By Jeff Brumley “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” Thus read the sign recently in front of Madison Avenue Baptist Church, a New York City congregation whose pastor is all about convincing folks…
Super Bowl big day for traffickers
By Daniel Wallace While Baltimore and San Francisco fought it out on the gridiron Sunday in New Orleans, law enforcement and ministries across the city were waging a battle against the modern version of the slave trade: human trafficking. Authorities…
Wendell Berry expounds on gay marriage
This news story originally ran on Jan. 14, 2013. Christian opponents to same-sex marriage want the government to treat homosexuals as a special category of persons subject to discrimination, similar to the way that African-Americans and women were categorized in…
Redeeming fornication
By Bob Allen Christians lost more than just a word when they began substituting modern euphemisms like “premarital sex” for the old-fashioned sin of “fornication,” a Southern Baptist theologian said in a recent essay. Russell Moore, theology dean at Southern…
Westboro: Condemn or ignore them?
By Jeff Brumley Public resentment of Westboro Baptist Church has reached new heights as a petition drive to label it a hate group has surpassed 250,000 signatures. Even some religious leaders have joined in the chorus denouncing the Kansas-based group…
2012: A year in review
By Bob Allen Here are some of the top newsmakers of 2012 as reported by ABPnews. Obamacare Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler observed in January that Health and Human Services regulations, including pregnancy in “preventive services” that insurers…
Faith group supports family planning
By Bob Allen The New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, a faith-based coalition formed in 2010 by former National Association of Evangelicals vice president Richard Cizik, released a 15-page document Oct. 16 making a moral case for family planning….
A Mormon, 2 Catholics and a Protestant go into a homeless shelter
By Bill Leonard Religiously speaking, this presidential election is a fascinating moment in our national life, and for multiple reasons. First, one party nominated a Mormon and a Roman Catholic as president and vice president respectively, the first time in…
Alliance of Baptists offer sexuality study
By Bob Allen Churches aligned with the Alliance of Baptists are setting aside Sept. 16 for study and worship focused around issues of human sexuality. The progressive Baptist group formed in 1987 produced resources for worship and Christian formation for…