DOVER, Pa. (ABP) — The democratic process yielded one win and one loss Nov. 8 for advocates of a controversial theory about the origins of earthly life. A bitterly divided Kansas Board of Education voted 6-4 to write new science…
Texas marriage amendment passes but debate continues over impact
DALLAS (ABP) — Texas voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment Nov. 8 defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. By a two-to-one margin, voters approved Proposition 2, which bolstered the state's ban on same-sex marriage by…
Gray resigns Alabama CBF job to take full-time pastorate
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Mart Gray, who has served for eight years as the coordinator of the Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, has resigned to become the full-time pastor of a new church. Gray has served part-time as pastor of Covenant…
Baylor interim Bill Underwood expected to be Mercer president
MACON, Ga. (ABP) — Trustees of Mercer University are poised to elect Bill Underwood, interim president of Baylor University, as president of the Baptist school in Macon, Ga. Underwood, 49, met with some faculty and board members during a visit…
Ancient church ruins in Israeli prison may be earliest Christian structure
MEGIDDO, Israel (ABP) — The ruins of an ancient Christian church, found within the walls of an Israeli prison, may prove to be one of the earliest churches ever discovered and could change the historical understanding of the Christian church…
Neutrality in Baylor fray gives new ‘reconciler’ president advantage
WACO, Texas (ABP) — John Lilley has kept his distance from the ideological battle that has divided Baylor University's constituents into two camps. That distance — 2004 miles to be exact — and Lilley's reputation as a reconciler may be…
State Department report identifies global religious-freedom problems
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The State Department's annual report on the state of religious freedom around the globe stars the usual villains but also contains some new bright spots. “In some countries, we find their leaders have modified laws and policies…or…
Corrections
In the story, “Baptist 'brewhaha': Leaders deny reports volunteers refused to pass out water,” issued Nov. 3, please replace the second paragraph with the following: A Fort Myers, Fla., television news crew first reported the alleged incident Oct. 28. NBC-2…
Baylor elects Nevada educator, alum John Lilley as president
WACO, Texas (ABP) — After several fits and starts, Baylor University's search for new leadership has produced a president — John Lilley, current president of the University of Nevada, Reno, and a three-time graduate of Baylor. Lilley, 66, was elected…
Conservatives claim school survey, ruling ‘undermine’ parental rights
WASHINGTON (ABP) — In what has become something of a regular ritual, conservative groups are expressing outrage at a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — this one involving parents' rights and sex education. Socially conservative groups…
Homeless ministry in New Orleans adapts to new reality post-Katrina
NEW ORLEANS (ABP) — What do you do when you run a homeless shelter and the city has evacuated all the homeless? That's the situation facing Tobey Pitman, director of the Brantley Mission Center in New Orleans. As the city…
Cutting socials programs is wrong way to balance budget, religious leaders say
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Religious leaders are calling on the consciences of members of Congress to avoid cutting social-welfare programs and taxes at the same time. “This is the message going out [from Congress]: In response to Hurricane Katrina, we're going…