WASHINGTON (BP) – Religious liberty advocates commended President Trump's new executive order to protect faith beliefs and practice, but some said it fell short of what is needed. Trump's order – issued May 4 on National Day of Prayer in a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden – says: The administration's policy will be to enforce vigorously the "robust protections for religious freedom" in federal law. The Department of Treasury, which includes the Internal Revenue Service, … [Read more...]
Gorsuch testifies on Roe v. Wade, religious liberty
WASHINGTON (BP) –Neil Gorsuch defended his judicial independence and refused to express his opinion on U.S. Supreme Court decisions – including Roe v. Wade – during the hearings on his nomination to serve as a justice. He also When asked about judicial independence March 21 by committee chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa, Gorsuch said, “I have no difficulty ruling for or against any party” in a case. Later, he told Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, “I will apply the law faithfully … [Read more...]
Abortion ‘vital’ to Planned Parenthood mission
WASHINGTON (BP) – Planned Parenthood’s rejection of a White House offer to maintain federal funding if it drops its abortion business demonstrates how important the lethal procedure is to the organization, Southern Baptist leaders said. The informal proposal and the refusal – reported March 6 by The New York Times – came as Congress and President Trump consider legislation to cut funds for the country’s scandal-plagued, leading abortion provider. Both a budget bill and a new health-care … [Read more...]
Anti-Planned Parenthood rallies call for defunding
COLUMBIA, Mo. (BP) -- Pro-life demonstrators held rallies Feb. 11 at more than 220 Planned Parenthood clinics in 45 states to advocate withdrawing government funds from America's largest abortion provider. Meanwhile, a petition drive led by Southern Baptists' Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has garnered nearly 8,000 signatures on a letter asking Congress "to support the budget resolution that defunds Planned Parenthood and redirects funding to federally qualified health … [Read more...]
Trump administration sending mixed messages on religious freedom
WASHINGTON (WNS) – President Donald Trump promised his administration will defend religious freedom, but conflicting messages from the White House last week left conservatives holding their breath. At the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 2, Trump spoke at length on religious persecution around the world and claimed the United States flourishes when religious liberty flourishes. Those comments followed a leaked executive order draft that would instruct multiple government departments to … [Read more...]
Trump’s potential impact on markets sparks discussion
DALLAS (BP) -- As the era of President Trump begins to unfold, his potential impact on financial markets prompted analysis in the first of a new video series released by GuideStone Financial Resources, the financial services arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. In the series entitled "Conversations with GuideStone," Chief Strategic Investment Officer David S. Spika will periodically offer insights for investors about current events and what they can expect in 2017. Regarding the … [Read more...]
Assisted suicide: N.M., Hawaii bills push envelope
SANTA FE, N.M. (BP) -- Legislators in 15 U.S. states are considering proposals to legalize assisted suicide, with a leading patients' rights group flagging bills in New Mexico and Hawaii as particularly concerning. The other 13 states considering assisted suicide are Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wyoming, according to the Patients Rights Council (PRC), a group that opposes assisted … [Read more...]
Football prayer complaint leads to employee training
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (BP) -- A public school system has agreed to update employees on applicable constitutional law after a special interest group complained of a Southern Baptist pastor's impromptu prayer over an injured player at a high school football game. The Hamilton County Department of Education (HCDE) will "provide additional training to its employees on the application of the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses in public schools," HCDE attorney D. Scott Bennett told the … [Read more...]
Falwell: Reducing regulations on higher ed a priority
LYNCHBURG, Va. (BP) -- Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. would advocate for deregulation as the leader of two federal task forces on higher education for President Donald Trump, Falwell told The Chronicle of Higher Education. While Trump has not officially announced the task forces, Falwell said the president extended the offer in November 2016 after he (Falwell) declined to serve as U.S. secretary of education, according to The Chronicle. He plans to discuss his leadership … [Read more...]
Trump signs order defunding International Planned Parenthood, foreign abortions
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump Jan. 23 signed an executive order to defund International Planned Parenthood. Most pro-life Americans are anxiously awaiting Congress to pass a bill to defund the Planned Parenthood abortion business. While that defunding legislation concerns the domestic-based Planned Parenthood abortion corporation, President Trump has the ability to put in place an executive order that would revoke funding for its International affiliate. When pro-abortion former … [Read more...]
Five things a church can do to halt the holocaust
Science has long since outstripped the infamous Roe v. Wade decision of 1973. On Oct. 11, 2016, Oxford University released a study indicating that a baby’s heart begins to beat around the 16th day after conception. By using lab mice, they confirmed that the hearts of baby mice start to beat in 7.5 days. Then, extrapolating to the human anatomy, a baby’s heart begins beating on the 16th day, providing oxygen and nutrients to this living person. The unborn child has his or her own DNA and … [Read more...]
The infinite value of every human life
A thirteen-year-old girl named Anni is seated at the piano on the stage at Carnegie Hall. She is wearing a neat white dress, and she’s playing brilliantly. The crowd applauds enthusiastically. That was one month ago. Three years ago, it was a different story. Then, Anni was huddled in a jail cell in China. She was kept there overnight without food, water, or even access to a toilet. The Chinese government had locked her up as retaliation for her father’s activities protesting China’s … [Read more...]
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