Long before Thomas Wolfe wrote You Can't Go Home Again, Jesus of Nazareth stood in his hometown synagogue and said, “A prophet is never welcomed in his hometown.” Both of these statements make sense. To be able to speak prophetically…
Celebrities recall brushes with Graham in ‘Billy & Me’
(RNS) — Evangelist Billy Graham has rubbed elbows with celebrities ranging from presidents to journalists to musicians. In Billy Graham & Me, a new book in the “Chicken Soup for the Soul’’ franchise that was released Feb. 12, 101 people…
Study says faith, science not at odds
(ABP) — An MIT study published Feb. 12 in honor of naturalist Charles Darwin’s 204th birthday suggests the gap between faith and scientific beliefs is not as large as most people think, and that part of the controversy might be…
CBF nominee ponders future
By Bob Allen A woman nominated to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s top leadership post says her extensive background in lobbying and public policy would bolster the Fellowship’s holistic missions strategy of targeting critical needs among the world’s most neglected peoples….
Church sponsors handgun class
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist church in Texas is offering a concealed handgun license class March 2 as a community service. “This is an opportunity to meet a real need in our county,” Brad Foster, pastor of Calvary Baptist…
How should churches view holiday-only visitors? Leaders try a variety of methods to stay in contact
Many churches roll out the red carpet for CEOs they expect to see just twice a year — Christmas and Easter Only worshippers. But others wonder, “If we treat CEOs like VIPs, why are they AWOL most of the time?”…
New proposed rules by Obama administration would exempt non-profit religious employers
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Obama administration proposed a broader opt-out Feb. 1 for religious organizations that object to mandated coverage of contraceptives in employee health care plans, an effort to alleviate religious-liberty concerns behind a number of lawsuits challenging the…
Secession theology runs deep in American religious, political history
WASHINGTON (RNS )— Corruption has gone too far. The righteous must break away. Hope now rests with a holy remnant that will honor foundational texts. The message sounds familiar. A church schism? No, mounting calls for secession from the United…
Baptism ages are dropping in churches which practice believer’s baptism, say observers
(ABP) — Something just clicked for Charity Roberson when she knew it was time for her to be baptized. Roberson, now pastor at Sharon Baptist Church in Smithfield, N.C., was 9 at the time. Some of the memories are vivid….
Video recalls ‘forgotten’ Pearl Harbor
(ABP) — President Franklin Roosevelt’s description of the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack as “a date which will live in infamy” went down in history, but Yosh Nakagawa remembers another day – Feb. 19, 1942. That’s when FDR, in an…
Faith leaders want Americans to pray for collegiality in D.C.
WASHINGTON (RNS) — At a time when the ideals of compromise and collegiality seem like a distant dream in the nation’s capital, an unusually diverse coalition of religious leaders is asking Americans to pray for civility. “Through daily prayer, we…
OUT LOUD
“If our Christmas is going to be all about getting upset at people trying to take away Christmas, isn’t that silly too?” Jonathan Morris The Catholic priest was speaking on “Fox & Friends” about the “war on Christmas.” (RNS) “What…