Your article in the Dec. 9 issue, “Aiming at Southwest Virginia,” reports that the Virginia Baptist Mission Board approved Averett University's proposal to create a program to provide training and theological education to ministers and laity in Southwest Virginia. Such…
Honeycutt, former Southern Seminary president, dies after accident at home
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — Roy Honeycutt, retired president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, died Dec. 21, one day after suffering head injuries in a fall at his home in Louisville, Ky. He was 78. Honeycutt, a noted Old Testament scholar,…
Poll shows 44 percent of Americans would curtail Muslims’ civil rights
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Nearly half of all Americans would curtail the civil rights of Muslim-Americans in some way, according to a new survey. In the name of combating potential terrorism, 44 percent of respondents to a Cornell University survey said…
SBC leaders decline to join new ecumenical group
ATLANTA (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention will not join a new ecumenical group designed to bring Catholic, Orthodox, mainline Protestant and evangelical Christians together, according to news reports. A spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board…
Iraqi leader says country will protect Christians
Iraq's foreign minister met with Pope John Paul II on Dec. 13 and pledged the commitment of his interim government to protect the country's Christians from terrorist attacks. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari delivered a message to the pope from…
Separationists sue over funding of missions
A church-state separationist group has filed suit to try to halt a new law calling for the distribution of taxpayer funds for the historical preservation of California mission churches. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a Washington-based watchdog…
Familiar look? Forensics scientists reconstruct face of original Santa
What did the real Santa Claus look like? Viewers of a program broadcast Dec. 18 on British TV found out. A team of forensic scientists at Britain's Manchester University has reconstructed the face of St. Nicholas of Myra-the precursor of…
Powerful symbol: Christmas trees evolved from centuries-old traditions
By Timothy Harper The Christmas tree remains a powerful symbol for many of us. “Christmas trees probably add more to mark the period of ‘peace on earth, goodwill toward men' than any other product of the soil,” says Ann Kirk-Davis,…
For Protestants, Jesus’ mother is making more than a cameo appearance
By Kim Lawton It's Christmas-and for Protestants, that means it's time for the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, to make her annual cameo appearance in creche sets, carols and children's bathrobed Christmas pageants. But for some Protestant theologians and…
In holy season of light, darkness grips Bethlehem
Leading the way into the Bethlehem Peace Center, Hatem Abu Tarboush, a wiry, 30-year-old tourism agent, remarks: “They're talking about peace. But I don't think there's any peace to talk about.” The center, housed in the old British headquarters on…
Celebrating Christmas
Catholic festival or religious holiday? Christians have celebrated the birth of Christ for hundreds of years, but over the centuries evangelicals and other conservative believers have wondered about the best way to observe it. By Yvonne Betowt Did you know…
My true love gave to me: Want to celebrate Christmas? Resurrect the 12 days
Another View for Dec. 23, 2004 By Patrick Borders For many people, the Christmas season is filled with anything but peace. Too much rushing around. Too much traffic. Too many activities, crowded stores and long lines. Too much stress. Not…