How Christian extremists are co-opting the book of Esther

NEW YORK (ABP) — Yolanda King, the oldest child of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., died in Santa Monica, Calif., May 15. She was 51. Spokesmen have said the family thinks the cause of death was a heart…

The 400th anniversary of the Jamestown colony is big news, at least here in Virginia. The visit of Queen Elizabeth II excited a flurry of comments on proper protocol, and at least one TV reporter wondered aloud why Governor Kaine…

DALLAS (ABP) — Dual — and sometimes dueling — state conventions often present a challenge for associations of churches. So when Baptists in a state form a second convention, associations find themselves walking a fine line, especially if significant numbers…

RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — The drive to weave ties among local churches is housed deep in the Baptist DNA. It's an instinct almost as visceral as another, often competing, Baptist characteristic — a fierce independence of thought and practice. For…

DALLAS (ABP) — Some associations of churches now call themselves “networks.” And their directors of missions insist it's more than just a trendy change in terminology. As missions director for a West Texas area that included both the Midland and…

WARSAW (ABP) — Critics of the World Congress on Families have called it homophobic and unrealistic. Fans, meanwhile, saluted the recent congress — the fourth such global gathering, which played to a sympathetic audience in conservative Poland — for proclaiming…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Jerry Falwell, the pastor, university founder and media impresario who received both credit and blame for making the Religious Right a political force in American politics, is dead at age 73. According to multiple news reports, Falwell…