As Baptists plan 400th anniversary celebrations, Bob Dale, author and recently retired associate executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, suggests they think ahead to the kind of celebration they want to have a generation from now. Casting…
Poll: Americans see religious influence waning
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Two-thirds of Americans think religion is losing its influence on U.S. life, a sharp jump from just three years ago when Americans were nearly evenly split on the question, according to a new Gallup Poll. Sixty-seven percent…
Baptist influence on history of U.S., world a mixed bag, historians say
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Baptists' signal contribution to American and world history and political thought, historians almost unanimously agree, is their uncompromising emphasis on religious liberty. But, they hasten to add, the doctrine of soul freedom that grounds Baptists' belief in…
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 —…
Wide variety of Baptists found in 111th Congress
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The various Baptist churches represented in the incoming 111th Congress are emblematic of America's broad array of Baptists. There are 66 self-identified Baptists in the new Congress, according to a study by the Pew Forum on Religion…
Tebow’s faith takes center stage in bowl
MIAMI (BP) — With “John 3:16” written on top of his eye black, Tim Tebow led his Florida Gators to victory Jan. 8 against the Oklahoma Sooners in a 24-14 win in the BCS National Championship. Replacing his trademark “Phil…
An uncertain past for one of the world’s major denominations
Baptists have no founder. They have no certain month, day and year of beginning. It is risky at best to find the earliest tender roots of a people who have become one of the world's major religious denominations. Across the…
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…
VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: Disturbing articles
I wonder if anyone else found it disturbing that there were two brief articles, one above the other, on page 7 of the Nov. 20 Religious Herald — one announcing that in our nation's capital ads will appear on buses…
Virginia pastor’s research sheds new light on old Baptist controversy
RICHMOND — The struggle between moderates and fundamentalists for control of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1979 into the early 1990s is often called “the controversy.” Yet it was really just the latest controversy. In 1899, William Heth Whitsitt (1841-1911),…
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…