Ronnie Floyd speaks at the opening of the 2014 Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference. Photo by Matt Miller/Baptist Press
Need to know: Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Ronnie Floyd, Arkansas megachurch pastor, elected to head SBC executive committee
Arkansas megachurch pastor Ronnie Floyd, part of President Trump's informal group of evangelical advisors, was elected to lead the Southern Baptist Convention's Nashville-based Executive Committee.
On Capitol Hill, persecuted Muslims unite to protect religious minorities’ rights
More than 125 members of the minority Ahmadi Muslim sect spent the day on Capitol Hill lending their voices on behalf of beleaguered Uighur Muslims.
Lodging for spouses becomes Anglicans’ latest battleground over LGBT clergy
A university that customarily offers hospitality to convening clergy is bucking the archbishop of Canterbury's attempt to ban same-sex spouses of gay and lesbian bishops.
Overcoming fears of ‘making noise,’ US Muslims step into civic life
The group Muslims for a Better America plunged into local politics in this city when a candidate who described herself as a 'Confederate' ran for school board.
The real reason div students need to hear Jordan Peterson’s canceled lectures
Peterson, who applies psychology to biblical studies, is as much a product of the 'unmooring' from Western values that he decries as he is a bulwark against it, writes Tara Isabella Burton.
The American church’s complicity in racism: A conversation with Jemar Tisby
Though certain figures and movements did join the struggle against slavery, segregation, and violence at various times and places, the majority of white American Christendom fell somewhere on the spectrum between open endorsement and quiet acceptance.
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Shattered statues and satanic symbols mark rise in attacks on French church
PARIS (RNS) — Church fires and decapitated statues are among a rising number of anti-Christian acts of vandalism in France. Such incidents were up 21 percent in 2018.
Pope: Women have ‘legitimate claims’ for justice, equality
VATICAN CITY (AP) — 'A living church can look back on history and acknowledge a fair share of male authoritarianism, domination, various forms of enslavement, abuse and sexist violence,' Francis said.
Civil rights experts question Supreme Court execution rulings
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled to block Texas’ planned execution of a Buddhist inmate because his chaplain was not allowed in the execution chamber. Religious freedom advocates say the decision has left them flummoxed: Just a month prior, the same court greenlit the execution of a Muslim inmate in similar conditions.
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How outrage for a death row inmate may have flipped the justices for religious liberty
(RNS) — The traditional view has been that these nine jurists are insulated from pressure, but the response to a case of a Muslim denied the right to his imam at his execution may have proved the exception.
Why a pastor made the Bible Belt his mission field
The Christian South presents the church with an opportunity to make the gospel known to a region that is saturated with access to the gospel but not true understanding, writes Dean Inserra.
94-year-old Mormon prophet to scale Mount Everest
In this special April 1 edition: The robust nonagenarian Mormon prophet Russell M. Nelson is well on his way to scaling Mount Everest.
