By staff reports *DISCLAIMER* As of right now, the Boy Scouts of America executive committee has yet to reach an agreement on the allowing of homosexual male adults as leaders within the BSA. DALLAS -The Boy Scouts of America is expected to end its ban on gay adult leaders on Monday, dismantling a policy that has deeply divided the membership of the 105-year-old Texas-based organization. The Boy Scouts National Executive Board will consider a resolution that was unanimously approved by the organization’s executive committee on July 13. The organization is urging an end to the ban because of "sea change in the law with respect to gay rights." The decision would follow the landmark ruling in late June by the U.S. Supreme Court allowing same-sex marriages nationwide. In May, the Boy Scouts' president, former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, called the ban "unsustainable" and said it needed to change. The Boy Scouts of America is expected to end its ban on gay adult leaders on Monday, dismantling a policy that has deeply divided the membership of the 105-year-old Texas-based organization. The Boy Scouts National Executive Board will consider a resolution that was unanimously approved by the organization’s … [Read more...]
Planned Parenthood, in new video, prices baby parts
By David Roach, Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) – A second undercover video released July 21 by the Center for Medical Progress appears to show a Planned Parenthood doctor negotiating the price of baby parts obtained through abortion and discussing the possibility of varying abortion procedures to harvest intact organs. At one point in the video, a woman identified as Mary Gatter, former president of the Planned Parenthood Medical Directors’ Council, speaks of using “a less crunchy technique” of aborting babies to preserve “more whole specimens.” She also jokes, “I want a Lamborghini,” when negotiating the price of baby parts, though she also says, “We’re not in it for the money” and “we don’t want to be in a position of being accused of selling tissue.” Gatter appears to settle on a price of $100 per “specimen” but says she wants to investigate what other abortion providers are receiving. The video includes text stating it was shot Feb. 6 by investigators posing as a fetal tissue procurement company. David Daleiden, senior investigator for the Center for Medical Progress, told LifeSiteNews CMP’s latest video suggests Planned Parenthood violated federal laws that prohibit profiting from the sale of human remains and altering … [Read more...]
LGBT ordinance again before Fayetteville
By Caleb Yarbrough, Arkansas Baptist News FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (BP) -- Residents in Fayetteville, Ark., will once again vote on an ordinance aimed at protecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community Sept. 8. Passed by the Fayetteville City Council in a 6-2 vote June 16, Ordinance 5781 is a revised version of a similar civil rights law originally passed in August 2014 by the council. The law was repealed by a popular vote in December. According to media reports, the new ordinance would "prohibit business owners and landlords from firing or evicting someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It will also provide protections for use of public accommodations, including restrooms." Ron Lomax, director of missions for Washington Madison Baptist Association in Fayetteville, said churches associated with his association oppose the new ordinance, as they did the old ordinance. "It's not much different than the first one. It's worded a little bit different, but the intent is the same," he said. "We'll be encouraging our people to vote it down again." Lomax added that while the ordinance exempts churches and religious organizations, it does not address Christians who live and work outside … [Read more...]
Gay marriage: mainline denominations affirm SCOTUS
By David Roach, Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) -- At least three mainline Protestant denominations have celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court's nationwide legalization of gay marriage, and others say they are divided on the issue. With a new Associated Press poll suggesting decreased support for same-sex marriage among Americans generally, a watchdog group that monitors mainline bodies said gay-affirming denominations are more progressive regarding marriage than the culture. "By and large, [mainline denominations] have been more liberal than the culture in compromising their sexual standards before the country itself compromised its laws on marriage," said Mark Tooley, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy. Average church members in mainline denominations, Tooley told Baptist Press, are "close to where the nation is as a whole" on gay marriage, but the "governing bodies" of those denominations are "certainly much more liberal than the country is." The AP poll, conducted in conjunction with the German market research organization GfK, found 42 percent of Americans favor legalized same-sex marriage, down from 48 percent in April. The 1,004 adults polled were almost evenly split on whether local government … [Read more...]
Planned Parenthood and allies claim abortion provider was unfairly attacked
By Gregory Tomlin, Christian Examiner NEW YORK – Caught red handed by an undercover video exposing its practice of exchanging the body parts of aborted fetuses for financial "reimbursements," the national leadership of Planned Parenthood is digging in its heels, insisting its practices are legal and it – the nation's largest abortion provider – has been defamed. Shortly after the video surfaced showing Dr. Deborah Nucatola, head of the organization's medical services department, discussing over a salad and glass of wine how she kills infants in a way that preserves their vital organs for medical research, Planned Parenthood's vice president of communications claimed the video was full of false and discredited accusations. "A well-funded group established for the purpose of damaging Planned Parenthood's mission and services has promoted a heavily-edited, secretly-recorded videotape that false portrays Planned Parenthood's participation in tissue donation programs that support lifesaving scientific research," Eric Ferrero said in a statement. "These groups have been widely discredited and their claims fall apart on closer examination, just as they do in this case," Ferrero said. In the video, shot by the Center for … [Read more...]
Religious freedom ‘under attack,’ Judge Roy Moore warns as God’s ‘natural order’ overturned
By Michael Foust, Christian Examiner MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- America is undergoing a sexual revolution that is defying "God's natural order" and will leave young children confused about whether they should be a boy or a girl, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore warned members of a Baptist church in his state this week. Moore made the comments at Magnolia Springs Baptist Church in Theodore, Ala., a day after speaking to members of the Fresh Anointing House of Worship in Montgomery. Christians may be upset over the Supreme Court's controversial decision, but the primary "issue is not about same-sex marriage," he said, according to Al.com. "It's about a sexual revolution. It's about having people decide whether they are male or female," Moore said, speaking the same week that Bruce Jenner, now known as Caitlyn Jenner, received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the ESPY's. "You're talking about overturning God's natural order." Moore expressed concern over what happens "when you start teaching kids that they have the right to choose whether they are male or female." "They don't know much. [But] they may learn fast," Moore said. "And when they get in their mind they can be a man if they're a girl or a woman if they are a … [Read more...]
A ‘titanic’ shift in church culture & ‘mockery’ of Christian worldview led to confusion over homosexuality, Biblical apologist says
By Kimberly Pennington, Christian Examiner NORCROSS, Ga. -- Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias issued a call July 16 for Christians to apply the Gospel in three ways – what he calls "bridges" - to the current cultural divide on homosexuality. In his July 15 blog post, Zacharias, founder and president of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and teacher of Let My People Think radio broadcasts, explained how society's division on gay marriage began several decades ago. "As Christians, we often look outside of ourselves and wonder why the world is so different from us. We seldom pause and ask how the Church of today has become so different from what it was and so indifferent to the world around us," Zacharias wrote. "Liberalism is not just a political term. What has happened in our world was foreseen a few decades ago. Changes were underway then and we were taken by storm from within," he continued. "Culture at large moved unabashedly towards the mockery of the Christian worldview . . . But the Church is really where the titanic shifts in the culture started," he continued. "As the liberal church swung to the extreme of religion without absolutes, the evangelical church flirted with emotionalism without intellect, … [Read more...]
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals rules against GuideStone in HHS mandate litigation
By Roy Hayhurst, GuideStone Financial Resources DALLAS — The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled today that GuideStone Financial Resources and the ministries it serves in its health plans must comply with the government’s HHS mandate, which forces religious ministries to violate their faith or pay crippling IRS penalties. Churches and their integrated auxiliaries are exempt from the mandate as religious employers. GuideStone, its co-plaintiffs Reaching Souls International and Truett-McConnell College, and attorneys from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and Locke Lord LLP are studying the opinion to determine next steps, including possible appeals to the full Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals or to the U.S. Supreme Court. “We’re disappointed with today’s decision, which leaves in place the federal government’s aggressive, discriminatory, and unnecessary attack on the core religious beliefs of private religious ministries,” said Mark Rienzi, senior counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and lead attorney in the GuideStone litigation. “The government does not need to take over a church benefits plan to provide abortion-inducing drugs — the most powerful government in the world can obviously distribute … [Read more...]
Baptists not shocked by latest Scout vote
By Tom Strode, Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) - The Boy Scouts Executive Committee's approval of gay and bisexual adult leaders disappointed but did not shock Southern Baptist spokesmen -- and prompted one to predict an even greater exodus by Baptist churches from the organization. The Boy Scouts of America announced Monday (July 13) the unanimous vote by its Executive Committee to rescind the across-the-board ban on gay and bisexual employees and unit leaders. The resolution approved July 10 by the committee protects the rights of religious organizations, however, to bar gays from serving as adult leaders. If the BSA's National Executive Board of about 70 members ratifies the resolution July 27, the change will become effective immediately. The Executive Committee's vote followed by two years the Boy Scouts' approval of lifting its prohibition on gay scouts. Ronnie Floyd, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, described the latest decision as "a huge disappointment." "I am saddened that their decision will sacrifice the current and future influence of this organization," he told Baptist Press in written comments. Roger S. Oldham, the SBC Executive Committee's vice president for Convention … [Read more...]
Baylor: homosexuality no longer in conduct policy
By David Roach, Baptist Press WACO, Texas (BP) - Baylor University has deleted an affirmation of heterosexual marriage from its policy on sexual conduct as well as a specific prohibition of "homosexual acts." A university spokeswoman told Baptist Press the revised policy will be interpreted in a manner consistent with the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message, including the 1998 amendment defining marriage as "the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime." Baylor is the world's largest Baptist university and cooperates with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The BGCT elects 25 percent of the university's board of regents and planned to send Baylor $353,125 this year, according to the convention's 2015 Missions and Ministries Budget. "A review of the sexual conduct policy had been contemplated over the last couple of years," Lori Fogleman, Baylor assistant vice president for media communications, told BP in an email. "These changes were made because we didn't believe the language [of the previous policy] reflected Baylor's caring community. We are pleased with the recent changes to the policy language and that it states more plainly the expectations of the university." The new policy, … [Read more...]
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