WASHINGTON (ABP) — Some members of Congress want to make it harder for citizens to sue the government over religious-liberty abuses. If a House panel has its way, groups that win federal cases against the government for violating church-state separation…
CBF awards 80 scholarships to 2006-2007 seminarians
ATLANTA (ABP) — Eighty students at 11 Cooperative Baptist Fellowship partner schools have received scholarships for the 2006-2007 academic year. The scholarships are designed for students with CBF ties going to seminaries or divinity schools that train future church leaders….
Katrina, Iraq war reveal weaknesses in U.S., National Baptist pres says
DALLAS (ABP) — Two esteemed institutions — the United States and the church –appear in danger of abandoning the high ideals of their founding documents, the president of the nation's largest African-American Baptist group said. “A haunting shade hangs over…
National Baptist speakers criticize prosperity gospel, ‘seeker’ churches
DALLAS (ABP) — Speaking to a late-afternoon audience of more than 1,000, former Southern Baptist Convention president Jimmy Allen told the nation's largest African-American Baptist group that media promotion of a “prosperity gospel” is deluging modern-day churches — and driving…
Tennessee teen’s witness continues more than a month after his death
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — “If it means me dying and lost people coming to know Christ, I'd die.” Those words were spoken by 16-year-old Nathan Johnson at summer camp, just weeks before he lost his life in a car accident….
Major divisions within Islam
(ABP) — For American Christians who don't know a Shiite from a Sunni, or an Alawi from a Wahhabi, divisions within Islam can be daunting to decipher. Here's a simple Who's Who of a few major groups — either religious…
Views of Islam differ with politics, faith, geography, scholars say
(ABP) — Muslims and Christians worship the same God. Allah and the Father of Jesus are nothing alike. Jihad means an inner struggle to obey God's will. Jihad means waging war on infidels. Muslims support human rights. Muslims practice oppression…
Global Women picks new leader amid generational tension
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Cindy Dawson, a former missionary with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, has been elected coordinator of Global Women. She takes over an organization that is struggling to overcome a generational divide. Global Women, based in Birmingham, Ala.,…
SBC too liberal? Baptist group ousts Ohio college for SBC ties
CEDARVILLE, Ohio (ABP) — Although the Southern Baptist Convention has established itself as a stalwart among conservatives, one group of Baptists thinks it's not conservative enough. The General Association of Regular Baptist Churches recently broke ties with Cedarville University, a…
Ministry students at Gardner-Webb benefit from $1 million endowment
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. (ABP) — A businesswoman's contribution of more than $1 million to Gardner-Webb University will allow students of the university's divinity school to study overseas. University spokesman Noel Manning said the donation is one of the largest ever…
Faith-oriented website nudges Christians toward Democratic fold
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A group of Christians who vote Democratic have launched an Internet forum aimed at making religious voters question whether the GOP is really the more faith-friendly political party, as polls show many believe. And they're doing it…
Extremists, whether Christian or Muslim, misrepresent their faith, scholars say
(ABP) — Flag-burning radical Muslims represent mainstream American Islam about as accurately as cross-burning Ku Klux Klansmen represent Baptists, a Baptist theologian said. “Most American Muslims are not sympathetic to radical Islam, and they are not interested in being identified…