Israel celebrates 60th year
Baptists' support predates 1948
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--In November 1977 a group of conservative Christian leaders signed a full-page advertisement in The New York Times expressing their concern over international negotiations surrounding the permanent boundaries of Israel and the apparent pro-Arab tilt of American foreign policy.
To the evangelical leaders, among them the famed pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas, W.A. Criswell, all of the land west of the Jordan was Israel's. The land was theirs by "divine right," not because they had seized it in the Six Day and Yom Kippur wars. God had promised the land to the people of Israel.
The statement was not Criswell's first in support for Israel, and it would not be his last. In 1988, he was honored by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin for his steadfast support of the Jewish people.
Almost immediately after the publication of the advertisement in 1977, Criswell and other evangelical leaders were rebuked by the senior contributing editor to Christian Century, the liberal mainline Protestant journal that had opposed the rise of fundamentalism in the 1920s and evangelicalism in the 1950s. While the journal claimed the evangelicals' advertisement was a welcome addition to political dialogue among Christians, as many had been silent during the Vietnam War, it was still described as a misguided attempt to legitimize Israel. Read More
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Calif. high court legalizes 'gay marriage'
SAN FRANCISCO (BP)--The California Supreme Court today issued a landmark decision, ordering the state to legalize “gay marriage” and making it the second state in the nation to recognize “marriages” between homosexual couples. The decision sets up a dramatic political and cultural battle in November, when a constitutional marriage amendment that would protect the natural definition of marriage – and reverse the court’s ruling – is expected to be on the ballot.
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Myanmar: Water purification leads effort
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A team of Southern Baptists is on the ground in Bangkok, Thailand, to help national believers from Myanmar deal with the mounting crisis in their country after a May 3 cyclone left 62,000 people dead or missing and drove perhaps 1 million people from their homes.
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Colo. personhood amend. takes aim at Roe
DENVER (BP)--Colorado, the first state that decriminalized abortion, could strike at the heart of Roe v. Wade this fall if voters adopt a proposed constitutional amendment that gives protections to people from the moment of conception.
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Clinton wins among all categories in W.Va.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (BP)--Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama handily among the party's weekly churchgoers in West Virginia May 13 according to exit polls, but also won in most other categories -- including among non-churchgoers -- as she enjoyed a blowout victory in the state.
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FIRST-PERSON: Running where He walked
Centennial commencement adds 239 grads
SWBTS grads recount lessons learned
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David Francis
What teachers need and want
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Every Sunday School leader and worker can do a better job. Even though most of them would acknowledge that in reality, it is still difficult to get Sunday School teachers to attend training.
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