By Bob Allen A group that monitors religious freedom violations in the armed forces claimed victory June 11 after the Pentagon announced that LifeWay Christian Resources can no longer use official emblems of the four military branches on Bibles sold…
Faith groups tout anti-discrimination bill
By Bob Allen Thirty-seven faith groups wrote senators June 12 urging passage of a bill that would prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism coordinated the letter signed…
Faith leaders protest contraceptive rule
By Bob Allen Nearly 150 faith leaders wrote Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius June 11 protesting the administration’s requirement that faith-based employers include contraceptive coverage for women in their health-care plans. The Affordable Health Care Act, also known…
Walking spoils of war
Veterans Affairs needs an overhaul, and churches can lead the way in veteran care reform—only if they work together. I’ve wondered how the church would respond to wounded veterans’ needs. In communities across the country veterans return attempting to fight…
Baptist school fires gay librarian
By Bob Allen A gay librarian at Shorter University who refused to sign a statement rejecting homosexuality has been fired, the Save Our Shorter website reported June 7. Michael Wilson, 50, off-campus librarian for professional studies since 1998, returned his…
The parable of the vineyard from the margins
By Miguel De La Torre One early morning, a certain vineyard owner sets out to hire laborers. He goes to the local bodega where laborers usually wait to be hired, negotiates a fair day’s wage and sends them to his…
Land’s rebuke termed damage control
By Bob Allen Richard Land’s formal reprimand and cancellation of his weekly radio program apparently had more to do with damage control than any violation of on-air ethical standards, a religious broadcasting executive said in a World Magazine web article…
The new civil rights movement?
By Bert Montgomery Richard “Dick” Brogan was a personal friend and one of my heroes. Dick was a white Mississippi Baptist minister who worked tirelessly to build relationships between whites and blacks during segregation and even up until he passed…
The new civil rights movement?
By Bert Montgomery Richard “Dick” Brogan was a personal friend and one of my heroes. Dick was a white Mississippi Baptist minister who worked tirelessly to build relationships between whites and blacks during segregation and even up until he passed…
Pastor amends comment about killing gays
By Bob Allen A Kansas pastor who made national headlines for saying the government should execute homosexuals says he never expected his words to be taken literally or discussed beyond the walls of his local church. “This has been an…
Richard Land signs off radio show
The head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission signed off without fanfare for the last time on the Richard Land Live! weekly radio show June 2. Land, Southern Baptists’ top spokesman for moral and religious-liberty concerns…
Trustees cancel Richard Land’s radio show
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is pulling the plug on agency head Richard Land’s radio show over recent controversial remarks about the Trayvon Martin killing. The ERLC’s trustee executive committee announced June 1…