Stories tagged with: donald trump

• Administration gains high marks on religious liberty

  by Tom Strode, posted Wednesday, August 15, 2018 (6 years ago)

  

  iStock

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- The Trump administration is receiving high marks so far for its religious liberty record from many advocates for the First Amendment freedom.

  The July 30 announcement of a religious liberty task force in the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Aug. 10 release of a Department of Labor policy directive to protect religious free exercise are the latest in a series of administration actions applauded by defenders of freedom of belief and practice. Yet, some advocates also say more remains to be done by this White House to safeguard religious liberty. Read More

• Kavanaugh nod nonpartisan, pro-Kingdom, Greear says

  by Diana Chandler, posted Friday, July 13, 2018 (6 years ago)

  

  Facebook screen capture

  DURHAM, N.C. (BP) -- Keeping the Southern Baptist Convention out of politics remains a goal of the SBC's president and vice presidents, J.D. Greear said in defending their endorsement of President Trump's justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

  "All three of us have a desire to keep the SBC out of politics, but we also want to speak with clarity in those places we feel like there is clarity," Greear said in a July 12 Facebook Live interview. "And when it came to potential justice Kavanaugh, here's somebody who has a history of standing for the sanctity ... Read More

• Mike Pence meeting sparks reports, prayer in churches

  by David Roach, posted Monday, April 16, 2018 (6 years ago)

  

  Photo from Twitter.

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- Prayer for America's leaders and reports of a pastors' meeting with Vice President Mike Pence were among the components of worship in some Southern Baptist churches Sunday (April 15).

  The prayer times and reports followed an April 11 meeting involving Pence and several dozen pastors and their wives in Washington for the Mega Metro Conference, an annual gathering for pastors of Southern Baptist churches with average worship attendance of at least 3,000 or average Sunday School attendance of at least 2,000. Read More

• Trump's faith focus of book, advisors' reflections

  by David Roach, posted Monday, February 19, 2018 (6 years ago)

  

  Screen capture from C-Span.

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- Three Southern Baptist members of an informal evangelical advisory council for President Trump have echoed the assessment of a new book on the president's faith: he seems to possess a growing eagerness for spiritual knowledge.

  Those advisors -- Ronnie Floyd, Jack Graham and Richard Land -- also say they have witnessed believers share the Gospel with Trump on multiple occasions. They noted that most of the president's evangelical advisors have not hesitated to speak bold truth to him on issues ranging from the sanctity of life and religious liberty to ... Read More

• Trump at Prayer Breakfast: 'Lord's grace all around us'

  by David Roach, posted Thursday, February 08, 2018 (6 years ago)

  

  Screen capture from CNN.

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- America's heritage of faith and ongoing experience of God's grace were President Trump's focus in an address today (Feb. 8) at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington.

  "Each year, this event reminds us that faith is central to American life and to liberty," Trump said. "Our founders invoked our Creator four times in the Declaration of Independence. Our currency declares, 'In God we trust.' And we place our hands on our hearts as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance and proclaim we are 'one nation under God.'" Read More

• Views on Trump 'not a distraction,' pastors say

  by David Roach, posted Wednesday, January 31, 2018 (6 years ago)

  

  Screen capture from C-Span

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- In the wake of President Trump's first State of the Union address, the presidents of five Baptist state conventions say believers in the churches they lead hold diverse views on the commander-in-chief, but such diversity has not distracted or divided the congregations.

  When queried by Baptist Press, three of the state convention presidents said church members appreciate at least some of Trump's policies. Four mentioned misgivings about the president within the church body. All five said diverse opinions of Trump are no barrier to church unity. Read More

• U.N. said to lack 'high ground' for Jerusalem rebuke

  by David Roach, posted Friday, December 22, 2017 (6 years ago)

  

  Screen capture from CBS News.

  UNITED NATIONS (BP) -- In a move characterized by media outlets as a denunciation of the Trump administration, the United Nations General Assembly voted Thursday (Dec. 21) to ask nations not to establish diplomatic missions in Jerusalem.

  By a 128-9 vote with 35 abstentions and 21 U.N. member nations absent, the General Assembly's resolution "Status of Jerusalem" expressed "deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem" -- an apparent reference to President Trump's Dec. 6 announcement the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move its embassy there. Read More

• Jerusalem: Trump declaration sparks Baptists' reactions

  by David Roach, posted Friday, December 08, 2017 (6 years ago)

  

  iStock

  JERUSALEM (BP) -- As violence continued in the Middle East after President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Southern Baptists expressed a range of views on the topic.

  Former Southern Baptist Convention Presidents Ronnie Floyd and Jack Graham were among those to celebrate Trump's Dec. 6 proclamation on Jerusalem, which included a promise to move the U.S. embassy there. Jamal Bishara, an Arab Israeli who served on the Multiethnic Advisory Council appointed in 2014 by SBC Executive Committee President Frank S. Page, called the Trump administration's move "another slap in the face to Palestinians." Read More

• Trump issues transgender military directive

  by David Roach, posted Monday, August 28, 2017 (7 years ago)

  

  Image: iStock/license purchase required.

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- President Trump has directed the U.S. Armed Forces to "return to the longstanding policy" of precluding transgender individuals from military service.

  In an Aug. 25 memorandum to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security, who oversees the Coast Guard, Trump directed the military to bar transgender individuals from entering the service. By March 23, 2018, the Armed Forces also must "halt all use" of government funds to pay for gender reassignment surgery for military personnel, Trump stated, "except to the extent ... Read More

• New transgender military guidelines called 'wise'

  by David Roach, posted Thursday, August 24, 2017 (7 years ago)

  

  Image: iStock/license purchase required.

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- The Trump administration will bar transgender individuals from enlisting in the U.S. military and let Defense Secretary James Mattis decide whether those already in the military may continue to serve, according a Wall Street Journal report confirmed by other media outlets.

  The White House explained its policy in a two-and-a-half-page memo to the Pentagon, The Journal reported Wednesday (Aug. 23), fleshing out specific policy implications of President Trump's July 26 Twitter announcement that "the United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any ... Read More