News

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Baptists, they say, multiply by dividing. And the various Baptist churches and denominational groups represented in the incoming 111th Congress are emblematic of America’s broad array of Baptists — and of religious life in general. While precise…

ATLANTA (ABP) — Griffin Bell, the U.S. attorney general during the Carter administration and a longtime benefactor of Mercer University, died Jan. 5 after long battles with pancreatic cancer and kidney disease. He was 90. Bell, who grew up in…

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — The Baptist World Alliance has issued its formal response to a 2007 letter, written to Christians by 138 Muslim leaders, describing love for God and love for neighbor as common ground between the two faiths….

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (ABP) — Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson said that God told him to look for a quick rebound of the economy in 2009 but warned against threats of long-term runaway inflation and instability in the Middle East. In…

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (ABP) — Pastor Rick Warren termed criticism of his selection to pray the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration "hate speech" and "Christophobia" in a video message on the Saddleback Church website. "A lot of you…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Pentagon recently reversed its policy of granting religious groups like the Gideons International preferential access to provide literature to new recruits. A new regulation distributed in November says non-federal entities can continue to receive permission to…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — President-elect Barack Obama's surprise pick of Purpose Driven Life author Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration Jan. 20 isn't the first time the ceremonial prayer has created controversy. Rick Warren's invitation to pray at…

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — Baptist journalists and observers ranked religion in the 2008 presidential election the year's biggest story for Baptists. Faith in politics played a major role in the year's news cycle, according to an annual ranking of top…

NEW YORK (ABP) — Christian leaders on Dec. 18 called on President-elect Barack Obama to ease travel restrictions to Cuba they say hinder religious work. Denominational and ecumenical leaders from a variety of faith groups said restrictions imposed in 2005…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — A majority of American Christians believe that at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life, says a new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Even among evangelicals, a branch of Protestant…

FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has announced plans to cut its budget by about 10 percent — a reduction between $3.5 million and $4 million — in an effort to "protect the institution from future financial…