An excited patriot handed me one of those 10-inch flags that you stick into your lawn on July 4th.The plastic red, white and blue was intact, but the pole that once held it together was broken three stripes from the…
BWA aids U.N. report on Eritrea
By Bob Allen The United Nations recently issued a scathing report on human rights in the northeast African nation of Eritrea researched with input from the Baptist World Alliance. A June 4 report by the U.N. Human Rights Council found…
BJC says same-sex marriage ruling unlikely to affect tax-exemption
By Bob Allen A Baptist group specializing in church/state issues says the threat of churches and other religious organizations losing their tax-exempt status if they oppose same-sex marriage “have been highly exaggerated” in a two-page handout released in light of…
Oklahoma Supreme Court orders removal of Ten Commandments from Capitol lawn
By Bob Allen The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled June 30 that a Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol grounds must come down in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of an ordained Baptist minister and other citizens. Bruce…
The Confederate flag honors a bad memory
I am a proud Southerner. That is why you will never see me display the Confederate flag. Now, I do not pretend to have plumbed the depths of the debate over the flag, but I do believe that symbols hold…
State Supreme Court voids school voucher plan
By Bob Allen The Colorado Supreme Court struck down a school voucher program June 29, saying it violates the state constitution’s ban on using public money to fund religious schools. Overturning a lower-court decision, the Supreme Court said the Douglas…
Baptist colleges lose Obamacare challenge
By Bob Allen A federal appeals court ruled June 22 that the religious exercise of two Texas Baptist colleges isn’t substantially burdened by a requirement they opt out of contraceptive coverage required under Obamacare. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of…
How Long, O Lord?
“How Long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” the Psalmist asks. African Americans ask this question in the wake of the murder of nine Christians at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina during a Wednesday…
It’s hard to sleep
It is hard to sleep. Tonight, I struggle to reach the land of the sandman because I kept wondering if another scenario like the one at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina was taking place elsewhere in…