Editor’s note: This article was corrected March 11 to clarify a quote in 14th paragraph. By Bob Allen On the surface, Roman Catholics and Southern Baptists might seem unlikely bedfellows in opposing mandated coverage of contraceptives under Obamacare, but observers…
Southern Baptist Convention’s abortion stance moving toward birth control issues
By Bob Allen Once essentially pro-choice, the Southern Baptist Convention today stands firmly with pro-life evangelicals and Catholics on sanctity-of-life issues, including opposition to mandated coverage of contraceptives in the Affordable Care Act. Southern Baptist attorney Linda Coffee wrote a…
Ethicist says gun giveaway shifts focus of church event from hunting to politics
By Bob Allen A moderate Baptist ethicist faulted Kentucky Baptists’ method of giving away guns to lure unchurched men to outreach events for politicizing wild game feasts that have been popular in rural America for decades. “There is no conflict…
Baptist, Methodist pastors in Miss. oppose discrimination based on religious freedom
By Bob Allen Five Baptist and Methodist pastors have sent an open letter urging Mississippi legislators to defeat a bill, similar to one recently vetoed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, that is headed for the House of Representatives for debate…
Southern Baptist leaders oppose anti-gay laws
By Bob Allen Two Southern Baptist Convention spokesmen criticized Uganda’s new anti-homosexuality law as government overreach and “unjust persecution” of gays in a commentary on an SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission website. ERLC President Russell Moore and Andrew Walker,…
Latest outrage at Ole Miss points to a deeper distress
The University of Mississippi just can’t outrun its association with bigotry. In 2012, a crowd of angry white students expressed their displeasure in the wake of Barack Obama’s re-election. And just last week, a small group of freshmen wrapped an…
Facebook helps police nab Baptist preacher
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist pastor in Kentucky was charged with indecent exposure in an arrest that police credit to social media. Kevin Lohse, pastor of Woodlawn Baptist Church in Russellville, Ky., was arrested Feb. 26 after police identified…
Court overturns Texas ban on gay marriage
By Ken Camp A federal judge overturned Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage Feb. 26, saying it denies gay couples equal protection under the law. The judge’s preliminary injunction prohibits the state from enforcing a 2003 law against same-sex unions and…
Faith leaders oppose gay discrimination laws
By Bob Allen Baptist pastor and ABPnews/Herald columnist Amy Butler joined nationally known evangelical leaders including author Brian McLaren and blogger Rachel Held Evans in an open letter opposing laws to permit businesses to discriminate against homosexuals like the one…