By Jeff Brumley Growing up Baptist in North Carolina, Keri Arrington had little exposure to the topic of genocide. Even her first three years at Mars Hill College did little to inform her of modern instances of the brutal practice….
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….
Flynt: Religious/political ties ‘complicated’
By Ken Camp Polarized politics in 21st century America are rooted in the cultural conflict of the 1960s, with race and religion at the forefront, historian Wayne Flynt told a conference at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas….
Prof: Feminism left mark on Baptists
By Ken Camp The women’s movement of the 1960s and 1970s deeply affected Southern Baptist life, an Oregon State University women’s studies professor said during a two-day conference on how Baptists have shaped American culture. Ironically, feminism made a stronger…
Racial equality pioneer Langford dies
By Bob Allen Henry V. Langford, a white Baptist preacher whose support for racial equality caused him to be blackballed by churches in the 1950s, died Oct. 7 at age 93. A memorial service is planned at 4 p.m. Sunday,…
Church-state relationships in a pluralistic society
Recently, two Baptist-affiliated universities filed a federal lawsuit against the Obama Administration. Houston Baptist University and East Texas Baptist University are challenging the constitutionality of the controversial “contraception mandate” of the Affordable Care Act (aka “ObamaCare”) requiring most health care…
Group asks AP to stop using ‘illegal’ label
By Bob Allen A Christian social-justice organization has called on the Associated Press to stop labeling undocumented immigrants “illegal” in the Associated Press Stylebook, a Bible for reporting and editing decisions used by news media across the United States. Sojourners,…
Lawmaker defends slavery comments
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist state legislator in Arkansas is standing by a self-published book he wrote in 2009 where he suggests that slavery may have been a blessing in disguise for African-Americans. Republican State Rep. Jon Hubbard, a…
Nonviolence out of the abstract
By Miguel De La Torre As a social ethicist, I wrestle with issues concerning the use or rejection of violence. Should we, as a community, engage in violence when our lives and/or way of life are threatened? Or do we…
Arkansas CBF mourns student’s murder
By Bob Allen The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Arkansas joined the campus community of a historically African-American college in Little Rock in mourning the senseless murder of a student Sept. 27. Derek Olivier, 19, a freshman from New Iberia, La.,…
Groups support people with disabilities
By Bob Allen As values voters both left and right weigh in on special interests from immigration reform to same-sex marriage in an election season, a lesser-known religious coalition is speaking up for Americans with disabilities. The Interfaith Disability Advocacy…
Long, long ago in a time far, far away…
I remember a day when one would get in trouble for passing handwritten notes in class! I also remember the first time a girl passed me one—be still my heart! Yes, I also remember black and white TV with a…