What are we trying to do to our children? You have probably read or heard the statistics that indicate the importance of instilling faith in children. The likelihood of a person coming to faith declines significantly with the onset of…
Specter moves to allow churches to show Super Bowl
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Commitee, plans to introduce legislation to allow churches to show the Super Bowl on widescreen televisions, just as bars do now. “There's absolutely no reason why…
Ed Young says he didn’t argue with Clinton about Bible literality
NEW YORK (ABP) — Bill Clinton may have had Ed Young confused with another Southern Baptist pastor or may simply have chosen to remember a 1993 encounter falsely when he spoke to a group of Baptists several weeks ago, according…
Opinion: Emerging evangelical center may decide 2008 election
Last summer I completed a book arguing that an evangelical center is emerging in American life and that it shows signs of displacing the vaunted but fading “Christian right” in the hearts and minds of American evangelicals–especially among younger and…
Post-Covenant criticism comes from left, right
NEW YORK (ABP) — Although organizers hailed a recent pan-Baptist gathering as a success, a handful of critics have leveled a wide array of charges against the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. The critics of the event, held in…
Opinion: Torture is the bone caught in America’s throat
It is clear to me that the problem of torture is like a bone caught in our national throat. We can't swallow it, but we can't quite spit it out. And so we are choking on it. The sound of…
Huckabee endorsement brings IRS investigation of Wiley Drake
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Outspoken California pastor and former Southern Baptist Convention officer Wiley Drake is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service. The candidate for the SBC presidency this year is under scrutiny for using his church letterhead and church-sponsored…
Surgery causes Al Mohler to bow out of SBC race
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptists' oldest seminary and spokesman for conservative social causes, will bow out of the race to head the nation's largest Protestant denomination, according to a Feb. 14 statement. Mohler will undergo…
Rep. Tom Lantos, champion of religious freedom, dies
WASHINGTON (ABP) — One of Congress' staunchest defenders of international religious freedom has died. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) died Feb. 11 at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., reportedly of complications from esophageal cancer. The 80-year-old Lantos had…
Opinion: An economy of scale to pursue edification, discernment
I recently had the privilege of enjoying the hospitality of the Englewood Christian Church of Indianapolis. This congregation isn't as well known as Saddleback, nor has its pastor (Michael Bowling) ever been interviewed by Larry King, but its story is…
Religious voters in ‘Potomac Primary’ boost Obama, protest McCain
WASHINGTON (ABP) — In the latest presidential primary contests, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama improved his position among Catholics on the Democratic side while most white evangelicals chose not to vote for Arizona Sen. John McCain, even though he is now…
CBF council approves budget, reports revenue shortfalls at February meeting
ATLANTA (ABP) -– Leaders of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship approved a $16.5 million budget for the 2008-2009 fiscal year and heard of budget shortfalls during the CBF Coordinating Council's Feb. 7-8 meeting in Decatur, Ga. The council's finance committee reported…