protestant tradition. This diversity may partly be attributed to theological differences, dissimilarities in worship styles, and…
Baptist history a continuing search for the New Testament church
Some Baptists stress evangelism, and others emphasize the social gospel. Some believe Christ died for all people; others say Christ died only for the elect whom God predestined to salvation. Historically, some defended slavery; others championed civil rights. Even a…
Religious abuse continues in Iraq, commission says
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Iraq should be designated as a “country of particular concern” because its government tolerates the abuse of religious communities, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The federal commission said many Iraqi religious minorities —…
EDITORIAL: Unto us a child is born
In some sense, I can relate to Mary the mother of Jesus. Luke records that after the birth of Jesus “Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). We can almost imagine the young physician,…
SECOND OPINION: The public ban on Christmas symbols
No trees adorned with twinkling lights will bless — or aggravate — visitors to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's two main libraries this year, according to a Dec. 5 story in the Raleigh News and Observer. After…
The church that wouldn’t give up
Robert Baylor Semple dipped his quill into an inkwell and wrote: “This church was stricken off from Hermitage ….” He was referring to Zoar Baptist Church; and in 1810 he devoted one long paragraph to the Middlesex County church in…