DESLOGE, Mo. — Once they arrived in Burnaby, Canada, the First Baptist Church of Desloge mission team had two clear goals. The first was to assist the leadership of Zendeh Church and its pastor, Amin, with anything he needed. The second? Semper Gumby. “I was trying to communicate to our team that we needed to be fluid while we were there and Pat Kahn, one of our mission team members and former military captain, said what we need is to be Semper Gumby,” said Bradford Laubinger, senior … [Read more...]
Yamout: ‘God is able to save Muslims’
Muslims are being reached in the Middle East, in part by the work of a Baptist and former Muslim, Mohammad Yamout. Yamout is unabashed in his faith in Jesus Christ, which he found in a Beirut Sunday School class. Lately, he is reaching Muslims with the gospel. “God put a fire in my heart for the Muslim world. I didn’t want to do it. I was content being a businessman, but Big Daddy always wins,” Yamout told a gathering from Mt. Salem-Wyaconda Southern Baptist Association Churches May … [Read more...]
Mosque-building satirical rumor exposed as lie
NASHVILLE (BP) – A rumor promulgated by satirical news-like websites and blogs that the Southern Baptist Convention and at least one cooperating state convention are building Islamic mosques is being exposed as a lie. The self-proclaimed "Christian apocalyptic … news satire and parody site" The End Times wrote perhaps the first posting of the false report as early as May 28 when it claimed the SBC had launched a "Mosques Across America" campaign "to build mosques all across the nation in … [Read more...]
Responding to Islam: Has the gospel been corrupted?
Muslims believe in the Injil, or gospel, but define it differently than evangelical Christians do. Further, they claim the church has corrupted the biblical texts so that only the Qur’an preserves the genuine good news. In defining the gospel, Muslim commentator Yusuf Ali writes that “the Injil spoken of by the Qur’an is not the New Testament. It is not the four Gospels now received as canonical. It is the single Gospel which, Islam teaches, was revealed to Jesus, and which he taught.” … [Read more...]
ERLC’s Moore defends religious freedom for Muslims
ST. LOUIS (BP) – Russell Moore offered a ringing defense of religious freedom for all, including Muslims, during the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission's report Wednesday (June 15) to the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention. When questioned by a messenger how a Southern Baptist could defend the right of Muslims to build mosques, the ERLC's president said it was not a difficult decision. "What it means to be a Baptist is to support soul freedom for everybody," Moore … [Read more...]
Do Christians and Mormons worship the same God?
Do Christians and Mormons worship the same God? The question may irk our LDS friends, who insist that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the restored Church and therefore cannot be distinguished from orthodox Christianity. What’s more, some LDS leaders shrewdly blur the lines that separate Mormon beliefs from the biblical doctrines evangelicals affirm – sometimes with the help of evangelicals in the name of “dialogue.” A case in point: How Wide the Divide? – a book by … [Read more...]
Obama’s claims on Islam evaluated
WASHINGTON (BP) – In an address on a “new phase” in America’s war on terror, President Obama said committing acts of violence in the name of Allah represents a perversion of Islam. Presenting a televised speech from the Oval Office for just the second time in his presidency, according to the Associated Press, Obama called Muslims “to speak out against ... those interpretations of Islam that are incompatible with the values of religious tolerance, mutual respect and human dignity.” He … [Read more...]
Four examples of where the New World Translation gets it wrong
This is the last in a three-part series on Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah’s Witnesses regard The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures as “an accurate, easy-to-read translation of the Bible” (jw.org). What many don’t realize is that four of the five men on the translation committee producing the complete 1961 edition had no Hebrew or Greek training whatsoever. The fifth, who claimed to know both languages, failed a simple Hebrew test while under oath in a Scottish court. What all … [Read more...]
10 key biblical doctrines denied by Jehovah’s Witnesses
This is the second in a three-part series on Jehovah’s Witnesses. Read part one: Who are Jehovah's Witnesses. The Baptist Faith and Message, available as a free download from sbc.net, features a more complete treatment of Christian doctrines and includes multiple Scripture references. Our Jehovah’s Witness friends deny at least 10 key biblical doctrines. This is due in part to their reliance on The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, which we discuss in the next column. 1. The … [Read more...]
Who are Jehovah’s Witnesses?
This is the first in a three-part series on Jehovah’s Witnesses They come to your door well-prepared, using familiar terms like Jesus, kingdom, and faith. Their smiling faces and leading questions make it easy to agree with them. You might even let them start a Bible study in your home. They are sincere, committed to their beliefs, and faithful in their endeavors. They are seeking the truth, believe they have found it, and are eager to share it with you. They are Jehovah’s Witnesses. … [Read more...]
Satanic statue prompts Baptist response
DETROIT, Mich. (BP) — Michigan Baptists will not waver in their efforts to spread the gospel throughout their state, even after The Satanic Temple (TST) has unveiled a bronze, 9-foot-tall statue of Baphomet in Detroit, says Tim Patterson, a Baptist leader in the state. “People have been worshipping Satan since Satan fell from heaven,” Patterson said. “I’m not worried about it, and Michigan Baptists should not be worried about it either. Our concern is what we’ve been called to do, and … [Read more...]
How can 5 billion people be wrong?
The world’s population stands at more than 7.1 billion people. According to Adherents.com, this number includes 1.5 billion Muslims, 1.1 billion nonreligious people, 900 million Hindus, nearly 400 million Buddhists, and millions of followers of other faiths. The website also reports there are 2.1 billion “Christians,” a broad category that includes Catholics and Protestants, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and so-called “nominal” Christians. If the exclusive claims of Jesus are true, … [Read more...]