DALLAS (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Annuity Board faces another round of criticism for owning $14 million worth of stock in Carnival Cruise Lines, which is hosting “the First Annual Official Gay Days Cruise” beginning May 30. The four-night Bahamas…
Religious freedom commission warns about Iraq in annual report
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The future of religious freedom in the rebuilt Afghanistan may be in grave danger — and the United States should avoid similar problems as it rebuilds Iraq, according to a federal panel's annual report. Those observations were…
Caution drives churches’ policies protecting children’s identities
(ABP) — When churches decide whether to publish the names and photos of children, a growing number cite protection as their guiding principle — protecting the children from predators and the church from legal action. Churches probably have little cause…
Caution drives churches’ policies protecting children’s identities
(ABP) — When churches decide whether to publish the names and photos of children, a growing number cite protection as their guiding principle — protecting the children from predators and the church from legal action. Churches probably have little cause…
Creeds build barriers when misused, say Russell Dilday, Keith Putt
ARLINGTON, Texas (ABP) — Creeds have a clarifying role in Christian life but they build barriers between believers when used incorrectly, Baptist leaders told a national leadership conference. Using human words as a tool for enforcing orthodoxy is a misuse…
Capital punishment not the gospel way, Mason says
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ABP) — God made peace with mankind through Jesus' “non-violent self-sacrifice rather than violent retribution,” and that is how Christians should make peace with others, said Dallas pastor George Mason. Christian belief and practice should “shape us…
Missions advocate Alma Hunt honored by Baptists Today
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Alma Hunt, who led the Southern Baptist Woman's Missionary Union from 1948-1974, received the fourth annual Judson-Rice Award April 30 at Richmond's Second Baptist Church. The award, which bears the names of Luther Rice and pioneer…
FDA denies over-the-counter approval for ‘morning after’ pill
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The federal Food and Drug Administration has declined permission for over-the-counter sales of an emergency contraceptive — despite recommendations for approval from its own staff and an expert panel. The agency acknowledged May 6 that it had…
Florida judge rules against law restoring woman’s feeding tube
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A Florida judge ruled May 6 that a law specifically created to keep a brain-damaged woman alive violates the state's constitution. Pinellas County Circuit Judge Douglas Baird said the bill — passed in emergency session Oct. 21…