Wednesday, September 06, 2017

• Irma puts Bapt. DR on alert amid Harvey aid

  by Brandon Elrod and Diana Chandler, posted Wednesday, September 06, 2017 (7 years ago)

  

  Screen capture from washingtonpost.com

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- The second major hurricane threatening the U.S. within two weeks has Southern Baptists and their partners actively preparing to respond to Hurricane Irma, even as Harvey recovery efforts hunker down for the long haul.

  With flood waters still standing in some parts of Texas, and Category 5 Irma churning, President Trump has declared states of emergency in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Read More

• Pew: Reformation theology waning among Protestants

  by David Roach, posted Wednesday, September 06, 2017 (7 years ago)

  

  Image: iStock/license purchase required.

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Five hundred years after the start of the Protestant Reformation, a majority of U.S. Protestants reportedly reject the Reformation doctrines of sola fide (the belief men and women are saved by faith alone) and sola scriptura (the belief Scripture is the only infallible guide for faith and practice).

  That's the finding of the Pew Research Center, which also found a majority of western European Protestants reject sola fide and that theological differences between Protestants and Catholics seem to be narrowing in many cases. Read More

• Abortion clinics' post-Harvey offer called 'heinous'

  by David Roach, posted Wednesday, September 06, 2017 (7 years ago)

  

  Screen capture from Whole Woman's Health blog

  HOUSTON (BP) -- A chain of Texas-based abortion clinics has announced it will provide "no-cost abortions" during the month of September "for those affected by Hurricane Harvey."

  Whole Woman's Health -- which operates Texas clinics in Austin, Fort Worth, McAllen and San Antonio -- announced its free-abortion campaign in a Sept. 1 blog post stating, "The need for abortion care does not stop for natural disasters." Supported by abortion-assistance funds, including the Lilith Fund and the Stigma Relief Fund, Whole Woman's Health will offer free travel and lodging as part of its campaign. Read More

• 'Buckets for Harvey' readied for hurricane survivors

  by Tammi Reed Ledbetter, posted Wednesday, September 06, 2017 (7 years ago)

  

  GRAPEVINE, Texas (BP) -- Even a 2-year-old can help the flood survivors in Houston and southeast Texas. That's the plan at Kristin Leonard's home, where her family is packing cleaning supplies for Hurricane Harvey survivors.

  When Normandale Baptist Church in Fort Worth announced plans to collect "Buckets for Harvey," she saw it as an opportunity for her family to get involved. Read More

• Judge rejects churches on abortion coverage

  by Tom Strode, posted Wednesday, September 06, 2017 (7 years ago)

  

  Image: iStock/license purchase required.

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- Three evangelical Christian churches have suffered a setback in their challenge of a California requirement that they must cover abortions through their health insurance plans.

  Federal judge Kimberly Mueller dismissed a suit by the southern California congregations in an Aug. 31 order, ruling that the churches had failed to state an adequate claim. She granted the congregations -- Foothill Church in Glendora, Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Chino and The Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch -- 21 days to file an amended complaint. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: John the Baptist & The Nashville Statement

  by Owen Strachan, posted Wednesday, September 06, 2017 (7 years ago)

  The Nashville Statement on biblical sexuality, Owen Strachan writes, "is not problematic for Christian witness. It is Christian witness" as well as an key landmark in "an age when there is little clarity on sexual matters." Read More