A professor explains why examining a school's doctrinal statement isn't enough.When I speak at churches around the country, the conversation after my talks often turns to the state of Christian higher education. I’m a professor at a Christian institution, and Christian parents and grandparents want to know where high school graduates can go to have their faith deepened rather than undermined. These concerns have only become more pressing given the ongoing rise in young people wandering away from the church and describing their religious convictions as “nothing in particular.”The question many Christians have for me is which colleges are “safe” or “real” Christian schools, which usually means those that have a truly conservative theological ethos. For those who aren’t familiar with the world of Christian higher ed, it can be difficult to identify these schools from outside the campus community, and parents often (reasonably) conclude an institution’s stance on human sexuality is the simplest indicator of a college’s commitment to Christian orthodoxy.LGBTQ questions are indeed important, and they can serve as a proxy for an institution’s broader theology. But by itself, this isn’t a reliable formula for finding a good Christian college. A school may stake out a bold position on sexuality and yet capitulate to what I’d suggest is the most overlooked and therefore most insidious threat to Christian education in America right now.It’s not progressive theology. It’s a pervasive consumerist anthropology.Theological anthropology concerns our assumptions about the nature and purpose of humanity. And by “consumerist anthropology” I mean the belief—often subconsciously held—that ...Continue reading...

The Southern Baptist Convention remains an overwhelmingly conservative denomination, but new data suggests the people in the pews are more politically diverse than is commonly assumed.

Southern Baptists, while generally conservative in their political ideology, maintain a firm commitment to religious liberty for all Americans and support a government that does not favor any specific religion, according to a Lifeway Research study.

Actor Lucas Black opens up in an interview with The Christian Post about putting family and God first when it comes to his career and how he handles backlash for his conservative views.

Gospel artist Kirk Franklin is drawing the ire of conservative Christians in Jamaica for gyrating and flexing his biceps while ministering in a tank top and shorts at “Fun in the Son,” ? a popular annual gospel concert sponsored by Best Dressed Chicken, a brand of the company, Jamaica Broilers Group, which is well-known for their commitment to Judeo-Christian values.

Study: 24 percent of clergy in North Carolina are still opposed to same-sex marriage.After the departure of thousands of traditionalist United Methodist churches from the denomination over the past five years, it might stand to reason that those congregations remaining in the fold are more progressive and open to ordination and marriage of people in same-sex relationships.But the picture is far more mixed.A new report from the Religion and Social Change Lab at Duke University that looked at disaffiliating clergy from North Carolina’s two United Methodist conferences or regions found that even after the departures, 24 percent of North Carolina clergy remaining in the denomination disagree with allowing LGBTQ people to get married or ordained within the denomination.“At least some amount of ambivalence over LGBTQ+ issues among UMC clergy is likely to persist for years to come,” the report concluded.After a four-year COVID-19 delay and the departure of about 7,600 churches—a loss of 25 percent of all its US congregations—the denomination is likely to reconsider the issue of human sexuality when it convenes its top legislative body April 23–May 3 in Charlotte, North Carolina.Given that the denomination is a worldwide body, with hundreds of delegates from Africa and the Philippines, areas far more conservative in their views of human sexuality, it’s unclear whether the measures stand a chance of passing, even as the US delegation is far more open to such changes.Overall, the Duke report finds that disaffiliating North Carolina clergy were much more politically and theologically conservative than those who chose to remain. Some 85 percent of clergy who left the denomination disagreed with the notion that “all religious leadership positions should be open to people ...Continue reading...

Study: 24 percent of clergy in North Carolina are still opposed to same-sex marriage.After the departure of thousands of traditionalist United Methodist churches from the denomination over the past five years, it might stand to reason that those congregations remaining in the fold are more progressive and open to ordination and marriage of people in same-sex relationships.But the picture is far more mixed.A new report from the Religion and Social Change Lab at Duke University that looked at disaffiliating clergy from North Carolina’s two United Methodist conferences or regions found that even after the departures, 24 percent of North Carolina clergy remaining in the denomination disagree with allowing LGBTQ people to get married or ordained within the denomination.“At least some amount of ambivalence over LGBTQ+ issues among UMC clergy is likely to persist for years to come,” the report concluded.After a four-year COVID-19 delay and the departure of about 7,600 churches—a loss of 25 percent of all its US congregations—the denomination is likely to reconsider the issue of human sexuality when it convenes its top legislative body April 23–May 3 in Charlotte, North Carolina.Given that the denomination is a worldwide body, with hundreds of delegates from Africa and the Philippines, areas far more conservative in their views of human sexuality, it’s unclear whether the measures stand a chance of passing, even as the US delegation is far more open to such changes.Overall, the Duke report finds that disaffiliating North Carolina clergy were much more politically and theologically conservative than those who chose to remain. Some 85 percent of clergy who left the denomination disagreed with the notion that “all religious leadership positions should be open to people ...Continue reading...

Seminary leaders say that the country, where Baptists are the largest Protestant denomination, has lost hundreds of churches in the war with Russia. Southern Baptist leaders have written to US House Speaker Mike Johnson, a member and former official of their denomination, urging him to support Ukraine in Russia’s war against its Eastern European neighbor.“As you consider efforts to support Ukraine, we humbly ask that you consider the plight of Christians,” wrote the leaders, who either have ties to the SBC’s Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary or to Ukrainian Baptists. “The Russian government’s decision to invade Ukraine and to target Baptists and other evangelical Christians in Ukraine has been a tragic hallmark of the war.”The letter, sent Monday, was signed by Daniel Darling, director of the seminary’s Land Center for Cultural Engagement; Richard Land, the namesake of the center and a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC); Yaroslav Pyzh, president of Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary; and Valerii Antoniu, president of the Baptist Union of Ukraine.Johnson is a former trustee of the ERLC, serving when Land—who also is a former commissioner of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom—was its president.In February, the Senate passed a $95 billion package for funding Ukraine, Israel and other allies, with $60 billion earmarked for Ukraine. But Johnson, whose tenure as House speaker may rely on his handling of the bill, has yet to schedule a House vote on the funding measure.Conservatives in the House who oppose funding for Ukraine on “America First” grounds, led by US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, have threatened to trigger a vote to remove Johnson from office.“Speaker Johnson has a really difficult ...Continue reading...

The founder of Concerned Women for America was credited by President Ronald Reagan with “changing the face of American politics.”Beverly LaHaye, a timid pastor’s wife who became a fierce champion for conservative Christian politics and a force mobilizing hundreds of thousands of religious women, died on Sunday in a retirement home in El Cajon, California. She was 94.President Ronald Reagan once praised LaHaye as “one of the powerhouses” of the conservative movement and said she was “changing the face of American politics.”Paul Weyrich, the conservative activist who helped start The Heritage Foundation and coined the term moral majority, called the group LaHaye founded in 1979, the Concerned Women for America (CWA), the most effective organization on the Religious Right. He told CT in 1987 that the CWA had “the best follow-through” of any political group he’d ever worked with.At the height of LaHaye’s power, she could get the women she called “my ladies” to send more than 1,000 postcards to a US senator who had slighted her in a public hearing; 2,000 to support a Republican administration official who had been caught selling weapons illegally to Iran; 64,000 to support a controversial conservative candidate for the US Supreme Court; and 778,000 to protest a TV station that ran an advertisement for condoms during prime time.LaHaye “gave a lot of women a language for understanding women’s conservative activism as absolutely necessary,” historian Emily Suzanne Johnson told The Washington Post. “Women have been the driving force of this movement in a lot of ways, particularly at the grass-roots level. I’m not sure that happens without Beverly LaHaye.”Her success earned her the ire of those on the left, especially people concerned about LGBTQ rights. In ...Continue reading...

The founder of Concerned Women for America was credited by President Ronald Reagan with “changing the face of American politics.”Beverly LaHaye, a timid pastor’s wife who became a fierce champion for conservative Christian politics and a force mobilizing hundreds of thousands of religious women, died on Sunday in a retirement home in El Cajon, California. She was 94.President Ronald Reagan once praised LaHaye as “one of the powerhouses” of the conservative movement and said she was “changing the face of American politics.”Paul Weyrich, the conservative activist who helped start The Heritage Foundation and coined the term moral majority, called the group LaHaye founded in 1979, the Concerned Women for America (CWA), the most effective organization on the Religious Right. He told CT in 1987 that the CWA had “the best follow-through” of any political group he’d ever worked with.At the height of LaHaye’s power, she could get the women she called “my ladies” to send more than 1,000 postcards to a US senator who had slighted her in a public hearing; 2,000 to support a Republican administration official who had been caught selling weapons illegally to Iran; 64,000 to support a controversial conservative candidate for the US Supreme Court; and 778,000 to protest a TV station that ran an advertisement for condoms during prime time.LaHaye “gave a lot of women a language for understanding women’s conservative activism as absolutely necessary,” historian Emily Suzanne Johnson told The Washington Post. “Women have been the driving force of this movement in a lot of ways, particularly at the grass-roots level. I’m not sure that happens without Beverly LaHaye.”Her success earned her the ire of those on the left, especially people concerned about LGBTQ rights. In ...Continue reading...

The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative law firm representing CEA, celebrated the decision as a victory for religious liberty.

Nashville, TN (March 12, 2024)? Following the President’s State Of The Union Address? on Friday night, FOX News? interviewed a panel of leading conservative Christian voices. Julie Harris, wife of Voice Of Truth Quartet? member, Jonathan Harris, is the President of the National Federation Of Republican Women? and was featured in the discussion. We spoke with Julie about this and Read More

An old adage states there are two things a polite conversation never includes—religion and politics. But in the past forty-five years, religion and politics have meshed to the point of syncretism. Political ideals have replaced many Christians' zeal for the Lord with fervor for a Christian nation via politics. At what point does politics become an idol, and what are the warning signs this is happening?What Event Spurred Christians to Pay More Attention to Politics?The Christian Post reports on the Moral Majority, “Founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell in 1979, the Moral Majority advocated for conservative positions on issues like abortion, homosexuality, and school vouchers. It also helped millions of Christians register to vote.” The organization gave rise to the impetus that Christians who engage in politics, both as candidates and supporters, are honoring to God because Christians will bring a moral rightness to a largely secular civil realm.Photo credit: ©Getty Images/natasaadzic

God and Country? (PG-13), released this month, “takes a closer look at the dangerous implications” of Christian nationalism and “explores how a base of Christians has radically stoked a movement erasing the line between Church and State,” its website advertises. Rob Reiner is a producer.

Tony Perkins discusses talks of sending more foreign aid to Ukraine, the worsening situation on the southern border, and conservatives' alternative to Biden's radical abortion agenda....

One Million Moms, a conservative advocacy group, launched a petition last week denouncing Target for selling LGBTQ-themed Christmas items, including “gay Santas” and “Pride nutcrackers.”

Its progressive turn is real. But its most beloved films are surprisingly compatible with many aspects of a Christian worldview.

Its progressive turn is real. But its most beloved films are surprisingly compatible with many aspects of a Christian worldview.

Andrew Torba, an ultraconservative web commentator, turned on the radio a few weeks ago and discovered a secret war on Christmas.The post Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer's plot to ruin Christmas, and America appeared first on Baptist News Global.

Reminiscent of the Vietnam War, we stand today on the brink of throwing out the American ideal of free speech in favor of political correctness. Yes, I know it normally is conservatives who cry foul over the dangers of political...The post It is not antisemitic to oppose the nation of Israel's atrocities appeared first on Baptist News Global.

Mike Johnson, newly elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, warned conservative Christian lawmakers Dec. 5 the nation is engaged in a battle of worldviews. “What we’re engaged in right now is a battle between worldviews. It’s a great...The post America engaged in ‘battle of worldviews,' Mike Johnson tells Christian lawmakers group appeared first on Baptist News Global.

The national director of a college ministry that has been embroiled in scandal in Texas resigned Nov. 20, according to reporting by The Christian Post, a conservative online publication. Scott Martin had led Chi Alpha, a 300-campus ministry of the...The post National leader of Chi Alpha resigns as sex abuse scandal looms appeared first on Baptist News Global.

Days after House speaker Mike Johnson, a conservative Christian who says he is guided by the Bible, started releasing security camera footage from the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, Trump supporters...The post New speaker of the House releases select January 6 footage to allow Christians and conservatives to change the narrative appeared first on Baptist News Global.

The journal Science said 19 years ago that the lopsided political views in academia marginalizes conservatives.

The Speaker of the House is a Baptist of the conservative Southern Baptist variety. In his first interview after being elected speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson told Sean Hannity: “I am a Bible-believing Christian. Someone asked me today in the media,...The post The speaker and the Bible appeared first on Baptist News Global.