NASHVILLE (ABP) — Forty-three member institutions of the International Baptist Association of Colleges and Universities were listed among the nation's best in a survey conducted by U.S. News & World Report. The number of IABCU member schools ranked in the…
Congress kills conservatives’ effort to create right to sectarian prayers
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Congressional negotiators have nixed an effort to create a right for military chaplains to offer sectarian prayers in settings where soldiers of many faiths may be present. However, the last-minute compromise Sept. 29 between House and Senate…
Senators block last-minute abortion bill at end of 109th Congress
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Just before returning home for a month of campaigning prior to the Nov. 7 midterm elections, the Senate blocked a controversial House-passed abortion bill that social conservatives had pushed at the last minute. Late the evening of…
Abortion foes push hard for notification bill in Senate
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Abortion-rights opponents are pushing hard for the Senate to pass a bill that would penalize those who help teenage girls seeking out-of-state abortions to avoid parental notification laws in their home states. Late Sept. 28, Senate Majority…
Prayer targeting Muslim conversion during Ramadan draws criticism
DALLAS (ABP) — A worldwide coalition of evangelical Christians is urging prayer for Muslims during the month of Ramadan. But the idea has met some resistance from Muslims — and even some Christians. Ramadan, which this year began Sept. 24,…
Victims of Baptist clergy abuse urge SBC leaders to take action
NASHVILLE (ABP) — Members of the coalition that fought the Roman Catholic Church's hierarchy over sexual abuse by priests are asking the Southern Baptist Convention to prevent similar clergy abuse in the denomination's churches. Members of the Survivors Network of…
Avoiding other vices may make Baptists fatter, researcher suggests
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (ABP) — Of all believers, Baptists are the most likely to be obese, according to a new study from Purdue University. But then, obese people tend to live in states heavily populated by religious people — particularly…
Ruth Ann Foster, founding prof at Truett Seminary, dies of cancer
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Ruth Ann Foster, one of the two founding faculty members of Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, died Sept. 28 in Waco after battling cancer. Her age was not immediately known. Foster joined Truett Seminary…
Republicans becoming sectarian religious party, Danforth warns
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Former Sen. John Danforth (R-Mo.) is criticizing his political party and many of his fellow Christians for abandoning the principles both groups are supposed to hold dear. In a Sept. 28 breakfast meeting with Washington reporters, Danforth…
Showdown over Missouri exec ends in draw, sources say
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — David Clippard remains executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention, despite an apparent effort to oust him Sept. 22. Following a marathon, closed-door meeting at the convention building in Jefferson City, Executive Board members attempted…
What the Pope really said
Lost in the sound and fury of Islamic response to the Pope's perceived attack on Muhammad is his direct attack on the cherished assumptions of the secularized West. We in the West pride ourselves that our removal of faith from…
Dueling SBC groups angle to speak for conservative ‘young leaders’
WINTER PARK, Fla. (ABP) — A group of young Southern Baptist conservatives has issued a statement to counter the influence of a rival conservative group that has been critical of the use of power by recent Southern Baptist Convention leaders….