Former BJC leader challenged over comments about Iraq war
WASHINGTON (BP)--Comments on the U.S. cultural divide and the war in Iraq by a former official of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty have sparked challenges by two Southern Baptist ethicists.
Baptist church in Amish country opens
new worship center while mourning tragedy
WRIGHTSDALE, Pa. (BP)--A Baptist church in the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country moved ahead with celebrating the start of construction of a new worship center Oct. 9 -– sobered, however, by the murder of five young Amish girls in a one-room school 21 miles away.
“Life has to go on,” Dave Pope, pastor of Wrightsdale Baptist Church, said. “We are all still mourning this in our own way. It is so recent and happened so close,” he said, shaking his head as he unlocked the doors and entered the church at daybreak on Sunday.
Land, others, urge Christians to vote their values in election
WASHINGTON (BP)--Speakers at a "Values Voter Summit" Sept. 21-23 urged Christians to engage the culture this fall by casting their votes based on their values and not on party lines.
The Family Research Council-sponsored event drew approximately 1,700 pro-family supporters, who heard prominent conservative leaders address such topics as "gay marriage," abortion, judicial activism and embryonic stem cell research.
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| Richard Land said during a panel discussion at the "Values Voter Summit" Sept. 23 that God "is not Democrat or Republican." But "God is pro-life, pro-heterosexual and anti-pornography." Photo by Lee Love |
“Our job as Christians is to take the truth of God’s Word and apply it to our society,” Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said at a panel discussion. “We cannot shy away from moral or political issues. We must make our voices heard.”
In addition to Land and other Christian leaders, attendees heard from such conservative politicians as Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., Sen. George Allen, R-Va., Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who is Southern Baptist.
Be wary of alcohol, they advise, despite claims of health benefit
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--After the federal government -- for the first time ever -- declared moderate alcohol consumption to be good for your health last year, a study later released by the American Cancer Society reported alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer. An added consideration for Christians, meanwhile, is cited by Claude Witt, president of the American Council on Alcohol Problems.
1871 book: Jesus’ wine at Cana was non-alcoholic
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--First published in 1871, the book, "Bible Wines," remains a valuable resource supporting a centuries-old contention that Christ turned barrels of water into non-alcoholic wine at the wedding in Cana. "Bible Wines," by William Patton, is distributed by the Temperance League of Kentucky. Copies can be ordered from the organization at (502) 635-0002.
Baptist reporter gets a ‘yes’ to printed marriage proposal
MARION, Ill. (BP)--Tim Ellsworth, 22, heard Sarah Lee Lyon agree to marry him in the usual way -- he was on bended knee, a ring in his hand and love in his eyes.
