Why coercive religious politics undermine Christianity and democracy

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...

Opinion Juan Garcia

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Both sides brace for Supreme Court battle on gay marriage

Charities fight changes on tax deductions

Night, online seminary courses answer the call

Fate of Baptist pastor accused of abuse is in the hands of his flock

Amanda died the other day, but her singing continues

Almost four decades ago while I was serving as pastor of an inner city congregation near a Baptist seminary, I would often have seminary students visit to see if they could obtain some ministry experience as a volunteer with our…

How to Kill a Church

A prefatory note: This brief story was written based on conversations I’ve had with ministers, laypeople and leaders, young and old, rich and poor, and those no longer visiting church. It was a cold, December day and though the Nativity scene was brightly…

VITAL SIGNS: Christmas lessons

Our current Christmas celebration habits are a uniquely post-World War II phenomena. Much of the excess we experience stands at odds with the way Western society approached the holiday only a few years ago. This shift has lessons for any…

Spiritual wisdom in 140 characters or less

(RNS) — The Dalai Lama has 5,702,736 followers on Twitter. How many people does he follow? Zero. Pope Benedict XVI plans to start tweeting on Dec. 12. His Twitter handle is @Pontifex, which means “bridge builder” in Latin. Benedict hasn’t…

Spiritual wisdom in 140 characters or less

(RNS) — The Dalai Lama has 5,702,736 followers on Twitter. How many people does he follow? Zero. Pope Benedict XVI plans to start tweeting on Dec. 12. His Twitter handle is @Pontifex, which means “bridge builder” in Latin. Benedict hasn’t…