(ABP) — Two unprecedented natural disasters overshadowed all man-made news in 2005, according to a survey of Baptist editors.
Hurricane Katrina and the South Asia tsunami — and the benevolent response that followed each — were the most important Baptist news stories of the past year, the editors said. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court, the 100th anniversary of the Baptist World Alliance, gay marriage and historic changes at Baptist colleges also commanded the attention of the country's 35 million Baptists.
1. Katrina, which struck New Orleans and the Gulf Coast Aug. 29, evoked the largest Baptist disaster response in history. More than 9,000 Baptist volunteers participated in the relief effort, which included preparing a record 13 million meals for hurricane victims and relief workers. Katrina also was the costliest storm in U.S. history. Insurance claims totaled $23 billion and reconstruction costs are estimated at $200 billion-plus.
2. The tsunami struck South Asia on the day after Christmas 2004, but the disaster and recovery efforts dominated the news in early 2005. Almost a year later, officials still aren't sure about the total number of deaths, usually estimated between 210,000 and 225,000 people. Triggered by a 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, the tsunami caused $9 billion in damage and prompted an unprecedented global outpouring of help. Hardest hit were Indonesia (where most of the deaths occurred), Sri Lanka, Thailand and India. Recovery will take more than a decade, experts say.
3. The death of Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist and the impending retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor created two openings on the nation's highest court — and gave conservative Christians hope their replacements could swing the balance of power on key social issues like abortion and school prayer.
4. The Baptist World Congress brought about 14,000 Baptist adherents from around the globe to Birmingham, England, in late July. England was the birthplace of the Baptist World Alliance in 1905. Although the island country was distracted this summer by terror attacks — including one in Birmingham — it did little to dim the celebration of the 100th anniversary of BWA. The organization counts 35 million members in 214 Baptist bodies worldwide, despite the recent withdrawal of the largest group, the 17-million-member Southern Baptist Convention.
5. The national debate over gay rights, which accounted for three of the top-10 stories last year, continued to divide the public and many of the nation's largest denominations. Efforts to define marriage as “one man and one woman” succeeded in several states, while gay-marriage advocates won key court battles. The Episcopal Church, United Methodist Church, American Baptists Churches-USA and others clashed over gay rights this year.
6. Several historically Baptist colleges broke away from the state Baptist conventions that supported them — sometimes peacefully, often not — in what may turn out to be the most dramatic year ever in Baptist education. In the Georgia Baptist Convention, Mercer University was kicked out over homosexuality and other issues, while Shorter College lost a long legal battle to elect its own trustees. Belmont and Georgetown universities distanced themselves from Baptists in Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively, while the debate over who should control and shape Christian education continued on other campuses.
7. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan remained prominent in the minds of Baptists, as the American death toll passed 2,000 and public support for President Bush dropped to record lows.
8. Three of the top five Baptist universities — Baylor, Mercer and Samford — each selected a new president in a three-month period, signaling a historic changing of the guard in Baptist higher education. Baylor regents elected John Lilley of Nevada in November. Mercer elected Baylor interim president Bill Underwood. And Samford nominated Ouachita University president Andrew Westmoreland, who is expected to be elected Jan. 10. The three schools count a total of 25,000 students.
9. Louisiana Baptists elected a new executive director, conservative David Hankins, but surprised many by rejecting his plan to dissolve the convention's independent newspaper and bring it under his control. The Louisiana Baptist Convention, a stronghold for conservatives, also battled over control of its college, Louisiana College in Pineville, which landed on probation for infringing on academic freedom.
10. The right-to-die battle over brain-dead Terri Schiavo captured the attention of the media and public. The Florida woman was allowed to die March 31 when the courts refused to reinsert her feeding tube, over the objections of her parents and other conservative Christians.
The survey of Baptist journalists was conducted in mid-December by Associated Baptist Press, an independent news organization.
Other stories that caught the attention of Baptists included:
11. Baptist megachurch pastor Rick Warren, rated one of the nation's “most influential evangelicals,” continued to dominate bestseller lists and TV talk shows while expanding his activism to include global poverty and AIDS.
12. Robert Sloan resigned in January after 10 years as Baylor University president, under fire from alumni, regents and faculty after charting an aggressive and expensive path to elite-college status.
13. Memphis megachurch pastor Adrian Rogers of Bellevue Baptist, a three-time SBC president, died in November after a long illness. The widely loved preacher was a key figure in the rise of conservatives in the Southern Baptist Convention.
14. Jimmy Draper, another former SBC president and key conservative leader, announced he will retire as president of LifeWay Christian Resources, the SBC's publishing house, and is being replaced by seminary professor Thom Rainer.
15. The Supreme Court issued mixed rulings on public displays of the Ten Commandments in June, declaring in a monument outside the Texas state capitol is legal, while a similar posting inside Kentucky courtrooms had an illegal intent.
16. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, severely damaged by Katrina, closes its New Orleans campus for a year and moves temporarily to Atlanta.
17. Conservative Christians ramp up the fight against “judicial activism,” hosting two national TV broadcasts calling for support of Bush's conservative judicial nominees and opposing a threatened Senate filibuster against right-of-center nominees.
18. A generation of SBC megachurch pastors begins to pass from the scene with the death of Adrian Rogers and the retirements of Jerry Vines of Jacksonville's First Baptist Church and Jim Henry of Orlando's First Baptist, both in Florida.
19. A national debate over “intelligent design,” a conservative alternative to evolution, rages in schools and courtrooms, including closely watched cases in Dover, Pa., and Kansas.
20. Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity was fired in January amid allegations of sexual harassment.
Among stories “under-reported” in 2005, the Baptist editors listed Christian use of the Internet, global persecution of Christians, and the “erosion” of church-state separation.
In a separate survey of secular newspaper editors, Catholics dominated the news in 2005, with the death of Pope John Paul II and election of his successor, Pope Benedict XVI.
Terri Schiavo, Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami, homosexuality, intelligent design, the Ten Commandments, Supreme Court nominees, the Vatican's edict on gay priests, and the farewell campaign of Billy Graham in New York City rounded out the top 10 stories as ranked by members of the Religion Newswriters Association.
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