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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
Mocking marriage and Missouri voters
Last month Gov. Jay Nixon directed the state Department of Revenue to accept joint tax filings from same-sex couples who were “married” in another state, but live here. Now the Missouri National Guard is issuing ID cards to same-sex “married” couples in order to process spousal benefits even though they were “married” in another state. Both actions defy Missouri’s Constitution, which was amended by voters 71 percent to 29 percent in 2004, defining marriage as between one man and one … [Read more...]
American Minute: Nov. 26th
[sc_embed_player fileurl="http://www.americanminute.com/media/audio/11-26%20November.mp3"] Listen to today's edition of American Minute. In order to thank God for the First Amendment, which was passed but Congress, September 25, 1789, President George Washington issued a week later the first National Thanksgiving Proclamation, October 3, 1789: "Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me 'to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public … [Read more...]
Elliff: Southern Baptists taking gospel to the world
Laura Fielding/International Mission Board CHARLOTTE, N.C. (BP) – In a “Thanksgiving report” to International Mission Board (IMB) trustees during their Nov. 7-8 meeting in Charlotte, N.C. , IMB President Tom Elliff expressed gratitude to God for Southern Baptists’ support of IMB through the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Elliff also expressed thanksgiving for the untiring work and interest of IMB trustees, the dedication of IMB personnel in the U.S. and … [Read more...]
Whiteheads prepare brief, attend key hearing at U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – Missouri Baptist Convention General Legal Counsel Michael Whitehead and his son, Jonathan, co-wrote the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s (ERLC) brief in defense of prayer for the city of Greece, N.Y., in its case argued recently at the U.S. Supreme Court. The Whiteheads, who are members of Abundant Life Baptist Church in Lee’s Summit, also attended the oral arguments on the case before the U.S. Supreme Court. “While some justices were tempted to parse the words of … [Read more...]
Missouri leaders: ENDA threatens religious liberty
WASHINGTON – In a move that many believe could jeopardize religious liberty, the United States Senate passed legislation that will protect homosexual and transgendered individuals from discrimination under federal employment law. According to the bill, employers cannot discriminate against employees or potential employees on the basis of “sexual orientation” or “gender identity,” which were added alongside the protected classifications of race, color, national origin, gender, age and … [Read more...]
BREAKING: Supreme Court refuses to block Texas pro-life law by 5-4 decision
BY BEN JOHNSON WASHINGTON, D.C., November 19, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The U.S. Supreme Court has voted by a 5-4 majority to allow a key provision of a Texas pro-life law to take effect. The majority ruled that a coalition of abortion providers had failed to prove that a Texas law requiring abortionists to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their office places an "undue burden" on women seeking an abortion. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote a separate opinion, … [Read more...]
Nixon Order Defies Missouri Voters, MBC leaders react
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) leaders called on Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster to defend the Missouri Constitution and thwart Gov. Jay Nixon’s announcement Nov. 14 (today) that he would allow gay couples married in other states to file joint returns in Missouri. “This is a flagrant disregard for the will of the people of Missouri,” said MBC Executive Director John Yeats. MBC Director of Public Policy Don Hinkle called Nixon’s action “reckless” and warned … [Read more...]