Baptist News Global

The return to church has hit a plateau

The post-COVID return to church has plateaued, according to new nationwide data from Pew Research. After most houses of worship closed to in-person gatherings in mid-March 2020 due to the initial threat of coronavirus, there has been a slow return…

My beef with the Senate confirmation hearings isn’t political, it’s theological

I try to stay abreast of current news, believing that Karl Barth’s admonition is a good measure for all who dare to claim time in any Christian pulpit. Barth is often quoted as having said that ministers should “preach with…

The bigotry on display in the confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is nothing new

In recent days we have witnessed unprecedented evidence of bigotry and violence. Bear with me while I mention some of the more obvious examples. Start with the abuse and disrespect Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson experienced last week from Republican members…

Lindsey Graham says he goes to church about three times a year but wants Supreme Court nominee to rate her faithfulness on a scale of 1 to 10

Once again, a United States senator asked a nominee for public office a question about personal religious practice, despite the clear prohibition of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution. This time the questioner was Sen. Lindsey Graham, R.-S.C., and the…

Will the tragedy of Ukraine wake us up?

If you’re like me, you’ve spent the past month reading articles, listening to podcasts and devouring cable news in a desperate attempt to understand the horrors unfolding in Ukraine. My ignorance remains vast, but I’ve learned a lot about post-Soviet…

Threats to religious freedom and to women go hand in hand

Whenever and wherever religious freedom is threatened, so too are the fundamental rights of women and girls, a panel of experts said during a recent virtual hearing before the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. “Gender-based and religiously based discrimination…

Pastor’s wife felt the prompt of the Spirit, now she’s the First Lady’s prayer partner

In 2020, Robin Jackson took a leap of faith that has changed her schedule every Wednesday since. During the presidential campaign, then-candidate Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, attended Brookland Baptist Church of West Columbia, S.C., where Jackson’s husband, Charles,…

PNBC leads call to action for voting rights, democracy

The Progressive National Baptist Convention is leading the way on efforts to protect voting rights, speaking out across the country and releasing an innovative tool kit to help others make a difference. On March 21, PNBC leaders and clergy from…

What is a woman?

Late Tuesday of this week, Sen. Marsha Blackburn asked Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to define “woman.” Everyone watching the Supreme Court nominee’s confirmation hearings knew it was a loaded question. Judge Jackson stated that she wasn’t a biologist and did…

Where I found acceptance as a woman, others now find rejection

I was sitting at a table on the first floor of the library at Hardin-Simmons University when a fellow classmate from Logsdon School of Theology approached me with a smile. He sat down across from me and slid the rough…

Supreme Court says Baptist pastor should be able to touch and pray over Death Row inmate as he is executed

In an 8-1 opinion, the United States Supreme Court March 24 ruled that a Texas Death Row inmate should be allowed to have his Baptist pastor accompany him into the execution chamber, lay hands on him and pray audibly over…

Supreme Court slides into partisanship

Before the fireworks, be careful what you drink

The contemptible case of Clarence Thomas

The permanent paradoxes of Christian thinking about war