The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-11/07/2016 DISCLAIMER: Baptist Press should be credited for any reprinted stories that originate with BP. Suggested credit line: Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention. Please note that Baptist Press periodically carries stories from other sources by permission. Individuals interested in reprinting non-BP stories should contact the entity where the story originated to seek reprint permission. -------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST-PERSON: Being Christian and American by Daryl Cornett Date: November 07, 2016 - Monday HAZARD, Ky. (BP) -- One reason many American evangelicals get in such a twist in regards to politics is because we fail to put into proper relationship our being Christian and being American. We possess both identities simultaneously; however, we need to keep in view some key differences that will help at least keep our hearts calmer, our mouths milder and our hope affixed to the right source. The proper relationship between Christian and American rests in which identity I allow to encompass the other. Christians have lived for the last two millennia in different places within different kinds of political realities. They have lived in environments that have been hostile to their faith, some more friendly, and some shaped to some degree by it. Regardless, Christians are always first and foremost followers of Jesus and citizens of heaven. Secondly, they are citizens of the places in which they physically reside. For me, this means that I always view my citizenship as an American through the lens of my faith, and the lens of my faith is only in focus as far as it is true to the precepts and principles of the Bible. Here are few truths that flow from this perspective. 1. I am a Christian forever, and I am an American temporarily. My identity in Christ stretches back to the foundations of the earth and will extend beyond this life into eternity. Before I was formed God knew me and the life I live now in Christ is imperishable. I became an American on Jan. 12, 1967. When I die I will no longer be an American. That reality will forever be in the past. My identity in Christ is now and forever. 2. I am a Christian with an infallible guide, and I am an American with a flawed political system. My identity in Christ comes with a completely trustworthy guide in the Bible. It is the God --breathed revelation that will endure forever to which I can go to know God, myself, and how to live in proper relationship with Him and others. As Americans, we have guiding documents that men have produced. No matter what quality of sound reason, intelligence or enlightenment that went into them, they have been and always will be imperfect. Our laws and policies always have been inequitable to some degree. All the systems that come from man are limited, imperfect and susceptible to corruption. We work for justice, but understand that justice will falter and fail when leaders do not walk with God. 3. I am a Christian whose conscience belongs to God, and I am an American who has a duty to country. My eternal life in Christ necessitates that my conscience has a sole owner. This ownership is absolute and final. Therefore, my decisions, both small and great, are submitted to Christ's lordship. My fear is reserved for Him alone. He must exercise complete dominion over my every thought and action. As an American I have a God-given responsibility to my country and its leaders. I am to submit to the authority God has granted them and to pay my taxes. I am to pray that they will govern righteously. It is the responsibility of leaders to reflect His righteousness in the manner in which they govern. However, no matter what I think of the job they are doing, I am called by my only master to submit and honor my government, seeking to be a model, law-abiding citizen. 4. I am a Christian with inalienable rights, and I am an American whose rights and freedoms can change. This may be our most glaring blind spot. Political freedoms for American Christians are typically perceived as a God-given right. It's one thing to know that the founders of the country may have thought this, but it is another thing to point to the Word of God and make the case. I find this idea in the Declaration of Independence but not in the Bible. In actuality, my freedoms, privileges and even my life can be taken away from me by governing authorities. This has been true for many Christians. If you could ask the black Christians living in our country throughout most of our history, they might indeed testify to this reality. The earliest Christians living under Roman emperors could confirm the same as well as many others from history and in places in the world today. However, your freedom in Christ and your inheritance as a child of God is inalienable. An earthly government might take away your physical freedom or even your life but not what you possess in Christ. This is all that is truly inalienable. It is nice to live in a context with freedom and justice, but it's not the ultimate treasure for the Christian. We must be careful to be grateful for our American heritage and the freedoms that we enjoy. It is certainly appropriate to work to defend those freedoms and protect them in a respectful manner honoring to God. However, we must never turn the American ideal, American individualism or personal freedom into an idol. We must only worship God with our whole lives while we live as honorable citizens of our country. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Court: Law society must accept Christian attorneys by J.C. Derrick/WORLD News Service Date: November 07, 2016 - Monday BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada (BP) -- The Law Society of British Columbia must recognize Trinity Western University's (TWU) future law school graduates, according to a unanimous opinion the British Columbia (B.C.) Court of Appeals issued Nov. 1.  "The TWU community has a right to hold and act on its beliefs, absent evidence of actual harm," a five-judge panel wrote. "To do so is an expression of its right to freedom of religion."  The decision is the latest chapter in TWU's years-long battle to open Canada's first Christian law school. In December 2013 the provincial law society approved the university's plans, but a 2014 members referendum revoked it over concerns that the TWU community covenant -- which holds students to orthodox Christian behavioral standards, including heterosexual marriage -- is discriminatory.  The B.C. appeals court ruled it was the law society that discriminated. "The law society's decision not to approve TWU's faculty of law denies these evangelical Christians the ability to exercise fundamental religious and associative rights which would otherwise be assured to them under [section] 2 of the Charter [of Rights and Freedoms]," the judges wrote. "A society that does not admit of and accommodate differences cannot be a free and democratic society." The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees all Canadians the freedoms of conscience and religion. The country's 2005 law legalizing same-sex marriage explicitly applies those rights to the marriage issue: "For greater certainty, no person or organization shall be deprived of any benefit, or be subject to any obligation or sanction" based solely on objections to same-sex marriage or "the expression of their beliefs in respect of marriage as the union of a man and woman to the exclusion of all others." TWU, a private, faith-based institution in Langley, B.C., plans to open a law school that serves 60 students and would focus on charity and small-business legal training.  On Nov. 1, TWU praised the decision and reiterated its policy to welcome all students, regardless of sexual orientation, as long as they agree to live the Christian values detailed in the community covenant. "The freedom to believe as we choose and practice accordingly is one of the most profound privileges we have as Canadians," said university spokeswoman Amy Robertson. "We are a diverse, pluralistic society, committed to respecting one another even when we disagree."  The ruling means TWU's future law school graduates can practice law in B.C., but it is not the end of the school's legal battle. TWU is appealing to the Supreme Court of Canada a June appeals court decision that found the law society in Ontario could legally refuse to recognize future TWU law school graduates. It won't be the first time TWU has gone before Canada's high court over its community covenant: In 2001 the Supreme Court of Canada -- in an 8-to-1 decision -- ruled the British Columbia College of Teachers could not withhold accreditation for TWU's teacher education program. Many observers believe TWU's law school saga is a bellwether for religious freedom in North America. In their unanimous opinion, the five appeals court judges noted the broader principles at stake: "This case demonstrates that a well-intentioned majority acting in the name of tolerance and liberalism, can, if unchecked, impose its views on the minority in a manner that is in itself intolerant and illiberal." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Nov. 8: Christians should vote by Steve Gaines Date: November 07, 2016 - Monday EDITOR'S NOTE: Steve Gaines is president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of the Memphis -- area Bellevue Baptist Church. MEMPHIS, Tenn. (BP) -- One of my favorite movies is an old classic starring Gary Cooper called "Sergeant York." The story is about a Tennessee mountain man named Alvin York, a poor farmer who kept running into bad luck. But along the way he became a Christian. When World War I broke out, he designated himself as a conscientious objector because he believed the Bible taught people not to kill. While he was in basic training, he excelled as a marksman. He came to a crisis during his early days in the military. During a long period of meditation and prayer he read this verse: "Then [Jesus] said to them, 'Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's'" Matthew 22:21, NAU). In the movie he mulled over Jesus' words and came to the conviction that a follower of Jesus could also be a patriotic citizen of the United States and could fight to defend his country. My father, Edgar Gaines, was a lot like Alvin York. No, my father did not receive the accolades York did. But when World War II broke out, my father left his farm in Lauderdale County, Tenn., and went to war to fight in the United States Navy. He had never been out of his county, much less America, but he went all over the world on a warship fighting for our freedoms. One of the freedoms men and women like Alvin York and Edgar Gaines fought for was the freedom to vote. Many brave men and women have died so we can have the privilege to choose our own leaders. They fought and died so we could have a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." I believe voting is my patriotic duty as a citizen of the United States. I love my country and I thank God that I live in America. Is it perfect? No. But neither am I, and neither are you. Does America need to repent and turn afresh to Jesus? Yes. And so do I, and so do you. The greatest issue in our land in my opinion is abortion. Sixty million babies have been slaughtered via abortion in America since Roe v. Wade in 1973. That is 10 times as many Jewish people that were killed by Hitler and the Nazis in the Holocaust. I have four children and 10 grandchildren. I cringe when I think that there are people in America who believe it would be alright to take a baby's life when it is only a month, a day or a week away from being born. We have not only lost our morals, we have lost our minds if we think that is right. I believe that New Testament marriage -- one woman married to one man -- is an issue all Christians must stand for in America. The only marriage that the New Testament supports is heterosexual, monogamous marriage (cf. Matthew 19:5; Ephesians 5:31). I also believe Christians must champion the fact that racism must stop in America. There is only one race -- the human race. Bible-believing Christians believe that we all come from the same biological parents -- Adam and Eve, thus we are all biologically related to one another. All lives matter because God created all people, God loves all people, Jesus died for all people, and anyone can be saved! Christians should vote and we should carry our Christian convictions into the voting booth with us. Find out what candidates believe and vote for or against them based on your biblical principles. Christians, do not sit this one out. Do not stay home and avoid voting on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Stand in line five hours if you have to, but make sure you register your vote. People have fought and died to give you the privilege of being salt and light in this sinfully dark world. Vote and pray on Tuesday. In other words, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Forgiveness, hope mark community after tragedy by Butch Blume/South Carolina Baptist Courier Date: November 07, 2016 - Monday TOWNVILLE, S.C. (BP) -- When the alert sounded Sept. 28 from Kyle Caudell's scanner of an active shooter at Townville Elementary School, his first thought was that it must be a drill. Because his daughter is a fifth-grader at the school, he was aware that teachers and students had practiced for exactly such a scenario only a week before. Caudell, pastor of Double Springs Baptist Church in Townville, S.C., and a volunteer firefighter and fire department chaplain, jumped into his SUV and sped toward the school. When his phone lit up with a text from the Double Springs fire chief that read, "This is not a drill," Caudell "went into prayer mode -- a white-knuckled kind of prayer." When he arrived at Townville Elementary, he found that his daughter was unharmed. A 14-year-old gunman had been subdued outside the school by a fellow firefighter, but not before wounding a teacher and two first-graders. One of the students, Jacob Hall, later died from his injuries. Caudell instinctively "put on [his] chaplain's hat" and went to work comforting upset students. Many students knew Caudell because he is the school's archery instructor. "I thought it was important that they see a familiar face," he said. "I counseled them and prayed with them." He helped put students onto buses, where they were transported four miles away to Oakdale Baptist Church, the school's designated "reunification site." There, students were reunited with anxious parents. When a teacher got off the bus, she recognized Oakdale Church members who serve as volunteers with the Good News Club at Townville Elementary School. Relieved to see familiar faces, the teacher said, "Now we can relax a little bit and breathe," recalled David Blizzard, pastor at Oakdale. That night, a Wednesday, Blizzard's church and others in the community held prayer services for the shooting victims. Two of the injured, a teacher and a first-grader, were treated and released from the hospital within a few hours, but Jacob Hall, who had attended Oakdale Church with his grandparents all his life, lay in intensive care at Greenville Memorial Hospital. The next day, Oakdale Baptist Church opened its doors as a counseling site for teachers, where Blizzard and other Townville ministers were available alongside mental health counselors from Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties. On Friday, the church was opened as a counseling site again, this time for students and parents. The next day, Oct. 1, Jacob Hall died of his injuries. A community prayer service was held at Oakdale the following night, a Sunday. "Jacob is the key in this whole thing, the 'God story,'" said Blizzard, "because of his attitude of loving everybody." Blizzard described the 6-year-old as "a kid who just soaked in the things of God." Family members sometimes remarked that they thought Jacob might grow up to be a preacher, Blizzard said. While Jacob was on life support, his mother told Blizzard her son would want people to forgive the boy who shot him and to "love him like Jesus loves him," Blizzard said. Over the next few days, forgiveness was demonstrated in Blizzard's church, where Jacob's grandparents worship alongside the grandparents of Jesse Osborne, the alleged gunman. "Both families have received each other very well," Blizzard said. "The shooter's family apologized over and over again, and the family [of Jacob Hall] received their apology. "We as Christians have a language the world doesn't understand," Blizzard noted. "This is a testimony of what God has done and continues to do in our community." When teachers at Townville Elementary returned to the school on the Monday after the shooting, the community's pastors were there to welcome them back and pray with them. Jim Crittendon, pastor of Townville Baptist Church, was among the pastors present at the school. A former career Southern Baptist missionary who specialized in ministry during crisis situations, Crittendon's work prepared him to understand what to expect in the aftermath of the Townville shooting. He said teachers, students and first responders need a period of normalcy. "They need some rest right now," he said. Joanne Avery, superintendent for Anderson County School District 4, said Townville's pastors "were with us every step of the way" in the hours and days after the shooting. "The moment it happened, they had their arms around us," she said. Avery said Townville's pastors, including Kyle Caudell, were helpful in "controlling the chaos" at Oakdale Baptist Church in the first hours after the shooting as "frantic and hysterical" parents came to the church looking for their children. Over the next few days, area churches "opened their doors and their hearts to us," Avery said. "The community prayer service was so important because we all needed a place to pray, to acknowledge, to hug." Avery spoke of an "outpouring of love" from the Townville community. "It's a very special place," she said. "God was all over this incident in more ways than one." Caudell said "something special" is taking place in Townville. "I don't know how to explain it other than the Spirit of God is moving over the community," he said. "There are people who are interested in spiritual things for the first time. This event puts everything else in perspective." U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, speaking at an Anderson University chapel service Oct. 12, said the forgiveness offered by Jacob Hall's family reminded him of the sentiments expressed by family members after a gunman killed nine people in a Charleston church last year. "If there is another shining example for this nation coming out of South Carolina, look at Townville," Scott told a reporter for the Anderson Independent-Mail. "The community as a whole gelled around the crisis." Blizzard said he hopes the tragedy and the family's response of grace will be used by God to reach people in his community. "That was the goal of the family and the whole church," he said, "that the Lord would use it for His glory and to let the world know that Christians do things a different way."  -------------------------------------------------------------------- SBC DIGEST: Iorg on Calif. porn vote; Fla. paper pares print editions; Blackaby Study Bible's re-release; 'Duck Dynasty' couple recounts reconciliation by BP & SBC Seminary Staff Date: November 07, 2016 - Monday Iorg jabs at porn industry's Prop 60 opposition ONTARIO, Calif. (BP) -- Jeff Iorg, president of Gateway Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, has expressed intrigue over the pornography industry's opposition to a Nov. 8 California ballot measure, Proposition 60. As described by Iorg, Prop 60 would require persons participating in pornographic films to use condoms; increase the porn industry's cost for health care for their employees; and make it easier for citizens to file complaints about risky behavior by industry participants. Iorg, in a column at the seminary's website, noted that the porn industry's opposition "reveals the blatant selfishness at the root of their industry." "They oppose Prop 60 -- their literature rests their argument on the 'civil rights' of porn participants to make their own choices on these matters -- because it would limit free expression and somehow violate the privacy of porn workers. That's comical to the point of sadness. "The opponents to Prop 60 are saying, in essence, 'We really don't care what happens to you when you perform sexual acts. Create opportunities for self-gratification that make us rich at your expense. If you get sick or die in the process, well, that's your right! We will defend your right to die to make us rich, no matter the cost.'" ********** Fla. paper shifting to monthly print edition JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP) – The Florida Baptist Witness will move to a monthly print edition beginning in January while expediting its online news content, editor Kevin Bumgarner has announced. Bumgarner, reporting on changes approved by the newsjournal's board of directors, noted that the Witness print edition, which has averaged 16 pages roughly once every two weeks, will expanded to an average of 28 pages monthly. Online, at www.gofbw.com, the Witness plans "to take all of the content we generate that has a specific time element attached to it and make it available to readers on our website as soon as the content is produced," Bumgarner wrote in an Oct. 20 article. The content in the paper's news/blogs section will continue to be available at no charge, said Bumgarner, who became editor of the Witness in February 2014. Younger readers "expect greater immediacy from their news sources. They have been trained they do not have to wait for information, and if we are to capture millennials and those in Gen Z who have an allegiance to Florida Baptists then we must do a better job of meeting those expectations," Bumgarner wrote, adding, "Of course, we think all readers will benefit by knowing about relevant information as soon as it is available." The monthly print edition, Bumgarner wrote, will include "everything you have told us you liked about the current setup while adding several more pages of additional features and expanded commentary and analysis with a Christian worldview." The print edition's exclusive content will aim to provide "a better understanding of what the news meant"; a complete overview of actions at the Florida Baptist Convention's annual meeting along with interviews of key figures; Q&A articles with Florida Baptist leaders; "a page designed to help you see what you've been missing if you haven't been on our website or interacting with us on social media"; and the paper's regular columnists and Bible study writers. The look of both the website and the print edition will be enhanced, Bumgarner also wrote. The Florida paper joins numerous state papers that have moved from weekly print editions to biweekly or monthly schedules as well as venturing into online news. In 2013, the Texas Baptist Standard moved to a quarterly print edition named CommonCall and the Religious Herald of the Baptist General Association of Virginia merged with Associated Baptist Press to form the digital Baptist News Global and a Herald print edition published five times a year. The Christian Index of the Georgia Baptist Convention eliminated its print edition in January, while the Baptist Digest of Kansas-Nebraska has announced its print edition will end after this year. Other state conventions with online-only publications include Alaska, the Dakotas, Michigan, Montana, New England, Penn/Jersey and Utah/Idaho. Five state conventions continue to publish weekly editions: Alabama, The Alabama Baptist; Kentucky, Western Recorder; Mississippi, Baptist Record; New Mexico, Baptist New Mexican; and Oklahoma, Baptist Messenger. ********** Blackaby Study Bible to be re-released ATLANTA (BP) -- Blackaby Ministries International is producing a limited re-printing of the Blackaby Study Bible to be available in January. The Blackaby Study Bible, originally published in 2006, includes notes and biblical insights by Henry Blackaby, bestselling author of "Experiencing God," and his four sons, Richard, Thomas, Melvin and Norman Blackaby. According to a Blackaby Ministries news release, "The Blackaby Study Bible teaches people how to have daily encounters with God and encourages them to develop a regular habit of Bible reading and prayer, expecting great things to happen as God speaks to them through His Word. Many of the Blackabys' transformational teachings are incorporated into 'Encounter' notes interspersed throughout the text." "Since the publisher stopped printing the Blackaby Study Bible several years ago, we have been inundated with requests for it," said Richard Blackaby, president of Blackaby Ministries International. For information about pre-release orders, go to www.blackaby.org and click the Blackaby Study Bible banner on the main website page. ********** 'Duck Dynasty' couple recounts marriage journey By Alex Sibley FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- Alan Robertson, eldest son of Phil and Kay Robertson on the TV series "Duck Dynasty," spoke alongside his wife Lisa in conjunction with Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's Art of Homemaking Conference. "Our marriage was forged through the fires of pain" for the first 15 years, Alan said in the seminary's MacGorman Chapel during the Oct. 27-29 sessions. "And now, after 32 years [of marriage], we can both say with confidence what we could never say before: We would go through everything we've gone through again for the last 17; it's been that good -- because of God's glory, and not because of anything we've done." Alan and Lisa's story began with their respective upbringings in West Monroe, La., both of which were characterized by rebellion. The two dated in high school but their relationship was an unhealthy one, ending abruptly when Alan, still a teenager, left his parents' home and moved to New Orleans. Devastated by his departure, Lisa sought contentment through worldly pleasures. More unhealthy relationships, substance abuse and an abortion followed, all before she graduated high school. As Lisa found herself at rock bottom, Alan found himself at the "wrong end of a crowbar" from a jealous husband, which served as the wakeup call Alan needed. When he returned home from New Orleans much like the prodigal son in Luke 15, his family welcomed him with open arms, and Alan was reconciled to God at that time. Realizing his need for a "good girl," Alan reached out to Lisa, who immediately agreed to meet up with him again. They spent their first date discussing what it would look like to be a Christian couple living for God, and they married eight months later. "[But] we made a big mistake," Alan said, "because we went into our marriage with a lot of bags packed with a lot of stuff -- something we really never gave to the Almighty or allowed to be unpacked to get it out of our lives. A lot of young married couples just go in thinking that the junk that was around is all in the past, but it has a way of coming back when you don't really let God deal with it. And that's what happened with us." Alan served as associate pastor in a local church and soon began to put his ministry ahead of his wife. Lisa, still dealing with issues from childhood, suffered as a result. At the 15-year mark of their marriage, Lisa had an affair. "Whenever I married Alan, I thought I found Christ," Lisa said. "But instead of making Jesus Christ the Lord of my life, I made Alan my god. And whenever you put anything in that place besides God, it's going to fall." Following the revelation of her adultery, Lisa went into the backyard of their home and lay face down on the ground, "because at that point," she said, "I could not go any lower." There, she cried out to God. "I said, 'God, I thought I knew You. I thought I had a relationship with You. But I have nothing. If You're there, if You're real, please come and rescue me.' And He met me right there." Over the next few weeks, Lisa, with the aid of some friends from church, finally "gave it all to God." After becoming reconciled to her husband, their lives and the lives of their two daughters changed as they experienced God's grace. Soon, the Robertsons became "first responders" for marriage issues within the church, performing pre-marital and marriage counseling and hosting marriage conferences, "because," as Lisa explained, "we were the beggars who found bread, and we had a story to tell. … [God] made us new. He made our family new. And He met us right where we were. … He will meet you wherever you call out to Him." Alan and Lisa's counsel for marriage, as found in their book "A New Season," is based on Ephesians 5:33, which commands husbands to love their wives and wives to respect their husbands. Alan pointed out that, implicitly, this means husbands and wives should be lovable and respectable. The couple pointed to Job 31 and Proverbs 31 as important Scriptures for husbands and wives, respectively. Applications for husbands included making a covenant with one's eyes not to look lustfully at women and not being vengeful but rather forgiving. Applications for wives included managing one's family well and deriving beauty not from outward adornment but from fearing the Lord. Following their presentation, Southwestern President Paige Patterson called their story a "marvelous testimony of the grace of God." He continued, "I pray everybody in America will hear it; we don't have any political problems that you couldn't solve in America if we got the homes right." --30-- Compiled by Baptist Press senior editor Art Toalston. Alex Sibley is associate news director for Southwestern Seminary. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Jesus' purported tomb unearthed for study by David Roach Date: November 07, 2016 - Monday JERUSALEM (BP) -- Archaeologists' discovery of what may be the original burial bed on which Jesus' body was laid have been deemed "hugely significant" by a Southern Baptist archaeologist. The burial bed -- which has not been studied by archaeologists previously -- was unearthed Oct. 28 inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, a site regarded by some as the burial place of Jesus, National Geographic reported. Two days earlier, researchers from the National Technical University of Athens removed marble cladding from the traditional burial site inside a shrine known as the Edicule and found only fill material inside. But just before a 60-hour investigation period of the site was set to end, researchers exposed a second marble slab with a cross carved in its surface and lifted it to expose an ancient limestone burial bed. Investigation also confirmed the existence of limestone cave walls within the Edicule. Upon discovering the bed, National Geographic archaeologist-in-residence Fredrik Hiebert said according to a video of the event, "I'm absolutely amazed. My knees are shaking a bit because I wasn't expecting this." The burial bed had been sealed since at least 1555 and likely centuries earlier, according to National Geographic, to prevent visitors from chipping away pieces of the original rock as souvenirs. Last month's uncovering occurred in conjunction with the Edicule's first renovation in 200 years. After the 60-hour investigation period ended, the tomb was resealed for the indefinite future. Tom Davis, professor of archaeology and biblical backgrounds at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Baptist Press uncovering the ancient burial bed is "hugely significant" because it "shows the survival of the original tomb despite the destruction" by Muslim invaders in 1009 of the original church built on the site. "If enough survives," Davis said in written comments, "we may be able to see the original first-century form of the tomb. Other first-century type tombs survive within the complex." Davis believes the Church of the Holy Sepulchre marks the burial site of Jesus for at least three reasons: -- In Jesus' time, the site was a "quarry area outside the walls of Jerusalem," and Jewish tradition forbade burial within the walls of a city. -- An alternate proposed site of Jesus' burial known as the Garden Tomb "is an Iron Age tomb (8th c. B.C.)" and therefore cannot have been "a new tomb" in Jesus' day "as the Scripture indicates." The Garden Tomb's website states, "We never claim to be in the right place as we could never prove that; but where Jesus died is of little importance compared with why." -- In the fourth century, the Roman emperor Constantine identified the site within what is now the Edicule as Jesus' burial site. Examination of any graffiti on the tomb walls documented before it was resealed could provide additional clues as to whether the specific burial bed uncovered was the actual resting place of Christ's body before His resurrection, Davis said. Daniel Warner, associate professor of Old Testament and archaeology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, agreed that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the most likely site of Jesus' burial. He believes "there is really no logical reason" for the traditional tomb site inside the Edicule "not to be the tomb" of Jesus. "No major argument that I have read [says] it's not," Warner told BP in written comments. For Warner, a key piece of evidence to pinpoint the burial site is that Constantine specifically identified the site around A.D. 335, and 200 years before him the pagan emperor Hadrian purposefully desecrated the site, apparently because of its significance to Christians. "From what we can read, it appears that there was no expressed doubt for Constantine to begin to build [a commemorative church building] here. And logically why not?" Warner said. "Look, we know where George Washington's house is, and it has been over 250 years. It's almost the same amount of time from Christ's death to when Constantine built his church. They knew where it was." Warner added, "When Constantine's builders began working on the site, apparently the rocky outcrop (tomb) was exposed and visible to all and even talked about." One contemporary clergyman to talk about it "was Cyril [of Jerusalem], who mentions some features about the tomb that fit well with what we know of a single individual tomb at this time." Researchers will continue analyzing data gathered from their exploration, National Geographic reported. But Davis and Warner said the archaeological venture should not affect Christians' faith. "The only real impact [would be] if we found His body there, which we will not," Davis said. Warner called archaeological searches for Jesus' tomb "an interest factor for sure" but added they "can do nothing to increase faith." "It's somewhat ironic as we discuss a tomb to remember what Jesus said, 'Even if one came back from the dead, they would not believe,'" Warner said, referencing Luke 16:31. "One can use archaeology to help understand and illuminate the biblical text, but that's the extent." -------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Life;' campaign saves 676 unborn babies, leaders say by Diana Chandler Date: November 07, 2016 - Monday RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- At least 676 mothers were swayed from aborting their babies by volunteers on the 40 Days for Life international campaign and its concurrent bus tour that ended Nov. 6, according to the campaign's preliminary tally. As the campaign ended Nov. 6, major campaign sponsor Pro-Life Action Ministries (PLAM) of St. Paul, Minn., estimated 676 lives had been saved, based on reports from volunteers who conducted fasts and held prayer vigils outside 367 abortion facilities in 270 U.S. cities and more than 20 foreign countries. "The numbers are reported by our local leaders and volunteers," 40 Days for Life North American Campaign Director Steve Karlen told Baptist Press. "There are a variety of ways leaders learn of babies saved from abortion. Perhaps the most typical is when a woman leaves the abortion center and thanks the on-site volunteers for being there to change her mind." A new feature of the 2016 campaign was the 40 Days for Life United bus tour that made stops at Planned Parenthood facilities in 127 U.S. cities, beginning Sept. 28 in Washington D.C. and ending Nov. 6 in Richmond, Va. Campaign volunteers "The greatest blessings of the tour were seeing unprecedented hope and enthusiasm from pro-lifers across the country," Karlen said. "We saw consistently large crowds at the 127 cities we visited. People traveled from miles away to join our rallies -- many of them who have never been involved in pro-life activism before. "And most importantly, we saw thousands upon thousands of Americans commit to praying and taking peaceful action for an end to abortion," Karlen said. Each city-based 40 Days for Life campaign is distinguished by 40 days of prayer and fasting, community outreach, and a "constant, peaceful vigil in the public right-of-way outside abortion facilities" PLAM said. The group worked with at least five other national ministries and numerous city and state pro-life coalition groups in conducting the bus tour, which began Sept. 28 in Washington D.C. Other sponsors of the 17,000-mile tour were March for Life, Heartbeat International, Silent No More Awareness, Students for Life and Susan B. Anthony List, along with numerous city and state pro-life coalition groups including many Southern Baptists, PLAM said. Volunteers shared stories at 40daysforlife.com of mothers who made last-minute decisions to carry their babies to term, including a mother in Pittsburg, Penn. "I went in for an abortion today, but decided not to," the mother said, according to a Nov. 7 report from a volunteer in Pittsburg who was praying outside a Planned Parenthood with three others. "Because of you being here, I learned the truth," a passerby told the group, the volunteer said. The next 40-day campaign is set to begin Dec. 1, PLAM said. Volunteers interested in participating may register for email updates at 40DaysforLife.com. Several 40-day campaigns are observed each year, the most recent one held Feb. 10-March 20 in 273 locations including the U.S. and 24 foreign countries. In that campaign which drew 120,000 participants from 4,700 churches, PLAM said at 40daysforlife.com, 631 lives were saved from abortion, six abortion workers left the industry, three abortion facilities closed. The campaign's length is based on God's use of 40-day periods to transform individuals and communities, including the flood of Noah's era, Moses' recording of the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai, and the period between Christ's resurrection and ascension. Since 2007, more than 700,000 individuals from 18,500 churches have participated in vigils in 636 cities and 36 countries, preventing at least 11,796 babies from being aborted, leading to 133 workers leaving the abortion industry and seeing 73 abortion facilities end their practice, PLAM said.