By Bob Allen A Baptist minister and board member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said May 26 it would have been hypocritical for the 103-year-old civil-rights organization not to pass its recent resolution supporting marriage…
Baptist leader endorses Catholic campaign
By Bob Allen Southern Baptists’ top spokesman for religious-liberty concerns voiced support May 26 for Catholics across the country gearing up for a “Fortnight for Freedom,” a two-week national campaign of special liturgies, prayer services and other events leading up…
A Baptist shame
By Bill Leonard Tonight I am ashamed to be a Baptist. Born into Baptist “cradle role” in the First Baptist Church of Decatur, Texas, and baptized on profession of faith in that congregation when I was 8 years old, I’ve…
AU says anti-gay sermon broke tax law
By Bob Allen Americans United for Separation of Church and State has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate whether a North Carolina pastor’s sermon suggesting that gays and lesbians should be quarantined and allowed to die off that went…
AU says pastor’s anti-gay sermon broke tax law
By Bob Allen Americans United for Separation of Church and State has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate whether a North Carolina pastor’s sermon suggesting that gays and lesbians should be quarantined and allowed to die off that went…
Pastor religious freedom panel pick
By Bob Allen President Obama announced plans May 11 to reappoint African-American Baptist leader William J. Shaw to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Shaw, immediate past president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., was appointed in…
No news, bad news
By David Gushee Thinking it’s been a while since I wrote about public policy, I remembered why: no one in Washington is actually making public policy right now. A more precise way to say it is the legislative branch of…
Baptists split on NC gay marriage ban
By Bob Allen Some religious leaders hailed North Carolina’s May 8 passage of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman as a win for family values, while others vowed to continue the fight for what…
Osama bin Laden, one year later
By Jim Denison Bin Laden dreamed of blowing up oil tankers, hoping to devastate the global economy. He was not informed in advance of the attempted bombing of Times Square in May 2010, and was skeptical of Anwar al-Awlaki’s work…