RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Baptist leaders and Religious Herald staff gathered in downtown Richmond Jan. 11 to mark the day 183 years earlier the Virginia Baptist newsjournal published its first issue. Marking the Herald’s 183rd anniversary were (from left) Jim…
Shoe distribution brings smiles
People wait in line to get into First Church, Coeburn, for shoes. COEBURN, Va. — There were too many smiles to count on Nov. 13 at First Church in Coeburn as over 300 children received a free pair of new…
New drama focuses on forgiveness
WASHINGTON (RNS) — For playwright Marcus Gardley, the theater is his pulpit, and plays are his sermons. His latest production, Every Tongue Confess, seeks answers to the questions that swirled around the spate of arsons that hit black churches in…
Christmas debt danger
BRADFORD, England (ABP) — A Christian debt-counseling charity in the United Kingdom is calling on people to avoid using credit cards and loans to pay for their Christmas shopping this year. Christians Against Poverty, a ministry that advocates poverty relief…
Harry Potter as gospel narrative
AUSTIN, Texas—A bespectacled teenaged wizard with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead may not fit most people’s picture of Christ, but Christian pop culture observer Greg Garrett definitely sees the similarities. “Harry Potter is one of the most clearly identifiable…
Does eschatology trump ethics?
KELLER, Texas (ABP) — Theology that equates the modern state of Israel with the Israel of biblical prophecy has caused some evangelical Christians to let eschatology trump ethics when it comes to the Middle East, a Palestinian-American Christian told a…
New mosque construction gets green light
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (ABP) — A judge ruled Nov. 17 that Muslims can move forward with plans to build a new mosque and Islamic center in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Chancellor Robert Corlew III heard a total of eight days of testimony spread…
Evangelical support for Israel at all-time high
JERUSALEM (RNS) — When Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee wrapped up a visit to Israel on Nov. 15 with 40 pastors in tow, he sought out the places where Jesus walked, preached and prayed some 2,000 years ago. But there…
Charities, yes; churches, no
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Americans are being more generous to religious charities, but why are they skimping on their giving to churches? A new report from Empty Tomb, an Illinois-based Christian research organization, contains an analysis that found from 2007 to 2008, Protestant…