MEMPHIS, Tenn. (BP) – The apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy is believed to be his last. While personalized to Timothy and his work in Ephesus, clearly the teaching of the letter was intended for more readers. At the time of his writing, Paul was in prison likely facing execution, and because of this, as Calvin notes, “all that we read here ... ought to be viewed by us as written not with ink but with Paul’s own blood” for what he was suffering and sacrificing. Timothy was losing … [Read more...]
No end in sight for battle over religious freedom
Conflict over religious freedom will continue for future generations of Missourians. Many observers feel the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision in 2015 that legalized same-sex “marriage,” repeated the mistake it made with Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion. Rather than let the people sort through the issue, the high court – like a blunt instrument – cutoff public debate, triggering yet another decades-long struggle – this time over religious freedom. In the last decade … [Read more...]
Abstinence ed could benefit from HHS tweaks
WASHINGTON (BP) -- Tweaks to a federal grant program that allots $260 million to family planning, mostly for lower-income Americans, have drawn praise from advocates of abstinence-based sex education and criticism from Planned Parenthood. Among the tweaks at issue, this year's grant announcement for Title X Family Planning Services Grants encourages applicants to consider informing teens of the "benefits of delaying sex." Another change this year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human … [Read more...]
How to handle ‘bossy’ kids
“Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders.” Acts 3:17 Some kids are just bossy! They seem to be always barking out orders to those around them. It can be annoying! What is behind this behavior? What are they trying to accomplish? What should we do about it? At one time education students were taught that children were born like a blank page, and what they became depended on their environment. Thankfully, now we know better. Children are born … [Read more...]
Sweden 1st to offer payouts to sterilized transsexuals
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (BP) -- Transgender Swedes forcibly sterilized to expressly prevent reproduction are eligible for payouts of about $27,000 each under a new law that is reportedly the first of its kind worldwide. Sweden's one-house parliament, the Riksdag, adopted the legislation March 21 affecting people forced to undergo sexual sterilization under the Gender Recognition Act of 1972 before changing their gender designation on legal documents. "People who applied to change their … [Read more...]
Congress passes online, anti-trafficking bill
WASHINGTON (BP) – Congress has given overwhelming approval to legislation designed to thwart sex trafficking by holding accountable online sites that facilitate the crime. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo. The Senate adopted the bill in a 97-2 vote March 21, barely three weeks after the House of Representatives had passed it Feb. 27 in a 388-25 roll call. The bill will go to President Trump, who is expected to sign it. Wagner thanked the Senate for its vote, tweeting, … [Read more...]
Mississippi adopts earliest protection for unborn
JACKSON, Miss. (BP) – Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on March 19 signed into law the earliest protection in the nation for unborn babies. The bill bans abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation, rolling back the state’s current 20-week limit. It passed through the state legislature by wide margins earlier this month. The Center for Reproductive Rights has promised to challenge the law’s constitutionality in court, calling it “the latest in the state’s string of cruel and unnecessary assaults … [Read more...]
California bill threatens Bible-based therapy
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (WNS) – A proposed law in California could outlaw helping people with unwanted same-sex attraction or gender-identity confusion. If passed, the bill, introduced last month by Assemblyman Evan Low, would be the most expansive ban on therapy related to sexual orientation and gender in the country. Other bans across the country restrict the practice of licensed therapists, but this law would label as fraudulent any message that aligns with the Biblical view of sexuality … [Read more...]
MLK50 in Memphis to seek ‘repentance and unity’
MEMPHIS (BP) -- More than 3,600 registrants plan to gather in Memphis to pursue racial unity on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and The Gospel Coalition (TGC) will co-host the event -- "MLK50: Gospel Reflections From the Mountaintop" -- at the Memphis Convention Center half a century after King's slaying on April 4, 1968, in the Tennessee city. The … [Read more...]
Federal court: Do not enforce ‘contraceptive mandate’
DALLAS (GuideStone) – An Oklahoma federal court issued a permanent injunction March 15, prohibiting the federal government from enforcing the contraceptive mandate issued by the Obama Administration in 2013. The mandate, issued under the Affordable Care Act, would have forced certain ministries to provide abortion-causing drugs or devices or face potentially crippling fines. The permanent injunction protects the plaintiffs in the case — Reaching Souls International, an Oklahoma … [Read more...]
SCOTUS hears crisis pregnancy center’s free speech case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An animated U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments March 20, in a case likely to be important to pro-life Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPC’s) across the nation. The outcome could not only affect the freedom of speech for every American, but it could also save innocent lives. California’s Reproductive FACT Act (Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care, and Transparency Act) forces pro-life pregnancy care centers to provide free advertising for the abortion industry. … [Read more...]
New Trump transgender military policy ‘likely’ to stand
WASHINGTON (BP) -- The Trump administration has issued a new directive that permits transgender military service only "under certain limited circumstances." The policy tweak could render moot legal challenges to President Trump's previous ban of transgender troops, says a former military attorney. A presidential memo released late Friday (March 23) revoked Trump's August 2017 directive -- which has been blocked by multiple federal court decisions -- and replaced it with a policy "that … [Read more...]
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