NEW YORK (RNS)—A 600-foot footrace was the only athletic event at the first Olympics, a festival held in 776 B.C. and dedicated to Zeus, the chief Greek god. For the next millennium, Greeks gathered every four years in Olympia to…
Prof: racism should be test of fellowship
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist seminary professor said July 30 the Southern Baptist Convention should withdraw fellowship from a Mississippi congregation if it doesn’t discipline a minority of members who managed to block an African-American couple from getting married…
Koinonia Farms plans Jordan symposium
By Bob Allen Last Sunday, July 29, would have been the 100th birthday of Clarence Jordan, a Southern Baptist minister — well known for his Cotton Patch Bible translation — who died in 1969. A month-long celebration of his legacy…
BJC joins criticism of Bachmann
By Bob Allen The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and American Baptist Churches USA were among 42 religious and secular organizations that signed an open letter July 26 protesting Rep. Michelle Bachmann and other conservative lawmakers’ recent allegation that…
Bible museum closes $50 million deal for D.C. spot
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Planners of a Bible museum in Washington closed a $50 million deal July 26 on a building two blocks from the National Mall. The new Bible museum in Washington will be in a building two blocks from the National…
VITAL SIGNS: Search committee ethics
A recent column about some of the positive experiences of clergy who have recently moved motivated some responses around the theme of “things that have not gone well.” Here are some common ethical issues search committees must deal with. Bill…
OPINION: A defense of the ‘Christian chicken’
Recently, only uttering the name of the restaurant chain Chick-fil-A has brought about significant controversy in the areas of theology, politics and commerce. Before sharing my own commentary, I must first communicate the lose-lose nature of this article. Alex Gallimore…
Peeping preacher suspect waives jury trial
By Bob Allen A former traveling Southern Baptist evangelist charged with felony video voyeurism in Mississippi waived his right to a jury trial July 27, leaving his fate in the hands of a judge. Sammy Nuckolls, once a popular speaker…
Duke Chapel’s first African-American dean is ‘gifted preacher,’ says Baptist House director
DURHAM, N.C.—The selection of Baptist-ordained minister Luke Powery as the first African-American dean of the chapel at Duke University was strongly endorsed July 26 by the director of the Baptist House of Studies at the university’s divinity school. Luke Powery…
VBS teaches kids young-earth creationism
By Bob Allen Dueling dinosaurs competed for attention this summer in downtown Jacksonville, Fla. This summer Jacksonville’s Museum of Science and History – known locally as MOSH – is home for a traveling exhibit called “A T. rex named Sue.”…
Church refuses to marry black couple
By Bob Allen A Mississippi couple claims they were not allowed to get married in the Southern Baptist church they attend because they are black. According to WLBT television in Jackson, Miss., Charles and Te’Andrea Wilson had already printed and…
Jonathan Merritt admits gay relationship
By Bob Allen Southern Baptist author Jonathan Merritt admitted to a homosexual encounter in a blog interview July 26. Merritt, a culture writer for major newspapers and magazines and author of two books, told Ed Stetzer of LifeWay Research that…