FIRST-PERSON: A nativity a day
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INDIANAPOLIS (BP)--Looking for a way to keep Christ in your Christmas celebration this season? Try this Christian version of The Twelve Days of Christmas.1) Purchase a nativity scene with 12 separate pieces. It can be...
Utah-Idaho Baptists increase CP 3.5%
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MERIDIAN, Idaho (BP)--Messengers to the 45th annual meeting of the Utah-Idaho Southern Baptist Convention voted to increase the percentage of Cooperative Program receipts they forward for national and international...
N.Y. convention marks 40th year
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JOHNSON CITY, N.Y. (BP)--The 40th annual meeting of the Baptist Convention of New York was held in conjunction with the Davis College Leadership Forum and homecoming on the campus of the Baptist-affiliated school in...
RESOURCE: Parents of preschoolers get their own Sunday School class
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BATON ROUGE, La. (BP)--One person saw the need and another person saw the opportunity, but it was the Sunday School teacher equipped with the right curriculum who brought the vision into focus.Deleece Nichols, daycare...
IMB launches CommissionStories magazine
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RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--A new publication, CommissionStories, will be released this month by the International Mission Board.The quarterly IMB publication will focus on today's issues facing international missions,...
Son's health needs spark medical ministry
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HOUSTON (BP)--Medical student John Robert Kamguru Githinji grew up in Kenya where poverty and conflict stirred his parents to consider where to send him for a better life.They decided on a one-way ticket from Nairobi to...
Denominations' support of abortion in health care 'tragic'
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WASHINGTON (BP)--While evangelical and Catholic leaders have been working tirelessly in recent weeks to make sure any health care bill does not include federal funding of abortions, leaders of the nation's mainline...
Catholic sisters challenge Vatican investigation
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Leaders of a significant number of the nation's Roman Catholic sisters are challenging aspects of a Vatican investigation of their communities, declining to answer questions they say are ambiguous, inappropriate and out...
FIRST-PERSON: It's not all about love
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EDITOR'S NOTE: The following column addresses issues of homosexuality and is written to inform adults. It contains descriptions of the Folsom Street Fair, an annual sexually charged, perverse event in San Francisco with...
FIRST-PERSON: Bad news & eternity
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RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--We have always thought of the Gospel as good news. In fact, the Greek word evangelion, which is translated "Gospel," literally means "good news." And certainly the fact that Jesus Christ died and...
Baptist state conventions remain pro-family, evangelistic
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Pro-family issues remain the most often cited concern in resolutions adopted at the 41 state Baptist convention meetings. Prayer for the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force and concern for...
23 Baptist state conventions cut budgets; 12 raise Cooperative Program gifts
3:15
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Over half of the state Baptist conventions have decreased their budgets for the coming year, according to reports from their annual meetings. And yet, six of the 23 conventions making cuts are...
CULTURE DIGEST: Creation Museum focuses on Christmas; DVD player edits bad content
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The Creation Museum, a ministry of Answers in Genesis, is offering a special planetarium presentation called "The Christmas Star," which addresses the "remarkable astronomic event that occurred at...
'Gay marriage,' legal in N.J. by Christmas?
3:15
TRENTON, N.J. (BP)--Just days after suffering another setback in the liberal Northeast, "gay marriage" supporters could get back on track in New Jersey Monday when a bill that could become law by Christmas will be...
Amends. could mandate abortion coverage
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WASHINGTON (BP)--U.S. Senate votes on two health-care reform amendments Dec. 3 could result in private insurance plans being required to provide abortion coverage.Senators approved, in a 61-39 roll call vote, an...
Global warming alarmism 'fails the tests,' scholars say
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WASHINGTON (BP)--A group of evangelical Christian scholars has issued a challenge to "global warming alarmism," releasing a call to "truth, prudence and protection of the poor" as governments consider policies to combat...
Climategate reveals 'undercurrent of elitism'
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Some of the e-mails within the controversy known as Climategate reveal an "undercurrent of elitism" that many skeptics of manmade global warming have claimed existed among the leading voices on...
FIRST-PERSON: A (bad) marriage made in D.C.
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WASHINGTON (BP)--More than 400,000 residents of the nation's capital are eligible to exercise their right to vote -- but not on marriage. On that issue of far-reaching consequences, District of Columbia voters have been...
Minn.-Wis. Baptists cut 2 staff positions
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WAUWATOSA, Wis. (BP)--Messengers to the annual meeting of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention approved the elimination of two of 10 staff positions in the midst of continuing financial challenges.Meeting Oct....
Ohio Baptists plant 29 churches
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MANSFIELD, Ohio (BP)--With the theme "That All May Hear," messengers to the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio convened for the 56th annual meeting at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center in Mansfield Nov. 4-5.Messengers...
Anne Graham Lotz downplays religion
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--In the aftermath of 9/11, religions in America took a front page position, and Anne Graham Lotz felt burdened to convey the message that the one true God is not interested in religion."We've...
New Bible captures Adrian Rogers' legacy
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (BP)--Adrian Rogers' legacy of real-world, lived-out faith in Jesus Christ will be preserved for many generations that never had the opportunity to sit under his teaching, the CEO of Love Worth Finding...
Abortion group drops suit against ex-worker
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BRYAN, Texas (BP)--Planned Parenthood has dropped a lawsuit against a former clinic director who quit her job after viewing an abortion by means of an ultrasound machine.Abby Johnson, 29, turned in her resignation Oct....
Sluggish world economy affecting missions
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RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--Jodi Nichols cries when she talks about it. Her husband Kevin says he would rather be hit with a baseball bat.The couple from Wheeler, Miss., committed their lives to missions nearly two years ago....
NIH approves first embryonic stem cells for research
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!P>WASHINGTON (BP)--The Obama administration took a barrier-breaking step into embryo-destructive research Wednesday when it announced the approval of the first human embryonic stem cell lines for use in federally...
Blessed are the conservative in Bible translation
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The Gospel of Luke records that, as he was dying on the cross, Jesus showed his boundless mercy by praying for his killers this way: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Not so fast, say contributors...
A comparison of Bible verse interpretations
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Contributors to the Conservative Bible Project argue that contemporary translations like the English Standard Version are slanted by liberal political bias. They're working off the King James Version to produce a new...
N.Y. Senate debates religion, defeats 'gay marriage' bill
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ALBANY, N.Y. (BP)--In a lengthy debate Wednesday that often focused more on theology than politics, the New York Senate defeated a "gay marriage" bill 38-24, handing homosexual activists another stinging defeat in the...
FIRST-PERSON: Think you've got troubles?
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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (BP)--Each of us seeks the cottage with the white picket fence, that restful abode by the shore where love is present and strife is beyond the sea. Perhaps that's why we love movies; they keep alive...
New England Baptists highlight missions
5:30
PORTLAND, Maine (BP)--The Baptist Convention of New England, at its 27th annual meeting at the Clarion Hotel in Portland, Maine, focused on the theme "Who Lives in Your Judea?" based on Acts 1:8. A total of 141...
Mich. Baptists' exec to retire
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BURTON, Michigan (BP)--Messengers to the 52nd annual meeting of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan received news that their executive director, Michael Collins, will retire at the end of 2010 after 16 years of...
Md./Del. Baptists focus on connecting
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TOWSON, Md. (BP)--The 174th annual meeting of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware convened with 343 messengers and 70 guests at the Sheraton Baltimore North Hotel in Towson, Md., Nov. 9-10.With a theme of...
Hawaii Baptists elect layman president, honor outgoing SBC leaders
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HONOLULU, Hawaii (BP)--Hawaii Pacific Baptists convened for their 67th annual meeting with the theme "Yet ... There is Hope," based on Psalm 71:14-16, at Olivet Baptist Church in Honolulu Nov.5-6.In an uncontested...
Ariz. Baptists emphasize evangelism
5:30
TUCSON, Ariz. (BP)--In the second year with a one-day revamped annual meeting schedule, Arizona Southern Baptist Convention messengers conducted business in less than an hour and focused on evangelism and missions...
10 Chinese house church leaders sentenced to prison & labor camps
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WASHINGTON (BP)--Ten leaders of a Chinese house church have received years-long criminal detention and "re-education" labor camp sentences for their attempts to protest an attack against their facilities in...
Land hopeful more troops can make impact
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WASHINGTON (BP)--Southern Baptist ethicist Richard Land expressed both anxiety and hope regarding President Obama's Dec. 1 announcement of the additional troops he is committing to a counterinsurgency in...
N.Y. Senate debates religion, defeats 'gay marriage'
5:30
ALBANY, N.Y. (BP)--In a lengthy debate Wednesday that often focused more on theology than politics, the New York Senate defeated a "gay marriage" bill 38-24, handing homosexual activists another stinging defeat in the...
Rare exhibition brings together Spanish sacred art
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El Greco's vision of the veil of Veronica hangs near a golden crown with 447 emeralds. Just a few steps away, a recumbent sculpture of the crucified Jesus Christ rests before its return to a Spanish hermitage in time...
Religion News in Brief
11:05
A court in northern China has sentenced five leaders of an unauthorized Protestant church to prison terms of up to seven years on charges including illegal assembly, rights groups reported. The sentences are among the...
GCR Task Force making 'enormous progress,' chairman Floyd says
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ATLANTA (BP)--The Great Commission Resurgence Task Force made excellent progress in its Nov. 30-Dec. 1 meeting in Atlanta and plans to present a substantial report during the February meeting of the Southern Baptist...
FIRST-PERSON: Islam -- out of sight, out of mind?
4:45
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Voting by an unexpectedly large margin, the Swiss overwhelmingly have adopted a national ban on the construction of minarets. Sunday's vote represents a clear victory for the Swiss right and serves...
CP giving 0.18% ahead of '08 pace
4:45
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Year-to-date contributions through the Southern Baptist Convention's Cooperative Program are 0.18 percent ahead of the same time frame in 2008, according to a news release from SBC Executive...
Young pastors lead churches to support Cooperative Program
4:45
TUPELO, Miss. (BP)--Pastors of churches started in the mid-1800s, mid-1900s and the middle of this decade share more than their under-40 age in common: They're all advocates for the Cooperative Program (CP).CLAY...
Church's compassion transcends AIDS/HIV
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EDITOR'S NOTE: World AIDS Day is Dec. 1.FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--It could have been just another evening meal at Samaritan House. Another church group dishing up the usual potluck fare in the cafeteria. They haul the...
D.C. council votes for 'gay marriage'
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!P>WASHINGTON (BP)--The District of Columbia Council voted 11-2 to legalize "same-sex marriage" Dec. 1, putting the capital in position to become the sixth U.S. jurisdiction to approve such unions.The action is the...
AIDS: Global overview By Jace A. Williams
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EDITOR'S NOTE: World AIDS Day is Dec. 1.NEW YORK (BP)--AIDS is a worldwide pandemic. The United Nations estimates 33 million people were living with HIV in 2007, the most recent year statistics were released.Two million...
AIDS: Just another way to die
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EDITOR'S NOTE: In recognition of World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, Baptist Press is publishing the following three articles -- one from Lesotho, Africa; a global AIDS/HIV overview; and a story from Fort Worth, Texas. To view a...
FIRST-PERSON: Your faith, on trial
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EL CAJON, Calif. (BP)--Many Christians around the world are on trial for their faith. The persecution of Christians in Islamic, communist and totalitarian lands is increasing at a frightening rate.Eritrea is a good...
Man conscious during 23-year 'coma'
4:45
WASHINGTON (BP)--The case of a Belgian man diagnosed as comatose for 23 years but conscious the entire time illustrates the need to treat such patients with dignity, a pro-life bioethics specialist says.A recently...
Ala. churches bring 'Sperry' movie to town
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (BP)--After seeing a screening of "The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry" at a North Carolina conference, worship pastor Andy Hadley knew the movie was something the members of his church -- Cropwell Baptist...