DODANDUWA, Sri Lanka (ABP) — On a map, the small, island nation of Sri Lanka looks like a giant teardrop. It's an appropriate image. When a 9.0 earthquake off the faraway coast of Sumatra sent a tsunami speeding across the…
First tsunami-relief volunteers from CBF head to South Asia
ATLANTA (ABP) — Two best friends and registered nurses from Wilmington, N.C., left Jan. 12 for India as some of the first tsunami-relief volunteers sent to South Asia by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Cokie Westfall and Linda Marie Jones will…
Evolution disclaimer in Ga. textbook found unconstitutional by federal judge
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A federal judge has struck down a suburban Atlanta school district's policy of placing disclaimers about evolution in science textbooks, saying the policy violates the Constitution's ban on government establishment of religion. United States District Judge Clarence…
Bush’s statements on presidential faith draws objection from Jewish leader
WASHINGTON (ABP) — President Bush said recently he doesn't understand “how you can be president without a relationship with the Lord.” But that testament brought a protest from one of the country's top Jewish leaders. Bush made the comment in…
Author looks for character lessons from Superman, other superheroes
CHICAGO (ABP) — When David Zimmerman talks about comic book character development, he doesn't mean Clark Kent's progression from Superboy to Superman. Zimmerman refers to development of moral character, and he believes superheroes offer a larger-than-life canvas for exploring questions…
First look at tsunami destruction stuns volunteers in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (ABP) — Even the most graphic television images and emotional verbal descriptions couldn't prepare the American volunteer team for the devastation that is coastal Sri Lanka, one of the countries hardest hit by the Dec. 26 tsunamis….
Georgia church, WMU donate $87,000 for water systems, promise more
(ABP) — Pure drinking water — a critical need to avoid an outbreak of deadly diseases in the wake of South Asia's tsunamis — got a boost from two sizeable donations from Baptists. First Baptist Church of Rome, Ga., donated…
Tsunami volunteers not needed yet but should prepare, leaders say
(ABP) — Volunteers are not needed to help yet with the relief effort in South Asia, but they need to be prepared for action. Relief leaders, including Baptists from around the world, continue assessing needs in the countries affected by…
Gonzales won’t repudiate torture memo despite appeals from religious leaders
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Although pledging not to tolerate torture of prisoners by American soldiers or law-enforcement agents, Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales also repeatedly refused Jan. 6 to renounce a controversial memo his office authored in 2002 supporting the legality…
Sudanese government, southern rebels sign long-awaited peace accord
WASHINGTON (ABP) — In what many hope will be the beginning of the end of a bloody conflict fueled by ethnic and religious differences, Sudan's Arab-dominated government signed a peace agreement Jan. 9. Meeting in neighboring Kenya, Vice President Ali…
Supreme Court sidesteps case on Florida adoption ban
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Supreme Court has declined, without comment, to hear a challenge to Florida's ban on adoptions by homosexuals. Returning to the bench from their month-long winter break Jan. 10, the justices turned away an appeal in Lofton…
Wife of former Baptist executive, Bettye Cothen, dies in Miami at 83
MIAMI (ABP) — Bettye Cothen, 83, wife of former Southern Baptist executive Grady Cothen, died Jan. 10 in a Miami hospice. She had Parkinson's disease. For 63 years, she was married to Grady C. Cothen, retired president of the Southern…