WAKE FOREST, N.C. (ABP) — The Wake County District Attorney has asked the State Bureau of Investigation in North Carolina to look into finances at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Colon Willoughby, the district attorney, said he has not received a…
SBC snub of BWA, missionaries’ murder top stories of 2004, Baptist editors say
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention's withdrawal from the Baptist World Alliance was the top Baptist news story of 2004, according to a survey of journalists. The murder of four SBC missionaries in Iraq was the second most…
Another Alabama judge stirs controversy with display of Ten Commandments
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (ABP) — Following in the footsteps of deposed Alabama Supreme Court head Roy Moore, another judge in that state has raised controversy with a public tribute to the Ten Commandments — this time on the judge's robe. Covington…
Latino Baptists go on mission to India through efforts of Texas school
SAN ANTONIO (ABP) — Two students — one a Mexican, the other a Nicaraguan — have just completed a semester doing missionary work in India through an Atlanta-based missions agency and their Texas theological school. Juan Acuña, a Californian who…
Bush administration, Baptist Joint Committee file briefs in Ten Commandments cases
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Two friend-of-the-court briefs filed recently in the U.S. Supreme Court present differing views on the role of the Ten Commandments in American history and whether government entities can display them. The Bush administration, represented by the Justice…
Canadian Supreme Court OKs gay-marriage legislation
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Supreme Court of Canada has given legislators the green light to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide. In an advisory opinion, known in Canada as a “reference,” the court's justices ruled Dec. 9 that the Canadian Constitution and…
Controversial Bush nominee retires rather than face fight anew
WASHINGTON (ABP) — One of President Bush's most controversial appeals-court nominees announced Dec. 9 he will retire rather than face another battle over his confirmation. Judge Charles Pickering announced in Mississippi that he will retire from the federal bench rather…
UCC officials file FCC complaints against network TV affiliates
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The United Church of Christ has filed Federal Communications Commission complaints against two television stations in Florida over their parent networks' refusals to air a controversial church advertisement. Church officials, acting on behalf of UCC members in…
White House ‘faith-based’ director says Bush will continue agenda
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The man spearheading President Bush's effort to increase government grants to religious social-service agencies said the initiative will continue in Bush's second term, although he offered few specifics as to how that will happen. Speaking during a…
Scalia’s comments on Holocaust, church and state earn rebuke
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The man who may be the next chief justice of the United States reportedly gave a speech in which he suggested church-state separation did nothing to prevent the Holocaust. According to news reports of a Nov. 22…
Widowed Alabama pastor learns to ‘truly trust God’
STEVENSON, Ala. (ABP) — With joy in his voice, Derek Boyd talked about picking up his sons from school. It is one of the highlights of his day. Full of thoughtful reflections and humorous anecdotes, his conversation naturally flowed back…
Herod’s slaughter aside, Christians too familiar with genocide, author says
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Christians reading the biblical accounts of Jesus' birth are often jolted by King Herod's act of genocide. When told by the wise men of the birth of a Jewish king, Herod ordered all the Jewish infants…