Thursday, November 08, 2007

• House passes 'homosexual rights' job bill for first time

  by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, November 08, 2007 (13 years ago)

  "This is a bad bill with bad consequences for our nation, and I am extremely hopeful, if it were by some strange happenstance to pass the Senate, the president would follow through on his signals to veto this really bad bill." -- Richard Land

  WASHINGTON (BP)--The House of Representatives comfortably approved workplace protections based on "sexual orientation" Nov. 7, handing the homosexual activist movement a groundbreaking victory.

          The House's 235-184 vote for the Employment Non-discrimination Act (ENDA) marked the first time either chamber of Congress has passed such legislation, but it appears unlikely the bill will become law -– at least this year. The White House already has indicated a veto is probable if it reaches President Bush, and the House roll call was more than 40 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed for an override. The Senate has yet to act on the measure.

        Representatives of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and other pro-family organizations lamented the House action.

        ENDA would make discrimination on the basis of "sexual orientation" illegal in such areas as hiring, firing and compensation for both the private and public workplace. According to the legislation, "sexual orientation" encompasses "homosexuality, bisexuality or heterosexuality," whether "actual or perceived." The measure would treat "sexual orientation" in similar fashion to other federally protected categories, such as race, gender, age and religion. Read More

• Fire cleanup becomes Calif. relief priority

  by Holly Smith & Terry Barone, posted Thursday, November 08, 2007 (13 years ago)

  FRESNO, Calif. (BP)--Donations and volunteers still are needed for the California Southern Baptist Convention disaster relief cleanup efforts after the wave of wildfires in Southern California. Read More

• Bible at Olympics: Mixed reports circulate

  by Tim Ellsworth, posted Thursday, November 08, 2007 (13 years ago)

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The Chinese government seems to be sending mixed messages about religion and religious freedom during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and conflicting reports have clouded the issue of the legality of Bibles at the Olympics. Read More

• 600,000 baptisms recorded overseas in '06

  by Mark Kelly, posted Thursday, November 08, 2007 (13 years ago)

  

  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (BP)--God is moving in unprecedented ways around the world and Southern Baptists face the challenge of joining their missionaries in "whatever it takes" to make disciples of all peoples, International Mission Board trustees were told during their Nov. 6-7 meeting in Springfield, Ill.

  Read More

• IMB stats reported in 11 categories

  by Staff, posted Thursday, November 08, 2007 (13 years ago)

  SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (BP)--The International Mission Board's Annual Statistical Report for 2007 (covering calendar year 2006) includes a summary of church-growth indicators reported by Southern Baptist missionaries and their overseas Baptist partners.

  Reports in 11 key categories follow:

  -- New churches –- 25,497 (total churches -– 157,890)

  -- New outreach groups -– 12,856 (total outreach groups –- 55,693)

  -- Baptisms -– 609,968

  -- Church membership –- 9,858,018

  -- Par... Read More

• Starnes blogs about NYC race

  by Erin Roach, posted Thursday, November 08, 2007 (13 years ago)

  NEW YORK CITY (BP)--A former assistant editor of Baptist Press is now known to thousands as Marathon Todd after completing the New York City Marathon just two years after undergoing open heart surgery to save his life.

  Todd Starnes, who worked for Baptist Press from 2000-03 and now is a network anchor for Fox News Radio in New York, ran the 26.2 miles in 6 hours and 53 minutes Nov. 4.

  Leading up to the race, Starnes was featured daily on foxnews.com in a blog devoted to his preparation... Read More

• Kentucky toppled by Baptist univ. team

  by Ashley Chatham, posted Thursday, November 08, 2007 (13 years ago)

  LEXINGTON, Ky. (BP)--Venturing into Kentucky's Rupp Arena on Wednesday night, Gardner-Webb University's men's basketball team astonished the 22nd-ranked Wildcats, 84-68, before 20,000 fans.

  Back at the Runnin' Bulldogs' home in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb students were gathering rapidly in the newly renovated "kennel," or meal exchange, which could potentially hold 150-200 people.

  The game was playing on each of the televisions and the room soon was filled to capacity. Students... Read More

• Armed forces chaplains honored at GGBTS

  by Amanda Phifer, posted Thursday, November 08, 2007 (13 years ago)

  MILL VALLEY, Calif., (BP)--U.S. Army Chaplain Col. Clarke McGriff said he is "proud to be a part of the Golden Gate legacy" in an Armed Forces Chaplaincy Day message at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif.

  "Twenty-six years ago you sent me out and I've come back to report that all is well, despite some sleepless nights, problems, opposition, crying and loneliness –- still, all is well and I am in the most marvelous ministry in the world."

  McGriff, a 1980 mast... Read More

• Catt delivers challenge to change the world

  by Amelia Hendra, posted Thursday, November 08, 2007 (13 years ago)

  KANSAS CITY, Mo., (BP)--The executive producer of the movie "Facing the Giants," Michael Catt, noted three ways to do great things for the Lord in a chapel message at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo.

  Catt, senior pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga. -– whose members produced last year's popular football-theme film -- compared several aspects of making Facing the Giants to the account of the Apostle Peter who attempted to walk on water as recorded in Ma... Read More

• Philosopher: Science & religion compatible

  by David Roach, Jeff Robinson & Garrett E. Wishall, posted Thursday, November 08, 2007 (13 years ago)

  LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Science and religion should not be incompatible, in Alvin Plantinga's view, but they often are at odds because science falsely demands a purely naturalistic universe.

  Platinga, a renowned Christian philosopher, author and professor at the University of Notre Dame, was keynote speaker for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's annual Norton Lectures Oct. 23-25 in Louisville, Ky.

  Evolutionary biologists such as Richard Dawkins, an atheist and author of the book "Th... Read More

• Willmore: Lordship is foundational doctrine

  by Benjamin Hawkins, posted Thursday, November 08, 2007 (13 years ago)

  FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--The principle of Christ's lordship is the "master key" that "unlocks every other doctrine," Roger D. Willmore, president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, said at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

  "I believe that our understanding of and response to the lordship of Jesus Christ affects the whole of our life and the whole of our ministry," said Willmore, pastor of Deerfoot Baptist Church in Trussville, Ala.

  A person's confession of Jesus as Lord i... Read More

• WORLDVIEW: A faith that 'looks like Jesus'

  by Erich Bridges, posted Thursday, November 08, 2007 (13 years ago)

  RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--I might as well admit it: Teens get on my nerves.

        The way they act. The way they dress. The way they talk. The way they drive. The "music" they listen to.

        Did I mention the way they drive? Read More