Baptist News Global

Render to Caesar

It may look dead, but it's really just evolving—even though its members might not like that word. And it may be developing into something its founders wouldn't recognize. That's what some experts say about the future of the Religious Right…

Following Scripture not easy recipe for political choices, ethicists insist

RICHMOND (ABP)—Abortion is the most pressing moral issue of the day, said Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, a Republican candidate for president, at a recent GOP debate. So much so, the Catholic senator continued, that he doesn't think his party can…

Pulpit politics run risk for churches

DALLAS—Churches engaged in partisan politics risk losing not only their tax-exempt status, but also their credibility, several experts in church-state relations agree. Churches and religious organizations—like other IRS 501(c) (3) nonprofit organizations—are free to speak out on social, moral and…

Call them ‘red-letter Christians’ or progressive evangelicals; they’re a growing political force

NEW YORK (ABP)—In what is shaping up to be a faith-filled race for the presidency, Republican and Democratic candidates have pulled out all the stops—hiring religion gurus, conscientiously attending church, discussing the intimate details of their prayer lives on national…

Southern Baptists grapple with global warming, doubt causes

SAN ANTONIO (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention rejected scientific claims that humans are to blame for global warming and dismissed the governmental efforts to reverse it. Messengers to the annual SBC meeting also stood by their resolution committee's decision…

Youth Encounter 2007: A year of transformation

RICHMOND — With transformation as its theme, Virginia Baptists' 20-year-old Youth Evangelism Conference (YEC) has been transformed and is now Youth EnCounter 2007. The new YEC features a new name, new location, new schedule and more quality programming to transform…

Charlottesville pastor receives Bronze Star for meritorious service as Army chaplain

RICHMOND — For more than 200 years, since the establishment of the nation during the Revolutionary War, chaplains have provided spiritual nourishment to American soldiers in battle. In recent decades, they've worked in an increasingly treacherous environment, in order to…

The legacy of Miss Lu

Lucretia O. Litchfield of Petersburg died a wealthy woman on June 14. She was rich beyond measure in the values that make life sparkle, in the relationships that make life worthwhile, and in the years which made her life long…

EDITORIAL: SBC reflections

As I returned home from the Southern Baptist Convention, I brought with me three overriding perceptions. First, I was shocked that only 8,618 messengers gathered for the Southern Baptist Convention—and that only 331 Virginians from both the BGAV and the…

Do the math on abstinence education

Just in time for a Capitol Hill battle over abstinence education funding, a curious report was released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in April. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., a Washington D.C. think tank, conducted the study…

Pastors challenged to link faith, society in their sermons

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP)—Prophecy is not about gazing into the future. It's about passion for a better world right now, speakers at a celebration of preaching stressed. While many think of the prophets of the Bible primarily as predictors of the…

USCIRF decries Pakistan’s abuse of blasphemy laws

WASHINGTON (BP)—Incessant persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan is generating increased concern from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. A recent news release from the USCIRF expressed outrage over the Islamic country's abuse of its blasphemy…

Islamophobia is the next bogeyman

The Black Church cannot remain America’s emergency moral infrastructure

We are manna

Webinar explores religious context of America’s Founders