The issue at the center of the swelling controversy over the Obama administration’s refusal to protect the conscience rights of employers in its “contraceptive mandate” is “about as basic as it gets,” especially for Baptists, says Richard Land.
“Does the government have the right to intrude on the consciences of people to force them to pay for that which they find unconscionable? This goes contrary to our tradition in this country and contrary to our understanding of the First Amendment’s religious freedom protections,” Land said Feb. 9 in explaining what is at the heart of the debate.
President Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services has issued a requirement that all insurance plans under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as Obamacare, cover free-of-charge certain so-called “contraceptives” that are actually much more than that. Some of the drugs and devices required to be covered will actually cause abortions. The required drugs include Ella and Plan B, both of which can destroy a developing human being prior to, or even after, implanting in the mother’s womb.
The government requirement also covers IUDs. These devices also prevent fertilized eggs from implanting in the…
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On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down two decisions (Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton) that have resulted in the destruction of 46 million babies in this country alone. In Roe, the Court allowed unregulated abortion in the first trimester but said the state could regulate second and third trimester abortions if they could prove “compelling interest”—unless the life or health of the mother was in jeopardy. In Doe, the compelling interest clause was rendered virtually meaningless as the Court gave women the right to an abortion at any time by defining health to include “physical,…
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January is a month packed with remembrances of momentous events. First up is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, designated each year as the third Monday of the month. It commemorates the birthday of the civil rights leader who courageously led the nation forward in racial equality. A lesser known but also fundamentally important holiday, Religious Freedom Day, likewise falls in the doldrums of mid-winter. This year, the two days coincide on Jan. 16.
And one week later, thousands will descend on Washington for the March for Life to mark the 39th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision…
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Elected Officials, Political Leaders, & Candidates
Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas, NY Times best-selling author, and radio and television host demonstrated his support of Amendment 26 by speaking at a campaign kick-off event at First Baptist Church Jackson.
Gov. Haley Barbor voted YES on Personhood Amendment 26 via absentee ballot.
Senator Roger Wicker, Representative Alan Nunnelee, and Representative Greg Harper recorded a video in support of Amendment 26, along with a video from Representative Steven Palazzo, both of which can be viewed at http:/http://www.youtube.com/yeson26dotnet.
Both Republican and Democratic candidates for Governor, Johnny…
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Mississippi’s Personhood Amendment is expected to face intense opposition from out-of-state special interest groups, Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), as well as Jackson’s National Organization for Women (NOW)—who also opposes the pro-life, MS Baptist penny project that raised money to fund pro-life ministries across the state. (ClickHERE to read about Jackson NOW’s opposition to MS Baptists’ pro-life efforts.)
These out-of-state interest groups have placed their leaders in position in MS to lead and finance a likely deceptive campaign under the guise of the organization…
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On August 2, 2011, the primary election for statewide offices across Mississippi will take place. Included in this election will be all 52 seats in the MS Senate and all 122 seats in the MS House of Representatives. MS Senators and Representatives both serve four year terms before their seats are open for re-election or change.
The senatorial and representative candidates that Mississippi voters will elect this year will also be proposing, introducing, presenting, and voting on legislative bills over the next four years. With each new legislative session, thousands of bills are submitted and from those, only…
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Last week, veterans groups accused the VA of religious discrimination, contending they have been banned at soldiers’ funerals from saying religious words such as “God” and are having their prayers censored.
Their allegations follow others made by pastor Scott Rainey, who sued in May to keep the VA from preventing him from referring to Jesus Christ at a Memorial Day invocation at Houston National Cemetery.
The VFW and the American Legion are specifically claiming that on at least four occasions government officials told them that prayer and religious speech could no longer be included in burial…
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MS Baptist response to SBC resolution on immigration
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
A resolution in terms of Southern Baptist polity is a statement of the sentiment of a majority of voting messengers at any given annual meeting of the convention. Resolutions approved at an annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention do not carry over from year to year, have no enforcement powers, do not bind anyone or any organization to a course of action, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the autonomous bodies that choose to voluntarily affiliate with the SBC such as churches, associations, state Baptist conventions, and auxiliaries. This is true for the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board.…
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The battle was long and even though the crew had won, the ship deck remained littered with blood and debris. Before normalcy could set in, someone had to take a mop of rope and yarn and clean the deck. In the 1600s a sailor called a swab would do the “mopping up.”
For the Christian families of faith, victory was declared at the cross and empty tomb but the war goes on. The Apostle Paul described it like this, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness…
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In a recent letter to Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) I commended him for introducing the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (S. 906), companion legislation to the widely supported House-passed H.R. 3, which would establish a government-wide statutory prohibition on elective abortion funding.
If enacted, the legislation would codify a patchwork of policies, many of which presently must be reauthorized as riders to annual appropriations bills, regulating federal funding of abortion.
Southern Baptists’ Ethics & Religious Commission fully supports making permanent such policies as the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits funding for elective abortion under programs funded…
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The baseball game is over. The teams are leaving the field and then the radio announcer says, “In just a moment we will be right back for the wrap up.” Shortly the broadcaster comes back and gives to the listeners a synopsis of the game. Of course, the comments made are his/her opinions based on the data that is made available to them. The commentator’s opinions and comments never reveal the whole story because they sit in the broadcasting booth and not down on the field where the action is. It is the same for the Christian Action Commission (CAC)…
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