WASHINGTON (RNS) — In a razor-thin outcome, California voters overturned same-sex marriage rights in the nation's most populous state, as similar bans on gay marriage were approved in Arizona and Florida. The verdicts by voters in three large and growing…
Washington Baptist University continues its mission to Koreans
Most Virginia Baptists don't know about Washington Baptist University, but they should. Located in Annandale, it does not have a lawn or quadrangle or football stadium. But what it lacks in campus sprawl it more than makes up for in…
No victories on pro-life initiatives
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) — Voters in five states cast their ballots Nov. 4 on measures dealing with life issues, but pro-lifers came up short in all five cases. California and South Dakota voted down ballot initiatives concerning abortion while Colorado…
Virginia Baptists entrusted to ‘pay it forward’
Who could have imagined that a category 5 tornado that nearly leveled an entire Kansas town would become a stewardship opportunity for Virginia Baptists? The tornado that destroyed 95 percent of Greensburg, Kan., on May 4, 2007, with winds of…
Evangelicals say they’re not going anywhere
Faced with a Barack Obama presidency and Democratic gains in Congress, evangelicals are planning their next steps in a transformed political landscape, with hopes for some common ground and plans to continue fighting for social issues that had mixed results…
EDITORIAL: Expecting treasure at the annual meeting
I have been surprised and even occasionally shocked to hear the reasons some give for not attending the annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. Some cite family responsibilities that tether them to home as the reason they…
Southern Baptists in Congress return to D.C.
WASHINGTON (BP) — No Southern Baptist members of Congress lost their seats in voting Nov. 4. Both senators and all 23 representatives who are members of Southern Baptist churches and were on the general-election ballot gained victories. Two members of…
SECOND OPINION: On giving
As we are all well aware, we are in the midst of a global economic crisis. The world is facing a financial maelstrom and so too are churches and religious bodies, including all the partners in the Baptist General Association…
Dobson claims election sets pro-lifers back years
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (ABP) — Focus on the Family founder James Dobson said Nov. 6 that Barack Obama's election could set America's pro-life movement back 35 years. In the first of a two-part broadcast on his radio show, Dobson admitted…
OUT LOUD
“The fact that this [election] could happen in a country with as tragic a racial past as America's says something noble and fine about the American experiment and the glorious ‘opportunity democracy' it has spawned. After much struggle, we as…
American Muslims relieved, hopeful at Obama election
After months of balancing their support for the presidential candidate with concerns that their allegiance could do more harm than good, millions of relieved American Muslims cheered the election of the son of a Muslim immigrant whose middle name is…
Equality Riders arrested at Union University
JACKSON, Tenn. (ABP) — Three Christian gay-rights activists were arrested Nov. 10 on the campus of Southern Baptist-affiliated Union University. The arrests occurred during the next-to-last stop on the 2008 Equality Ride, an outreach bus tour of 15 religious schools…