Baptist News Global

Teaching, learning and listening: A 50-year legacy

Fifty years ago, on Dec. 17, 1974, I had my initial interview at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. With one semester to go toward completing the Ph.D. program at Boston University School of Theology, I mailed my resume…

Three highlights from PRRI’s post-election survey

The color line in the American religious electorate As has been the case for the last four decades, when the political parties began sorting themselves along ethno-religious lines in the wake of the Civil Rights movement, the largest voting divides…

PRRI survey finds ‘stark’ voter divides along religious lines

Race, religion and Christian nationalism were among the top influencers of presidential voting in the 2024 election, according to new polling by Public Religion Research Institute. Half of all U.S. voters chose Republican Donald Trump on Election Day compared to…

Finding our way in the dark

Advent feels paradoxically heavy and elusive this year. Jan. 20 looms large on the horizon beyond Dec. 25. Many people I know, including myself, are hoping against hope things won’t be as bad as we fear. That Trump’s retributive, hate-filled…

The art of patriotic dealmaking

It is incomprehensible that opponents of President-elect Donald Trump criticize his efforts to commemorate historical events and memorable occasions from our recent national story by offering personal souvenirs to his fellow Americans. After all, he is simply following the footsteps…

AJ Sherrill wants to tell you a Bible story

AJ Sherrill hopes Christians will slow down enough this Christmas to hear the story anew. “Familiarity of the Christmas story can breed a lot of apathy, when we think we know everything there is to know,” he said. “We stop…

The Christmas Eve that went so wrong it was right

To begin with, we didn’t make enough bulletins for the large crowd that attended. So, 3 minutes before the service began, I found myself in the church office running off additional bulletins while simultaneously putting my clergy robe on, hooking…

Yes, a free and fair press is under assault by Trump and MAGA

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States can’t stay off the political hot seat. There’s a bill now before the U.S. Senate, known as the PRESS Act — the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act —…

Suburban Houston book bans trace to a complex web of influences, including an SBC pastor

A suburban Houston school district has banned 34 books this fall in a show of force by trustees supported by a coalition of Christian nationalist advocacy groups that has ties to a former Southern Baptist pastor in Houston. By some…

Amanda Tyler on when and how to talk about Christian nationalism at Christmas dinner

Americans have numerous opportunities to push back against Christian nationalism without engaging conservative relatives during holiday gatherings, Amanda Tyler said in a webinar about her new book, How to End Christian Nationalism. Anyone thinking about raising the topic at a…

Byron Donalds is a ‘rising star’ and education ‘warrior’ in Trump’s GOP

Second-term Florida Congressman Byron Donalds doesn’t boast many legislative accomplishments, but that hasn’t kept the Black conservative from being nominated as House Speaker and being rumored as a possible Trump vice presidential pick during the campaign. Donalds vigorously campaigned with…

Rise of American authoritarianism demands a choice, Perryman says

Shaving Dad goodbye

The Enhanced Games were another MAGA grift

It’s bad interpretation, not the Bible, limiting female pastors