DENVER (BP) – Christian cake artist Jack Phillips is in court again, defending the same religious freedom right the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed on his behalf in a previous case in June. This time, transgender attorney Autumn Scardina filed a discrimination complaint against Phillips for refusing to bake a birthday cake celebrating Scardina's transition from a male to female identity. Pink cake on the inside and blue frosting on the outside describes the cake Scardina requested. The … [Read more...]
Case against Army chaplain called ‘anti-religious’
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (BP) – A U.S. Army investigator ignored key evidence in saying a Southern Baptist chaplain was derelict in his duties for rescheduling a marriage retreat to accommodate a lesbian couple, the chaplain's attorney said. Army Chaplain Jerry Scott Squires refused to conduct a Strong Bonds marriage retreat because a lesbian officer planned to attend, the investigating officer identified as Major Ford said at the close of an extended investigation. Squires is endorsed by … [Read more...]
Historic Baptists, liberty and the Trinity case
KANSAS CITY – What would John Leland say about scrap tires? Missourians, including churches that own vehicles, pay a fee to keep used tires out of streams and landfills. The fee underwrites a rebate for rubber playground surfaces. It’s open to all nonprofit groups, to keep kids safer and the environment cleaner. Trinity Lutheran Church, in Columbia, applied for a rebate. It was rejected, but not because the money ran out. It was rejected because it is a church. Missouri’s Constitution … [Read more...]
Governor stands for freedom ahead of Trinity Lutheran case
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens went public with a defense of religious liberty less than one week before the Supreme Court heard a high profile religious liberty case coming out of Missouri. But his actions raised concern among some Supreme Court Justices as to whether the case was still worth addressing. Greitens posted a video, April 13, on his Facebook page and website, announcing that the state of Missouri would no longer discriminate against religious … [Read more...]
Supreme Court hears high profile Mo. church-state case
WASHINGTON – Two Missouri Baptist attorneys were on the legal team presenting arguments last week at what many have called the most important religious liberty case to come before the United States Supreme Court in decades. Michael Whitehead, legal counsel for the Missouri Baptist Convention, and his son, Jonathan Whitehead, joined David Cortman, senior counsel and vice president of U.S. litigation with Alliance Defending Freedom, at the Supreme Court, April 19, where they argued that … [Read more...]
Judge blocks Missouri abortion restrictions
JEFFERSON CITY – An effort to make women safer and minimize abortions in Missouri has been struck down by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs granted April 19 a preliminary injunction invalidating requirements for the state’s abortion clinics to meet standards for surgical centers and for their doctors to have hospital privileges. The regulations had meant that Planned Parenthood clinics – except for the one in St. Louis – could not perform abortions. As a result of … [Read more...]
Gov. Greitens pledges to fight St. Louis abortion ordinance, scheduled to meet with Pres. Trump
JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Eric Greitens pledged to Southern Baptists today to lead the fight to repeal an ordinance passed by the St. Louis Board of Aldermen that essentially makes St. Louis a sanctuary city for abortion and threatens the religious freedom of citizens and institutions opposing it. Greitens shared his commitment on the issue in a phone call to Pathway Editor and Public Policy Advisor for the Missouri Baptist Convention Don Hinkle. "We must protect people of faith and we must … [Read more...]
Gaines Q&A: from Trump to prayer for revival
ONTARIO, Calif. (BP) -- Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines discussed a range of topics of interest to Baptists in a question-and-answer session with state Baptist paper editors during their Feb. 14-16 annual meeting in Ontario, Calif. The discussion covered President Donald Trump's first 25 days in office including the refugee crisis; controversial comments by Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission president Russell Moore during the election; churches tithing 10 … [Read more...]
Joplin schools reopen Bible study groups
JOPLIN – Bible study groups that were shut down by the Joplin School District here in early January have now resumed, according to the Joplin Globe. The school district suspended the Bible study groups, Jan. 6, after officials received a complaint from the Washington, D.C.-based American Humanist Association (AHA) last December. While investigating the complaint, they realized that the groups didn’t comply with current school board policies regarding student-initiated groups. While they … [Read more...]
Trump administration sending mixed messages on religious freedom
WASHINGTON (WNS) – President Donald Trump promised his administration will defend religious freedom, but conflicting messages from the White House last week left conservatives holding their breath. At the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 2, Trump spoke at length on religious persecution around the world and claimed the United States flourishes when religious liberty flourishes. Those comments followed a leaked executive order draft that would instruct multiple government departments to … [Read more...]
Trump immigration order sparks biblical analysis
WASHINGTON (BP) -- With President Trump's travel ban from seven predominantly-Muslim countries on hold at least temporarily, some Christians are evaluating biblical teaching on immigration and refugees. On one side of the debate, the National Association of Evangelicals' World Relief arm is helping to draft a letter signed by hundreds of pastors asking Trump to rethink the travel ban. Other Christians have emphasized the need for stringent border security along with compassion toward … [Read more...]
Assisted suicide: N.M., Hawaii bills push envelope
SANTA FE, N.M. (BP) -- Legislators in 15 U.S. states are considering proposals to legalize assisted suicide, with a leading patients' rights group flagging bills in New Mexico and Hawaii as particularly concerning. The other 13 states considering assisted suicide are Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wyoming, according to the Patients Rights Council (PRC), a group that opposes assisted … [Read more...]
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