MACON, Ga. (ABP) — Two Baptist ministers — Republican Cecil Staton and Democrat Ben Taylor — will be campaigning for an open Georgia state Senate seat in the Nov. 2 general election. The newly created district covers parts of five…
Watchdog group files complaint against Arkansas church for ‘political’ sermon
SPRINGDALE, Ark. (ABP) — Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a religious-liberty watchdog organization, filed a complaint July 20 with the IRS against the 14,000-member First Baptist Church of Springdale, Ark., the largest church affiliated with the Arkansas…
Constitutional amendment inappropriate for issue of gay marriage, some experts say
WASHINGTON (ABP) — As supporters vow to continue the fight for a constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriage, many leading constitutional scholars say an amendment is too drastic a measure. Louis Michael Seidman, professor at Harvard Law School, said the proposed…
Religious, other leaders urge court to bar death penalty for minors
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A broad coalition of concerned parties — including Nobel laureates, scientific leaders, foreign countries and American religious denominations — is urging the Supreme Court to ban the death penalty for offenders who were under 18 at the…
Truett Seminary prof dies after battle with cancer
HOUSTON (ABP) — Chip Conyers, one of Truett Theological Seminary's first faculty members, died July 18 at the age of 60 in Houston following a long struggle with cancer. Conyers — whose full named was Abdah Johnson Conyers — “possessed…
House panel approves bill limiting courts on marriage
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The same day a gay-marriage ban failed to move forward in the Senate, a different approach to opposing same-sex nuptials passed a House committee. The House Judiciary Committee voted July 14 to send the Marriage Protection Act…
Money-strapped American Baptists warn missionaries of possible recall
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (ABP) — The American Baptists Churches USA may lose up to a fifth of its missionary force unless its mission agency can raise enough money to overcome its current financial crisis. The head of International Ministries, the…
Supporters of gay-marriage ban fall short in Senate vote
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Senate supporters of a constitutional ban on gay marriage failed to muster a simple majority in support of the amendment July 14 — meaning the proposal is likely dead in the Senate until next year. A motion…
Vote on marriage amendment may stall on procedural dispute
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Procedural disputes in the Senate will likely prevent an up-or-down vote on a federal same-sex marriage ban that was expected to take place July 14. Disagreements between Republicans and Democrats and within the GOP itself appeared June…