RIDGECREST, N.C. — Celebrating the 125th anniversary of its organization, Woman’s Missionary Union of North Carolina gathered April 8-10 at Ridgecrest (N.C.) Baptist Conference Center for its annual Missions Extravaganza. More than 1,100 strong, they came from all parts of…
EDITORIAL: Aunt Ida realizes there comes a time to turn loose of the past
Dear Jimmy, I hope you had a wonderful time with your family on Easter. At Bluebell Baptist we had about the best Easter service I can remember havin’. Brother Bobby has been visitin’ with the deacons and I reckon their…
HERITAGE: A life of blessings
The first thing Bill Gwathmey sees every morning is the fields at Rose Mount, the farm where he has lived since 1954. At 90 he does not work in the fields but chooses to lease them. He likewise no longer…
VITAL SIGNS: Words from a master
I recently had the privilege of hearing Fred Craddock preach. For many clergy, Craddock represents the personification of a stream of preaching that emphasizes narrative and intuition over expository and logic. For some it is extremely appealing, not so much…
OUT LOUD
“Zoar will not be resurrected, because in order to be resurrected the church had to be dead and it was never dead.” John Snow The pastor of Zoar Baptist Church in Deltaville, Va., was describing his congregation’s response to a…
Translators’ goal: Make the message clear and plain
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (ABP) — The preface to the King James Version of the Bible captures Barclay Newman’s respect almost as much as the holy words the translation contains. Barclay Newman And the longtime translator for the American Bible Society is…
After 400 years, does King James still rule?
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Supporters have called it “the book that changed the world.” Detractors have derided it as archaic and inaccurate. But few dispute the impact the King James Version of the Bible has made over the last four…
King James-only adherents apply inerrancy to 1611 Bible translation
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Like the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel’s “wheel in the middle of a wheel,” King James-only churches represent a resilient subculture within the subculture of American fundamentalist Protestants, some scholars insist. King James-only churches believe God preserved…
Whose ‘majesty’ were the KJV translators exalting?
WACO, Texas (ABP) — When many readers describe the 1611 King James Version of the Bible, the word “majesty” tends to enter the conversation. It’s no wonder, according to Laura Knoppers, professor of English at Penn State University. The translators…
Christianity a ‘translated religion’–into Living Word and written word
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Translation of Scripture grows naturally out of a central Christian theme — God making himself known by identifying with the commonplace, said Lamin Sanneh, professor of mission and world Christianity at Yale University. Today, dozens of…
Supreme Court permits taxpayer challenge to funding of Baptist home
WASHINGTON (ABP) – The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a lower-court ruling allowing Kentucky taxpayers to sue over public funding of a Baptist youth home. The April 18 order left standing a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals…
Senate confirms religious-freedom ambassador
WASHINGTON (ABP) – It took 10 months, but on April 14 the U.S. Senate approved President Obama’s nomination of a new ambassador at large for international religious freedom. Suzan Johnson Cook Obama originally nominated Suzan Johnson Cook, an American Baptist…