By Bob Allen Two Baptist thinkers describe President Obama’s requirement that religious organizations include contraception in their employees’ health-care coverage as what some term a “Niemoeller moment” reminiscent of the slippery-slope devaluation of human rights that occurred in Nazi Germany….
British Christians say no to nukes
By Bob Allen Baptists and other Christian leaders in the United Kingdom are urging the government to scrap plans to replace its fleet of nuclear-armed submarines. The Baptist Union of Great Britain joined the Methodist Church and the United Reformed…
NC Baptists square off over gay marriage
By Bob Allen Baptists are lining up on opposing sides of an upcoming ballot referendum to amend North Carolina’s constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. The Baptist State Convention of North Carolina is on record…
Tennessee faith leaders ask presidential candidates to avoid immigration rhetoric
Tennessee faith leaders called on presidential candidates to refrain from negative campaign rhetoric regarding immigration leading up to the state’s March 6 Republican primary. “Please keep the highly charged and negative campaign rhetoric, advertisements and promises on immigration out of…
Baptist ethicist: There is no global war on Christians
By Bob Allen A Baptist ethicist accused Newsweekmagazine of feeding fear with a cover story headlined “The Global War on Christians in the Muslim World.” Robert Parham “The narrative of a global war on Christians is a cousin of the…
Baptist leaders welcome adjustment to birth control coverage rule
By Bob Allen Baptist leaders applauded President Obama’s Feb. 10 announcement that insurance companies must pay for birth-control services for women who work for religious institutions that object to paying for them on moral grounds. “This is a positive step in…
SBC insurance provider not satisfied with Obama compromise
President Obama’s compromise plan for mandatory coverage of contraceptives does not solve religious liberty concerns for the Southern Baptist Convention’s insurance provider, GuideStone Financial Resources President O.S. Hawkins said in a statement Feb. 10. GuideStone’s medical plan is self-funded, Hawkins…
Baptist leader says contraceptive mandate should be revised
Brent Walker By Bob Allen The head of a Baptist religious liberty watchdog group said Feb. 8 that the Obama administration should return new health-care regulations to the drawing board to address religious liberty concerns. The Affordable Care Act, also…
Negative politics and spiritual schizophrenia
By Jim Denison In the aftermath of the Florida presidential primary, this headline caught my eye: “The Republican Florida Primary Was the Most Negative Ever in Terms of Ads.” One analysis indicates that 92 percent of the ads aired during…