Sixteen Candles was a popular song for the teen and college set in 1959 and was among the repertoire of a singing group at the University of Richmond known as The Jeters. (Readers of this column and UR alums recognize…
European conservatives: Poland pivotal in battle against ‘anti-family’ forces
WARSAW (ABP) — Poland is one of the few European countries to maintain traditionalist Catholic stances in the international debate over social issues like abortion, gay marriage and embryonic stem-cell research. That's one reason why leaders of the World Congress…
RIGHT OR WRONG?
I'm worried about my elderly mother driving a car, but I hate to take away her independence by taking away her keys. The Bible says to honor your father and mother, and I don't want her to think I've lost…
Treasury withdraws Cuba fine against Alliance of Baptists
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Treasury Department officials have dropped the threat of a $34,000 fine against the Alliance of Baptists, according to a letter the group's attorney received May 17. The department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, threatened the…
Churches pressure travel industry on sex trafficking
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Faith groups are using their collective influence and financial wherewithal to press the travel and hospitality industry to take greater steps to protect children from sex trafficking. Increasing numbers of church groups and other religious bodies say it's not…
3 prominent Republicans join Carter, Clinton, Gore on New Covenant roster
ATLANTA (ABP) — Organizers for next January's New Baptist Covenant gathering announced the speakers for the historic three-day meeting — with former President Jimmy Carter making good on a pledge to enlist prominent Republican Baptists to complement the mostly Democratic…
House extends hate crimes law to include violence against homosexuals
WASHINGTON (RNS)—The House of Representatives has voted to extend hate crimes legislation to add protections for homosexuals, bisexuals and people with gender-identity issues in the same way people are protected because of race or creed. Democratic leaders called it a…
What people don’t know about religion can hurt them
BOSTON (RNS)—What Americans don't know about religion is sometimes funny. For instance, when Jay Leno interviewed people on the street recently, someone told him God made Eve out of an apple. Americans' ignorance also makes for some astonishing statistics. Ten…
Does Gore trump Gideons at hotel?
SAN FRANCISCO (RNS)—Reports that Al Gore has replaced God—at least in one California hotel—have been greatly exaggerated, the hotel's developer said. The Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa, located 35 miles north of San Francisco, made headlines after a media…
FAITH DIGEST
CHRISTIAN WORSHIP EXPERT WEBBER DIES. Robert Webber, an influential expert on Christian worship, died April 27 in Sawyer, Mich., after suffering from pancreatic cancer. He was 73. Webber, a professor of ministry at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Ill., the last…
Woven together
The drive to weave ties among local churches is housed deep in the Baptist DNA, some observers of denominational life say. It's an instinct almost as visceral as another, often competing, Baptist charactertistic — a fierce independence of thought and…
Trustees soften controversial IMB policies
KANSAS CITY, MO. (ABP) — Controversial policies for missionaries on baptism and speaking in tongues were slightly softened—but not revoked—by trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board May 8. The trustees, meeting in Kansas City, approved an ad…