The Georgia General Assembly passed an amended “Free Exercise Protection Act” March 16 that now heads to an uncertain fate with the state’s Republican governor. Capping two years of lobbying efforts by groups including the 1.3-million-member Georgia Baptist Convention, the…
Georgia Baptist leaders back ‘religious freedom’ bill
The Georgia Baptist Convention is again lobbying for legislation they say is needed to protect Christians from religious discrimination. The head of the Georgia Baptist Convention led a morning devotional Feb. 2 in the State Senate as pastors rallied in…
Baptist group in Georgia opposes marijuana cultivation proposal
By Bob Allen Southern Baptists in Georgia are lobbying against a proposal to allow cultivation of marijuana in the state to produce cannabis oil legalized earlier this year for treatment of certain illnesses like late-stage cancer and epilepsy. The law…
‘Frankly, this ruling is appropriate ….’
A couple weeks ago, the Georgia Baptist Convention held “its first-ever sexual abuse summit ” at First Baptist Church in Atlanta. So far so good, right? After all, it wasn’t so long ago that Southern Baptist officials were denying there…
Christian Index board disbands
By Bob Allen The board of the nation’s oldest continuously published religious newspaper has disbanded, and the 193-year-old Christian Index will come under the umbrella of the Georgia Baptist Convention, as part of a massive restructuring of the 3,600-church affiliate…
Georgia Baptists divided over religious liberty bill
By Bob Allen A Baptist newspaper editor compared perceived discrimination against Christians in the 21st century to the 1960s struggle for civil rights in comments at a Georgia statehouse rally Jan. 28 quoted by local media. Gerald Harris, editor of…
Clergy divided on Georgia religious liberty bill
By Bob Allen The top spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Georgia affiliate called on the state’s General Assembly to pass a new bill bolstering religious freedom at a Jan. 13 rally claiming Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran was fired for…
Mohler says fire chief’s firing a win for ‘erotic liberty’
By Bob Allen The firing of Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran highlights “the religious-liberty implications of the normalization of homosexuality and the legalization of same-sex marriage,” Southern Baptist Theological President Albert Mohler said in a podcast briefing Jan. 9. Mohler…
Georgia Baptists stand by fired Atlanta fire chief
By Bob Allen In a press release Jan. 7, the 1.3 million-member Georgia Baptist Convention protested the recent firing of Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran for writing a religious book deemed intolerant toward gays. Earlier, the 3,600-church state affiliate of…