
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-04/06/2005

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Jerusalem 'gay pride' festival sparks opposition from Christians, Jews & Muslims
by Staff
Date: April 06, 2005 - Wednesday

JERUSALEM (BP)--Leaders of three major world religions are uniting in Jerusalem against what one New York rabbi has called "a spiritual rape" of the Holy Land -- a homosexual pride festival expected to draw thousands of people from around the world in August.

Christians, Jews and Muslims are speaking out against the festival, which is set to include a parade, film festival, art exhibitions, conferences and parties. A dozen top religious leaders formed a rare alliance March 29 to draft a joint statement urging the Israeli government to stop the festival.

"We are shocked to have received notice that a worldwide assembly of ten days including an immodest parade devoid of minimal propriety is scheduled to be held in Jerusalem this summer, which will offend the very foundations of our religious values and the character of the Holy City," the leaders said, according to The Jerusalem Post. "Such an event would constitute a severe affront to the hearts and souls of adherents of all religions -- Jews, Christians and Moslems alike."

The alliance further called on the Israeli government "and all responsible officials and Israeli police to realize the full implications of their plans and to prohibit any march of this kind, and especially in the Holy City of Jerusalem."

The event is being organized by the International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Coordinators, which organized the first such event held in Rome in 2000.

Pope John Paul II responded at the time by appearing on a balcony over St. Peter's Square and delivering a message expressing his "bitterness" toward the festival and calling it an "offense to the Christian values of a city that is so dear to the hearts of Catholics across the world," according to The New York Times.

Israeli police, who are in charge of issuing permits for public events, have said they were considering asking organizers to postpone the festival because their forces will be overburdened with the concurrent withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, The Post said.

Homosexual activists, meanwhile, are voicing impatience with the religious leaders who are calling for a halt to the plans for Jerusalem WorldPride 2005.

"That is something new I've never witnessed before, such an attempt to globalize bigotry," Hagai El-Ad, executive director of Jerusalem Open House, said in The Times. "It's quite sad and ironic that these religious figures are coming together around such a negative message."

Organizers have said they chose Jerusalem as the site for this year's parade in order to promote tolerance in the conservative city that has been divided for years by violence related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Even so, Jerusalem's religious faithful contend the event would only serve to desecrate the city and provoke believers.

"The particular holiness of Jerusalem has requirements both for those who are believers and those who are not," Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah said in The Post.
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Marriage amendment passes easily in Kansas, 70-30 percent; pro-amendment church survives pre-election arson attempt
by Michael Foust
Date: April 06, 2005 - Wednesday

TOPEKA, Kan. (BP)--Demonstrating that the national movement to ban same-sex "marriage" shows no signs of slowing, Kansas voters April 5 passed a state constitutional marriage amendment by an overwhelming margin of 70-30 percent.

The amendment, which bans both "gay marriage" and Vermont-style civil unions, passed in all but one county.

"It's a great day in Kansas," Wichita pastor Terry Fox, an amendment supporter, told Baptist Press. "This has been a long, hard fight."

All total, 18 states now have adopted marriage amendments, and others are almost certain to join that list in the next two years. Incredibly, the 18 amendments have passed with an average of 70.3 percent of the vote. Only two of them -- Michigan (59) and Oregon (57) -- received less than 60 percent support. A marriage amendment has never failed at the ballot.

The Kansas vote comes five months after marriage amendments went 11-for-11 during November's election. Kansas would have been the 12th state to vote on an amendment Nov. 2 if not for the state legislature last May failing to send one to voters. Frustrated, Fox and other conservative leaders set out on a campaign to defeat politicians who had voted against it. In the end, their side won. With new faces in the legislature, the Kansas House and Senate passed the amendment earlier this year, placing it on the April ballot.

The 70-30 percent margin of victory, Fox said, should have national implications. A March poll had it winning with only 54 percent of the vote. Another poll had it winning at 62 percent.

"It shows that in the heartland there's passion for a federal amendment now," said Fox, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Wichita. "This wasn't on the coattails of something else, like electing a president."

Instead, the amendment was the lead item statewide. The rest of the ballot featured local races such as those for city council.

The amendment increased turnout significantly, with approximately 592,000 people voting on the amendment itself. By comparison, in April 1999 a constitutional amendment concerning property taxes attracted only 269,000 total votes.

"People who came to vote came for this very purpose," Fox said.

The vote capped a year-long pro-amendment campaign by Fox. During recent months he spoke at dozens of churches and conducted numerous media interviews. Consequently, his office received threats via e-mail and regular mail.

The Sunday before the election, someone even tried to set the church on fire. Church officials arrived Sunday morning to find the exterior stairs, walls and a few trees burned. Gasoline had been doused on all of them. The church had received e-mails threatening such action.

"It was a pretty extensive area burned, and it was obvious they were trying to burn the church building down," Fox said.

He is certain that someone who opposed the amendment was behind the crime.

"I don't think there's any questioning that," he said. "... Here it was Sunday morning, and the vote was Tuesday. Of course, we've had bodily threats by e-mail." 

The local newspaper, The Wichita Eagle, editorialized heavily against the amendment.

"There were so many obstructionists in the way," Fox said.

But the amendment brought together Protestant churches of all denominations, Fox said. Some 1,200 churches came together to support the amendment, and they plan on working in the future on other cultural issues, he said.

On the flip side, 125 religious leaders signed a document opposing the amendment. Among them was Tarris Rosell, associate professor of pastoral care at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Kan. The seminary is affiliated with both the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the American Baptist Churches U.S.A.

"&#91;The amendment&#93; divided the liberal churches versus the conservative churches," Fox said. "... It has really created some wonderful dialogue on the difference between a liberal church and a conservative church."

The amendment also highlighted a divide between the academic community and the rest of the country. While it received 70 percent of the vote statewide, it lost in Douglas County -- home to the University of Kansas. There it received only 37 percent of the vote.

Conservatives and traditionalists say the amendments are needed to prevent a state court from legalizing same-sex "marriage." Massachusetts' high court, not restrained by an amendment, did just that. The amendments, though, have one weakness -- they can be overturned in federal court.

Fox says an amendment to the U.S. Constitution is the only permanent solution.

"We need it because we don't trust the federal courts," he said. "I'm absolutely convinced that if we don't get a federal ban, then all of our hard work here will be done away with from a federal judge."

Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage, also said an amendment to the U.S. Constitution is still needed. AFM authored the amendment that was debated in Congress last year.

"Tuesday's vote in Kansas is another step down a historic road of taking the future of marriage under our laws to the American people. It is a prelude to the real battle," Daniels said in a statement.

The movement to ban same-sex "marriage" stretches back to the 1990s when the Hawaii Supreme Court appeared to be on the verge of legalizing same-sex "marriage." Voters subsequently passed an amendment giving the legislature the authority to ban "gay marriage," which it did. Of the 18 states with marriage amendments, Hawaii's is the only one that does not explicitly ban same-sex "marriage" within the text itself.
--30--
For more information about the national debate over same-sex "marriage," visit <a href="http://www.bpnews.net/samesexmarriage">http://www.bpnews.net/samesexmarriage</a>

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Schiavo service participants asked to 'build a culture of life'
by Joni B. Hannigan
Date: April 06, 2005 - Wednesday

GULFPORT, Fla. (BP)--Though the simple human story encompasses birth, life and death, it is the Christian belief of the resurrection which declares “death does not have the last word” that comforted family members and friends of Terri Schiavo, a woman whose life tragically ended March 31. 

Celebrating a funeral Mass for Schiavo, more than 800 were uninhibited in their support of Terri’s family April 5 at the Most Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Gulfport, Fla., where Bob and Mary Schindler, Terri’s parents, and her siblings, Bobby Jr. and Suzanne Vitadamo quietly occupied the front row of the church. 

An emotionally charged service paid homage to Terri’s life on earth while also lamenting the manner in which the 41-year-old disabled woman -- whose court-ordered death captivated the world for 13 days -- was starved and dehydrated.

“We believe the grief we have will be transformed into joy,” Frank Pavone, the director of Priests for Life, told the audience in his message. “When we live, we belong to the Lord; when we die, we belong to the Lord.”

Suzanne Vitadamo said she has spent “almost every waking minute” in the past few weeks thinking about Terri and the impact she made on her family and the millions who were sensitive to her plight. Expressing love to her parents and to her brother, Bobby, Suzanne said she has been “inspired” by their steadfastness.

“Dad, I could only love you more and more each day,” Suzanne told her father. “You have shown the world” how to be a parent.

To Mary Schindler, Suzanne said: “You are an amazing mom.”

Wistfully, Vitadamo spoke to the big sister who had been incapacitated for most of her adult life.

"I am sorry, though, that pure love alone was not enough to keep you from harm," Suzanne said. “You didn’t want to give up, but God called you home and He loves you more than we could.”

She added: “Your smile brought us great joy. You have shown the world what perseverance and determination are all about.

"I miss you," Suzanne said. "We will forever be grateful to you."

Bobby Schindler Jr. paused tearfully to gather his emotions before speaking near the end of the two-hour service, holding up a Purple Heart medal he said the family received in the mail for Terri a few days earlier from a Vietnam veteran.

Bobby said the soldier, who said he had been shot in the head, compared Terri to those killed Sept. 11, 2001 -- saying she, too, was a “victim of national terrorism.”

“We believe God is testing the U.S.A. and its people,” Bobby quoted the letter’s author, who also said his heart was “shattered” by the manner in which Terri died.

The Schindler family, along with Suzanne’s husband, Michael Vitadamo, and her 11-year-old daughter, Alex, left the sanctuary briefly before communion was administered, to return in a procession down the center aisle, carrying the elements of the sacrament to the altar in a traditional service blended with the more contemporary sound of the guitar and violin.

Easter lilies adorned the foot of the altar and a photo of Terri from the 1980s was placed near a small table at the front on which stood a photo and gold bust of Pope John Paul II, a bouquet of flowers and a reflective candle.

Participants were given a purple prayer card featuring Terri’s photo and her family’s mantra, “Where there is Life, there is Hope,” and her birth date, Dec. 3, 1963.

Wooden pews with padded kneeling benches accommodated family and friends -- and many of those who kept vigil outside the Woodside Hospice in recent weeks. The overflow extended into the church’s vestibule and beyond the softly lit structure where a large group of television and print photographers -- who were not allowed inside the church -- craned to catch a glimpse of the service through open doors.

Pavone, who was with Terri and her siblings just hours before she died, stirred the crowd to cheers and a standing ovation when he reminded celebrants, “death does not have the last word” and that Terri’s death will not be forgotten.

“God calls us to go forward from this place and build a culture of life,” Pavone said, urging people to work together “so that what happened in this tragic place will never happen again.”

Terri Schiavo collapsed in her home in 1990 and was severely brain damaged. Her husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo -– who has fathered two children with his live-in girlfriend –- told the court about seven years after her collapse, and after he received a medical malpractice settlement, that Terri had said she would not want to live in what some doctors have termed a persistent vegetative state. 

No written directive existed, but a judge ruled in 2000 there was sufficient evidence to discontinue Terri’s nutrition and hydration through a feeding tube. Since that time, Terri’s feeding tube had been removed and reinserted twice. It was removed for the last time March 18 per order of Florida Judge George Greer and never reinserted, despite numerous legal and political maneuvers involving the Florida legislature, the Congress, various state and federal appeals courts, the U.S. Supreme Court, President Bush and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Terri died 13 days later.

Terri’s parents said she did not receive the care and rehabilitation she required and that Michael Schiavo should have been relieved as her guardian, citing a number of potential conflicts dealing with her diagnosis and care, her religious beliefs and Michael Schiavo’s adulterous affair. 

Pavone said Terri’s death was a result of "a clash of worldviews" between "those who say suffering is meaningless" and those "who do not watch human suffering from a distance, but, instead, jump into it."

Referring to the failed efforts to save Terri through the country’s legal system, Pavone said the highest leader of the Catholic Church, the Pope, had previously made it clear “that any human decree ... or law that violates fundamental human rights is no law at all."

Eight priests and three deacons participated in the service, led by Thaddeus Malanowski, a retired Army chaplain and priest who visited Terri every week for five years before her death and also administered last rites to her.

"Terri Schindler showed us how to live. She showed us the gift of life and how we should share it," Malanowski said.

Joining other mourners were two Florida lawmakers and Florida Baptist laymen -- state Sen. Daniel Webster and state Rep. Dennis Baxley -- who have worked the past several years in initiating legislation aimed at saving Terri’s life.

Webster, a member of First Baptist Church of Central Florida in Orlando, told the Florida Baptist Witness he was saddened by Terri’s death and cried upon hearing the news while the Florida legislature was in session. At the service, he said he was comforted by the tremendous show of support for the Schindlers. Terri’s “memory lives on," he said.

“There’s hope in life and hope in death,” Webster said. “This has definitely grown to be a cause people will rally around. I don’t think anybody wants it to happen again.”

Comforting Bobby Schindler with a hug, Baxley, a member of First Baptist Church in Ocala, told the Witness he knows the members of the Florida House overcame many obstacles to put forward a bill that the Florida Senate did not end up passing. The fight’s not over yet, he said.

“In many ways, it’s an end, and in many more ways it’s a beginning,” Baxley said of the interest in end-of-life decisions prompted by Schiavo’s life and death. “The conscience of a nation has been touched and a new respect for life has been born.”

The question is whether the “culture of life” or the “culture of death” will prevail, Baxley said. He believes it will be the “culture of life.”
--30--
Joni B. Hannigan is managing editor of the Florida Baptist Witness, online at www.FloridaBaptistWitness.com.


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CULTURE DIGEST: Israel may change conversion laws; online gambling shows momentum, now multi-billion industry
by Erin Curry
Date: April 06, 2005 - Wednesday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The Israeli Supreme Court decided March 30 to begin requiring certain types of non-Orthodox conversions to Judaism be recognized by the state.

The court’s 7-4 ruling could trigger a significant religious controversy, since Israel historically has recognized only conversions performed by Orthodox rabbis inside Israel. “It would split the nation in two,” Israel’s chief rabbi for Ashkenazic Jews, Yona Metzger, was quoted by The New York Times as saying.

Under the new ruling, foreign workers and tourists in Israel could receive religious training there and then go abroad for conversion. They could then become Israeli citizens under the Law of Return, which grants citizenship to anyone who is Jewish, The Times reported.

Such a development could mark the lessening of authority long held by Orthodox Jews in the nation of Israel. They contend that their control over the conversion process inside Israel ensures particular standards that cannot be monitored properly elsewhere.

A proponent of the change, meanwhile, Anat Hoffman, executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center, told The Times, "There is now more than one way to become Jewish in Israel, and &#91;the ruling&#93; is wonderful." Hoffman's group filed the case on behalf of 14 foreigners living in Israel who wanted to convert.

Hoffman said about 1,000 people have been going through the conversion process in Israel each year, but an estimated 250,000 Israelis, now with an “undefined” religious status, could become candidates for conversion.

JACKSON TRIAL FULL OF CULTURAL ODDITIES -- As what some have called the circus atmosphere surrounding the serious subject of the Michael Jackson child molestation trial continues, reports of odd occurrences -- either in the courtroom or in Jackson's formerly personal life -- seem to emerge daily, reflecting the destitute nature of some portions of American culture.

A former housekeeper testified that Jackson created a "no rules" environment at his Neverland Ranch with no set bedtimes, no limits on food or candy and no standards for behavior, The New York Times reported, presenting a picture of Jackson as "a perpetual adolescent who made crude comments about the models in pornographic magazines and liked to make crank calls from his airplane and his bedroom."

And while pornographic magazines and videos seized at Jackson's ranch are being introduced as key evidence in the trial, Judge Rodney Melville has ruled that they cannot be called “pornographic” since pornography is not a description but a "legal conclusion" for the jury to decide. Instead, lawyers must refer to the evidence as "adult material."

The judge has ordered spectators under age 18 to leave the room while the adult material is being shown on a large screen inside the court, and even "jaded journalists gasp at the raunchy headlines," USA Today reported.

ONLINE GAMBLING GAINS MOMENTUM -- In much the same way the Internet vastly expanded access to pornography, the World Wide Web has introduced an array of gambling methods that never require a person to set foot in a casino. As a result, online gambling has become a $10-billion-a-year industry.

The federal Wire Act of 1961 bans the use of telephones to place sports bets, but the law is hard to enforce because it does not specifically ban casino games -- especially through the Internet, since the method was not around when the law was passed. Lawmakers have been trying to update the ban, but little progress has been made, USA Today reported.

More than $200 million is bet on online poker each day, up from $16 million two years ago, according to PokerPulse.com, which gives insight into the magnitude of the movement.

Three states -- North Dakota, Illinois and Georgia -- are working toward legalizing online gambling using the justification that it would prevent further tax increases by serving as a revenue source. But the U.S. Justice Department has recently reiterated the federal ban on all Internet gambling, USA Today reported.
--30--


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FIRST-PERSON: Many reasons to ‘Smile’
by Phil Boatwright
Date: April 06, 2005 - Wednesday

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (BP)--Occasionally –- it doesn’t happen often -- going to the movies serves our fellow man. Such is the case with an impressive little drama called “Smile.”

The film begins in a rural Chinese village after the abandonment of a newborn. The infant, born with a facial deformity, has been discarded, but found by a kindhearted man who raises her as his own daughter. Across the world, another baby is born on the same day, this one to a life of privilege where she grows up in Malibu, Calif. Though worlds apart, these two girls will affect each others’ lives -– and most likely the lives of those who view this movie.

Writer/director Jeff Kramer wrote the story after he realized that his own teenage daughter had been profoundly affected by her involvement in a humanitarian organization known as Operation Smile. It is a medical organization founded in 1972 to help children around the world born with facial deformities. Their outstanding work has bettered the lives of thousands of children and helped open doors for a westerner to make a movie with complete endorsement by the Chinese government.

“Working in China was challenging,” Kramer said. “China is rooted in decades of separation, but the mutual respect we experienced resulted in relationships that will last a lifetime. Artistic integrity and work ethic was as good as I’ve ever experienced. Everybody was eager to show their best stuff.

“After a brief period of establishing comfort, the Chinese, American and international crew worked without barriers,” Kramer continued. “Even the language differences were overcome through the art of filmmaking. In the small town, Jinjxi, where we shot a good portion of the film, we were treated like family. Local artists were painting pictures of our sets and giving them as gifts.”

The film focuses on a self-centered teen from an affluent Malibu family who is cute and at the top of the social order at her school. Struggling with adolescent issues, including whether or not to have sex with her boyfriend, Katie (Mika Boorem -– “Blue Crush,” “Sleepover”) is beginning to sense that there is more to life than what’s offered by her preferential world. When a favorite teacher presents an opportunity to get involved with a charitable group, she hastily agrees to travel to China as a volunteer, not realizing that the trip will change her life.

Meanwhile, Lin (Yi Ding –- “The Joy Luck Club,” “The Amazing Panda Adventure”) has grown up in a Chinese village protected by her loving adoptive father who learns of the medical organization who might help his daughter. He takes Lin to the far-off big city, but when he is injured in an accident, they are unable to get to the surgeons before they return to America. The father and daughter sadly retreat to their hometown, and Lin’s dream of escape from her self-imposed isolation go unfulfilled.

After arriving in China, Katie becomes overwhelmed by viewing the deformed children in person. It is heartbreaking and more than she can handle emotionally. Her first instinct is to leave for home, but a compassionate nurse (Cheri Oteri -– “Saturday Night Live”) helps the youngster through the initial ordeal and soon Katie begins to see the profound impact of her efforts.

Learning of Lin’s disappointment and the fact that they were born on the same day, Katie sneaks off to find the girl. Katie is changing. Her journey to China has suddenly become selfless. And that is the missing element to life she has searched for: Caring for others brings her purpose and fulfillment.

Writer Jeff Kramer has a gift for succinct dialogue, while his pronounced directing skill seamlessly moves the narrative, giving the audience an engaging story. His adventure/drama quickly becomes involving, offering something for teens and adults alike.

As for the disfigured little ones seen in the film, though the filmmakers do not shirk from their responsibility, they handle the photographing of the afflicted children with taste and discretion. The children are not exploited nor will these scenes frighten off caring but squeamish audience members.

Then there is that something that sets this film apart from most. In this case, both the production company and the filmmakers give audiences an opportunity to help fellow planeteers. A portion of the film’s proceeds will go to Operation Smile. Every time someone sees this movie in theaters, they will help a child. Wow.

Now about the film’s PG-13 rating.

Executive producer Martin O’Neal, a born-again Christian and member of Perkinston (Miss.) Baptist Church, explained why Smile, which is devoid of crudity or abusive language, received a PG-13: “The reason given by the MPAA was that Katie has a decision to make regarding sex. Her boyfriend, played by Eric von Detten, is pressing her to have sex with him. There is some talk on the subject and there is a somewhat brief make-out scene in a truck. There is no nudity of any kind; however, the suggestion of the subject brought the rating.” Also in the film is a mother’s discussion of birth control pills with her daughter. Though some may be concerned with such content, the filmmakers felt the issue needed to be addressed and done so with discretion.

The motivation of O’Neal in his filmmaking becomes apparent as explains the name of his production company -– Dark Forest.

“I wanted to tie my past and present work history, if you will, with my religious beliefs. I am a forester and graduated from Mississippi State in 1992 so I naturally like forest themes. I came up with the Dark Forest name at the same time I was trying to come up with my animated logo for the company,” he recounted. “The logo shows the viewer going through a dark forest. This dark forest represents the world we live in. As the viewer comes upon an opening in the forest we see a single ray of light penetrate the canopy. This light represents God’s revelation, mercy and love for mankind. The light illuminates a single lily. This lily is the ‘Lily of the Valley,’ who is Jesus Christ. So the theme is God shows mercy and love for us through his Son Jesus.”

Smile opens April 8 in Los Angeles and New York then gets a wider release throughout the month.
--30--
Phil Boatwright, at moviereporter@sbcglobal.net, reviews film from a Christian perspective. For more information concerning Operation Smile’s humanitarian activities, go to www.operationsmile.org.



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Baylor women capture NCAA tournament championship
by Catherine Brown
Date: April 06, 2005 - Wednesday

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)--With chants of "No. 1" heard from the Baylor crowd, the Lady Bears dog-piled at center court to celebrate their first national championship in school history, beating the Michigan State University Spartans 84-62 April 5. 

"Wow, we're national champions. First basketball national championship for the Big 12, men or women. First for women's basketball at Baylor. And what a performance it was," said head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson, who also scored a first -- the first woman to win an NCAA title as a coach and a player, with Louisiana Tech as a point guard in 1982, a feat achieved in men’s basketball only by legendary coaches Bobby Knight and Dean Smith.

"I thought rebounding was outstanding for us,” Mulkey-Robertson said. “Looking at the stats, that's the most we have out-rebounded anybody all year. And to limit them to just three offensive rebounds and make sure they only got one look at the basket, I was very proud of our defense."

The Lady Bears only trailed once, during the first minutes of the game. After that, it was all Baylor both on offense and defense.

The Lady Bears out-rebounded the Spartans 45 to 22 for the game, including 16 offensive to just three for the Spartans. The Lady Bears were led by junior forward Sophia Young's 26 points and nine rebounds. Senior post Steffanie Blackmon and sophomore forward Emily Niemann both had big offensive games for Baylor after struggling offensively in the past few tournament games. Blackmon had 22 points and seven rebounds, while Niemann added 19 points.

Niemann said while she and Blackmon may not have been scoring as usual, they were both playing good basketball.

"Both of us had defense solid. There's other things than scoring and I know that I've seen that throughout the year from Stef and she was a great senior for us, a great leader all the way through it and we wouldn't be here without it regardless of how many points she scored," Niemann said.

After a slow start in which the Lady Bears turned the ball over four times in the first three minutes of the game, they settled into their half-court offensive flow.

Baylor jumped out to the early lead behind sophomore forward Emily Niemann's five 3-pointers. Her last of the half came with eight seconds left.

"When Emily hit that first shot I was like, 'oh yeah, she's on,' you know," Young said. "I was very excited that she came in. She knocked down those two big threes for us and that just gave us a lot of momentum into the game and we knew that she was going to be hot for the rest of the night too."

MSU head coach Joanne McCallie said Niemann hit great shots, including a few threes that "were unbelievable."

Baylor led by as many 19 points in the first half before the Spartans went on a mini-run scoring 12 points in the final 4:20 of the first half. 

The Spartans were led by Lindsay Bowen's two 3-pointers and three baskets by Kristin Haynie. McCallie said Bowen and Haynie were great competitors and they attacked the basket more during the run. 

Baylor's defense also was active, forcing six turnovers and producing six points in the half.

The Lady Bears also out-rebounded the Spartans in the first half 21 to 10. Baylor also had eight offensive boards compared to MSU's one. Baylor scored nine second chance points in the first half.

The Lady Bears led by 12 points, 37-25, at the half.

Michigan State scored the first basket of the second half but couldn't produce a sustained run to overcome the deficit. The closest the Spartans came was nine points in the first minutes of the half. 

McCallie said she felt her team was still in good shape in the second half despite the poor shooting. 

"We just didn't pull together the energy that we had shown against, for example, like Tennessee," she said. "We were nine down at one point. And we were ready to go and just a few bad decisions here or there kind of helped them notch it back up again." 

Baylor notched its lead up to as many as 23 points with 6:25 left in the game. Junior guard Chameka Scott said she is overwhelmed right now about winning the national championship. 

"This is an amazing feeling," she said. "I just keep thinking we aren't done yet and there have to be some more games to play. Overall, I am just excited and relieved that we got done what we set out to do." 
--30--
Catherine Brown is the sports editor for The Lariat, the student newspaper of Baylor University. Used by permission.


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Humor is part of ministry for new author Martin Babb
by Lonnie Wilkey
Date: April 06, 2005 - Wednesday

SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. (BP)--Humor comes naturally to Martin Babb; it seems to run in his family.

Both of his parents (now deceased) had a great sense of humor, said Babb, associate pastor/education at Springfield (Tenn.) Baptist Church. “At their funerals there was more laughter than there was crying.”

Babb’s ability to laugh at most any situation, combined with his ability to make others laugh as well, spills over into his vocation. “Humor is a big part of my ministry,” he said, “because it is a big part of my personality.”

And Babb said his wife, Beverly, and two children, Meredith and David, all have a good sense of humor. As an elementary school music teacher, Beverly especially has to have a sense of humor just to survive each day, Babb said of his wife.

So, it’s a laughter matter that Babb has compiled 100 “lessons for life” in a new humor book, “When Did Caesar Become a Salad and Jeremiah a Bullfrog?” from Howard Publishing.

“Christians ought to be happy and ought to be able to laugh,” said Babb, citing Proverbs 17:22, “A merry heart doeth good like medicine....” After all, he continued, “We have the ultimate answer. We know how the story ends.”

Most people don’t think of church as a “funny place,” but “I do,” Babb said, noting, “Humor has a healing effect on people.”

Though not an ordained minister, Babb often is asked to assist in funerals. “In every one I’ve done, I have been asked to be myself and to say something funny.”

During his 25-plus years of ministry, which includes experience in both education and youth ministry as well as service as a youth consultant with the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, Babb has written numerous articles for newsletters and other publications.

And almost every one contained elements of humor.

Most of the stories in his new book are humorous, Babb said, although a few are not. “They are just stories that needed to be told,” he said.

The publisher describes the book as “100 Clever, Funny, and Insightful Lessons for Life.”

Babb described most of the stories as two-thirds humor with one-third being a religious thought or truth that “ties it together” at the end.

Writing has become an extension of Babb’s ministry.

“I can do something different through writing. It’s another way I can minister,” said Babb, who aspired to be a journalist before God called him into the ministry.

Babb said the book fulfills a 20-year dream. And whether it sells a large number of copies or not doesn’t really matter to Babb. One phone call has already made it “successful” in his eyes: A woman he knows well whose mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease had to stop reading the book to her mother because she was laughing so hard.

“The measure of the book’s success will not be by sales but by the number of people who tell me they have been touched by the book,” said Babb, a native of Little Rock, Ark.

Babb is hopeful the book will be an encouragement to people. “We don’t encourage people enough,” he said. “It would make me feel good to know that one of my stories helped someone get through the day.”

Babb also hopes the book will be used as a tool to talk to someone about Jesus. “A person might not pick up an intellectual book, but he or she might read a 500-word story.” He said he can be “religious” in his stories and the reader “doesn’t know it’s going to be religious until it’s too late.”

“Humor,” he added, “relates to both the Christian and the non-Christian.”

Should the book do well, Babb already has enough stories for another book. Plus, he develops new ideas into stories continually. “I don’t think I will run out of material,” he said.
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Lonnie Wilkey is editor of the Baptist and Reflector, newsjournal of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. “When Did Caesar Become a Salad and Jeremiah a Bullfrog?” is in LifeWay Christian Stores and other bookstores and can be ordered via www.lifewaystores.com.


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FIRST-PERSON: Instructions for obstructions
by Martin Babb
Date: April 06, 2005 - Wednesday

SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. (BP)--I have taken CPR classes on two occasions. After each one I was certified to save people for 12 months, especially if they looked like a department store mannequin, had a plastic hose sticking out of their chest, clear plastic wrap over their mouth and a permanent smile.

In layman’s terms, it simply meant that I was qualified to jump on top of someone, pinch their nostrils, blow into their mouth and beat their chest.

What’s really scary about this whole CPR thing is that it can be used on pets. Don’t get me wrong. I love my dogs but the mental picture of me putting my mouth on one of them is wrong on so many levels.

One of my Chihuahuas, Molly, is 11 years old. Her breath always smells like she just ate a walrus. I don’t want to pinch her nostrils and blow into her mouth. She’d bite me.

Tiny, our emergency Chihuahua, is even smaller. If I blew into her mouth, she’d blow up.

And what’s this business about giving them the Heimlich maneuver if they are choking? There’s another picture I don’t want the neighbors to see, me squeezing a Chihuahua. If I squeezed Tiny like that, without a firm hold, she’d shoot across the room.

We probably don’t have many occasions to give CPR to people in trouble but we more than likely see people every day who need a jump start on their spiritual heart. We may see them simply by looking in the mirror. It is amazing what a breath of fresh air can do for the stale and stagnant heart in getting rid of obstructions. Know anyone who is choking on the food offered by the world when all they need is to taste the Bread of Life?

What they need is CPR -– “Christ-Promised Refuge:” “Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 NIV); “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me” (John 7:37, NRSV); “I have come that they may have life and might have it abundantly” (John 10:10 NAS).

All are promising words from Jesus about rest, refuge and resuscitation. We need to share them with others. When we do share, we can’t ignore the “Chihuahuas” in life, those who may appear to be the most disgusting. We can’t be choosy. Are you trained in CPR? If you are a Christian, you are -– and the world is your classroom.
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Martin Babb is associate pastor/education at Springfield (Tenn.) Baptist Church and author of a new humor book, “When Did Caesar Become a Salad and Jeremiah a Bullfrog?” from Howard Publishing.


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SPORTS: Tar Heels’ faithful foursome
by Tim Ellsworth
Date: April 06, 2005 - Wednesday

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)--Jawad Williams, Melvin Scott, David Noel and Marvin Williams weren’t the biggest contributors to North Carolina’s championship performance –- at least not on the floor.

That distinction went to Sean May, who simply decimated Illinois inside. The hulking forward scored 26 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and missed only one shot from the field. Illinois had no answer for him. May almost single-handedly won the game for the Tar Heels, and in the process gave coach Roy Williams his first NCAA championship.

It was a classic title game that pitted the two best teams in the country against each other. It’s not often the NCAA tournament works out that way, but it did this year. Illinois and North Carolina didn’t disappoint, and the outcome was uncertain until the final few seconds. The game was a fitting culmination to an unusually dramatic and exciting tournament that saw more than its share of stunning upsets and thrilling endings.

Williams, Scott, Noel and Williams, meanwhile, didn’t pour in the points like May (the quartet combined for 18 of North Carolina’s 75 points), although Marvin Williams did contribute a key tip-in with only 1:26 left. Sure, they were valuable members of the Tar Heels who did their share in North Carolina’s championship season. May’s dominance, however, is what history will remember about the 2005 North Carolina Tar Heels.

But in another sense, the contributions Williams, Scott, Noel and Williams made to their team off the court may be even more valuable.

All four players are devoted Christians who are not reluctant to talk about their faith in God. A recent Freedom News Service article by Bob Sutton in the Kinston (N.C.) Free Press gives insights into the spiritual side of Scott, Noel and Jawad Williams. Williams and Scott admitted they had believed in God all along, but their increased devotion came only this year.

“It was something we decided we needed to do in our lives, get away from the norm and make some changes,” Williams said in the article.

It was a joint commitment, with the two teammates encouraging each other and challenging each other in their Christian lives. They were baptized together late in the season at King’s Park International Church in Durham, N.C. They started studying the Bible together during the season, with Noel, May and other teammates and non-basketball players joining them.

Although not mentioned in the story, Marvin Williams also is a devout Christian. I’ve read about his kind nature and the small-town values that were instilled in him by a loving mother and grandmother. He’s also quick to credit God with the immense talent that will undoubtedly propel him to the NBA in the near future.

The spiritual emphasis had a deep effect on the Tar Heels this year. Noel said it has been a bonding agent for the team.

“It has flowed throughout this team this whole year and I think that’s part of the reason this team has gone as far as we have,” Noel said in the Kinston Free Press article.

These men may not have been the stars in North Carolina’s championship win over Illinois, but I’m guessing that’s OK with them. A team accomplishment is more important than individual accolades any day.

But behind the scenes, these four Christians on the team -– and possibly others of whom I’m not aware –- have made contributions to the Tar Heels team this year that may echo through eternity.
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Tim Ellsworth writes this column for BPSports, online at www.bpsports.net.



