DEATH • Retired Virginia Baptist pastor Donald P. Stroud died Feb. 15 in Yorktown at the age of 72. He served as pastor of churches in Florida, North Carolina and Georgia, before coming to Virginia and serving as pastor of…
Ethicist describes recipe for global warming skepticism
SAN ANTONIO — Conservative Christians generally have turned a cold shoulder to concerns about global warming, but ethicist David Gushee believes he understands why. “Climate change is among the most heavily reported stories — and in my view, one of…
Human rights activists urge pressure on China
(BP) — A group of 26 prominent human rights activists have signed an open letter urging the international community to exert pressure on the People's Republic of China to improve its human rights practices before the Summer Olympics open in…
Oxford researchers get $4 million to study origins of belief in God
LONDON (RNS) — Oxford University researchers have been given nearly $4 million to investigate the origins of belief in God. The three-year project titled “Empirical Expansion in Cognitive Science of Religion and Theology” is designed to determine if belief in…
SECOND OPINION: Unity at the expense of truth
In his speech at the recent New Baptist Covenant celebration, John Grisham urged his hearers to spend as much time ministering out in the streets as they do in the church. No doubt this is in many ways an admirable…
What has Hobbiton to do with Jerusalem?
Bible Belt Christians have struggled long with literature and film espousing a view of reality that confronts the values of our Christian life. In general, if a book or movie challenges what generally are perceived as Christian values or morals…
Kidnapped in Guatemala: Mission trip turns harrowing
It was dark, and they were running behind schedule due to road construction in Guatemala City, but little did a group of eight mission-minded Christians from Grace Baptist Church in Halifax know that would be the least of their worries…
Kessler called to head empowering leaders team
RICHMOND — After the executive committee of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board approved the action, executive director John Upton announced that Kenneth Kessler will join the mission board staff as the team leader of the empowering leaders team. In 2004,…
Should Christians use violent video games to lure teens to church?
NEW YORK (ABP) — What do warthogs, pelicans, energy swords and Spartan lasers have in common? And how do they relate to John 1:17? They're all part of a video game called Halo 3, the top-selling video game of 2007…
FIRST HAND: Camp Alkulana offers year-round setting
Camp Alkulana — a ministry of the Richmond Baptist Association — has served as a summer haven for Richmond's inner-city children since 1915. But what many Virginians don't know is that Alkulana is available year-round to other groups looking for…
Circumcision: Are parents cutting out the sign of the Covenant?
NEW YORK (ABP) — The foundational symbol of God's ancient covenant with his people is getting a lot less common in the United States, but medical and theological debates still rage about the propriety of circumcision. Recent legal battles over…
Methodist group targets Israeli violence in Gaza
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) — Several groups within the United Methodist Church have responded to Israel's clampdown on the Gaza Strip by urging divestment in companies that do business with Israel and publishing media critical of the Jewish state. The United…