By Tom Strode, Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) -- Planned Parenthood's decision to forego federal reimbursements for fetal tissue donation serves as an admission of its guilt and should not halt the congressional effort to defund the organization, its critics say. The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) announced Tuesday (Oct. 13) that none of its centers will accept federal reimbursement in the future for expenses accrued in tissue donations from aborted babies for research. In a letter, PPFA President Cecile Richards said the action was taken to "completely debunk the disingenuous argument" used by opponents in the wake of undercover videos providing evidence the country's leading abortion provider trades in baby body parts. Richards' letter to Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, followed the release of 10 secretly recorded videos that show various Planned Parenthood officials in different locations discussing the sale of organs from aborted children. The videos recorded and released by the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) also display PPFA employees acknowledging their willingness to manipulate the abortion procedure to preserve body parts for sale and use. In addition, the videos … [Read more...]
Democratic debate: race, climate change prominent
By David Roach, Baptist Press LAS VEGAS (BP) - Race relations, marijuana legalization, climate change and gun control were among the moral issues highlighted Oct. 13 at a Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas involving five candidates. The issues of abortion and same-sex marriage came up only in passing and were mentioned only a few times during the two-hour debate. Perhaps the most extended reference to sanctity of life issues came when frontrunner Hillary Clinton alleged Republicans suspend their typical opposition to "big government" to regulate Planned Parenthood and limit access to abortions. "It's always the Republicans or their sympathizers who say, 'You can't have paid [maternity] leave. You can't provide health care,'" Clinton said. "They don't mind having big government to interfere with a woman's right to choose and to try to take down Planned Parenthood. They're fine with big government when it comes to that. I'm sick of it." Russell Moore, president of Southern Baptists' Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, responded on Twitter, "Secretary Clinton, it isn't 'big government' to stop the government from funding Planned Parenthood." Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chaffee … [Read more...]
‘A shocking form of evil’: Stabbing attacks sweep Israel
By Kelly Ledbetter, Christian Examiner JERUSALEM (Christian Examiner) – Rumors of a third intifada, or Palestinian uprising, are growing amid a rash of stabbing attacks by Palestinians that have occurred, centering on Jerusalem, throughout October. On Monday, a 13-year-old Jewish boy riding his bike in his neighborhood was stabbed multiple times by 13-year-old and a 17-year-old Palestinians, the Jerusalem Post reports. The younger Palestinian teen was subdued by a car driven by a passerby, while the older, who also stabbed a nearby 24-year-old Jewish man, was killed by police. "Police continue to step up security and will continue to prevent or neutralize terrorists who carry out attacks," said Jerusalem police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, who has tweeted updates about the incidents. Some violence is directed against police. On Monday, an attacker who allegedly pulled a knife on an officer near Lion's Gate in Jerusalem was shot and killed. To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]
Counseling homosexuals involves ‘speaking truth in love’
By Andrew JW Smith, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary communications LOUISVILLE, Ky. (SBTS) - Christian counselors should be able to speak lovingly and winsomely to people struggling with homosexual attraction, said evangelical leaders during a homosexuality conference at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The conference, titled "Homosexuality: Compassion, Care, and Counseling for Struggling People," was sponsored by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) on the seminary's campus in Louisville, Ky., Oct. 5-7. "The integrity of our message is at stake in this, brothers and sisters," said Heath Lambert, executive director of ACBC and associate professor of biblical counseling at Southern Seminary and Boyce College. "If we believe that the Bible teaches homosexuality to be a sin, and if we believe that Jesus Christ changes people, but we don't know how to help them, then ... we will make a mockery of the Word of God. If we don't know how to lay hold of the grace of Jesus, we will slander the Word of God and the grace of Jesus." Using Ephesians 4:15 as his text, Lambert said believers should pay close attention to the way Christ modeled "speaking the truth in love," because without Him they will … [Read more...]
Fate of abortion clinics awaits high court
By Tom Strode, Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) - The fate of multiple abortion clinics awaits the consideration of the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court will have the opportunity to decide this term, which opened Oct. 5, whether state governments may enact rules that result in shutting down most abortion clinics or even the only one remaining in the state. In addition to abortion, the justices also will consider such issues as the death penalty and affirmative action in their term, which will conclude early next summer. The Supreme Court has yet to decide whether it will review rulings by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on abortion regulations enacted by Mississippi and Texas, but the uncertainty is expected to end soon. The high court is likely to make a decision about whether to accept appeals of the lower-court decisions during its conference Nov. 6, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), told Baptist Press he is praying the justices will accept the cases and issue "a judgment consistent with life and human dignity." "The Supreme Court has an opportunity to defend the rights of millions … [Read more...]
Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief team leaves for South Carolina
By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer CHARLESTON, SC – A Louisiana Baptist mud out team is responding to a call for help in the wake of the recent flooding in South Carolina. The team of eight from Eastern Louisiana Baptist Association, Northshore Baptist Association and Two Rivers Baptist Association left Monday for Charleston. They are expected to remain there a week. Moisture from Hurricane Joaquin caused up to 20 inches of rainfall in parts of South Carolina from Oct. 3-5. The result was flooded homes, washed out roadways and damage to businesses. Louisiana Baptist state disaster relief director Gibbie McMillan is asking anyone available to sign up to serve on for additional teams that will be sent. “We are asking for other teams that would be able to go,” McMillan said. “The need is great and we are fully intending to do this through December.” Some monetary donations have been received to help offset the costs for disaster relief work there. But more than money, prayer is needed, McMillan said. “When you get a burden from praying, you will want to give,” McMillan said. “Thanks Louisiana Baptists for all you do to enable those who can go and serve. It is not overlooked.” To donate, go to … [Read more...]
Suicide law called unjust, grotesque
By Tom Strode, Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) - California's newly enacted assisted suicide law is an affront to human dignity and the practice of medicine, Southern Baptist ethicists say. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the End of Life Option Act into law Oct. 5, making California the fourth state with legalized, physician-assisted suicide. The measure enables a person who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness to request a prescribed drug to end his or her life. Southern Baptist ethics leader Russell Moore called Brown's enactment of the bill "a moral injustice." "The value of human life doesn't rise and fall depending on the quality of that life," said Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, in written comments for Baptist Press. "Legal assisted suicide is a blight upon any culture's conscience, and its emergence in California should ignite us to work for justice and human dignity everywhere." C. Ben Mitchell, another Southern Baptist ethicist, said assisted suicide "is grotesque, especially in the age of effective pain management and palliative care." "If the fears of patients are not adequately addressed, of course they are going to despair, but if pain is well-managed and their fears … [Read more...]
FIRST-PERSON: An embarrassing prayer
By Chuck Kelley, President, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary NEW ORLEANS (BP) - Let us be clear on this indisputable fact: The Lord is God. There is no glory greater than His glory. What He desires to do, He is able to do. We can look back in the story of our nation and see the Lord is able to pour out His Spirit with such power and effect that the whole nation is deeply stirred. We have names for such times: the Great Awakening, the Second Great Awakening and, more recently, the Jesus Movement. Not that long ago ... I was there in the Jesus Movement and saw my college campus profoundly changed. The playlist of the nation's pop radio stations included songs about Jesus at the top of the list, not the bottom. There were record-setting numbers of conversions in churches of all sorts. Jesus was Time Magazine's Man of the Year. The Gospels inspired two hit Broadway musicals that are still touring today. My wife and I saw one of them ("Jesus Christ Superstar") again just a few months ago. Profound changes in worship were set in motion and are still creating ripples in today's churches. The chaos and upheaval of the '60s ended with a mighty movement of God in the'70s, making Jesus an unavoidable part of the … [Read more...]
In Honduras, hunger offering aids Mayan corn farmers
By Ann Lovell, Baptist Global Response EDITOR'S NOTE: On Global Hunger Sunday, Oct. 11, Southern Baptist congregations addressed the hunger crisis across North America and around the world by receiving special offerings. Donations received are channeled through Global Hunger Relief, which uses 100 percent of each gift to meet hunger needs. LAS MEDIAS DOS, Honduras (BP) - Lucio, a 23-year-old Chorti farmer, emerges from the hedgerows with a machete in hand. He has been tending his small plot of land in preparation for the next sowing season for corn. In the past, soil erosion complicated his efforts and made his farm less productive. "I tilled the soil with a hoe, [and] the soil would roll downhill whenever it rained," Lucio said. "Now there's been an improvement with the barriers … because the soil that rolls stops at the barriers. In the past, people didn't think about this … but it is a big help for the land." The "barriers" are hedgerows of nitrogen-fixing legumes, a key component of a farming technique called SALT or Sloping Agricultural Land Technology. Lucio learned the technique while studying at the Chorti Agricultural Development Center in Cabañas, Honduras, a nonprofit center that receives … [Read more...]
NAMB trustees approve Send Relief, IMB aid
By Mike Ebert, North American Mission Board SALT LAKE CITY (BP) - Trustees of the North American Mission Board have approved the establishment of Send Relief - a new compassion ministry to offer Southern Baptists opportunities to meet physical needs and serve underprivileged communities. Also during their Oct. 7 meeting, NAMB's trustees approved a $4 million budget reduction so the entity can send funds to assist International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries. NAMB President Kevin Ezell, commenting on the Send Relief initiative, noted shortly after trustees closed their meeting in Salt Lake City, "Imagine 40,000 Southern Baptist churches engaged to meet needs in their communities and across North America. Send Relief will give churches hands-on opportunities to alleviate suffering and transform lives." Send Relief will launch in 2016 and include compassion ministries to combat hunger, poverty, serve children through foster care and adoption, combat human trafficking, minister to migrants through international learning centers and meet inner-city needs with construction and medical teams. NAMB trustees approved David Melber as vice president of Send Relief. Melber has led Crossings Ministries camp outreach in … [Read more...]
