WASHINGTON (RNS) — In South Carolina, a district court temporarily has halted production of state-sponsored license plates that declare “I Believe” and feature an illustration of a cross, superimposed on a stained-glass window. In Vermont, an appeals court is mulling…
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…
Historians debate reasons for rise of Landmarkism in 19th century
All Landmark Baptists believe in church succession, at least to some degree, but not every Baptist holding that position is — or was — a Landmarker, according to Alan Lefever, director of the Texas Baptist Historical Collection. Neither J.M. Carroll,…
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…
OUT LOUD
“I think the tradition is that they use all three names, and I will follow the tradition. I'm not trying to make a statement one way or another. I'll do what everybody else does.” Barack Obama The president-elect was telling…
NEW: Former SBC missionary accused of embezzling IMB funds now suspected in insurance sca
GULF SHORES, Ala. (ABP) — The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention declined to press criminal embezzlement charges in 2005 against a man now accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in an Alabama insurance scam. According…
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…
FAITHSHAPERS: Teaching baptism (2)
So what is baptism really? Because of its importance in Baptist life, I fear that we sometimes overemphasize the role of baptism. Children tend to see things in somewhat mystical ways by their very nature, and symbolic rituals with deep,…
Global downturn necessitates increased U.S. anti-poverty efforts
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The global financial crisis makes it even more urgent that the United States not only take care of its own economy, but also redouble efforts to aid the world's poorest, according to a new report and several…