Each year, more than 330 million people around the world journey to sacred places to perform acts of devotion, express faith or seek enlightenment or healing. From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, visitors to Baylor University’s Mayborn Museum Complex in…
Baylor professor’s quest to preserve golden age of black gospel lands in Smithsonian
A Baylor University professor’s quest to preserve historic black gospel music has gotten the attention of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture opens Sept. 24 in Washington, D.C., with an exhibit featuring African-American musical…
Students’ art project generates big bucks for Zambian orphans
Artwork created by several U.S. university students has fired up the imaginations and spirits of Zambian orphans and generated tens of thousands of dollars to help those struggling with disease and poverty in the African nation.
Despite size, Nagasaki Cross inspires reflection on Christian unity, breaking barriers
It is known as the Nagasaki Cross, a small — about 15 inches tall and 7 inches wide — Christian symbol forged from debris found in the wreckage of a middle school located 1,500 feet from where an American plutonium bomb detonated on Aug. 9, 1945.
Shedding light on the Old Testament’s great villain — the Philistines
Baylor University religion professor Deirdre Fulton is in the middle of a three-year dig that is shedding light on the lives, beliefs and practices of a group often villainized in the Old Testament: the Philistines.
Minister learns hard lesson: offer professional help for mental health
As Joe Padilla visits with pastors and church leaders about mental health, he often finds hearts willing to help but ill-equipped to do so. After walking through his own personal journey when his wife was diagnosed as bipolar, Padilla realized the church needed…
More Noah’s ark headlines — this time at 5th-century synagogue excavation
While Ken Ham’s “Ark Encounter” museum near Williamstown, Ky., has drawn the lion’s share of attention this summer directed toward Noah’s vessel, another representation of the ark in Israel has been wowing the archaeological world.
Growing movement pushing pastors to ‘get real,’ vulnerable with congregations
It takes a lot of guts and humility to be vulnerable. Just look at the New Testament account of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, Mary Alice Birdwhistell said. “Since feet were the primary mode of transportation, think how dirty they…
Do only black football players sexually assault coeds at Baylor?
This is a big month in race relations among Baptists. This week at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, Jerry Young, president of the National Baptist Convention USA Inc. was a speaker, and a participant with SBC president…
Direct ministry, legislatures best tools in anti-hunger fight, advocates say
Combating hunger in the United States is a big job — but Christian leaders have identified two main strategies for that fight. And they know that when the victims of hunger involve young people, the motivation and creativity brought to bear…
Baylor mum on details of Pepper Hamilton probe
Baylor University won’t be releasing details of the independent review of the university’s response to reports of sexual and gender-based violence, interim president David Garland said in a statement June 3. Garland’s statement came in response to calls from groups including the…
Ethicist says football got the best of Baylor
A Texas Baptist ethicist compared the Lone Star State’s obsession with football to idol worship in the wake of the unfolding sexual assault scandal at Baylor University. “Football has become one of our false gods,” Ferrell Foster, director of ethics and…