NASHVILLE (BP) – The A&E network’s suspension of “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson for comments regarding homosexuality constitutes an unhelpful form of close-minded censorship, Southern Baptist ethicist Russell D. Moore said. The president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission reacted to A&E’s Dec. 18 announcement that it had suspended Robertson indefinitely for comments he made in an interview with GQ magazine. The network’s statement seemed to indicate the action … [Read more...]
McWilliams bringing her touching story to Legislative Prayer Service Jan. 8
JEFFERSON CITY – As a young, pregnant mother, Gail McWilliams was faced with a decision that would impact her and her baby for the rest of their lives. A rare medical condition forced her to decide between keeping her baby or losing her eyesight. She chose life for her baby and has been blind ever since. A Rolla native, McWilliams, now a member of Prestonwood Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas, will bring her inspiring story of love, courage and self-sacrifice to Missouri as the Missouri … [Read more...]
Marriage suffers another blow with polygamy ruling
As most Americans were thinking thoughts of Christmas cheer, a federal judge in Utah dropped a bomb on the institution of marriage, striking down the most crucial sections of the Utah statute outlawing polygamy. Dec. 13, Judge Clark Waddoups of the United States District Court in Utah ruled that Utah’s anti-polygamy law is unconstitutional, violating the free exercise clause of the First Amendment as well as the guarantee of due process. In one sense, the decision was almost inevitable, … [Read more...]
Live Same-Sex ‘Wedding’ to Be Part of New Years Tournament of Roses Parade
PASADENA, Calif. (Christian News Network) – Two homosexual men are set to ‘wed’ on New Year’s Day during the historic Tournament of Roses parade, as they ride a float sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Danny Leclair, 45, had submitted an application in October as the foundation was offering a chance to be a part of their float—the organization’s third appearance at the 125-year-old parade. Leclair and his partner, Aubrey Loots, 42, run Studio DNA Salons, a chain of hair salons … [Read more...]
Paul Walker’s last film ‘Hours’ features strong pro-life message
Lauren Enriquez/LifeNews.com In one of his last films, which has not yet been released, Paul Walker played the husband of a woman who unexpectedly dies in childbirth. Walker is famed for his roles in “The Fast and the Furious,” and tragically died in a car crash earlier this month. In the film, his character’s daughter, born five weeks early, is hooked up to a ventilator which is her only chance of survival until she is strong enough to breathe on her own. When Hurricane Katrina … [Read more...]
Saeed Abedini’s wife testifies before Congress
WASHINGTON (BP) – Less than two weeks before Christmas, Naghmeh Abedini testified before Congress on behalf of her husband, U.S. citizen and pastor Saeed Abedini, who has been imprisoned in Iran since last June because of his Christian faith. “My husband is suffering because he is a Christian,” Abedini said when she addressed a subcommittee hearing of the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee on Dec. 12. “He is suffering because he is an American. Yet, his own government … [Read more...]
Judge protects free speech rights of pro-lifers
St. Louis – St. Louis Circuit Court, Associate Circuit Judge Michael Noble dismissed charges against pro-life activists, Brian Westbrook, executive director of Coalition for Life St. Louis, and Rita Sparrow, veteran sidewalk counselor, after testimony and arguments Dec. 6. The cases had been brought by the City of St. Louis, stretching ordinances beyond their intended scope in order to charge Westbrook and Sparrow for simple, peaceful demonstration outside the local Planned … [Read more...]
Attorney: Hobby Lobby will win at Supreme Court
Editor’s note: Joshua Hawley, who teaches at the University of Missouri Law School, is on the legal team that will defend Hobby Lobby before the U.S. Supreme Court in March. Joshua Hawley/associate professor of law COLUMBIA – Just before Thanksgiving, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would decide the suit brought by Hobby Lobby, the national arts-and-crafts store whose owners are Southern Baptists, challenging what is sometimes called the contraceptive mandate. The mandate is … [Read more...]
Executive Board modifies church planting policy
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Executive Board members unanimously approved a new, comprehensive church-planting strategy, designed to foster the multiplication of new churches that will reach the lost throughout Missouri. According to the Dec. 10 recommendation, the MBC will open statewide training centers “in order to become more responsive to church planting opportunities.” It states, “We are creating regional networks and simplifying the assessment and training … [Read more...]
SBC entities defend ministerial housing allowance
Tom Strode/Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) – The Southern Baptist Convention’s religious freedom and financial benefits entities both expressed their opposition to a federal court ruling invalidating the ministerial housing allowance. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and GuideStone Financial Resources protested a Nov. 22 decision by federal Judge Barbara Crabb that struck down the portion of a 1954 federal law that allows clergy to exclude for federal income tax … [Read more...]
Supreme Court to hear religious liberty case involving Hobby Lobby
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in the Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius case, a much anticipated case that pits religious liberty versus a provision of the Affordable Care Act known as the Health and Human Services (HHS) Mandate. Russell D. Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) reacts to the decision: “The Supreme Court’s consideration of the Hobby Lobby case is the most important religious liberty … [Read more...]
ERLC’s Russell Moore emphasizes gospel-centered political engagement
Tom Strode/Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) – A new, more conservative generation of evangelical Christians should engage politics, not retreat from it, because of the gospel of Jesus, Southern Baptist Ethicist Russell D. Moore says in the latest issue of First Things. Writing in the influential journal, the president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission says the apparent return to a confessional, gospel-centered faith among evangelicals – which he describes as “good news” – … [Read more...]
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