Friday, October 07, 2005

• Tsunami relief exemplifies religious inequity, India’s ‘untouchable’ Christians claim

  by Joshua Newton, posted Friday, October 07, 2005 (18 years ago)

  NEW DELHI (BP)--Complaints of social discrimination against lower-caste Dalits, or “untouchables,” who have converted to Christianity have increased all the more as a result of tsunami relief operations since the Dec. 26 tragedy.

        A 45-year-old woman, John Mary [sic], is knocking on doors for help. Being an “untouchable” Christian, she and hundreds of other Dalits in southern Indian states say they are being denied government relief assistance which is duly distributed among other communities. Read More

• Earthquake rocks South Asia; no IMB personnel harmed

  by Staff, posted Friday, October 07, 2005 (18 years ago)

  RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--Government officials for Pakistan and India fear a 7.6-magnitude earthquake near their common border may have killed more than 2,000 people in their nations, combined. No International Mission Board personnel were harmed by the event, said Gordon Fort, IMB vice president for Overseas Operations. Read More

• Bush: ‘We will not tire or rest until the war on terror is won'

  by Erin Curry, posted Friday, October 07, 2005 (18 years ago)

  ‘Never give in’ President Bush, speaking from the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, again urged Americans to press on in the war on terror, saying, “We will never back down, never give in and never accept anything less than complete victory.” Photo courtesy of the White House

  WASHINGTON (BP)--Not content to allow the nation to lose sight of its calling, President Bush reiterated America’s immovable commitment to winning the war on terror prompted by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

        Bush, speaking from the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington Oct. 6, delivered a speech originally planned to mark the fourth anniversary of the attacks but postponed because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Read More

• Churches called to aid those struggling with homosexuality

  by Joni B. Hannigan, Florida Baptist Witness, posted Friday, October 07, 2005 (18 years ago)

  Helping churches Tim Wilkins, founder of Cross Ministries, leads a one-day workshop in Homestead, Fla., to help churches minister compassionately to people struggling with same-sex attraction. Photo by Joni B. Hannigan/Florida Baptist Witness

  HOMESTEAD, Fla. (BP)--Trapped in an elevator with an inquisitive older woman who wanted to know which nonprofit office he was heading, Tim Wilkins had no choice but to tell her the ministry he works with helps former homosexuals find healing through Jesus Christ.

        “How in the world did you get involved in that area of ministry?” she asked. When Wilkins told her it is because he used to be homosexual, he said her response unfortunately is all too common, even among Christians: “There was a terrified look on her face and she had a dazed expression.”

  Ironically, Wilkins said, testimonies of drug abuse or even sins of a heterosexual nature usually elicit sympathy and sometimes smiles of understanding. “I’ll tell you, it’s not this way when you talk about homosexuality,” said Wilkins, founder of Cross Ministry, which seeks to equip the church to evangelize and disciple the homosexual. Read More

• Disaster relief gets $4M boost Reccord tells NAMB trustees

  by Martin King, posted Friday, October 07, 2005 (18 years ago)

  ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)--A $2 million challenge for donations to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief has been met and will result in an additional $2 million grant to assist the North American Mission Board in its comprehensive Gulf Coast hurricane relief ministries. Read More

• Experienced chaplain heads to La. to work as chaplain assessor

  by Bob Nigh, Baptist Messenger, posted Friday, October 07, 2005 (18 years ago)

  OKLAHOMA CITY (BP)--Joe Williams knows better than most the enormous psychological, emotional and spiritual toll placed on those who serve as a chaplain in the event of disaster. Read More

• MARRIAGE DIGEST: Conn. civil unions law goes into effect; Mass. residency law challenged; petition drive advances in Mass.

  by Michael Foust, posted Friday, October 07, 2005 (18 years ago)

  HARTFORD, Conn. (BP)--Connecticut began recognizing same-sex civil unions Oct. 1, making it the fourth state to grant homosexual couples the legal benefits of marriage. Read More

• GuideStone website now features retirement planning guidance

  by Staff, posted Friday, October 07, 2005 (18 years ago)

  DALLAS (BP)--GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention began offering free online retirement planning guidance to its retirement participants on Oct. 3. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: More than the levees failed in New Orleans

  by Richard Land, posted Friday, October 07, 2005 (18 years ago)

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Unfortunately those desperate to grab the camera’s eye politicized the weather itself in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, shrieking that whatever went wrong could be traced back to the White House. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: T-shirt wearer needs civility training

  by Kelly Boggs, posted Friday, October 07, 2005 (18 years ago)

  McMINNVILLE, Ore. (BP)--A Washington state woman was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight Oct. 4 because fellow passengers found a word on her T-shirt to be overly offensive. Her response to the action, according to media reports, is to “press a civil-rights case” against the airline. Read More