Week of Prayer for International Missions: Day 5 Throughout its 175-year history, Southern Baptists have maintained an uninterrupted witness among the nations, in spite of famine, war and civil unrest. This commitment has not come without sacrifice. Approximately 60 missionaries and children have died due to violent circumstances while serving with the International Mission Board (formerly the Foreign Mission Board) since the organization’s founding in 1845. The causes include accidents … [Read more...]
Court ruling on Medicaid funds for Planned Parenthood praised
NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Southern Baptist leaders praised a federal appeals court decision that enables states to prohibit abortion giant Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled Nov. 23 the states of Texas and Louisiana have the right to find that Planned Parenthood affiliates are unqualified to participate in their Medicaid programs. The decision also affects Mississippi, the other state within the Fifth Circuit. The opinion … [Read more...]
Court permits Tennessee to enforce disability abortion ban
NASHVILLE (BP) – Southern Baptist and government pro-life supporters welcomed a federal appeals court ruling that enables the state of Tennessee to enforce its ban of abortions based on disability, ethnicity or sex. The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati reversed Friday (Nov. 20) a federal judge’s order that had blocked enforcement of the “reasons ban,” as it is known. The measure – which prohibits an abortion when a doctor knows the request for the procedure is driven by … [Read more...]
Family embraces truth about autism
NEW BLOOMFIELD – While the rest of the world might look at Audie the Giraffe and see a cute stuffed animal tattered from years of snuggles, 8-year-old Ezra Bertram sees Audie as much more. “Ezra was diagnosed with autism when he was four years old,” said his mother, Christa Bertram, member of Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City and co-author of Audie Embraces Different, a children’s book about what it means to embrace autism as part of God’s design. “When Ezra was around kindergarten … [Read more...]
New mandated sex education in Washington state bucks biblical teaching
OLYMPIA, Wash. (BP) – Newly mandated sexual health education in kindergarten through senior high public schools in Washington state includes guidance contrary to Scripture, according to several groups opposing the change. Referendum 90 passed with 57 percent of the vote Nov. 3, despite opposition from a coalition including pro-life and pro-family advocates, leaders of five public school districts and Republican legislators. Those opposed decried what they called the “early sexualization” … [Read more...]
SCOTUS hears major religious freedom case on foster care in Philadelphia
WASHINGTON (Whitehead Law Firm LLC) – On Nov. 4, at 10 a.m. (ET), while most Americans were rising after a long night of watching incomplete election returns, Becket Fund attorney Lori Windham was rising before the US Supreme Court – by video conference – to argue the most important Free Exercise case of the term, Fulton, et al. v. City of Philadelphia. As in the delayed election results, Philadephia's conduct is at the heart of the dispute. Ms. Windham’s clients are Catholic Social … [Read more...]
Luther’s 500-year-old ‘On Christian Liberty’ lays foundation for modern religious freedom
WITTENBERG, Germany – In 1505, the young man Martin Luther, cowering before a thunderbolt, vowed to become a monk and a devout servant of the Catholic church under the headship of the Roman pontiff. Fifteen years later, in the summer of 1520, Pope Leo X launched his own thunderbolt at Luther in the form of an edict that denounced Luther as a “wild boar” destroying God’s “vineyard,” the Catholic church. The pope warned Luther to recant his errors within 60 days, lest he be condemned as a … [Read more...]
Pastoral care restored in Mo. nursing homes
New CMS guidelines see ministers as ‘essential’ for health of residents JEFFERSON CITY – Residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities across the state and nation once again have access to their pastors, partly because of the public policy advocacy of the Missouri Baptist Convention and The Baptist Home. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released updated COVID-19 restrictions, Sept. 17, expanding guidelines for compassionate care visits at long-term … [Read more...]
Is this the end of Roe v. Wade?
Missouri pro-life leaders see new hope for overturning Roe v. Wade amid Barrett’s confirmation hearing WASHINGTON – Missouri Baptist pro-life leaders have expressed hope that the United States Supreme Court will overturn its infamous 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion if Amy Coney Barrett takes a seat on the nation’s highest court. But, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, Missourians must be all the more vigilant to protect the unborn and to reach out to hurting parents and … [Read more...]
Hawley urges AG to protect religious liberty
WASHINGTON – Republican U.S. Sen. Joshua Hawley of Missouri has sent a Sept. 17 letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr urging him to immediately file suit in federal court to protect religious liberties in states placing unconstitutional restrictions on houses of worship. Hawley writes that a number of states are violating the First Amendment in strictly limiting attendance at religious services while allowing other businesses, like restaurants and gyms, to operate at up to 50 … [Read more...]
‘Suspension of rights a growing concern’
JEFFERSON CITY – In 1987, Congress passed the Nursing Home Reform Act. Until that time, senior care was largely an unregulated industry. Although some providers, such as The Baptist Home, enjoyed solid reputations for quality care, the very name of the act implied reform was necessary across the industry. The Act established the following rights for nursing home residents: 1. The right to freedom from abuse, mistreatment, and neglect; 2. The right to freedom from physical restraints; 3. … [Read more...]
Ky. court upholds wedding photographer’s liberty
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) — A court decision in support of a Kentucky photographer who declines to shoot same-sex weddings is a victory for religious freedom, advocates for the First Amendment right said. In an Aug. 14 order, federal judge Justin Walker blocked the city of Louisville from enforcing a law against Chelsey Nelson that requires her to provide her services for a same-sex ceremony if she does so for a wedding between a man and a woman. Walker’s decision enables Nelson, a Christian, … [Read more...]
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