This is the ninth in a BNG series of articles on Christianity and democracy that will lead toward the July 4 celebration of America’s 250th birthday. The series has been curated by Carol McEntyre, senior minister at First Baptist Church of...
A few weeks ago I had the rare opportunity to sing next to my daughter during Sunday morning worship. She loves to sing, and reads well for her age, but she is not capable of reading fast enough to sing…
By Bob Allen The moderator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship denounced plans by Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., to picket a vigil for victims of Friday’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. “The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, of which I am…
Like the rest of the country, I watched the news in shock and disbelief just days ago as unspeakable headlines scrolled along the bottom of the screen: “School shooting in Newtown, CT;” “Gunman attacks elementary school;” “More than 20 feared…
I have been listening to Mumford & Sons’ new album Babel. Its deep biblical allusions and challenging lyrics about relationships and redemption invite repeated listenings. There’s enough in the album to keep my attention for a while. Two songs in particular have…
By Bob Allen Spurgeon’s College, the largest of seven colleges affiliated with the Baptist Union of Great Britain, has chosen a new principal to succeed Nigel Wright, who is retiring next August after 13 years in the post. He will…
By Bob Allen Former presidential candidate turned talk-show host Mike Huckabee stood by controversial comments blaming the deadly Dec. 14 shootings in Connecticut on the lack of religion in public schools. The day 27 people, including 20 children, died in…
I usually find the opinion column by Lisa Cole Smith to be “cutting edge” and quite insightful. Her “Missing the forest for the trees” is no less so, except for her statement that (as Virginia Baptists) “we missed an…
WASHINGTON (RNS) — More than a third of Americans believe the severity of recent natural disasters is evidence that we are in the “end times” described in the New Testament — a period of turmoil preceding Jesus’ Second Coming and…
