Baptist News Global

Evangelicals’ hypocrisy is sending their neighbors to hell — and they don’t care

American evangelicals’ most besetting — and most damning — sin is hypocrisy. “Evangelical” has taken on a political connotation, of course. But at their core, modern-day evangelicals are Christians who actively pursue the conversion of sinners, believe the Bible is…

My conflicted history on abortion

I candidly struggle with abortion. My thoughts ebb and flow with the chatter and stridency on both sides of the issue, ultimately rising from a low background murmur to an insistent, rasping hum reminiscent of standing beneath a long-distance, electric…

In a three-way scheme, hustlers sell Netflix access to the faithful in Zimbabwe using American bank cards and government office Wi-Fi

Netflix is angry about account sharing, seeing the practice as an unfair, under-the-table raid of its revenue. But in devout, fiercely Pentecostal Zimbabwe — where joblessness is deep and inflation is, according to John Hopkins University, at a frightening 487%…

When the door closes: Tips for transitioning out of a ministry role

Last August, I was called into a meeting with my associate pastor to discuss the direction of my role within the church staff. I had been leading the music ministry of that church for six years, but the last two…

Appeals court allows priest’s defamation case to proceed against Russian Orthodox Church

Faith groups cannot claim religious belief and doctrine as exemptions from lawsuits that include issues of secular law, a federal court has ruled in the case of an Orthodox priest who sued church officials for defamation. The Aug. 17 opinion…

What does Revelation say to the American church today? Beware the temptation of beastly power

John the Revelator warns about the dangers of joining church and state. He thunders: “Beware the sea beast; it has seven heads and 12 horns, and his number is 666. Beware the land beast; it has two horns and is…

The moral and ethical difference between the life and ministry of Jesus and the life and career of Donald Trump

In view of Donald Trump’s mounting legal issues — and especially the prospect that he may be charged with criminal conduct — we should ponder his continued popularity with people who call themselves “evangelical” followers of Jesus, or to be…

Mohler to speak on the ‘idolatry’ of secularism at conference advocating ‘national conservatism’

A Southern Baptist seminary president will join four well-known Republican politicians as a keynote speaker at an upcoming conference on “national conservatism.” According to online publicity, Al Mohler’s topic will be: “‘Your God Will Have Been Supplanted by an Idol’:…

Faith leaders call for urgent opposition to Oklahoma plan to execute an inmate a month for two years

The state of Oklahoma has announced an unprecedented plan to execute 25 inmates over a two-year period beginning this month, about one execution per month. This plan will clear out more than half the current population on Oklahoma’s Death Row,…

This week is the 80th anniversary of the day my great-grandparents died

The reality is that my great-grandparents didn’t just die, they were murdered. They were two of 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their willing accomplices throughout Europe. And it wasn’t just the two of them, but their children…

When my dad asked me to preach a revival in his church, I took a crew of encouragers instead

“Would you be willing to come and preach a revival for us?” my dad asked when I answered the phone that day driving down Main Street (hands-free, of course). I asked him specifically what he was looking for and he…

India at 75: The world’s largest democracy is dying of toxic nationalism

Think white Christian nationalism is the most dangerous form of identity politics in the democratic world? Meet Hindu nationalism, which is systematically destroying secular democracy — and civil society — in India. I sincerely regret raining on the parade of…

An American experiment: 250 years of trying

10 reasons America is not a ‘Christian nation’

American Dominion traces deep roots of Seven Mountain Mandate

Lindsey Graham and the history of ‘widow’s succession’