I’m praying that God will comfort suffering victims and afflict their political and religious victimizers. That’s not a “God bless the USA” prayer. It’s a “Thy will be done” prayer.
El Paso shooting puts Christian nationalism on trial
A Twitter account likely belonging to the suspect in Saturday’s mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, identified 21-year-old Patrick Crusius as a “proud God-loving Christian”
Weaponized Calvinism? Accused synagogue shooter spouted both racist conspiracy theories and the doctrines of grace
Revelations that the accused gunman in a deadly synagogue shooting in California was a church-going Presbyterian prompted statements from a small denomination that is part of the “young, restless and reformed” family tree.
Courage amid a 21st-century reality: Worship can get you killed, anywhere in the world
People of faith, whatever the specific tradition, now confront a 21st-century global reality: Worship can get you killed, anywhere in the world.
‘Thoughts and prayers’ not enough to end gun violence, religious leaders say
It’s all too easy to fall into despair, give up or become cynical about the epidemic of gun violence gripping the nation. Latasha Hobbs of Jacksonville, Florida, says don’t do it. Don’t give in. “Our country is hurting. We have…
CBF leader condemns ‘white nationalism’ after synagogue attack
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter voiced solidarity with “our Jewish neighbors and friends in cities and towns across the country” in the aftermath of Saturday’s mass shooting inside a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “We condemn ideologies of white…
Americans seeking self-care in age of Trump, mass shootings and nuke fears
Anyone who even casually consumes news websites or social media is confronted with an array of anger- and fear-driven reports of End Times-inducing developments. So, it may be no coincidence that new Barna research has found “that most Americans are open to investing in their mental health through counseling” and that discussions about self-care have become mainstream.
Belmont University student dies in Waffle House shooting
Historically Baptist Belmont University devoted its Monday morning chapel service to prayers for a student whose life was cut short by a mass shooting. DeEbony Groves, 21, was one of four victims killed by a gunman in a Sunday morning…
‘Anticipatory mourning’: America’s youth on death, guns and dissent
We’ve ritualized death away from the young in this culture, in funeral homes and hospice facilities, but it has overtaken them with a vengeance in what were once safe spaces for learning.
The nation is grappling with mass gun killings. Why is the BGAV focused on human sexuality?
At this moment, why is the Baptist General Association of Virginia Executive Board talking about human sexuality? Yes, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship recently released their Illumination findings. And the CBF faces criticism from the right and the left for it. Right now, who cares?
Parkland massacre takes pastor back to father’s mass shooting death
For one Baptist minister in South Florida, the response to the most recent school gun massacre is visceral. Joe LaGuardia, pastor at First Baptist Church in Vero Beach, graduated in 1996 from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where one of his best friends was fellow student Aaron Feis — the assistant football coach and security guard who died protecting students from gunfire. What’s more, his father was killed in a mass shooting in Pennsylvania in 2013.
Las Vegas shooting prompts call for gun control
A coalition of more than 50 national denominations and faith-based organizations urged Congress to reject legislation backed by the National Rifle Association they say will further endanger communities in response to the Oct. 1 mass shooting that killed 58 people…