NASHVILLE (BP) -- Marijuana legalization advocates continue to gain ground as nearly half of all states have decriminalized marijuana possession at least for medical purposes and a majority of Americans reportedly have told pollsters marijuana should be legal. Despite such momentum, ethicists, federal agencies and even some mainstream media outlets are warning of serious consequences of further legalization of the mind-altering drug. Barrett Duke, a Southern Baptist public policy specialist, said it is troubling to see so many states weakening their laws on marijuana use because they are "embracing a drug that has already revealed its destructive character." "Marijuana is not a harmless drug. It is an addictive substance that interferes with relationships, health and productivity," Duke, vice president for public policy and research with the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, told Baptist Press. Marijuana also is a poor pain reliever, Duke said. "Many people are going to be deeply disappointed when they discover that their use of marijuana has increased the number of problems they are dealing with while doing practically nothing to alleviate their suffering," Duke said. "Years of controlled study are still … [Read more...]

ROWAN COUNTY, Ky. (BP) -- A county clerk in Kentucky defied a federal judge's order to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples Thursday (Aug. 13), turning away two men who arrived at her office as soon as it opened. Kim Davis argues her Christian beliefs prevent her from issuing a same-sex marriage license because signing the document is tantamount to approving the marriage. Thursday evening, U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning dismissed that argument. But Davis, represented by Liberty Counsel, is appealing to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Until it can hear her case, she has declined to issue marriage licenses to any couples, gay or straight. In his ruling, Bunning said Davis' actions likely violate the U.S. Constitution's prohibition of government-sponsored religion because she is promoting her convictions "at the expenses of others." "Davis remains free to practice her Apostolic Christian beliefs," Bunning wrote. "She may continue to attend church twice a week, participate in Bible study and minister to female inmates at the Rowan County Jail. She is even free to believe that marriage is a union between one man and one woman, as many Americans do. However, her religious convictions cannot excuse … [Read more...]

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (BP) -- Opponents of a proposed anti-discrimination ordinance in Fayetteville, Ark., heard Oregon bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein underscore the cause of religious liberty during an Aug. 11 rally at University Baptist Church. Leaders of Protect Fayetteville (www.protectfayetteville.com) who sponsored the rally say Ordinance 5781 would infringe on First Amendment religious freedoms. Proponents, meanwhile, say it would protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community from being denied service, housing or employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The proposed ordinance is slated for a vote Sept. 8 in the city of 80,000 people where the University of Arkansas is located. The Kleins, owners of the Oregon bakery Sweet Cakes who face a $135,000 fine for discrimination after refusing to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding, addressed the rally's 200-plus attendees. The proposed ordinance "leaves the door wide open to force people to adhere to something they don't want to adhere to," Aaron Klein said in an interview with KNWA-TV. (For Baptist Press' latest report on the Kleins' case, clickhere.) Protect Fayetteville warns on one of its websites (www.repeal119.com): "Under this … [Read more...]

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The Internal Revenue Service will not revoke the tax-exempt status of religious organizations that object to same-sex marriage, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen has promised at least twice in recent weeks. But some tax code experts say the commissioner's commitments are not a guarantee of tax shelter for organizations with religious objections to the Supreme Court's nationwide legalization of homosexual marriage this summer. Michael Batts, a CPA who specializes in nonprofit organizations, told Baptist Press some types of tax exemptions could still be in jeopardy. "It is helpful to have correspondence from the sitting IRS commissioner that provides some minimal level of temporary assurance about the position of current IRS officials. But the commissioner's comments on federal tax-exempt status for religious organizations do not establish legal authority on the matter and they are not the end of the story," Batts, managing partner of a national CPA firm that exclusively serves nonprofits, said in written comments. "Leaders of religious organizations must also keep in mind that federal income tax exemption is only one front with respect to this issue," Batts noted. "State and local tax exemptions of … [Read more...]

ST. PAUL, Minn. (BP) -- A Minnesota study that found lesbian teens four times more likely to become pregnant than their heterosexual peers has been called a predictable reflection of the homosexual community's apparent emphasis on sexual activity. "Some people may be shocked by the high pregnancy rates among the lesbian and gay teens," Evan Lenow, assistant professor of ethics at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Baptist Press in written comments. "However, this confirms what studies have shown for years. Individuals who identify as lesbian and gay are much more likely to experiment with sex and have many more sexual partners than their heterosexual counterparts. Some of these teens who identify as lesbian and gay may be simply experimenting with all types of sexual partnerships and thinking less about the ramifications of such experimentation." According to the 2015 Minnesota Adolescent Sexual Health Report, gay males and those questioning their sexual orientation are four times more likely than their heterosexual peers to report getting someone pregnant. Bisexual girls are more than five times more likely to get pregnant than heterosexual girls. The survey of nearly 78,000 9th and 11th graders found that 2 … [Read more...]

OXFORD, Miss. (BP) -- When University of Mississippi defensive end John Youngblood takes a break during the team's practices, he isn't likely to take a drink of cold, clean water for granted. And in the locker room, Youngblood, an Ole Miss junior, and teammate Christian Russell, a senior linebacker, likely will have greater appreciation for a refreshing shower. The players' gratitude for fresh, convenient water -- and other common necessities -- stems from a mission trip to Haiti last spring with 11 teammates among the volunteers to help provide safe water for a village of 7,000 people. "A lot of guys had no idea the struggles of other cultures and the poverty -- how bad things are there," said Youngblood, who visited the village, Camp Marie, during a similar spring break trip in 2014. "We're kind of spoiled," Russell said. "We tend to complain" when, in reality, "we're really blessed." The people of Camp Marie spend their days "trying to find clean water" amid concerns about "where the next meal is coming from," Russell said. But now, one thing Camp Marie residents no longer will deal with is finding safe, clean water. Until recently, residents were drinking untreated water from a spring. But that changed in late … [Read more...]

NASHVILLE (BP) -- The role of the Cooperative Program in Southern Baptist life took center stage at the 2015 Send North America Conference during a main session panel discussion led by Kevin Ezell. Ezell, president of the North America Mission Board, was joined on the platform by Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary President Daniel Akin, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. and Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore. "Each one of these men would tell you -- we cannot do what we do, and David [Platt] and the IMB [International Mission Board] cannot do what they do, if it were not for the sacrificial gifts of people in churches who give faithfully every Sunday," said Ezell, who added he is equally appreciative of "churches who make a commitment to ... the Cooperative Program. As they give [through] that, part of that goes to support the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board, the ERLC and all the seminaries." Ezell asked the panelists to share what it means to them to be part of the Southern Baptist family. Akin said during the Aug. 4 panel in Nashville, "Southern Baptists ... have a passion to see the Gospel go to … [Read more...]

LOS ANGELES (BP) -- Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd told a national television audience he is hopeful for America because he sees Christians beginning to pray desperately for a mighty work of God. "While so many are down on our country ... I do my very best to try to constantly call out to God about our nation," Floyd, senior pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas, said on TBN's "Praise the Lord" Aug. 12. "We may give up on our country along the way, but God does not give up on anyone. God can step in anywhere, anytime with anyone and do anything He so chooses." That's why Floyd is "not counting on politicians in Washington to control the ultimate destiny of our nation" but is advocating prayer as a catalyst for "the next great move of God." The two-hour program on which Floyd was a guest focused on the movie "War Room," which is due in theaters Aug. 28 and tells the story of a woman who learns how prayer can help save her struggling marriage. Other guests on the program included filmmakers Alex and Stephen Kendrick, who co-wrote "War Room," as well as the film's lead actress, Priscilla Shirer, a Christian author and Bible teacher. Host Kirk Cameron interviewed guests about the role of prayer in a … [Read more...]

WASHINGTON (BP) -- Two Southern Baptist entities have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower-court decision in order to protect the religious freedom of two Baptist universities and a Presbyterian seminary. The International Mission Board and Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission filed a friend-of-the-court brief Aug. 10 that calls for the high court to grant the appeal of a ruling that upheld enforcement of the abortion/contraception mandate on the Christian schools. In the case, Houston Baptist University, East Texas Baptist University and Westminster Theological Seminary have petitioned the justices regarding a June opinion by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The case is one of more than 50 involving religious non-profit organizations that object to a controversial rule helping implement the 2010 health-care law. The regulation requires employers to provide for their workers not only contraceptives but drugs and devices that can potentially cause abortions. The Department of Health and Human Services provided an exemption to the rule for churches and their auxiliaries, but the accommodation it offered for other religious institutions failed to satisfy the conscience objections of many of … [Read more...]