Baltimore is a great city. It is home to the sports teams I follow, universities, churches, an inner harbor, and more importantly where people live. My mother was born and raised in Baltimore. I was born outside Baltimore in Maryland…
Supreme Court hears challenges to state gay-marriage bans
By Bob Allen The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments April 28 about whether the 14th Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and, if not, whether states that forbid gay marriage…
PNBC head says anger OK, violence not
By Bob Allen An African-American Baptist leader says young people rioting in Baltimore are sacrificing the moral high ground of nonviolent protest advocated by Martin Luther King. “Anger over the yet unexplained death of Freddie Gray is one thing, but…
Taxation: Theft or support of the public welfare?
It has been ten days now since Tax Day 2015, but I am still thinking about taxation because of what I saw/heard in the media in the days following April 15. While driving around town on the 17 th, I…
Baptists lead movements to ease ex-offender return to society
By Jeff Brumley and Ken Camp There’s a growing push, here and there around the country, to stop treating ex-cons like criminals after they have served their time. The restorative justice movement is nothing new but is taking on fresh…
Uzbek Baptist jailed for handing out Christian leaflet
By Bob Allen A Baptist in Uzbekistan was jailed 15 days in March and fined three years’ worth of the national minimum wage for giving a Christian leaflet to a passer-by he met while traveling by bicycle, according to a…
The problem with broken taillights
As I write, I’m drinking lukewarm coffee and watching daytime television. Confined to the waiting room of a local auto shop, I’m waiting to have a taillight fixed. The broken taillight had slipped my mind for weeks — maybe even…
Utah compromise worth consideration
By General Counsel K. Hollyn Hollman Through our publications, blog, and website, the BJC regularly reports on state legislative action affecting religious liberty. Some of the most visible recent bills are state versions of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act…
Who’s really discriminating here?
Discrimination is a funny word. We hear it thrown around a lot today so it’s worth taking a minute and reflecting on what exactly it means. At the most basic level, discrimination is simply the process of choosing one thing…