Free Republic

After they beat Azat Azatyan so bad blood came out of his ears; after they sent electric shocks up his genitals; after they wacked him with pipes and truncheons, the Russians began to interrogate him about his faith. “When did you become a Baptist? When did you become an American spy?” Azat tried to explain that in Ukraine there was freedom of religion, you could just choose your faith. But his torturers saw the world the same way as their predecessors at the KGB did: an American church is just a front for the American state. Azat was dragged back...

Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and arguably one of the most influential theologians in the Southern Baptist Convention has been repeatedly criticized for his failure to lead in a timely manner by conservative Christians. As a matter of fact, most of the time Mohler ends up landing on the right side of theological issues, from Ed Litton’s plagiarism to homosexuality in the Church—but his voice is always too little too late. The term coined to describe his leadership is “leading from behind.” If you’ve been following the Andy Stanley saga on social media and the blogosphere,...

In recent months, following the Covenant School Shooting, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission head Brent Leatherwood has been outspoken in support of gun control legislation, throwing the lobbying power of the Southern Baptist Convention behind the gun control proposals of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. Leatherwood, whose three children attend Covenant School, supports the governor’s bid to bring red-flag gun control laws to Tennessee, which would result in the removal of guns from the possession of citizens without due process. But actions have consequences, and this move could be used in the future to nullify the second...

The Southern Baptist Convention announced Wednesday it has voted overwhelmingly to finalize the expulsion of two churches from the nation's largest Protestant denomination for having female pastors. And the vote wasn't even close, according to the SBC's tally. Spurred on by arch-conservatives in the SBC, the 12,000 or so "messengers" who had gathered at their annual meeting in New Orleans voted by a 9-to-1 margin to seal the exit of California's Saddleback Church and a smaller congregation in Kentucky. That vote, which was conducted Tuesday, set the stage for another vote Wednesday to amend the SBC's constitution to specify that...

FLOWER MOUND, Texas (BP) – The Village Church announced Sunday (Aug. 28) that lead pastor Matt Chandler will take a leave of absence from teaching and preaching following his admission to “inappropriate messaging” with a woman on Instagram. Chandler admitted the messaging was “unguarded and unwise” though the messages were neither “romantic nor sexual” in nature, but the “frequency and familiarity” was not wise for someone in his position. Chandler said the church’s elders determined his “inability to see this for what it was revealed something not right and unhealthy,” adding that The Village “cannot be a place that does...

CNN)Both cite the same Bible. Both follow the same Jesus. And both talk about the sanctity of life. And yet both stand on opposite sides of the contentious debate over abortion. Trent Horn, an author, speaker and podcaster, is a Roman Catholic and an opponent of abortion rights. Laura Ellis supports legal abortion rights and is project manager at Baptist Women in Ministry, a Baptist group that advocates for women in ministry. Both personify the divisions over abortion in the church — and show how complex the issue can be when two smart and well-informed people cite scripture to support...

In a video released Sunday, June 12, former Southern Baptist Convention President Jack Graham endorsed current presidential candidate Tom Ascol — a move shocking to some convention insiders and a potential game-changer in this week’s contest for leadership. Ascol and Graham hold divergent theological views, with Ascol being a staunch Calvinist and Graham being a more traditional conservative evangelical. And by endorsing Ascol, who is a Florida pastor, Graham bypassed another candidate, Bart Barber, whose church is located 37 miles away from Graham’s. Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church of Farmersville, Texas, is considered the institutionalist candidate in this year’s...

NASHVILLE (RNS)—Anecdotally, clergy have talked about the disruption in worship attendance in this pandemic age. Now, Southern Baptists have statistics to prove it. The average in-person weekly attendance at Southern Baptist Convention churches declined 18.75 percent, from 4,439,797 in 2020 to 3,607,530 in 2021. Christian education saw an even larger decrease of 22.15 percent, with Sunday school, Bible study and small groups reduced from 2,879,130 to 2,241,514. The Annual Church Profile, a compilation from the denomination’s state conventions, was released May 12 by Lifeway Christian Resources, the convention’s data gathering division. Researchers also blamed COVID-19 for the slowdown in baptisms...

I was a scared and confused twelve-year-old when the idea of sending me off to a school for girls was whispered about. A family member tried to convince my parent that this would be the best place for me after an agonizing season in my life. My decade-long abuser had just been put in prison. Sending me away would help silence all the gossip surrounding our family in our small faith community and remove the small spotlight shining negatively on our church. I can’t help but wonder now if sending me away would also have been a way to punish...

I grew up hearing that mental health disorders and illnesses of every kind were evil. Because I was told these things from an isolated world of fundamentalist Christianity, I was not surprised to see Pastor Greg Locke’s sermon suggesting autism, epilepsy and other mental health disorders are actually demon possession. I’ve heard this countless times while sitting in the pews of independent fundamental Baptist churches. A screaming child was said to be a rebellious child who the devil was using. I recall the preachers saying often, “How many lost souls did those ‘tantrums’ lead into hell?,” berating children and the...

PART 1: EVERYTHING BUT THE FUNDING. THAT IS COMING IN PART 2. NOTE: IF THIS ARTICLE IS TOO LONG TO READ FOR YOU, TRY OUR MUCH SHORTER VERSION, DOCENT FOR DUMMIES, PUBLISHED HERE. Imagine a headline in which the newly elected president of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination was caught – within hours of his election – committing theft. This theft, a clear violation of God’s immutable Moral Law (Exodus 20:15) is fairly unique in that it contains within the stone tablets carved by God’s own anthropomorphic finger no explanation or asterisk. The 1st Commandment contained the reason for not...

Like just about every other Western Christian body, as well as the United States, the SBC is left to squabble over shrinking slices of a dwindling pie.The New York Times put out a lengthy preview of the Southern Baptist Convention’s top controversies heading into their annual meeting this week in Nashville, Tenn. Members of the nation’s largest evangelical denomination are weighing the future of their religious body amid numerous theological controversies.The way the SBC goes will significantly influence Christianity in the United States, which has since the nation’s inception been Protestant-dominated. As the Times notes, “About a third of the...

As Southern Baptists prepare for their biggest annual meeting in more than a quarter-century, accusations that leaders have shielded churches from claims of sexual abuse and simmering tensions around race threaten to once again mire the nation’s largest Protestant denomination in a conflict that can look more political than theological. More than 16,000 voting delegates are pre-registered for the two-day gathering that starts on Tuesday in Nashville. Southern Baptist Convention members have been a powerful force in conservative Republican politics for a generation. This year’s convention follows weeks of internal controversies stoked by leaked letters, secret recordings and video rebuttals....

While America has unquestionably had deep racial problems and an agonizing history of oppressing black people through slavery, Jim Crow, and other outrages, it seems that there are some among us who do not ever want to see the problems solved – or to admit progress in any form.

Baylor Bears coach Kim Mulkey is taking stiff criticism for saying the NCAA tournament should stop coronavirus testing for the Final Four. Mulkey made her feelings known in a presser after her team was eliminated from the tournament on Monday, ESPN reported.

Jeff Iorg, president of the Southern Baptist funded Gateway Seminary in California, claimed in a baffling essay that Christians should not be too concerned with “concepts or conspiracies” like socialism, Critical Race Theory or Intersectionality. Dr. Iorg writes, “Many Christians today are captivated by discussions, arguments, and speculations about concepts or conspiracies like socialism, Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, QAnon, the 1619 Project, etc. American Christians have been duped into believing these are pressing issues which deserve our undivided and intense attention.” I’m dumber for having read this essay. Who thinks those issues deserve undivided attention? This is a typical strawman...

The world’s most wealthy, communist financier, a notorious atheist, is stealthily coordinating the deconstruction of America’s sovereignty and dismantling of our sovereign borders by infiltrating the nation’s most historically conservative channel: The Christian Church. The Southern Baptist Church (SBC), the largest Evangelical and Protestant denomination in the United States, is in damage control mode attacking conservative publications for exposing its ties to political puppet master billionaire George Soros. Breitbart News revealed the SBC’s links to Soros in a December report warning the Soros-funded Evangelical Immigration Table, a coalition of Evangelical Christian organizers that support amnesty for illegal aliens and open...

Eighteen years after the September 11 jihad attacks that murdered nearly three thousand people, this is where we are: the Bloomfield Hills Baptist Church in Michigan has canceled an event called “9/11 forgotten? Is Michigan surrendering to Islam” under pressure from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group with ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. And so the answers are clear: yes, 9/11 has been forgotten, and Michigan is indeed surrendering to Islam. The event was to feature an ex-Muslim, Shahram Hadian, speaking on “How the Interfaith Movement is Sabotaging America and the Church” and economist and investigative...

After Governor Bevin said that Baptists should be “insulted” by Andy Beshear’s first campaign ad, due to Beshear’s stance on abortion, a group of faith leaders that included Baptist ministers called out the governor. In a press conference held in front of Douglas Boulevard Christian Church, a group of faith leaders across the religious spectrum spoke of their faith and of reproductive rights, and accused the governor of using abortion as a tool to divide Kentuckians, rather than bring them together. And, they emphasized the ability and the rights of women to make their own healthcare decisions, calling the shaming...

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter talked about his recent health setback and his conversation with President Donald Trump, as he returned to teaching Sunday school in Georgia for the first time since breaking his hip. Carter told people gathered at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains that he and his wife, Rosalynn, have nursing care at home and are doing fine. He thanked those present for their prayers and good wishes. The 94-year-old Carter broke his hip last month at his home when he fell while leaving to go turkey hunting. He subsequently had hip replacement surgery. […] “The main...