For the week of June 17, 2004
Louisiana College news
The teacher education program at Louisiana College recently received a rating
of exemplary from the state of Louisiana, the highest of five rankings possible,
school officials announced. “We are extremely proud of our education faculty
and of our teacher education graduates,” interim school President John
“Bud” Traylor said. “These accountability ratings prove that
we are accomplishing what we set out to do – educate and train quality
Christian teachers.” Altogether, 12 schools in the state received the exemplary
rating.
Hope in Liberia
After more than a year of bloody civil war, Liberians still remain highly religious,
reports indicate. Indeed, Liberian Baptist Theological Seminary students have
begged to reopen their school soon after things calmed down. Meanwhile, they
continue to engage in ministry efforts – to refugees of the war and others.
Seminary President Lincoln Brownell said most people believe Jesus kept them
alive during a rebel insurgence that ousted Charles Taylor from power. However,
unrest lingers. More than 12,000 United Nations peacekeeping soldiers patrol
the streets. Most buildings have mortar damage, and most churches were looted
during the fighting and are missing roofs. Despite the desperate times, Brownell
sees a vast opportunity for seminary students and Liberian Baptist churches.
As far as the Liberian Baptist Convention can tell, about 75 percent of their
churches are operating. “Sunday church attendance is up,” Brownell
said. “And right now, I would estimate about 45 percent of our population
claim Jesus Christ.” However, Brownell is quick to point out that things
are far from normal in Liberia. Some rebel factions still have not been disarmed
– and currently, no Southern Baptist missionaries currently are at work
in the nation.
Repentance
European Baptist leaders recently “repented” for their century-old
role in the colonizing of Africa, which they admit divided and exploited the
continent. The European Baptist Mission recognized the 120th anniversary of
the Berlin Congo Conference of 1884, during which political leaders from 14
Western nations divvied up Africa for colonization. In doing so, the Baptist
leaders adopted a statement in which they repented for the civil strife and
economic injustice that resulted – and remains – from Europes
colonization of the continent. The European Baptist leaders said the worlds
industrial powers continue “to treat African nations as cheap suppliers
of raw materials, and have often used unfair trade and customs agreements to
gain access to their markets.” They confessed they have benefited from
the arrangement as well and accepted “past and present injustices”
for too long. The Baptist leaders asked African Christians for forgiveness for
“allowing the spirit of colonialism to make a mockery of the spirit of
Christ.” They vowed to work for justice and called for a conference to
right the wrongs of the 1884 meeting.
Marriage amendment
Support for a federal constitutional marriage amendment appears to be slightly
up following Massachusetts legalization of same-sex “marriage”
last month. A recent CBS News poll shows that 60 percent of Americans support
“an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would allow marriage only between
a man and a woman.” That is up from a March poll that showed support at
59 percent. It is the first time in the last year that a major poll has shown
support to be at least 60 percent. Meanwhile, 35 percent of adults say they
would not vote for a candidate who disagrees with them on the issue of same-sex
“marriage.” The poll involved interviews with 1,113 adults.
Massachusetts lawsuit
A pro-family lawyer has urged a federal appeals court to halt same-sex “marriages”
in Massachusetts, arguing the state high court overstepped its authority in
issuing its controversial ruling. Attorney Mathew Staver told the First Circuit
Court of Appeals that the Massachusetts high court had no authority to
legalize same-sex “marriage” in the state and that the subsequent
action represented a violation of the separation of powers. The ruling was issued
last fall and took effect May 17. The newly-filed lawsuit argues the ruling
by the Massachusetts court violated both the state constitution and the U.S.
Constitution. Staver asserts that Massachusetts constitution gives authority
over marriage laws only to the legislature and the governor, neither of which
were involved in the court ruling. The appeals court declined to issue an emergency
stay on the matter but did agree to hear oral arguments. It gave no indication
as to when it would rule.
Misinformed report
A National Public Radio report surmising that people are being encouraged to
“vote Republican” by the Southern Baptist iVoteValues.com voter registration
campaign was “misinformed and untrue,” a convention leader insisted.
In a letter to the radio network, Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty
Commission President Richard Land noted a May 21 edition of the “All Things
Considered” program, incorrectly implied the Southern Baptist Convention
has been making questionable political statements, including a message to vote
Republican, in connection with the iVoteValues voter registration campaign.
Land noted the commission is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entity, is nonpartisan and
does not endorse or oppose any political party or candidate. “The (commission)
does not instruct individuals as to the candidates or political parties for
which they should vote,” he said. “Through the iVoteValues initiative,
the (commission) seeks to advance the democratic process generally by encouraging
all people to be good citizens by registering, inquiring, learning, and voting.
… The (commission) works closely with legal counsel to assure compliance with
regulations applicable to tax exempt organizations.” The iVoteValues.com
Web site states that its intent is to help “believers engage the culture
as salt and light by educating them on the importance
of connecting biblical values with healthy democracy.”
Stem-cell research
President George Bush is standing firm as pressure continues for him to permit
destructive research on human embryos, a spokesperson said recently. In the
wake of a letter signed by nearly half the members of the U.S. House of Representatives,
a majority of the Senate has signed on to a request asking Bush to revise his
order barring federal funds for embryonic stem cell research. Nevertheless,
a White House spokesman said the president has not changed his mind on the issue,
adding that Bush “continues to believe strongly that we should not cross
a fundamental moral line of funding or encouraging the destruction of human
embryos.” In August 2001, Bush issued an order barring federal grants for
stem cell research that results in the destruction of embryos. The procurement
of stem cells requires destruction of the days-old embryos. In his 2001 order,
Bush permitted funding for research on the colonies of existing stem cells.
However, it turned out there were only about 20 such colonies, far fewer than
expected. Since then, calls for a loosening of the presidential order have increased.
Stem cells are primitive cells from which cells and tissues in the human body
develop. Their discovery in 1998 has provided hope for treating a variety of
conditions, including Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers disease, heart
disease and diabetes.
Did you know?
In 2003, nearly 13,000 Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers responded
to 176 disasters and prepared more than 1.5 million meals. About 28,500 trained
volunteers are part of the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief network nationwide.