By Bob Allen A moderate Baptist ethicist compared Rep. Charlie Rangel’s recent use of the term “white cracker” to cooking celebrity Paula Deen and NFL player Riley Cooper using the “N-word.” The difference, Robert Parham of the Baptist Center for…
They are your brothers
The news of late has been enough to depress just about anyone who longs for and fights for justice, fairness, and equality. We have seen states trying to limit a woman’s access to healthcare and limit her right to make her own…
Trial for gay Baptist minister postponed
By Bob Allen A misdemeanor trespassing trial for a gay Baptist minister and his partner who refused to leave a city clerk’s office after being denied a marriage license was postponed Monday when attorneys were unable to come up with…
Gay minister’s trespassing trial begins
By Bob Allen The trial for an openly gay ordained Baptist minister and his partner arrested in January for refusing to leave a government building where they were denied a marriage license begins today in Louisville, Ky. Pretrial hearings were scheduled…
Baptist ethicist signs abuse petition
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist ethicist has endorsed an online petition urging greater transparency about sexual abuse occurring in evangelical churches. Ben Mitchell, Graves Professor ofMoral Philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., added his signature to “A Public…
Residents still fighting Tenn. mosque
By Bob Allen Mosque opponents in Murfreesboro, Tenn., want the county to seize a newly constructed Islamic Center and turn it over to someone else. J. Thomas Smith, an attorney for citizens asking the Tennessee Supreme Court to overturn an…
Desperately seeking 20-somethings.
If you’re a long time reader of my work (thanks Mom!) you’ve likely come to the not-so-startling conclusion that a great deal of my ramblings are primarily concerned with my struggles, disagreements, dissatisfactions, and overall existential and sometimes very physical inabilities to be…
Church ‘eviction’ sparks controversy
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist church planter in New York City said he never intended the firestorm of criticism that started with him writing a blog about losing the congregation’s meeting place after promoting a sermon series about sexuality….
CBF pastor seeks immigration reform
By Bob Allen A Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pastor joined fellow clergy July 24 in a press conference on the U.S. Capitol Building lawn calling for broad immigration reform. “We are not here to endorse any specific bill or any particular…