ARLINGTON, Va. (ABP) — A Pentagon report on the religious climate at the United States Air Force Academy concludes that an atmosphere of religious intolerance does not pervade the campus, but that there are problems nonetheless. Air Force officials, led…
Bush addresses SBC again, praises ‘army of compassion’
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Touting his desire to build a “more compassionate society,” President George W. Bush thanked Southern Baptists June 21 for being “soldiers in the army of compassion” who make a difference in America and the world. Bush…
Southern Baptists re-elect Welch as president during opening day
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Bobby Welch was re-elected to a second term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention without opposition June 21. Welch, pastor of First Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Fla., has endeared himself to Southern Baptists with…
SBC vote on New Orleans Seminary closes debate on ‘sole membership’
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention has secured its ties to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, concluding years of wrangling over the convention's legal relationship with the school. Messengers to the SBC annual meeting in Nashville approved a…
Klansman guilty of manslaughter of three civil-rights activists
PHILADELPHIA, Miss. (ABP) — Forty-one years after the crime, Baptist preacher and former Ku Klux Klan member Edgar Ray Killen was found guilty of manslaughter for the slaying of three college-age civil-rights workers who were beaten and shot. Killen, now…
House rejects measure aimed at Air Force Academy
WASHINGTON (ABP) — After debate unusually acrimonious even by the standards of the House of Representatives, that body voted narrowly June 20 to scuttle a provision designed to hold the United States Air Force Academy accountable for reports of religious…
Five Missouri Baptist institutions seek rehearing of appeal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (ABP) — Five Missouri Baptist Convention-related entities are seeking a rehearing of a recent appeal that returned an ongoing lawsuit against them to a lower court. Lawyers for The Baptist Home, Windermere Baptist Conference Center, Missouri Baptist…
Terri Schiavo autopsy says she was brain damaged, blind, not abused
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The autopsy results for Terri Schiavo, released by Florida officials June 15, conclude that she was not abused prior to collapsing and lapsing into an unconscious state 15 years ago, that she was blind at the time…
New Jersey appeals-court panel rules against gay marriage
TRENTON, N.J. (ABP) — A divided New Jersey appellate court ruled June 14 against same-sex marriage, but gay-rights activists who filed the suit have promised to appeal. A three-judge panel of the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division ruled 2-1…
Violence in Rio Grande city Forces mission trips out
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico (ABP) — Escalating violence in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, prompted the Texas Baptist River Ministry office to issue a safety advisory for the border city and led some volunteer church groups to cancel their planned trips. At least…
News pioneer W.C. Fields to headline ABP dinner at CBF General Assembly
GRAPEVINE, Texas (ABP) — Wilmer C. Fields, a pioneer in the field of Christian journalism, will be the featured speaker at the annual Associated Baptist Press dinner at the CBF General Assembly. The dinner will be held Thursday, June 30,…
Carlton Dotson sentenced to 35 years for murder of Baylor basketball player
Editor's note: This story updates one issued June 9. WACO, Texas (ABP) — Former basketball player Carlton Dotson was sentenced to 35 years in prison June 15 for killing his former Baylor University basketball teammate Patrick Dennehy — despite his…