ATLANTA (ABP) — Men with chemical dependency in Waukegan, Ill., now have a home to help them recover and build new lives — thanks to a local church and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. First Baptist Church in Waukegan and CBF…
Challenge to ban on church politics may not excite Americans, polls say
WASHINGTON (ABP) — While just 33 churches signed up to participate in a conservative Christian group’s “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” Sept. 28, planners viewed it as a success. That is, organizers said, because its stated purpose was not to inject politics…
VP debate explores little on hot-button social issues
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (ABP) — Voters hoping to know more about the vice-presidential candidates’ faith-influenced views on contentious policy issues probably learned little from the Oct. 2 debate between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Sarah Palin. Only one question posed…
Young evangelicals differ from elders on gays, similar on abortion rights
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new poll says white evangelicals under 30 are just as opposed to abortion as their older counterparts, but more liberal in their views on same-sex marriage or civil unions for gays. The survey, conducted for the…
Human Rights & Wrongs: Not all coercion is torture, ethicist says
WAKE FOREST, N.C. (ABP) — Debate over the morality of coercive force would be served better if everyone involved quit using the word “torture” altogether, said Daniel Heimbach, professor of Christian ethics at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. “The problem here…
Human Rights & Wrongs: Torture has consequences for body, soul
ATLANTA (ABP) — Nearly two decades ago, Sister Dianna Ortiz says, Guatemalan security forces abducted her and took her to a clandestine prison where she was brutally gang-raped; burned more than 100 times with cigarettes; forced to cut another woman…
Human Rights & Wrongs: Why the religious silence on torture?
ATLANTA (ABP) — Most evangelical American Christians remained silent about torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo for some of the same reasons European Christians 70 years ago largely failed to resist the Holocaust, ethicist David Gushee told a national summit…
Human Right & Wrongs: Christians should defend rights, ethicist says
ATLANTA (ABP) — Concern about human rights means biblically grounded compassion for oppressed people — not a selfish desire to protect one’s own property or prestige, Baptist ethicist Glen Stassen told a recent meeting of religious leaders concerned about torture….
BGAV registration ends soon
RICHMOND — Preregistration for Connect:2008, the 185th annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, will be closing in mid-October, say association officials. Connect:2008 will be held in Roanoke Nov. 11-12 at the Roanoke Civic Center and the Hotel…
Editor receives training in ‘Planned Gifts’
Last week, Religious Herald editor and business manager Jim White received a certificate of proficiency in planned giving from the School of Philanthropy in Indianapolis, Ind. The School of Philanthropy is operated in partnership by Indiana and Perdue universities. “In…
VIRGINIA BRIEFS
Bluefield College earns membership in Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Bluefield College has been awarded full membership into the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, a higher education association of more than 180 intentionally Christ-centered institutions around the world….
Fireproof makes Hollywood premiere
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (BP) — Californians who don't attend church heard the gospel in a cultural context last weekend that may have taken some off-guard. That's because Sherwood Baptist Church's latest movie, Fireproof, had its Hollywood debut Sept. 25 and presented…