Contributions from Virginia Baptists for the Indian relief project through May 16 with the following designations: • Southern Baptist Convention (IMB): $101,890 • Baptist World Alliance (BWAid): $48,351 • Cooperative Baptist Fellowship: $83,863 • Virginia Baptist Mission Board: $406,841 Undesignated:…
Evolution references in IMAX film churn controversy
By Alexander Lane Rutgers University professor Richard Lutz goes looking for undersea volcanoes, not controversy. So the soft-spoken scientist is surprised to find himself on the front lines of the culture wars. Lutz was the chief scientist for Volcanoes of…
Brazilian pastor to lead BWA evangelism division
Brazilian pastor Fausto Aguiar de Vasconcelos has been nominated to lead the evangelism effort of the Baptist World Alliance, succeeding Australian Tony Cupit, who is retiring. If elected to the BWA's executive staff by its general council in July, he…
Virginia Baptists to offer crisis training
Virginia Baptists' disaster relief ministry will offer critical incident stress management (CISM) training June 16-18 at the Virginia Baptist Resource Center. The training is one of the requirements for crisis care chaplains who are deployed during disasters. It is also…
Muslims praise new film on Crusades
By Helena Andrews Despite initial controversy surrounding The Kingdom of Heaven, Ridley Scott's new film about the Crusades, it is getting generally positive reviews from Muslims in the United States and in Arab countries. “It was really nice to go…
Monument finds home in Alabama church foyer
The 5,280-pound granite Ten Commandments monument that cost Roy Moore his job as Alabama's chief justice has found a permanent home at his church in Gadsden, Ala. The monument ended its nationwide tour and was installed last month in the…
Bluefield student is new BSU president
Bluefield College student Matt Brooks will be leading Virginia Baptist college students on mission and in ministry in the coming year. Brooks has been elected statewide president of the Virginia Baptist Student Union. A junior from Jefferson City, Tenn., Brooks…
Panel to study discrimination by evangelicals at Air Force Academy
A top Pentagon official has ordered the appointment of a special task force to investigate “lingering allegations” about religious discrimination at the Air Force Academy toward cadets who are not evangelical Christians. The announcement, following several months of allegations about…
Eastern Baptist Seminary to be renamed for Palmer
To honor the legacy of former president Gordon Palmer, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary will change its name to Palmer Theological Seminary July 1. Eastern, located in suburban Philadelphia, is one of 10 seminaries related to American Baptist Churches USA. Palmer,…