“It amazes me that Jesus could call a Matthew and a Simon both to be his disciples. Matthew was a tax collector, a conservative of the conservatives. Simon was a zealot, the liberal of the liberals. … They were farther…
Ethicists debate morality of enhancing genetics
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Scientists already know which genes are responsible for particular illnesses, and clinical trials are under way to find new treatments for genetically based diseases. But, ethicists ask, what if this newfound genetic knowledge is used not only to cure,…
Investors with moral agenda are bullish on faith-based mutual funds
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Religious activists with a moral agenda for corporate America used to rely primarily on consumer boycotts and sympathetic lawmakers to get Wall Street's attention. But now their toolbox is growing—and there's a lot more money in it. Over the…
Minorities flocking to multi-ethnic campus groups for fellowship
DALLAS (ABP)—Anglo students continue to primarily populate college evangelical organizations, but ethnic minority students have started to join them in increasing numbers. Two of the nation's largest parachurch campus evangelical organizations, Campus Crusade for Christ and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, stress…
Correction
For the Aug. 27 story titled “42 Baptist schools make magazine's ‘best colleges' rankings for 2008,” please replace the first sentence in the 10th graph with the following: The Master's-Midwest group includes Missouri Baptist and Southwest Baptist universities. Cedarville University…
FAITH DIGEST
Colorado megachurch approves Haggard's successor. New Life Church, the Colorado megachurch whose leader Ted Haggard was dismissed last year after a sex and drug scandal, has approved a new senior pastor. Brady Boyd, pastor at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas,…
New survey suggests religion may not help ’08 candidates
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new survey of voters' attitudes toward presidential candidates shows that being perceived as highly religious may not help the 2008 hopefuls very much. The study, released Sept. 6 by two bipartisan public-interest groups, also suggests that…
North Carolina WMU decides to leave convention control
CARY, N.C. (ABP) — Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina has voted to remove itself from the North Carolina Baptist Building — and from the state convention executive director's attempt to assert authority over its staff. The dramatic move culminates…
Two Baylor students charged with attacking woman in park
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Two Baylor University athletes were arrested Sept. 4 after allegedly assaulting a woman in a municipal park. Latara Darrett, a 19-year-old basketball player, and Ashlee Cooper, a 19-year-old volleyball player, were charged with a misdemeanor of…
MID-ATLANTIC BRIEFS
Chowan names associate campus ministers. Chowan University in Murfreesboro, N.C., has named Craig and Jennifer Janney as associate ministers to the university. The Janneys They will assist Mari Wiles, minister to the university, and also teach, serve as chaplains to…
Progressive Baptist women wary of Hillary Clinton’s candidacy
NEW YORK (ABP) — Many Christian conservatives have put her in the “anyone but” category — they'll vote for anyone but Hillary Clinton. However, progressive Christians, who some think should be the senator's natural allies, aren't jumping on her bandwagon…
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: Why celebrate it?
RICHMOND — Virginia Baptist pastor Victor Visotsky knows about religious persecution. Visotsky, now pastor of New Life Russian Baptist Church in Falls Church, grew up in Soviet Estonia. He remembers how members of his Baptist church were arrested and imprisoned…