The South Carolina Legislature passed a six-week abortion ban May 23, allowing limited exceptions based on the mother’s health, fetal abnormalities, rape and incest. South Carolina Baptists applauded the bill as the culmination of prayer and advocacy, but said the legislation falls short of their goals. “Ultimately, we are praying and working toward the day […]
Christians tend to follow their mother’s religion, but those who have changed their religion since childhood are spiritually healthier, the American Bible Society said May 11 in its latest release from the 2023 State of the Bible. The answer likely lies in the quest involved in exploring Christianity, the ABS said. “It didn’t matter which […]
Pastor Bob Gilliland’s son Roger called and told him to turn on the weather — a tornado was approaching. “I was getting ready to go to bed, and she was watching her Hallmark,” the 81-year-old Gilliland said of himself and his wife Betty, 79. “We turned on the weather, and they were showing pictures of […]
In its February meeting, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee deemed six churches to be “not in friendly cooperation” — five for having a female functioning in the office of pastor — including one of the largest churches in the convention, Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. Saddleback hired Andy Wood and his wife, Stacie, […]
More than 75 percent of adults have a positive view of the church in Nashville, in the center of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the nation. A prevailing positive perception of the church is common in research the Barna Group has unveiled. In its Barna Cities initiative, researchers have found a favorable view […]
When a paranoid schizophrenic randomly shot into a group of patrons at Stel’s Diner in Warren County, Ky., in 1992, killing William Ratliff, it fell to Tim Colovos to tell two young teenagers their father was dead. Then and there, as a college student serving as youth pastor of Oakland Baptist Church in Oakland, Ky., […]
Congress remains a largely Christian institution, bucking two societal trends of declining Christianity and waning religious affiliation, Pew Research said Jan. 3. More than a fifth of Congressional Protestants are Baptists. At least 88 percent of Congress – 469 of the 534 members – identified as Christian in the poll of the current 118th legislative […]
The Museum of the Bible has detailed the provenance and acquisition of the oldest known map of the constellations, a previously lost writing based on the notes from second century B.C. Greek astronomer Hipparchus’ “Star Catalogue.” The notes had been written in the fifth century on vellum leaves that were recycled perhaps five or six […]
She was crowned “defender of the faith and supreme governor of the church of England,” but Queen Elizabeth II’s public ownership of her faith extended beyond the official descriptor. Ashlyn Portero, director of groups and partnerships at Redeemer Queen’s Park church about 10 miles from Buckingham Palace, appreciates the late queen’s public witness and legacy. […]
Shane Litchfield, the lead in Light & Sound’s “DAVID-Live,” describes the role as universally relatable. But King David especially resonates with Litchfield, himself a songwriter, composer and vocalist. “What really attracted me to (the role) is that he was just a musician and he was an artist, that he expressed himself with the Lord through […]