“They stole $77,000. And that was all of my savings.” Her voice was so soft I (Doug) had to lean in to hear her. “I’ve talked with the local police, the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission. The money is...
To add further intrigue to the Southern Baptist Convention’s reckoning with sexual abuse in its churches, the denomination announced March 6 that a federal investigation into the SBC has been closed — but abuse survivors who say they are in…
In October 1635, five years after arriving in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Puritan Separatist minister Roger Williams was brought before the colony’s General Court, charged with insisting that magistrates stay out of church affairs; that Native Americans were the real…
The political-religious movement known as Christian nationalism has taken hold in all 50 states, posing an immediate, dire threat to democracy and religion, says an extensive new study. Public Religion Research Institute President Robert P. Jones said the study, based…
Christian nationalists are still Christians despite their embrace of white supremacy and anti-democratic violence, scholar Anthea Butler said during an episode of the Interfaith Alliance’s “State of Belief” podcast. “They really believe in their Christianity. It’s just that they are…
A consequential three-year-old lawsuit accusing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of defrauding members by misusing their tithes to fund a real estate development instead of charity will be decided by a panel of judges in the 9th…
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES David “Zach” Axselle, to Walnut Grove Baptist Church, Mechanicsville, Va., as worship leader. Justin Blankenship, to Gracewood Community…
When Dustin Wahl enrolled at Liberty University in fall 2014, he never imagined he one day would lead a group to bring reform to Liberty. Nor did he think he would be advocating for future students not to attend his…
One of the most helpful books I read while wrestling with the topic of same-sex marriage was a book on divorce. As a gay Christian trying to discern whether Scripture might allow for the possibility of same-sex relationships, I wanted…
Spaces are filling up fast for Americans traveling to Israel to learn about its war in Gaza and show “solidarity” with the Israeli Defense Forces. Multiple companies are offering “mission” trips to Israel as the nation bombards neighboring Gaza, while…
For most of my life, American Christians were cheerleaders for democracy. That’s when we were in charge of the democracy. Today, oddly, many conservative Christians no longer believe in or support democracy. They seem to favor a kind of theocracy…
A cross section of religious leaders gathered on the steps of the Louisiana Capitol recently to offer prayers and protest over the state’s plan to add the electric chair and poison gas to its lineup of execution methods. The representatives…
Brian Williams’ entire life changed in the summer of 2016 as a trauma surgeon working in Dallas. That was the night five Dallas police officers were gunned down amid a peaceful protest of police killings of Black men nationwide. The…
