By Bob Allen A top Southern Baptist Convention official says President Obama owes evangelical Christians an apology for suggesting at a recent anti-poverty summit that they care for the unborn more than the poor. Frank Page, president of the SBC…
On reading Malcolm X’s autobiography
Marking the 50th anniversary of its publication Malcolm X’s Autobiography was the first book that scared me. Here I was, in the transition from adolescence to young adulthood, secretly abandoning my pietist-revivalist rearing in favor of the more verdant fields…
The culture of poverty
The term “culture of poverty” was introduced by Oscar Lewis in his seminal 1959 book Five Families: Mexican Case Studies in the Culture of Poverty. (If you don’t know about Lewis, 1914-1970, as I didn’t until very recently, he was…
Baptists in Burundi appeal for prayer as protests continue
By Robert Dilday Tensions remain high in Burundi as protesters continued to oppose President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term, and Baptists in the East African country are expressing grave concerns, according to the Baptist World Alliance. “We ask…
CBF, SBC unite against payday loans
By Bob Allen The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission joined other faith groups May 14 in announcing a new coalition to combat predatory lending. The new Faith for Just Lending coalition, announced at a press…
Exploring the church-state side of the same-sex marriage cases
By Executive Director J. Brent Walker When the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the same-sex marriage cases, the justices did not invite briefs on religious liberty. In its writ of certiorari granting review, the Court framed the issues to…
Texas Senate OKs clergy freedom bill
By Bob Allen The Texas Senate gave final approval May 12 to legislation protecting clergy from being forced to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies that violate their religious beliefs. The bill, supported by the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission, now…
Religious groups vow to break D.C. anti-discrimination law
By Bob Allen Anti-abortion groups with offices in Washington, D.C., — including the Southern Baptist Convention’s public-policy arm — have vowed to defy a new city ordinance barring discriminating against women based on their reproductive health choices. Hours after the U.S. Senate…
Jesus doesn’t need a national day of prayer (and neither do we)
As presidents have formally done every year since 1952 (and informally before that), President Obama on Thursday, May 7, will issue a proclamation urging our country to “turn to God in prayer and meditation.” By longstanding national tradition, we will…
Destroying our own neighborhoods
The recent uprising in Baltimore has occupied our screens and dominated our conversations for more than a week now. Protestors there pricked the consciences of the nation in their cries for justice for Freddie Gray. At some point, a small…
Texas public schools are not ‘Godless environment’
Speaking passionately and personally, we pastors are for Texas children, and we are alarmed at the language and legislation coming from some of the most powerful people in our land. It attacks neighborhood and community schools and the dedicated, faithful…
Mike Huckabee announces presidential bid
By Bob Allen Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee announced his second run for president May 5 at a gathering in his hometown of Hope, Ark., pledging to lead the country “from hope to higher ground.” “It seems perfectly fitting that…