Why coercive religious politics undermine Christianity and democracy

ATLANTA (ABP) — Atlanta church planter Jake Myers used the images of beer, candles and theologian Soren Kierkegaard to describe the “emergent conversation” taking place within Christianity, which he said could be a good fit for members of the Cooperative…

ATLANTA (ABP) — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship must transcend mere multiculturalism to become fully intercultural, CBF moderator Joy Yee told participants at the group's general assembly in Atlanta June 22. The fellowship of traditional, progressive Baptists can be multicultural simply…

ATLANTA (ABP) — Western Baptists need to leave Christendom behind and become more like the early church, Denton Lotz told about 150 persons attending a Baptist World Alliance dinner June 23. Lotz, who is general secretary of BWA, said many…

ATLANTA (ABP) — The nation's largest Presbyterian and Episcopal bodies sent mixed messages on sexual-orientation issues in their just-concluded national meetings. Leaders of the Episcopal Church voted June 18 to elevate a gay-friendly female bishop to the denomination's highest American…

ATLANTA (ABP) — The central question in the debate on immigration reform is not about economics or politics, Hispanic Baptist leaders said June 23. “The basic issue is whether Jesus still has a mission to the poor,” Albert Reyes, president…

ATLANTA (ABP) — Rob Nash, one day after being elected global missions coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, urged about 300 Baptists at an Associated Baptist Press banquet to pursue “information integrity” on their way to becoming “citizens of the…

ATLANTA (ABP) — Baptist higher education faces a monumental crisis, due in large part to abuses of control and financial dependence, longtime university president Kirby Godsey told participants at the Whitsitt Baptist Heritage Society's annual meeting June 22 in Atlanta….

DALLAS (ABP) — Disputes about baptism are troubling the waters among some Baptists. From a controversial guideline of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, which narrows the definition of an acceptable baptism of a new missionary, to churches that wrestle…

ATLANTA (ABP) — Although Baptists and other Christians responded slowly and poorly 25 years ago to the advent of AIDS, God has been in the trenches from the start, said David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “God is…