Baptist News Global

Letter to the Editor: Soldiers should refuse illegal military orders

In the final sermon before his assassination in 1980, Archbishop of El Salvador Oscar Romero told the soldiers in a public broadcast to refuse the orders of the violent, militaristic regime in the country. “I want to make a special…

Letter to the Editor: When Muslims sound more like Jesus than the Christians

I live in Alabama where, apparently, a number of aspirants to political office are operating on the sad assumption that a majority of Alabama voters will reward them for being xenophobic, in general, and Islamophobic, in particular. Last week, in…

Letter to the Editor: End the war in Iran, now

Many Americans and Christians continue to rightfully express concern at the ongoing conflict against Iran, with one poll recently suggesting 60% of the country opposes the usage of military force. While the operation appears to have achieved its military objectives, the civilian carnage has been tragic: One Middle…

Differing perspectives and our dreams of peace

Yaakov Rotblit once wrote a lyric that has taken on a life far beyond its origins as a love song: “You took my hand in yours and said to me, ‘Let’s go down to the garden. … Things we see…

Keeping Easter alive means embracing the Truth

For some reason, we insist on complicating Jesus. The grave could not contain him. Yet we have the audacity to be believe our theology can. Our complicated theological pursuits have led to self-righteous, self-serving endeavors aimed at being “right” and…

As a music consultant, Smith preaches the value of choirs

Sid Smith III is a man on a mission to help church choirs and music ministries flourish. He comes by this mission honestly, being the son of Sid Smith Jr., who was a pioneering Black church consultant in the Southern…

Why Easter must reclaim its throne in American faith

There is a quiet contradiction in America, one that lives in our homes, our churches, our calendars and our consumer habits. It is the reality that the most theologically powerful moment in Christianity — the resurrection of Jesus Christ —…

A new generation of ambassadors for the cure to violence

We are living in violent and deeply troubling times. In New York City, a teenager raised in Philadelphia participated in an attempted terrorist attack on Gracie Mansion. According to security experts, the attack is part of a rising tide of…

Faith, captivity and the call to remember the imprisoned

Each spring, the sacred calendars of Judaism, Christianity and Islam draw us into stories of liberation, sacrifice and divine mercy. Passover, Easter and the rhythms of revelation in the Quran all echo a central truth: God is present with the…

Can justice movements lose their soul?

Public life in America feels increasingly volatile. Anger saturates political discourse. Across the ideological spectrum, our public conversations often mirror the hostility they claim to resist. Many people reach for the language of prophecy to justify the indignation they assume…

When pastors mistake theological maturity for spiritual maturity

A pastor colleague recently told me something I can’t seem to shake: “If I’m not on staff, pastoring or preaching, I don’t go to church on Sundays. I’m just not a pew person.” At first, it sounded like honesty. The…

8,000 miles to escape death, only to meet it 5 miles from home

Days after being released from a year of detention, Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a blind Rohingya refugee who had been released from Border Patrol custody and abandoned at a Tim Horton’s 5 miles away from his home in Buffalo, New York, was found dead. He had been in custody…

3 views on Donald Trump held by American Christians

US megachurches report strong rebound from pandemic

Baptists need to speak up again for religious liberty

What in hell became of heaven?