Baptist News Global

Moderate Baptist leaders urge Congress to pass far reaching climate-change bill

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — A total of 140 moderate Baptist leaders signed a June 18 letter urging passage of a comprehensive energy bill that includes caps on emissions linked to global warming. Drafted by the Baptist Center for Ethics, a…

Graduation rates at religious schools outpace those at other universities

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Religiously affiliated universities rank the highest nationwide in graduating their students, while hundreds of public and private universities fall far below the low average of graduated students, according to a recent report based on data from the…

What to do with excess embryos? One researcher has an idea

WASHINGTON (RNS) — The woman across the table told Jeanne Loring she was on the horns of a dilemma — feed and clothe her existing family or continue to pay to keep frozen her embryos from an earlier fertility treatment….

FAITHSHAPERS: Parenting in Bizarro World

Keep those questions coming, Bizarro parents. Our topic for today is, “How can I set up my children to fail?” Every parent in Bizarro world dreams of watching their children crash and burn repeatedly, but we can’t just sit back…

VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: Praise for former pastor

During my teen years Les Schwemer was the pastor of my home church, Emmanuel Baptist in rural Amherst County. He served small rural churches in Virginia his entire ministry. He retired from Sycamore Baptist in Woolwine. It was a great…

VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: Policies don’t hold water

How ironic that the recognition of baptismal rites that use less water would be considered “a watering down” of baptism and a church’s membership policy [“Opening up without watering down,” Herald, June 18]. It is also interesting to me that…

VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: No place for cursing prayers

After careful and prayerful consideration, I must take umbrage and exception to the article by Bob Allen of the Associated Baptist Press on page 18 of the June 18 edition of the Religious Herald, titled, “Former Southern Baptist Convention officer…

No longer Episcopalians, Anglicans launch own church

PLANO, Texas (RNS) — Conservative Anglicans disenchanted with the liberal drift in their U.S. and Canadian churches say they are confident that a new church body launched last week will one day gain a seat in the worldwide Anglican Communion….

Even at 500, Calvin isn’t slowing down

Like most 24-year-old men, Stephen Jones is keenly interested in sin. But while many of his peers enjoy their youthful indiscretions, Jones takes a more, shall we say, Puritanical stand. The weekend of June 12-15, Jones and 4,000 other young…

Major Baptist celebrations begin this week in Europe

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BWA) — The Baptist World Alliance and the European Baptist Federation have planned major activities July 24-Aug. 1 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Baptist movement. The EBF, one of six regional fellowships…

Baptists support separation of church and state, but not all agree what it means

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Baptists have, since their earliest days, been advocates of religious liberty and its corollary, the separation of church and state. But different groups of modern-day Baptists in the United States interpret church-state separation — and the Constitution’s…

On church-state issues, Obama brings new perspective, incremental policy change

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Americans who expected President Obama to make swift and dramatic changes from his predecessor on church-state relations may be disappointed. In his first few months in office, Obama has indicated only a handful of alterations to President…

Democratic Socialists’ wins rattle Democrats, rouse GOP

Republican-fueled Islamophobia cited as cause of more attacks

Belgian footballer set an example for men worldwide

Yes, the global refugee situation is a crisis, book contends