by Mike Griffin/Baptist Press We are living in a day when societal acceptance of gambling is beyond anything we would have thought possible in our times. I have seen statistics that reveal there are as many as 48 states in the U.S. that have some form of legalized gambling. Of those states, 38 have some form of legal sports betting. It has been reported that nearly 9 in 10 Americans have gambled at some point in their lifetime, and that more than 6 in 10 have gambled in the last year, … [Read more...]
FIRST-PERSON: The day the ‘Prince of Darkness’ died
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article first appeared on Baptist Press. Rich Bitterman is pastor of Cedar Ridge Baptist Church, Galena, Mo. I was 16 the first time I heard “Mr. Crowley.” The way it began … haunting organ, crashing guitar … grabbed me by the throat. I didn’t know what the lyrics meant. I didn’t care. I was angry, curious, spiritually empty, and Ozzy Osbourne sounded like someone who had seen behind the curtain. He felt untouchable. Immortal. A man who drank from the shadows … [Read more...]
Scopes trial propelled Christians toward scientific engagement, professors say
NASHVILLE (BP) – Growing up in New Mexico, Jeremy Blaschke had never even heard of the Scopes Monkey Trial that took place in Dayton, Tennessee, in July 1925. But as a home schooled teenager and evangelical Christian, he loved science and knew he wanted to study animals to know God better. Blaschke, now an associate professor of biology at Union University, was drawn to Bryan College in Dayton because of its Center for Origins Research, a place where students could deliberately ask … [Read more...]
Trusting the One who calls us
On Thursday, June 26, 2025, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine held a press briefing to explain how the United States bombed three nuclear sites in Iran. The general’s description of the planning and execution of Operation Midnight Hammer was fascinating. He detailed how the sites were selected, the training involved to prepare for such a mission, and the anticipated impact of the massive 30,000lb GBU-57 bombs. Throughout the years, I’ve listened to multiple briefings, but I don’t … [Read more...]
Religious liberty ‘the best blessing’ America has, Baptist immigrants say
NASHVILLE (BP) – For distributing the Bible and sharing the Gospel in the Soviet Union, Aleksei Kharlamov’s great-grandfather was sent to Siberia and never heard from again. His grandfather and father both were persecuted for being Baptist pastors. Growing up in post-Soviet Moscow, Kharlamov was called a cult member for being a Baptist. That family history enhances his love of America’s religious liberty. “This freedom makes this place so unique,” said Kharlamov, pastor of … [Read more...]
FIRST-PERSON: 10 years after Obergefell
A decade ago, the United States crossed a threshold when the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage throughout the country in Obergefell v. Hodges. Looking back, it is clear that the Court’s decision effectively codified our cultural descent into a no-holds barred approach to sexuality, and, a bit later, gender. Grounded in what Carl Trueman terms “expressive individualism,” this mentality is divorced from biological realities, sociological data, common sense, and the clear testimony of … [Read more...]
Christian, don’t give up!
Do you feel like you’re barely hanging on? Maybe you thought you had figured everything out, only to run headfirst into unexpected hardship. Life was pleasantly coasting by until you careened over the cliff into heartbreak, sorrow, and pain. If you’ve recently felt weak, wounded, tired, and weary, Christian, I urge and encourage you—don’t give up. None of us prefer hardship, but we are reminded of its inevitability. Jesus promises that the world will hate us just as it hated him (John … [Read more...]
MBTS professor releases ‘Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers’ on Jesus, the church, heaven
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (MBTS) – Midwestern Seminary celebrated the June 9 release of three new installments in the Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers children’s book series by Joe M. Allen III. Allen, who serves as assistant professor of missions in the Gary Taylor Endowed Chair of Missions and Evangelism at Midwestern Seminary, wrote and illustrated the new books, which teach the doctrines of Christ, the Church, and heaven to children four to eight years old. Midwestern Seminary President … [Read more...]
Churches rarely discipline members, according to Lifeway study
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (Lifeway Research) – Most pastors say their churches have policies in place to address significant misbehavior by church members, but few have actually used those policies recently. According to a Lifeway Research study of more than 1,000 U.S. Protestant pastors, only 1 in 6 say their church has formally disciplined anyone in the past year. “The infrequency of church discipline is not because church members aren’t sinning,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of … [Read more...]
Glory in restoration
This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com. The glorified body of Jesus easily navigates a world still under the curse of sin. After his emergence from the tomb, Jesus eats, travels, speaks with befuddled eyewitnesses of his resurrection, passes through closed doors, transports himself instantly from one location to another, and finally launches from the Mount of Olives … [Read more...]
State of the Bible: Scripture aids human flourishing, but U.S. lags globally
PHILADELPHIA (BP) – Scripture engagement, church involvement and an active faith increase human flourishing, the American Bible Society (ABS) said in its latest chapter of the State of the Bible utilizing Harvard University’s human flourishing index. But the United States ranked 15th among 22 countries studied on Harvard’s Global Flourishing Index, trailing the top five countries of Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines, Israel and Nigeria. The U.S. rose to 12th place when factoring in … [Read more...]
Marriage: God’s wonderful, often controversial gift
Ten years ago this month, the U.S. Supreme Court illegitimately redefined marriage in the case Obergefell v. Hodges—illegitimately, that is, because a human court has no authority to redefine an institution put in place by God. Appropriately, thousands of Southern Baptist Convention messengers meeting in Dallas, June 10-11, called for the “overturning of laws and court rulings, including Obergefell v. Hodges, that defy God’s design for marriage and family.” They also urged the nation to … [Read more...]
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