WASHINGTON (ABP) — For the first time since the United States overthrew Saddam Hussein four years ago, a non-partisan federal panel said May 2 that religious freedom in Iraq is gravely endangered. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom,…
Worship pioneer Robert Webber dies of pancreatic cancer at 73
SAWYER, Mich. (ABP) — Robert Webber, one of the most influential figures in Christian worship during the last half century, died April 27 of pancreatic cancer in his Sawyer, Mich., home. He was 73. The author of more than 40…
ABP board honors three, moves ahead with partnership with Standard, others
DALLAS (ABP) — The board of the nation's only independent news service for Baptists honored two leaders of Baptist communications and a Dallas congregation for their contributions to the cause of Christian journalism April 27. Meeting in Dallas, directors of…
Immigration ethics: Anti-immigrant rhetoric not new, historians say
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — If American Protestants today have trouble knowing how to accept and assimilate a new wave of immigrants, they can at least take comfort in knowing their forebears wrestled with similar issues. “Americans have always struggled with…
Holy Spirit conference urges unity, decries its absence in Baptist life
ARLINGTON, Texas (ABP) — Pentecost, and the Holy Spirit it celebrates, are largely overlooked in Baptist churches, pastor Dwight McKissic said April 27 at his Baptist Conference on the Holy Spirit. That lack of awareness is Baptists' loss, according to…
Immigration ethics: Can churches legally help illegal immigrants?
CHICAGO (ABP) — Most churches feel a duty to serve and minister to anyone in need. But if that includes undocumented immigrants, legal and ethical issues emerge that many congregations don't know how to address. And it's no longer just…
Gruesome murders, Islamist candidate worry Turkish Christians, secularists
ISTANBUL (ABP) — As Turkish Christians reel from the recent brutal murders of three of their own — allegedly by radical Islamists — many Turks worry the possible election of Turkey's first devoutly Muslim president could mean more trouble. As…
Texas Baptists minister to tornado victims in Texas and Mexico
PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico (ABP) — Juan Molina doesn't remember the last tornado that hit Eagle Pass, Texas, or Piedras Negras, Mexico. And he doesn't know anyone else who recalls the last one either. So when it started to rain earlier…
Pfeiffer VP becomes Bluefield’s ninth president in 85 Years
BLUEFIELD, Va. (ABP) — David Olive will be the next president of Bluefield College, the Virginia Baptist school announced April 21. Olive, who currently is executive vice president and chief operating officer at Pfeiffer University in Charlotte, N.C., will be…
Veterans Affairs agrees to allow Wiccan symbols as grave markers
WASHINGTON (ABP) — After a 10-year struggle, the federal Department of Veterans Affairs has approved placing a symbol of the Wicca faith on the grave markers of Wiccan soldiers buried in government cemeteries. The decision is the result of a…
In first fallout from abortion ruling, Supreme court returns state cases
WASHINGTON (ABP) — In the first fallout from a controversial recent ruling on abortion rights, the Supreme Court on April 23 returned two cases — dealing with Virginia and Missouri state laws on so-called “partial-birth” abortions — to lower federal…
ABP Presidential Campaign Series
GOP presidential race again features faith, but new dynamics Democratic presidential race features more faith than usual ABP compares faith-based positions of top-tier presidential hopefuls “Faith and the presidency”: How the leading candidates compare Will Huckabee's strong Iowa showing bring…