BLUEFIELD — Bluefield College has introduced a new scholarship program that will benefit students who come recommended by their local church. As part of a new Church Matching Scholarship Program, Bluefield College will award up to $1,000 to a student,…
Virginia judge gives conservatives legal victory
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…
EDITORIAL: Will we blow out the candles or let them burn?
For the most part, I love parties. I'm not talking about political parties. I'd rather not think about those for a while. No, I'm talking about the kind of parties that feature ice cream and cake. And presents. That's why…
HERITAGE: Getting connected
Ann Fitzgerald Brown's family was in the telephone business. Her great-grandfather put in a telephone from his house to his store and a telephone company was started. It was all about people getting connected with one another in the rural…
Dan Goodman, N.C. seminary professor, dies suddenly
BOILING SPRINGS, N.c. (ABP) — A 40-year-old professor at a North Carolina Baptist divinity school died unexpectedly Jan. 13. Gardner-Webb University officials released a statement saying Dan Goodman, the Bob D. Shepherd Chair of New Testament Interpretation at the college’s…
Deadly Zimbabwe cholera outbreak crime against humanity, group says
NEW YORK (ABP) — The cholera outbreak that has killed thousands in Zimbabwe should be considered a crime against humanity and laid at the feet of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, an international doctors’ group said in a new report. Physicians…
Faith leaders urge Obama to ban torture on Inauguration Day
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A broad coalition of faith leaders has written a letter asking President-elect Barack Obama to make banning torture one of his first acts in office. Thirty-three leaders from Christian, Jewish and Muslim traditions asked Obama to “restore…
U.S. team’s mission changes after Costa Rica earthquake
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — Ten mission volunteers in Costa Rica to provide safe drinking water and vision clinics turned to disaster relief when a 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit Jan. 9. This grandstand is staging area for a feeding operation being staffed…
Baptists, Muslims say dialogue a step in right direction
Baptist and Muslim scholars recently gathered at Andover Newton Theological School near Boston for a historic dialogue. (PHOTO/S. Farooqui) NEWTON CENTER, Mass. (ABP) — Several dozen Baptists and Muslims gathered Jan. 9-11 to repair a relationship better known for harsh…
UPDATE: Warren’s church says violence no excuse for divorce
(Editor's note: This story updates, replaces and corrects one issued Jan. 8, which incorrectly attributed the domestic-violence comments to Warren rather than Holladay. ABP regrets the error.) LAKE FOREST, Calif. (ABP) — Comments on the Saddleback Church website that the Bible does not…
Robert Handy, Baptist historian, seminary professor, dies
NEW YORK (ABP) — Robert Handy, who studied under legendary Christian scholars like Paul Tillich before becoming a prominent Baptist historian in his own right, died at a retirement community in West Caldwell, N.J., Jan. 8. He was 90. Handy…
UPDATED: Warren’s church says domestic violence no excuse for divorce
(Editor's note: This story corrects and replaces an earlier story that erroneously attributed the comments on the audio to Rick Warren. ABP regrets the error.) LAKE FOREST, Calif. (ABP) — Rick Warren, the Southern Baptist mega-church pastor chosen to deliver the…