(WNS) - Opponents of an Illinois law that would allow state funding of abortion on demand for state employees and Medicaid recipients have filed suit. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the law, known as HB 40, earlier this year, and the Thomas More Society filed suit last week on behalf of 10 pro-life organizations, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, and eight state legislators filing as taxpayers. The suit, a request to “restrain and enjoin” a misuse of tax … [Read more...]
Will Supreme Court ‘safeguard’ liberty in landmark case?
WASHINGTON (BP) – Religious liberty advocates left the U.S. Supreme Court Dec. 5 with some hope that the justices would rule in favor of a Colorado cake artist who refused to design a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding celebration. The high court heard oral arguments in a major free-speech and free-exercise-of-religion case at the center of the contentious debate between religious liberty and sexual liberty. Multiple cases involving wedding vendors who oppose using their talents in … [Read more...]
Lockdown drills and the new school safety reality
(WNS) - I remember my dad telling me when I was a kid about the Cold War-era safety drills he did in school. Students would hunker down under their desks, arms wrapped around their knees, until the hypothetical threat of Soviet missiles had passed. It all seemed so preposterous to me, the idea that children could face the unimaginable horror of an air raid in the middle of Texas. Although I participated in my share of fire drills, I never feared experiencing a real blaze. Those drills … [Read more...]
Do as we say, not as we do: Australian Christians hope to avoid U.S. religious liberty battle with conscience protections in same-sex marriage bill
(WNS) - As attorneys for Colorado baker Jack Phillips prepare to defend his religious and free speech rights before the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 5, the Australian Parliament is drafting same-sex marriage legislation that some fear could criminalize similar dissent Down Under. Australians overwhelmingly showed their approval of same-sex marriage in a recent postal poll. The results, published Nov. 15, showed 61.1 percent approve of state-recognized same-sex marriage. Legislators are … [Read more...]
During annual meeting, Iowa Baptists note church growth, increased giving
AMES, Iowa (BP) – The 2017 Baptist Convention of Iowa annual meeting was held in conjunction with a two-day "For the Church" micro conference in partnership with Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Four hundred participants attended the Nov. 3-4 conference, which included featured speakers Jason K. Allen, MBTS president; Jared Wilson, MBTS director of content strategy; Jeff Dodge, lead pastor at Cornerstone Church in Ames; and Rechab Gray, teaching pastor at Cottage Grove Church in … [Read more...]
Rights to life and free speech intersect at Supreme Court
(WNS) - A U.S. Supreme Court case testing the constitutionality of a California abortion law will affect free speech beyond the battleground over unborn lives. National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra, which the high court agreed this month to hear, focuses on whether the government can prescribe a message for groups that disagree with it - in this case, a message that promotes abortion. Pro-life groups that have filed suit against the law are optimistic the court will … [Read more...]
From the Archives: Firearms in church?
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been edited and updated, having run previously in the Oct. 8, 2013, edition of The Pathway. NORWOOD – Pastor Stephen Fugitt believes that churches have the right to arm themselves for the day when a gunman enters their buildings to do harm. Yet no one had time to open fire against a gunman who aimed his .357 magnum revolver at Fugitt as he preached to his congregation at the First Baptist Church, Norwood, July 21, 2013. Instead, one church member grabbed … [Read more...]
Southern Baptist chaplains respond to hurting church, community
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (BP) – "It's a pretty somber place," Scottie Stice said of the community left behind after Sunday's horrific mass shooting at First Baptist Church here. Stice, disaster relief director for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC), reported teams of Southern Baptist chaplains and other DR volunteers are ministering however they can among those devastated by the "senseless" tragedy. It's only been about a month since Southern Baptist Disaster Relief … [Read more...]
32 new missionaries obey their Savior to share the gospel among the nations
RICHMOND, Va. – As a preschooler in the children’s group called Mission Friends, new Southern Baptist missionary Amy Jones learned about God's desire to gather people from every nation, tribe, people group and language by His grace and for His is glory. “It became real when my mother returned from England with stories and a tea set,” Jones recalled during a Sending Celebration Nov. 16 that marked the appointment of 32 new International Mission Board personnel. “Europeans are fascinating … [Read more...]
Does the Bible support self-defense?
The mass shooting earlier this month at Sutherland Springs Baptist Church in Texas left 26 people dead, made a hero of a civilian who confronted and shot the murderer, and raised lots of security-related questions for Christians: Should I buy a gun? Does my church have a security plan? Is it ok to defend myself, or my church family, when threatened? How do I reconcile Jesus’ instructions to buy swords with His rebuke of Peter for using one? What would Jesus have done in … [Read more...]
Survey: Billy Graham, 99, has a far-reaching legacy
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In the fall of 1949, a little-known Baptist preacher launched a series of revival meetings at a “canvas cathedral” at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Hill Street in Los Angeles. The meetings were supposed to last three weeks. Instead they continued for eight weeks, drawing more than 300,000 people and making Billy Graham a household name. Nearly 70 years later, the 99-year-old Rev. Graham remains one of the best-known preachers in America, according to a … [Read more...]
Worship resumes with call to overcome, NAMB offers to cover all funeral costs
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (BP) – Pastor Frank Pomeroy’s first message to the surviving members of First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, was that they must overcome darkness with the light of Christ. Seven days after a gunman killed 26 worship attendees, Pomeroy – who was out of town during the Nov. 5 attack – delivered his message at a tent worship service blocks away from the church property. More than 500 people attended the Nov. 12 service, according to media estimates. … [Read more...]
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