Baptist Press Archive

Monday, October 31, 2016

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  • Where were they then? Luther, Calvin & Menno in 1516
    by David Roach, posted Monday, October 31, 2016 (6 years ago)

    NASHVILLE (BP) -- Five hundred years ago, on Oct. 31, 1516, Martin Luther was a German Catholic priest questioning whether the pope truly had power to spring souls from purgatory. John Calvin was a 7-year-old in France who had just reached what medievals deemed the "age of accountability."

    In the Netherlands, Menno Simons was a 20-year-old headed toward the Catholic priesthood who had never read the Bible. Read More

  • High court accepts transgender case
    by Tom Strode, posted Monday, October 31, 2016 (6 years ago)

    "We can respect the worth and dignity of everyone without erasing biological distinctives." -- Russell Moore
    WASHINGTON (BP) -- The question of transgender rights will receive a hearing soon from the country's highest court.

    The Supreme Court announced Oct. 28 it will review a lower court opinion regarding the right of a student to use the public school restroom that matches her gender identity rather than her biological sex. Oral arguments in the case likely will take place in early 2017, and an opinion is expected before the court adjourns next summer. Read More

  • Colorado voters may legalize assisted suicide
    by Tom Strode, posted Monday, October 31, 2016 (6 years ago)

    A humane culture laments death, rather than distributing it as a marketable good." -- Russell Moore
    WASHINGTON (BP) -- Colorado may be on the verge of becoming the latest state to legalize physician-assisted suicide.

    The state's voters will decide the fate of a ballot initiative Nov. 8 that would enable doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to people who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses and supposedly have less than six months to live. If the measure passes, Colorado would become the sixth state to legalize assisted suicide in some form. Read More

  • Reformation: SBC entities celebrate 500th anniversary
    by David Roach, posted Monday, October 31, 2016 (6 years ago)

    NASHVILLE (BP) -- As Christians kick off a year of observing the Protestant Reformation's 500th anniversary, Southern Baptist Convention entities have slated a range of commemorative events and publications.

    Traditionally, the start of the Reformation is dated to Oct. 31, 1517, when a monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, challenging the Roman Catholic Church's practice of selling indulgences -- infusions of supposedly excess merit from saints granted by the Catholic Church to decrease a person's time in purgatory. Read More

  • Nevada Baptists increase budget by nearly $160,000
    by Karen L. Willoughby, posted Monday, October 31, 2016 (6 years ago)

    RENO, Nev. (BP) -- With "Advance" as its theme and Mark 16:15 -- Go into all the world and preach the gospel -- as its guiding Scripture passage, the Nevada Baptist Convention's annual meeting reflected the energy of a state convention focused on "reaching the lost; making disciples who make disciples," Executive Director Kevin White reported.

    The 2017 budget of $2,139,354 is an increase of $159,108 over the current budget of $1,980,170 last year. The 2017 budget includes $1,067,154 in Cooperative Program giving from churches, $1,006,000 from the North American Mission ... Read More

  • FIRST-PERSON: A life changed on a college campus
    by Lee Clamp, posted Monday, October 31, 2016 (6 years ago)

    An invitation to go bowling was Lee Clamp's first contact with Christians as a college student years ago. "As the weeks went on, I hung out with them, went to the weekly campus organization and heard the Gospel," he recounts of when "I surrendered my life to Jesus and began to live the life I had observed them living." Read More