Do Americans have less faith in God? Or is their crisis of faith in the professional bureaucracies claiming to represent Him — particularly in the old, historic “mainline” denominations — the Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Disciples of Christ, Methodists and what remains of the Congregationalists?  The New York Times’ Ross Douthat a few days ago observed that the Episcopalians’…

By BRUCE NOLAN c. 2011 Religion News Service NEW ORLEANS (RNS) Even before the Southern Baptist Convention elected the Rev. Fred Luter to national office, there was already widespread speculation that Luter is poised to become the denomination’s first African-American president. Representatives of 16 million Southern Baptists overwhelmingly elected Luter first vice president on June…

By ADELLE M. BANKS c. 2011 Religion News Service (RNS) Southern Baptists adopted a resolution Wednesday (June 15) that supports a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants but clearly states they reject “amnesty.” After heated debate at their annual meeting in Phoenix, the Baptists approved a statement that called for secure borders and “a just…

By ADELLE M. BANKS c. 2011 Religion News Service (RNS) Southern Baptists on Wednesday (June 14) called hell an “eternal, conscious punishment” for those who do not accept Jesus, rebutting a controversial book from Michigan pastor Rob Bell that questions traditional views of hell. Citing Bell’s book “Love Wins,” the resolution urges Southern Baptists “to…

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