Muslims affirm Saudi king's interfaith effort. Hundreds of Muslim leaders worldwide have endorsed Saudi King Abdullah's recent call for intensified interfaith dialogue in order to dampen global conflict and demonstrate Islam's commitment to solving world problems. The declaration came at…
Our Miss Alma
Alma Hunt had a healthy appetite. Among her thousands of stories which she delighted in retelling on herself, there was the story of the man who observed the petite Miss Hunt eating and exclaimed, “You have an amazing appetite!” And…
OUT LOUD
“The church is not reducible to the flaws and the futilities and the fragilities of one's human capacity. We're all human and fragile.” Michael Eric Dyson The Georgetown University professor was speaking at a church about why black members don't…
RIGHT OR WRONG?
My widowed mother is retired and survives on Social Security. After many years of living alone, she met a wonderful man she loves dearly. They want to marry, but because of potential loss of Social Security income, they are thinking…
Foundation celebrates scholarship awards
RICHMOND — The Virginia Baptist Foundation awarded scholarships totaling $70,625 to 41 recipients for 2008-2009 at its Scholarship Recipient's Reception June 8 at the Virginia Baptist Resource Center. The scholarship reception was a first-time event for the Foundation, drawing a…
Galindo named dean at BTSR
RICHMOND — Israel Galindo was elected dean at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond June 17 by seminary trustees. He replaces Mike Harton, who has served as interim dean for the past two years. Galindo Galindo serves the 17-year old seminary…
Bluefield College awards music scholarships
RICHMOND — Bluefield College awarded 13 $1,000 music scholarships to high school Baptist students during the Virginia Baptist All-State Youth Choir sponsored by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board at Derbyshire Baptist Church in Richmond. The recipients were Lauren Coburn of…
Love and marriage
WASHINGTON (ABP) — In all of America's brouhaha over whether legalizing same-sex marriage will sully the institution's sanctity, very few Christians are asking one important question: When — and why — did the government get into the sanctification business? When…
Establishment candidate wins presidency
INDIANAPOLIS (ABP) — Atlanta-area pastor Johnny Hunt was elected Southern Baptist Convention president over five contenders on the first ballot June 10, returning control of the 16 million-member denomination to its conservative establishment. On the first day of the 2008…
Legal scholar looks at prohibition on polygamy
ATLANTA, Ga. (RNS) — When authorities raided a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints compound in April and placed more than 400 children in state care, it brought the long-simmering issues of polygamous communities to a boil. Following…
Resolution could shrink SBC rolls further
INDIANAPOLIS (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention, struggling with a membership decline nationwide, passed a resolution June 11 that could significantly shrink church membership rolls even further. Messengers to the SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis also turned back efforts to…
Most evangelicals, Baptists tolerant, even universalist, survey suggests
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A massive survey of Americans’ religious views shows that Baptists, like the overall population, generally are socially tolerant of other faiths. It also suggests that most Americans and most Baptists are, effectively, universalists. The latest results are…