WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Senate has given final approval to a bill that treats violence against a pregnant woman as two separate crimes — against her and the fetus she is carrying. Opponents of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act…
High court hears arguments in Pledge of Allegiance case
WASHINGTON (ABP) — In hearing arguments on whether the Pledge of Allegiance's reference to God is constitutional, the justices of the Supreme Court seemed concerned not only with Michael Newdow's case, but also with his right to make it. Newdow,…
Atheists, pledge supporters rally in front of Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (ABP) — While the Supreme Court was hearing legal arguments on the Pledge of Allegiance case March 24, hundreds of protestors outside had their own oral arguments. But theirs tended to be more about volume than about legal nuances….
Missionary shooting survivor recovering in Dallas hospital
DALLAS (ABP) — The lone survivor of a March 15 drive-by shooting in Iraq that killed four Southern Baptist mission workers is recovering well in a Dallas-area hospital, according to an International Mission Board spokesman. Carrie Taylor McDonnall, 26, of…
Gay-marriage supporters file suit in Oregon, as Iowa rejects amendment
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A civil-rights group has filed suit against the state of Oregon on behalf of a group of gay couples, and Iowa legislators have rejected an anti-gay-marriage amendment to that state's constitution — the latest salvos in the…
Women’s ministry group relocates to Atlanta
ATLANTA (ABP) — Baptist Women in Ministry, started in 1983 to support Southern Baptist women serving as ministers, will move its offices to Mercer University's McAfee School of Theology in northeast Atlanta. The group celebrated its 20th anniversary last summer…
Baptist leader testifies as House examines faith-based programs
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A March 23 congressional hearing designed as a celebration of President Bush's faith-based initiative served as a platform for a Baptist lawyer to recite the dangers she believes it poses to religious freedom. Several religious-freedom experts and…
Suspected arson thwarts reopening of black church in Louisiana
CYPREMORT, La. (ABP) — March 12 was the day 100 former members of Mount Olive Baptist Church near Cypremort Point planned to gather for their first service since the church closed its doors five years ago. However, an arsonist set…
Senate panel holds first hearing on anti-gay-marriage proposal
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A Senate panel held its first official hearing on an updated version of the Federal Marriage Amendment — less than 24 hours after the legislation was introduced. While supporters of the amendment praised changes in its language,…
Amendment sponsors change wording to allow more room for civil unions
WASHINGTON (ABP) — On the eve of the first official congressional hearing on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, its principal sponsors announced a change they say clarifies the proposal — but the amendment's opponents say the change…
Romanian street children inspire Alabama man to start ministry
DOTHAN, Ala. (ABP) — In 1998 Sonny Glover went to Romania on a missions trip looking to do church construction. Instead, he looked into the big, brown eyes of a young girl who changed his life. The girl, a 4-year-old…
Florida church accused of defrauding ill woman out of $1.8 million
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (ABP) — A lawsuit filed against First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach claims the church defrauded a mentally ill woman out of her $1.8 million inheritance. Lucinda Bennett, 34, attended First Baptist Church from 1998…