Free Republic

The Obama administration’s safe schools czar, Kevin Jennings, has accused the Baptists, the Boy Scouts and sports fans of anti-gay bias, and he has advocated a special high school for gay teens as well as gay-straight alliance clubs for every high school in America. Jennings, who was a prominent homosexual activist before being named director of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education, also has called for kindergarteners to be taught to respect all sexual orientations, while insisting that “ex-gay messages” and “Christian values” are ‘misused to isolate or denigrate lesbian, gay, bisexual...

It is a beautiful peculiarity of this little people that it should it occupy so prominent a place in the history of Europe. There had long been witnesses for the truth in the A1ps. Italy, as far as Rome, all Southern France, and even the far-off Netherlands contained many Christians who counted not their lives dear unto themselves. Especially was this true in the region of the Alps. These valleys and mountains were strongly fortified by nature on account of their difficult passes and bulwarks of rocks and mountains; and they impress one as if the all-wise Creator had, from...

The funeral services for two Virginia Tech sophomores who apparently were shot to death last week in the Caldwell Fields section of the Jefferson National Forest are scheduled for today in Lynchburg. As of Sunday evening, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office still was seeking leads for the shooting, which they believe occurred either Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Services for David Lee Metzler, 19, of Lynchburg and Heidi Lynn Childs, 18, of Forest will be held at Heritage Baptist Church, which both students attended. Metzler's service will be at 1 p.m., while Childs' will be at 3 p.m. Each service...

It has already been indicated that the Paulicians came from Armenia, by the way of Thrace, settled in France and Italy, and traveled through, and made disciples in, nearly all of the countries of Europe. The descent of the Albigenses has been traced by some writers from the Paulicians (Encyclopedia Britannica, I. 454. 9th edition). Recent writers hold that the Albigenses had been in the valleys of France from the earliest ages of Christianity. Prof. Bury says that "it lingered on in Southern France," and was not a "mere Bogomilism, but an ancient local survival." Mr. Conybeare thinks that it...

TASHKENT CITY, Uzbekistan (ABP) -- Authorities in Uzbekistan cracked down on Baptists after a government-sponsored news agency ran articles alleging illegal religious activity at a summer camp for children. Forum 18, a Norway-based news service that monitors alleged violations of religious freedom, reported July 28 that Pavel Peichev, head of the Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists of Middle Asia, faces criminal charges of unlawfully teaching children religion and misusing resort facilities. Local Baptists fear huge fines, confiscation of the property, imprisonment or some combination of penalties if Peichev is convicted

For critics of the Southern Baptist Convention, former President Jimmy Carter is the gift that just keeps on giving. Over the last several days, yet another round of news reports has trumpeted the news that the former president has resigned his membership in the Southern Baptist Convention. Almost a decade after he first made this announcement, his repetitive return to this theme set up a new avalanche of news reports. Reports, we might add, that are not news. Adding insult to injury, the reports are about a "resignation" that isn't even a resignation. Try explaining that to the international media....

After more than 60 years together, Jimmy Carter has announced himself at odds with the Southern Baptist Church -- and he's decided it's time they go their separate ways. Via Feministing, the former president called the decision "unavoidable" after church leaders prohibited women from being ordained and insisted women be "subservient to their husbands." Said Carter in an essay in The Age: At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions...

After more than 60 years together, Jimmy Carter has announced himself at odds with the Southern Baptist Church -- and he's decided it's time they go their separate ways. Via Feministing, the former president called the decision "unavoidable" after church leaders prohibited women from being ordained and insisted women be "subservient to their husbands."

I just read on the Stand Firm in Faith site that there as been a very tragic accident involving a church bus from the First Baptis Church of Shreveport, La. The bus was on the way to camp when the accident happened in Meridan, Mississippi. One child died at the scene and 23 others have been taken to area hospitals.

"Will the Baptist conventions come back together?" my father-in-law asked over Sunday lunch.Not in his lifetime.Most likely, not in my lifetime.And probably not until the Consummation of Time.Good question My father-in-law had a solid reason for his question. He had read my editorial about this year's Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. It describes the generation gap within the SBC and tells how the youngish leadership walloped the old guard.This is significant because the old guard comprises the remnants of the hard-line fundamentalist leadership that wrested control of the SBC from so-called moderates in a struggle that lasted from the late 1970s...

Last week’s Southern Baptist Conven­tion annual meeting in Louisville, Ky., offered a glimpse into the future — the not-so-distant future. The aging leadership of the SBC, including the Executive Committee and the various entity heads, are acknowledging that their days until retirement are numbered. Some statistics suggest they perhaps should be concerned about leaving the convention in worse shape than they found it. For the most part, these are the same leaders that came onto the scene after self-described conservatives swept aside an old guard of denominational leaders in the years following 1979. They signed inerrancy statements testifying to their...

KANSAS CITY, MO. - The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Missouri's appeal to allow the state to enforce it's law restricting protests near funerals. The law targeted a Topeka Baptist church that protests military funerals. The Westboro Baptist Church filed a lawsuit against the state after it passed two laws creating a no protest buffer zone around funerals and processions. Westboro Baptist Church out of Topeka protests the funerals saying soldiers deaths are God's punishment because of U.S. policy toward homosexuals.

THIS YEAR’S Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Annual Meeting is likely to be among its most significant in recent memory. For the first time in many years, the convention will meet in Louisville, where the Calvinism of Al Mohler and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary are holding sway. This convention happens in the shadow of a brewing controversy over the direction the convention will take in the future. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary President Danny Akin and SBC President Johnny Hunt have articulated a vision for the SBC’s future that has the old denominational guard feeling its first real pressure since the...

It is to be regretted that most of the information concerning the Paulicians comes through their enemies. The sources are twofold. The first source is that of the Greek writers, Photius (Adv. recentiores Manichaeans. Hamburg 1772) and Petros Sikeliotes (Historia Manichaeorum qui Pauliciani. Ingolstadt, 1604), which has long been known and was used by Gibbon in the preparation of the brilliant fifty-fourth chapter of his history. Not much has been added from that source since. The accounts are deeply prejudiced, and although Gibbon suspected the malice and poison of these writers, and laid bare much of the malignity expressed by...

At first there was unity in fundamental doctrines and practices. Step by step some of the churches turned aside from the old paths and sought out many inventions. Discipline became lax and persons of influence were permitted to follow a course of life which would not have been tolerated under the old discipline. The times had changed and some of the churches changed with the times. There were those who had itching ears and they sought after novelties. The dogma of baptismal regeneration was early accepted by many, and men sought to have their sins washed away in water rather...

The period of the ancient churches (A. D. 100-325) is much obscured. Much of the material has been lost; much of it that remains has been interpolated by Mediaeval Popish writers and translators; and all of it has been involved in much controversy. Caution must, therefore, be observed m arriving at permanent conclusions. Hasty generalizations that all Christians and churches were involved in doctrinal error must be accepted with extreme caution. Strange and horrible charges began to be current against the Christians. The secrecy of their meetings for worship was ascribed, not to its true cause, the fear of persecution,...

After our Lord had finished his work on earth, and before he had ascended into glory, he gave to his disciples the following commission: "All authority is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:18-20). Under the terms of this commission Jesus gave to his churches the authority...

In attempting to write a history of the Baptists no one is more aware of the embarrassments surrounding the subject than the author. These embarrassments arise from many sources. We are far removed from many of the circumstances under survey; the representations of the Baptists were often made by enemies who did not scruple, when such a course suited their purpose, to blacken character; and hence the testimony from such sources must be received with discrimination and much allowance made for many statements; in some instances vigilant and sustained attempts were made to destroy every document relating to these people;...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Former President Jimmy Carter implored fellow Baptists on Saturday to look beyond a range of doctrinal disputes that have split the denomination, and urged them to focus on reconciling under a common cause. Expanding the focus of a Baptist alliance he helped found, Carter said disagreements over many issues, including abortion, homosexuality and the role of women in the church, have divided Baptists and hampered the denomination.

Only after the Strongmen had torn the phone books and smashed the ice slabs did I figure out how Team Impact and their “feats of strength ministry” worked. But by then it was too late. By then my 10-year-old son had already accepted Jesus Christ as his personal lord and savior. Before we continue, I’d like to make it plain that I have no problem with Team Impact, in particular, nor the Southern Baptist Convention, in general, with which Coppell-based Team Impact is affiliated. Also, I love Jesus Christ. It’s just that I’m Catholic. We are raising our son Catholic....

WEST PAWLET, Vt. – Four years ago in this remote valley hamlet, the last eight members of the financially strapped United Church of West Pawlet voted to disband the congregation. Tad Perry remembers the wrenching vote as “one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.” But now on a nine-degree Sunday morning, a steady plume rises once again from the chimney behind the steeple. Inside, nearly 50 people singing catchy hymns with piano accompaniment help make the tiny sanctuary feel close to full. And the voice from the pulpit bespeaks what’s taking place—not only here, but in formerly...

Running a successful church requires cutting-edge marketing and branding as much as it does innovative preaching and ministry. The Fellowship at Celebration Baptist Church has learned that the hard way during the past decade as a similarly named congregation has become synonymous with the word "Celebration." As a result, the East Arlington congregation is changing its name on Thursday to FaithBridge Church. That's something church member Jaime Brasseit said she's had to pray to accept. "I liked 'Celebration,' and I kinda wish we had kept 'Baptist,' " Brasseit, 22, said after a recent Sunday morning service. But Brasseit said she...

The election of Sen. Barack Obama as the first African American president of the United States will not mark the end of the religious right. Although many in the mainstream media will write and talk about the movement's imminent demise, that demise is not likely to occur in the near, or distant, future. More relevant questions are how the religious right will behave during an Obama administration, and what steps the movement will take to revivify its disappointed, dispirited and angry ground troops. While Obama's victory was a major defeat, several religious right-backed state initiatives passed, including ballot measures banning...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Evangelist Billy Graham was hospitalized Saturday after tripping and falling over one of his dogs at his North Carolina home, a hospital spokeswoman said. The 89-year-old Graham was at Mission Hospital in Asheville with discomfort and bruising and hoped to be home later in the day, said spokeswoman Merrell Gregory. He was listed in fair condition and his physicians report that X-rays showed no broken bones, Gregory said in a news release. -Snip- The Southern Baptist minister fell late Friday at his home in Montreat, N.C. Earlier this year, Graham had elective surgery to update a shunt...

HOUSTON (BP)--About 1,500 Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers are setting up units in Texas and were expected to be operational by the end of the day Tuesday to serve victims of Hurricane Ike. The primary focus of the efforts currently is food preparation, with 39 kitchen units on site in the state. The American Red Cross has asked Southern Baptists to be ready to prepare up to 375,000 hot meals a day, while the Salvation Army has requested 125,000 meals a day, bringing the total to 500,000. In addition to the 39 feeding units, more than 40 other types of...

Previous posts in this series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles?Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and PuritansChapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger WilliamsChapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode IslandChapter 4 - The Providence and Newport ChurchesChapter 5 - Chaunce, Knolly, Miles and the Swansea ChurchChapter 6 - The Boston BaptistsChapter 7 - New Centers of Baptist Influence: South Carolina - Maine - Pennsylvania - New JerseyChapter 8 - The Baptists of VirginiaChapter 9 - Baptists of Connecticut and New YorkChapter 10 - The Baptists of North Carolina, Maryland,...

Previous posts in this series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles?Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and PuritansChapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger WilliamsChapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode IslandChapter 4 - The Providence and Newport ChurchesChapter 5 - Chaunce, Knolly, Miles and the Swansea ChurchChapter 6 - The Boston BaptistsChapter 7 - New Centers of Baptist Influence: South Carolina - Maine - Pennsylvania - New JerseyChapter 8 - The Baptists of VirginiaChapter 9 - Baptists of Connecticut and New YorkChapter 10 - The Baptists of North Carolina, Maryland,...

Previous posts in this series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles?Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and PuritansChapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger WilliamsChapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode IslandChapter 4 - The Providence and Newport ChurchesChapter 5 - Chaunce, Knolly, Miles and the Swansea ChurchChapter 6 - The Boston BaptistsChapter 7 - New Centers of Baptist Influence: South Carolina - Maine - Pennsylvania - New JerseyChapter 8 - The Baptists of VirginiaChapter 9 - Baptists of Connecticut and New YorkChapter 10 - The Baptists of North Carolina, Maryland,...

Southern Baptists are organizing a nationwide prayer campaign to accompany their values-voter registration drive, seeking spiritual renewal for families and churches, and God's favor for public officials who are guided by the Bible. The 40/40 Prayer Vigil for Spiritual Revival and National Renewal will run from Sept. 24 through Nov. 2, two days before the general election. The daily prayers include requests for God's guidance in voting, for the election of more "godly Christians," for God to "help churches find ways to help Christians get to the polls" and for public officials to be protected "from the attacks of Satan."...

Previous posts in this series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles?Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and PuritansChapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger WilliamsChapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode Island Chapter 4 - The Providence and Newport ChurchesChapter 5 - Chaunce, Knolly, Miles and the Swansea ChurchChapter 6 - The Boston BaptistsChapter 7 - New Centers of Baptist Influence: South Carolina - Maine - Pennsylvania - New JerseyChapter 8 - The Baptists of VirginiaChapter 9 - Baptists of Connecticut and New YorkChapter 10 - The Baptists of North Carolina,...

Previous posts in this series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles?Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and PuritansChapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger WilliamsChapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode IslandChapter 4 - The Providence and Newport ChurchesChapter 5 - Chaunce, Knolly, Miles and the Swansea ChurchChapter 6 - The Boston BaptistsChapter 7 - New Centers of Baptist Influence: South Carolina - Maine - Pennsylvania - New JerseyChapter 8 - The Baptists of VirginiaChapter 9 - Baptists of Connecticut and New YorkChapter 10 - The Baptists of North Carolina, Maryland,...

Previous posts in this series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles?Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and PuritansChapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger WilliamsChapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode IslandChapter 4 - The Providence and Newport ChurchesChapter 5 - Chaunce, Knolly, Miles and the Swansea ChurchChapter 6 - The Boston BaptistsChapter 7 - New Centers of Baptist Influence: South Carolina - Maine - Pennsylvania - New JerseyChapter 8 - The Baptists of VirginiaChapter 9 - Baptists of Connecticut and New YorkChapter 10 - The Baptists of North Carolina, Maryland,...

Previous posts in this series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles? Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and Puritans Chapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger Williams Chapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode Island Chapter 4 - The Providence and Newport Churches Chapter 5 - Chaunce, Knolly, Miles and the Swansea Church Chapter 6 - The Boston Baptists Chapter 7 - New Centers of Baptist Influence: South Carolina - Maine - Pennsylvania - New Jersey Chapter 8 - The Baptists of Virginia Chapter 9 - Baptists of Connecticut and New...

Previous posts in this series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles? Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and Puritans Chapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger Williams Chapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode IslandChapter 4 - The Providence and Newport Churches Chapter 5 - Chaunce, Knolly, Miles and the Swansea Church Chapter 6 - The Boston Baptists Chapter 7 - New Centers of Baptist Influence: South Carolina - Maine - Pennsylvania - New Jersey Chapter 8 - The Baptists of Virginia Chapter 9 - Baptists of Connecticut and New York...

Previous posts in this series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles?Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and PuritansChapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger WilliamsChapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode IslandChapter 4 - The Providence and Newport ChurchesChapter 5 - Chaunce, Knolly, Miles and the Swansea ChurchChapter 6 - The Boston BaptistsChapter 7 - New Centers of Baptist Influence: South Carolina - Maine - Pennsylvania - New JerseyChapter 8 - The Baptists of VirginiaChapter 9 - Baptists of Connecticut and New York THE AMERICAN BAPTISTS X. THE BAPTISTS OF NORTH...

Previous posts in this series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles?Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and PuritansChapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger WilliamsChapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode IslandChapter 4 - The Providence and Newport ChurchesChapter 5 - Chaunce, Knolly, Miles and the Swansea ChurchChapter 6 - The Boston BaptistsChapter 7 - New Centers of Baptist Influence: South Carolina - Maine - Pennsylvania - New JerseyChapter 8 - The Baptists of Virginia THE AMERICAN BAPTISTS IX. BAPTISTS OF CONNECTICUT AND NEW YORK In considering the introduction and spread...

Previous posts in this series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles?Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and PuritansChapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger WilliamsChapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode IslandChapter 4 - The Providence and Newport ChurchesChapter 5 - Chaunce, Knolly, Miles and the Swansea ChurchChapter 6 - The Boston BaptistsChapter 7 - New Centers of Baptist Influence: South Carolina - Maine - Pennsylvania - New Jersey THE AMERICAN BAPTISTS VIII. THE BAPTISTS OF VIRGINIA No chapter of Baptist history, European or American, fills honest hearts with warmer gratitude...

Previous posts in this series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles?Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and PuritansChapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger WilliamsChapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode IslandChapter 4 - The Providence and Newport ChurchesChapter 5 - Chaunce, Knolly, Miles and the Swansea ChurchChapter 6 - The Boston Baptists THE AMERICAN BAPTISTS VII. NEW CENTERS OF BAPTIST INFLUENCE--SOUTH CAROLINA--MAINE-- PENNSYLVANIA--NEW JERSEY As a wrathful tempest scatters seed over a continent, so persecution has always forced Baptists where their wisdom had not led them. The first American Baptist...

Previous posts in the series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles?Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and PuritansChapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger WilliamsChapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode IslandChapter 4 - The Providence and Newport ChurchesChapter 5 - Chaunce, Knolly, Miles and the Swansea Church THE AMERICAN BAPTISTS VI. THE BOSTON BAPTISTS Fierce bigotry and intolerance did much for the ancient Baptists in Jerusalem of old, and this history repeated itself in Boston during the year 1651. The story is very simple. William Witter, a plain old farmer,...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Despite media speculation to the contrary, three new polls show that evangelicals, including Southern Baptist pastors, support Republican John McCain over Democrat Barack Obama by wide margins. The polls were released as Obama courts Christian leaders and voters in hopes of cutting into what has traditionally been a Republican stronghold. During the Democratic primary, Obama's campaign released a flyer in conservative Kentucky showing him at a pulpit, with a cross in the background, quoting him as saying, "I won't be fulfilling God's will unless I go out and do the Lord's work." The flyer called Obama a "committed...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Under pressure to fight child sex abuse, the Southern Baptist Convention's executive committee said Tuesday that the denomination should not create its own database to help churches identity predators or establish an office to field abuse claims. The report decried sexual abuse as reprehensible and a sin. But the Southern Baptist principle of local church autonomy means it's up to individual churches _ and not the convention _ to screen employees and take action against offenders, the committee said.

Previous posts in the series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles?Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and PuritansChapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger WilliamsChapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode IslandChapter 4 - The Providence and Newport Churches THE AMERICAN BAPTISTS V. CHAUNCE--KNOLLYS--MILES AND THE SWANSEA CHURCH Several hints are found in the early colonial writings, that an individual here and there amongst the colonists inclined to Baptist views in relation to infant baptism and immersion before the immersion of Williams. Governor Winslow wrote of the Baptists, in 1646: 'We...

I have hang over of Biblical proportions. As in my head is splitting like the Red Sea. Fire and brimstone are flying from me like the wrath of an Angy God. I believe the Germans caused this by immigrating to Texas and brewing a concoction known as "Shiner Bock." Anyone have any suggestions?

Previous posts in this series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles?Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and PuritansChapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger WilliamsChapter 3 - The Settlement of Rhode Island THE AMERICAN BAPTISTS IV. THE PROVIDENCE AND NEWPORT CHURCHES ROGER WILLIAMS, having adopted the old Baptist principle of absolute soul-liberty and given it practical effect in the civil provisions which he had devised, could not stop there. This deep moral truth carried with it certain logical outworkings concerning human duty as well as its rights, and as his doctrine...

Previous posts in this series: Introduction - Have We a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches Down from the Apostles?Chapter 1 - The Colonial Period: Pilgrims and PuritansChapter 2 - The Banishment of Roger Williams THE AMERICAN BAPTISTS III. SETTLEMENT OF RHODE ISLAND Salem was filled with excitement and grief when Williams was banished, and asked what its good pastor had done to merit this cruelty at the hands of his fellow-disciples in Christ? John Cotton, snugly housed in his Boston home, severely discanted on Williams's exile as any thing but 'banishment.' In that dreary New England winter, as his brother...

Previous posts in this series: Introduction THE AMERICAN BAPTISTS I. THE COLONIAL PERIOD. PILGRIMS AND PURITANS The passage of the Mayflower over the Atlantic was long and rough. Often before its bosom had been torn by keels seeking the golden fleece for kings, but now the kings themselves were on board this frail craft, bringing the golden fleece with them; and the old deep had all that she could do to bear this load of royalty safely over. Stern as she was, the men borne on her waves were sterner. More than a new empire was intrusted to her care,...

NEW YORK — Conservative legal advocates are recruiting pastors nationwide to defy an IRS ban on preaching about politicians, in a challenge they hope will abolish the restriction. The Alliance Defense Fund, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., will ask the clergy to deliver a sermon about specific candidates Sept. 28. If the action triggers an IRS investigation, the legal group will sue to overturn the federal rules, which were enacted in 1954. Under the IRS code, churches can distribute voter guides, run voter registration drives, hold forums on public policy and invite politicians to speak at their congregations. However, they cannot...

"Headstrong in their two faiths, a Mormon and a Baptist squared off recently at the Tempe Institute of Religion at Arizona State University and spent 2 1/2 hours demonstrating they could aggressively question each other's religions but come away with deep respect and love for each other. Actually, some 55 times since 2001, the Rev. Gregory Johnson, founding pastor of Ogden Valley Baptist Church in Utah, and Robert Millet, dean emeritus of religious education at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, have held "A Conversation Between a Mormon and an Evangelical" in the U.S., Canada and England. Between genial ribbing...

Gays, women seeking abortions, couples not married will be includedJust as the Christian church has done many wonderful things throughout history, says the Rev. Richard Mark Lee, it also has done many terrible things, such as targeting, judging and condemning various individuals and groups. On Sunday, Lee plans to apologize for these past wrongs in a sermon at his church, Sugar Hill Baptist, known as The Family Church. Some of the groups Lee said he'll apologize to include gays, women seeking abortions and couples who live together outside of marriage. "For too long, we're been known for the issues we're...

Several dozen leading members of the Southern Baptist Convention, including its current President and several past Presidents, recently released a "Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change." I attended Liberty University, a school affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and specifically affiliated with Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. Both the church and the University were founded and led by Jerry Falwell until his death last May. The school and church are now led by Rev. Falwell's two sons: Jerry Falwell, Jr. is the Chancellor and President of Liberty University, and Jonathan Falwell is the senior pastor of the...