Baptist Press Stories for Aug. 9 2012 --------------------------------------- The 2012 election: Why abortion trumps other issues http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38464 Mo. voters OK amend. protecting public prayer http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38467 Taekwondo athlete relates to talents parable http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38463 WRAP-UP: 'Preacher's kid' Felix wins gold http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38466 Olympics meant giant workload for London http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38462 Court upholds Hawaii traditional marriage law http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38470 BIBLE STUDY: Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38469 FIRST-PERSON: Is it true Jesus never addressed same-sex marriage? http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38461 FIRST-PERSON: God will answer pleas for nearness http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38468 --------------------------------------- The 2012 election: Why abortion trumps other issues By Scott Klusendorf Aug. 9 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38464 [IMG=33243@left@120]COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (BP) -- In 2008, a handful of notable pro-life evangelicals and Catholics threw their support behind a presidential candidate sworn to uphold elective abortion as a fundamental right. They argued that doing so constituted an enlightened pro-life vote that was morally superior to the narrow party politics of religious conservatives. Instead of passing laws against abortion, so the argument went, the candidate and his party would "reduce" it by addressing its underlying causes.[1] True, they said, he was mistaken on abortion, but he was right on other, important "whole-of-life" issues such as opposition to war, concern for the poor and care for the environment. The candidate's political strategy was simple: shrink the significance of abortion so it was more or less equal with other issues.[2] It worked. Twice as many white evangelicals age 18 through 44 voted for Barack Obama in 2008 than voted for John Kerry in 2004. Catholics, meanwhile, supported Obama at 54 percent, up seven points from what they gave Kerry four years earlier. The candidate got just enough pro-life votes from these groups to tip the election his way.[3] [QUOTE@right@150="Of course abortion isn't the only issue -- any more than the treatment of slaves wasn't the only issue in the 1860s or the treatment of Jews the only issue in the 1940s. But both were the dominant issues of their day."]I submit that each of these alleged pro-life votes represents a profound misunderstanding of the pro-life position. The fundamental issue before us is not merely how to reduce abortion, but who counts as one of us. How we answer will determine whether embryos and fetuses enjoy the protection of law or remain candidates for the dumpster. As Francis Beckwith points out, a society that has fewer abortions but protects the legal killing of unborn humans is still deeply immoral.[4] Given what's at stake, it's vital that pro-life Christians persuasively answer five key questions before the 2012 election: 1. Are pro-life advocates focused too narrowly on abortion? After all, informed voters consider many issues, not just one. Of course abortion isn't the only issue -- any more than the treatment of slaves wasn't the only issue in the 1860s or the treatment of Jews the only issue in the 1940s. But both were the dominant issues of their day. Thoughtful Christians attribute different importance to different issues, and give greater weight to fundamental moral questions. For example, if a man running for president told us that men had a right to beat their wives, most people would see that as reason enough to reject him, despite his expertise on foreign policy or economic reforms. The foundational principle of our republic is that all humans are equal in their fundamental dignity. What issue could be more important than that? You might as well blame politicians like Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt for focusing too narrowly on defeating the Nazis, to the neglect of other issues. Given a choice, I'd rather pro-lifers focus on at least one great moral issue than waste their precious resources trying to fix all of them.[5] 2. Why don't pro-life advocates care about social justice both here and in developing countries? [IMG=33240@right@240]They do, which is why pro-life crisis pregnancy centers vastly outnumber abortion clinics in the U.S. and why committed evangelicals, most of whom are pro-life, give more than their secular counterparts.[6] Nevertheless, pro-life Christians should reject the premise that because they oppose the intentional and unjustified killing of innocent human beings, they must therefore take responsibility for all of the world's ills. Is the American Cancer Society wrong to focus on one deadly disease to the exclusion of others? It's highly unfair to demand that local pro-life groups take their already scarce resources and spread them even thinner fighting every social injustice imaginable. This would be suicide for those opposed to abortion. As Frederick the Great once said, "He who attacks everywhere attacks nowhere." True, as defenders of human dignity, we should care about the poor, clean water and the rights of others everywhere. The U.S. government, however, is not going to solve those problems in developing countries the way it can solve abortion here. For example, our government can't ban poverty or stop the sex trade of young girls in Thailand. That is the job of that nation's citizens and government. However, the U.S. government can and should ban the killing of unborn humans within its own borders. That is why prudent pro-lifers have always sought both moral and political solutions to that problem. While poverty and the sex trade are evil, no one in America proposes legalizing them. Abortion is different. Far from reducing the practice, our government currently advocates it both here and abroad. For example, during his first week in office, President Obama restored funding to organizations that promote and perform abortion overseas. A year later, he signed a health care bill that subsidized insurance plans that fund it here in the U.S. At the same time, he rescinded federal regulations that protect doctors from forced participation in elective abortion and threatened to cut off Medicaid funding to any state that denied tax funding to health care entities that provide abortions.[7] Finally, he nominated to the federal courts justices sympathetic to the abortion license whose rulings could set the pro-life cause back for decades to come. Because ours is a government of the people, Christians have a fundamental duty to work within the political system to limit evil and promote good. Shouldn't social justice start in the womb? 3. Why don't pro-lifers oppose war like they do abortion? War can be a moral evil, but it isn't always so. Careful thinkers make distinctions between intrinsic (absolute) moral evils and contingent ones. For example, the decision to wage war may or may not be wrong, depending on the circumstances. However, the decision to kill intentionally an unborn human being for socioeconomic reasons is an intrinsic evil and laws permitting it are scandalous. True, a general in a just war may foresee that innocent humans will die securing a lasting peace, but he does not intend their deaths. With elective abortion, the death of an innocent human fetus is not merely foreseen; it is intended. 4. Instead of passing laws against abortion, shouldn't pro-life Christians focus on reducing its underlying causes? First and foremost, the abortion debate turns on the question of human equality. That is, in a nation dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, do the unborn count as members of the human family? With that fundamental question in mind, it's unreasonable for liberals to insist that pro-lifers surrender the legal fight to focus on underlying causes. As my colleague Steve Weimar points out, this is like saying the "underlying cause" of spousal abuse is psychological, so instead of making it illegal for husbands to beat their wives, the solution is to provide counseling for men. There are "underlying causes" for rape, murder, theft, and so on, but that in no way makes it misguided to have laws banning such actions.[8] Moreover, why are liberals even concerned about reducing the number of abortions in the first place? If destroying a human fetus is morally no different than cutting one's fingernails, then who cares how many abortions there are? The reason to reduce elective abortion is that human life is unjustly taken -- but if that's the case, then restricting the practice makes perfect sense. Imagine a 19th-century lawmaker who said that slavery was a bad idea and we ought to reduce it, but owning slaves should remain legal. If those in power adopted his thinking, would this be a good society? True, politics isn't a sufficient answer to injustice, but it's certainly a necessary one. Martin Luther King Jr., once said, "The law can't make the white man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me."[9] Frankly, if Christians don't think the government-sanctioned killing of unborn children merits a political response, then they not only misunderstand the moral gravity of the situation, but also their mandate to love their neighbor as themselves. 5. Should pastors challenge church members who support politicians sworn to protect elective abortion? Yes and no. They should challenge believers and nonbelievers alike with the truth that elective abortion unjustly takes the life of a defenseless human being -- and that truth should impact who we support. They shouldn't claim that supporting a particular party or candidate saves us from God's righteous wrath against sin (only the Gospel does that) or that members of the opposite party are not Christians. Nevertheless, in a nation where the people are the government, Christians have a duty to apply their biblical worldview in a way that limits evil and promotes the good insofar as possible given current political realities. At the legislative level in particular (House and Senate races), that usually means voting for those that, though imperfect, will best protect unborn humans against one that sanctions killing them. The reason is simple: at the legislative level, political parties more than individuals determine which laws see the light of day. Consider the House of Representatives. If a party committed to elective abortion controls the chamber, it will squash pro-life bills and promote pro-abortion ones. Even if that pro-abortion party has a few pro-life members, those members will likely never get to vote on a pro-life bill unless their party is not in power. If parties drive legislation, how should a pastor educate his flock on the relationship between politics and Christian morality? First, he should teach a biblical worldview affirming that all humans have value because they bear the image of their Maker. Second, he should challenge church members to live out that biblical view in every area of their lives, including their political affiliations. Third, he should stress that while no political party is perfect, on the question of fundamental human value, some parties are more in line with biblical truth than others. Suppose, for example, that it's 1860 and 50 percent of professing Christians in your church are members of a political party dedicated to the proposition that an entire class of human beings can be enslaved or killed to meet the needs of the white race. If you're a pastor committed to applying a biblical worldview in all areas of life, is this OK? You might be sympathetic to new converts coming to grips with Christian teaching, but mature church members? Pastors can't use church resources to endorse political candidates or parties, but they can (and must) teach that a biblical worldview informs our political behavior. --30-- This column first appeared in the Christian Research Journal. Subscribe at [URL=http://www.equip.org]www.equip.org[/URL]; 6 issues, $39.50. Reprinted with permission. Scott Klusendorf is president of Life Training Institute, online at [URL=http://www.prolifetraining.com]www.prolifetraining.com[/URL] 1 For an evangelical example, see the interview with Donald Miller on August 25, 2008: http://www.burnsidewriterscollective.blogspot.com/2008/09/interview-with-donald-miller.html. For a Catholic example, see Michael New, "Professors Robert George and Douglas Kmiec Debate Abortion, a Pro-Life Recap," Life News, June 1, 2009. 2 Alex Spillius, "Barack Obama Doubles Support from Evangelical Christians," The Telegraph, November 7, 2008. 3 "How the Faithful Voted," Pew Research Forum, November 10, 2008. 4 Francis J. Beckwith, "Why Reducing the Number of Abortions Is Not Necessarily Pro-Life," Moral Accountability, February 12, 2009. http://www.moralaccountability.com/2009/02/12/why-reducing-the-number-of-abortions-notnecessarily-prolife/% 5 See Randy Alcorn (EMP Blog, November 16, 2008) and Steve Hays (Triablogue, January 30, 2006) for more. 6 Helen Alvare et al., "The Lazy Slander of the Pro-Life Cause," Public Discourse, January 17, 2011; Arthur C. Brooks, "A Nation of Givers," The American (March/April 2008). 7 O. Carter Snead, "Protect the Weak and Vulnerable: The Primacy of the Life Issue,"Public Discourse, August 22, 2011. 8 Scott Klusendorf, The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture(Wheaton: Crossway, 2009), 169. 9 Speech at Western Michigan University, December 18, 1963. -- End of story -- Mo. voters OK amend. protecting public prayer By Allen Palmeri Aug. 9 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38467 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (BP) -- The passage of Missouri Amendment 2 -- which guarantees the right to pray and worship on public property and to choose any or no religion -- was cheered by Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) leaders who worked hard for its passage. Missouri votes passed it Tuesday (Aug. 9) by a margin of 83-17 percent. "This is the very first time that any state has voted on this issue since the early 1960s, when prayer was removed from public schools," said Kerry Messer, legislative liaison for the Christian Life Commission (CLC) of the MBC. "The nation has been held hostage to the U.S. Supreme Court on this front for over 50 years. This is the first time we've had a credible measure of what citizens think about that topic." The MBC distributed 186,000 bulletin inserts to affiliated churches, outlining how passage of the amendment would impact the state: -- Children would have the right to pray voluntarily in public school. -- Citizens would have the right to pray and to acknowledge God in public settings and on public property. -- Elected officials would have the right to pray and acknowledge God in public meetings and public ceremonies. -- Students would have the right to express their belief in God in their school work and classroom discussions. -- Students would have the right to decline participation in school assignments or programs that violate their religious beliefs. David Krueger, chairman of the MBC Christian Life Commission (CLC) and pastor of First Baptist Church, Linn, said he hopes other states will follow Missouri's lead. "I think that this amendment becomes a model for other states," Krueger said. "We needed it. I'm glad it passed. It's sad that we had to have it, because for 50 years the Supreme Court has had conflicting decisions regarding freedom of religion. The CLC is very pleased with this historic show of support for the amendment." MBC Executive Director John Yeats said the vote was "indicative of the sentiments held by so many people who live and work in the heartland." "The confusing decisions by the state and federal courts and the potential threat of litigation by groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United have intimidated, until now, many good people into being silent in the public square," said Yeats, who also serves as recording secretary of the Southern Baptist Convention. "This decision demonstrates the reality that Missourians understand that our constitutional religious liberties are valuable and viable at the church house, the work house, the state house and the schoolhouse." Messer said the Aug. 7 result was a triumph of perseverance. "It took us 12 years to get it through the state legislature so we could have it on the ballot for Missouri voters to vote on," he said. "Most activists don't stay involved on a project that long." The full text of the amendment is available online at [URL=http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/2012ballot/fulltext_1.pdf]http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/2012ballot/fulltext_1.pdf. [/URL]--30-- Allen Palmeri is associate editor for The Pathway, the newsjournal of the Missouri Baptist Convention ([URL=http://www.mbcpathway.com/]http://www.mbcpathway.com/[/URL]). -- End of story -- Taekwondo athlete relates to talents parable By Tim Ellsworth Aug. 9 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38463 EDITOR'S NOTE: Tim Ellsworth, editor of BP Sports and director of news and media relations at Union University, covered the 2012 Olympics in tandem with Baptist Press' London bureau. Baptist Press will publish features about Christian athletes in the Olympics, recap results of their competition and cover Baptist initiatives to share the Gospel during the Summer Games and in London's rich cultural milieu. LONDON (BP) -- Paige McPherson may be the one on the mat in the taekwondo competition during the Olympics, but her family in the audience is also a huge part of her success. That family also looks quite a bit different from most. "We were actually called the 'rainbow family,'" McPherson said. Paige's parents, Dave and Susan McPherson, of Sturgis, S.D., adopted five children from around the world. Paige, 21, is half Filipino and half African American. She has a brother who is Korean, a sister from St. Lucia and two other siblings who are part Native American. For Paige, her family is a compelling likeness of the Gospel -- how God has called people from all nations and races and adopted them into His family. "It's a picture of how gracious and how merciful Christ is for us," she said. McPherson -- who completes for the U.S. Friday (Aug. 10) -- began taekwondo as a youngster. Since her older brother Evan is Korean, and since taekwondo is a Korean sport, their parents decided to let him participate. When McPherson was 7 years old, she decided she wanted to join in as well, and her younger sister Hannah also began taking lessons. Her love for the sport grew, in part because it was such a family affair, but also because McPherson had a knack for it. "I definitely know that I was given a God-given talent," she said. She cited the parable of the talents in the Bible, in which a man going on a journey entrusted his property to his servants. One wasted his talent, but the others invested theirs and produced a return. McPherson said she always liked that story and she knew she didn't want to waste her gifts. "The Olympics have always been my dream, to win gold, and to say I didn't do it on my own, but I did it for the glory of God," McPherson said. "God has been so good to me, because He's actually allowing me to fulfill my dreams now." --30-- Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter ([URL=http://www.Twitter.com/BaptistPress]@BaptistPress[/URL]), Facebook ([URL=http://Facebook.com/BaptistPress]Facebook.com/BaptistPress [/URL]) and in your email ([URL=http://baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp] baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp[/URL]). -- End of story -- WRAP-UP: 'Preacher's kid' Felix wins gold By Tim Ellsworth Aug. 9 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38466 EDITOR'S NOTE: Tim Ellsworth, editor of BP Sports and director of news and media relations at Union University, covered the 2012 Olympics in tandem with Baptist Press' London bureau. Baptist Press will publish features about Christian athletes in the Olympics, recap results of their competition and cover Baptist initiatives to share the Gospel during the Summer Games and in London's rich cultural milieu. LONDON (BP) -- Allyson Felix finally got her gold. After winning silver in the 200-meter sprints in Athens and Beijing, Felix raced to her first individual gold medal in London Wednesday (Aug. 8), easily winning the event in 21.88 seconds. "I was in tears in Beijing, and gosh, complete opposite tonight," Felix said after the race. "For it all to come together is just extremely special, I'm overjoyed. I was just thinking 'be aggressive.' It's the Olympics, anything can happen. "I knew if I went out and ran my race it would come together," she continued. "It felt good. I said 'Thank you, Lord.' It was relief, joy, just a flood of emotions, I don't think it has all set in yet." Felix, whose father Paul is associate professor of New Testament at the Master's Seminary in Sun Valley, Calif., has consistently been a witness for Christ in her comments to the media. "Growing up as a preacher's kid has really grounded me," Felix said in a recent USA Today story. "I've grown up with these amazing parents who are hard workers, and they truly live out their faith. They've been amazing role models for me. I feel like I really picked up on what they taught me and kept that with me all along in my running and in my career. "For me, my faith is the reason I run. I definitely feel I have this amazing gift that God has blessed me with, and it's all about using it to the best of my ability." U.S. diver Brittany Viola failed to qualify for the finals in the women's 10-meter platform competition Aug. 9, finishing 15th overall. (Read the previous BP feature on her at [URL=http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=38441]http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=38441[/URL]). "My mind felt right, my body felt right," Viola said. "It just didn't come together today. Still, to be here was just incredible. I'm going to celebrate this journey. I never thought I'd be here." On her Twitter account prior to the event, Viola wrote, "God's gifted me w/ the ability to dive! He's my strength, peace, & hope! I believe the Word! I have faith in the Truth! I dive for the Lord!" Earlier in the week, high jumper Jesse Williams finished in ninth place Aug. 7 after failing to clear a height of 2.29 meters, which he successful cleared in the qualifying round. (Read the previous BP feature on Williams at [URL=http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=38421]http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=38421 [/URL]) "I under-achieved big time," Williams said. "I'm in unbelievable shape right now. It hurts. I know I'm much better than what I did today. I had some decent attempts. I wasn't using the power that I had. It's disappointing." Williams also expressed his disappointment on Twitter. "Slept 4 hours last night still in shock about yesterday and how it turned out," Williams tweeted. "God give me strength." Hunter Kemper finished 14th in the men's triathlon competition Aug. 7. Kemper is one of only two athletes to appear all four times since the sport became an Olympic event in 2000. (Read the previous BP feature on Kemper at [URL=http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=38432] http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=38432 [/URL]) At age 36, Kemper said prior to the race that he considered London to be his last chance to win a medal. He was uncertain about whether he'll make another attempt to qualify for the Olympics in four years in Rio de Janeiro. "We'll see what the future holds," he said. "I'm not going to say Rio is not a possibility. Maybe I'll be that team tactician that other teams are starting to go towards. We have a lot of young kids coming up that are talented athletes, and I think I could be that veteran that helps them out along the way and maybe get that medal for Team USA, but maybe not me individually." Despite the disappointing performance, Kemper expressed gratitude for what he's been able to accomplish as a triathlete. "This sport has given me so much," he said. "I've been very blessed to provide for my family and give back to them. It's allowed myself to be a professional athlete. What better way to love what you do than to do a sport like triathlon." --30-- Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter ([URL=http://www.Twitter.com/BaptistPress]@BaptistPress[/URL]), Facebook ([URL=http://Facebook.com/BaptistPress]Facebook.com/BaptistPress [/URL]) and in your email ([URL=http://baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp] baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp[/URL]). -- End of story -- Olympics meant giant workload for London By Elaine Gaston Aug. 9 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38462 EDITOR'S NOTE: Baptist Press' London bureau, in tandem with Tim Ellsworth, editor of BP Sports and director of news and media relations at Union University, will be providing coverage of London Olympics. Baptist Press will publish features about Christian athletes in the Olympics, recap results of their competition and cover initiatives to share the Gospel during the Summer Games and within the U.K.'s cultural milieu. LONDON -- To prepare a city even as sophisticated as London for a concentrated influx of hundreds of thousands of international visitors and athletes is a massive undertaking. Because of that, London began planning even before the city won the bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. Once the bid was secure, preparations moved into high gear. First, there was the building of the Olympic Park, sprawling across nearly 250 acres with its assortment of stadiums and venues. For London, the park includes the main stadium which will seat 80,000 for track and field events as well as for opening and closing ceremonies; the aquatics center for the world's fastest swimmers who stroked their way to finger-tip finishes; the velodrome for cycling; and the basketball arena for basketball and handball. Another arena is solely dedicated to handball. Also part of the complex is Olympic Village, built to house and feed more than 17,000 athletes and officials. Other venues for sports are scattered around London, as well as England, with equestrian events in Greenwich Park and soccer stadiums situated as far north as Manchester and Glasgow. Perhaps most irreverently, beach volleyball has transformed the Horse Guards Parade -- just across St. James Park from Buckingham Palace -- into sandy volleyball courts. The official London organizers are relying heavily on volunteers to help the games run smoothly. In 2010 they estimated they would need 70,000 local volunteers to help out with the games. But when, late in that year, organizers called for volunteer applications, more than 240,000 responded for those 70,000 spots. Other 2012 Olympic games facts: --Up to 500,000 spectators could need transport on any given day of the Olympics. --Twelve rail services will run to the Olympic Park during the Games. --Budget estimates put the Olympics at costing the U.K. government approximately $14 billion, four times the original estimate of $3.5 billion. This includes building of facilities, improving infrastructures and $966 million for security. More information on the Olympics can be found at [URL=http://www.london2012.com]www.london2012.com[/URL]. -30- Elaine Gaston, who lived in London with her family in the mid-90s, is a writer for Woman's Missionary Union. To download a copy of the WMU International Mission Study on London in which this article appears, visit [URL=http://www.newsfromeurasia.com/?p=629]www.newsfromeurasia.com/?p=629[/URL].Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter ([URL=http://www.Twitter.com/BaptistPress]@BaptistPress[/URL]), Facebook ([URL=http://Facebook.com/BaptistPress]Facebook.com/BaptistPress [/URL]) and in your email ([URL=http://baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp] baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp[/URL]). -- End of story -- Court upholds Hawaii traditional marriage law By Michael Foust Aug. 9 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38470 HONOLULU (BP) -- A federal court has refused to legalize gay marriage in Hawaii, ruling the issue is best addressed by the legislature and that the current law -- which defines marriage as between a man and a woman -- does not violate the U.S. Constitution. The ruling by Judge Alan. C. Kay Wednesday (Aug. 8) broke a string of court losses by traditionalists on the subject of gay marriage. At issue in Hawaii was a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 1998 giving the legislature the power to define marriage in the traditional sense, which legislators subsequently did. A lesbian couple and a gay man filed suit in federal court last year against Hawaii officials, arguing the amendment and law violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. But Kay, nominated by President Reagan, ruled the legislature had a rational interest defining marriage as between a man and a woman. "Throughout history and societies, marriage has been connected with procreation and childrearing," Kay wrote in his 117-page decision. "... The legislature could rationally conclude that on a societal level, the institution of marriage acts to reinforce 'the important legal and normative link between heterosexual intercourse and procreation on the one hand and family responsibilities on the other.'" The legislature, Kay wrote, could "also rationally conclude that other things being equal, it is best for children to be raised by a parent of each sex." "Both sides presented evidence on this issue and both sides pointed out flaws in their opponents' evidence," he wrote of parenting. "Thus, the Court concludes this rationale is at least debatable and therefore sufficient." The issue, Kay added, is up to the legislature. "In this situation, to suddenly constitutionalize the issue of same-sex marriage 'would short-circuit' the legislative actions that have been taking place in Hawaii," he wrote. The ruling will be appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, generally considered one of the most liberal courts in the nation. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) represented the Hawaii Family Forum in defending the law. Hawaii Family Forum was allowed to intervene after Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat, refused to defend the law in court. "This ruling affirms that protecting and strengthening marriage as the union of one man and one woman is legitimate, reasonable, and good for society," ADF attorney Dale Schowengerdt said in a statement. "The people of Hawaii adopted a constitutional amendment to uphold marriage, and the court rightly concluded that the democratic process shouldn't be short-circuited by judicial decree." The case eventually could have a major impact on the nation because 30 states have amended their constitutions to define marriage as between one man and one woman. However, the California Prop 8 case -- which also involves a constitutional amendment -- is further along in the court system and could be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this fall. Supporters of Prop 8 appealed their case to the high court in late July. --30-- Michael Foust is associate editor of Baptist Press. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter ([URL=http://www.Twitter.com/BaptistPress]@BaptistPress[/URL]), Facebook ([URL=http://Facebook.com/BaptistPress]Facebook.com/BaptistPress [/URL]) and in your email ([URL=http://baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp] baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp[/URL]). Read other resources about the gay marriage debate: [URL=http://bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=38461]FIRST-PERSON (Daniel Akin): Is it true Jesus never addressed same-sex marriage?[/URL] [URL=http://bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=37494]FIRST-PERSON (Glenn Stanton): Why not legalize gay 'marriage'?[/URL] -- End of story -- BIBLE STUDY: Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012 By Staff/LifeWay Christian Resources Aug. 9 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38469 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curriculum and additional resources for all age groups. This week's Bible study is adapted from the YOU! curriculum. Bible Passages: Mark 10:17-27; John 14:6 Discussion Question: What are you holding onto as more precious to you than Christ? Food for Thought: In her 2012 release "7: an experimental mutiny against excess," Jen Hatmaker details in diary-like form how she and her family developed a "call toward Christ-like simplicity and generosity that transcends a social experiment to become a radically better existence" through simply changing seven areas of excess in their lives. She and her husband Brandon along with their three children spent 30 days on each of the following areas of life: food, clothing, spending, media, possessions, waste and stress. They only ate seven foods; they only wore seven pieces of clothing; they only spent money in seven places; they eliminated seven forms of media; they gave away seven items each day; they adopted seven green habits; and they observed seven "sacred pauses." They decreased their lives so that He could increase, and they drew closer to Him as a result. What they eliminated from their lives resulted in adding to their relationships with Christ. Are you willing to let go of the excesses in your life (or even just your iPhone) to draw closer to Jesus? Intentionally focused on urban and multicultural believers, YOU! is biblically-based with culturally relevant lessons to help your members connect, grow, serve and ultimately be engaged in impacting the world for God. This flexible quarterly resource offers weekly Bible study for leaders and learners, devotionals and teaching plans, as well as articles on hot topics and missions. For more information, visit LifeWay.com/YOU. Other ongoing Bible study options for all ages offered by LifeWay can be found at [URL=http://www.LifeWay.com/SundaySchool]www.LifeWay.com/SundaySchool[/URL]. --30-- Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter ([URL=http://www.Twitter.com/BaptistPress]@BaptistPress[/URL]), Facebook ([URL=http://Facebook.com/BaptistPress]Facebook.com/BaptistPress [/URL]) and in your email ([URL=http://baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp] baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp[/URL]). -- End of story -- FIRST-PERSON: Is it true Jesus never addressed same-sex marriage? By Daniel Akin Aug. 9 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38461 WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP) -- Today it is popular among those promoting same-sex marriage to say that Jesus never addressed the issue, that He was silent on the subject. Those who affirm the historical and traditional understanding of marriage between a man and woman often are admonished to go and read the Bible more carefully. If we do so, we are told, we will see that Jesus never addressed the issue. So, the question that I want to raise is, "Is this assertion correct?" Is it indeed the fact that Jesus never addresses the issue of same-sex marriage? When one goes to the Gospels to see exactly what Jesus did say, one will discover that He addressed very clearly both the issues of sex and marriage. He addresses both their use and misuse. And, as He speaks to both subjects, He makes it plain that issues of the heart are of critical importance. First, what did Jesus say about sex? Jesus believed that sex is a good gift from a great God. He also believed that sex was a good gift to be enjoyed within a monogamous, heterosexual covenant of marriage. On this He is crystal clear. In Mark 7 Jesus addresses the fact that all sin is ultimately an issue of the heart. Jesus was never after behavioral modification. Jesus was always after heart transformation. Change the heart and you truly change the person. Thus, when He lists a catalog of sins in Mark 7:21-22, He makes it clear that all of these sins are ultimately matters of the heart. It is the idols of the heart that Jesus is out to eradicate. Among those sins of the heart that often give way to sinful actions He would include both sexual immorality and adultery (Mark 7:21). The phrase "sexual immorality," in a biblical context, would speak of any sexual behavior outside the covenant of marriage between a man and woman. Therefore, Jesus viewed pre-marital sex, adultery and homosexual behavior as sinful. And, He knew that the cure for each is a transformation of the heart made possible by the good news of the Gospel. The Gospel changes us so that now we are enabled to do not what we want, but what God wants. Here we find real freedom and joy. Second, what about the issue of marriage? Is it truly the case that Jesus never spoke to the issue in terms of gender? The answer is a simple no. He gives His perspective on this when He addresses the issue in Matthew 19:4-6. There, speaking to the institution of marriage, Jesus is clear when He says, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." That Jesus was committed to heterosexual marriage could not be more evident. A man is to leave his parents and be joined to a woman who becomes his wife. This is heterosexual marriage. That He also was committed to the permanence and fidelity of marriage is clear as well. So, how might we sum up the issue? First, Jesus came to deliver all people from all sin. Such sin, He was convinced, originated in and was ultimately a matter of the heart. Second, Jesus made it clear that sex is a good gift from a great God, and this good gift is to be enjoyed within heterosexual covenantal marriage. It is simply undeniable that Jesus assumed heterosexual marriage as God's design and plan. Third, Jesus sees all sexual activity outside this covenant as sinful. Fourth, it is a very dangerous and illegitimate interpretive strategy to bracket the words of Jesus and read into them the meaning you would like to find. We must not isolate Jesus from His affirmation of the Old Testament as the Word of God nor divorce Him from His first century Jewish context. Fifth, and this is really good news, Jesus loves both the heterosexual sinner and the homosexual sinner and promises free forgiveness and complete deliverance to each and everyone who comes to Him. John 8 tells the story of a woman caught in adultery. The religious legalists want to stone her, but Jesus intervenes and prevents her murder. He then looks upon the woman and, with grace and tenderness, tells her that He does not condemn her. Then He says to her, "go and sin no more." In Matthew 11:28 Jesus speaks to every one of us weighed down under the terrible weight and burden of sin. Listen to these tender words of the Savior, "Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." This is the hope that is found in Jesus. This is the hope found in the Gospel. Whether one is guilty of heterosexual or homosexual sin, one will find grace, forgiveness and freedom at the foot of the cross where the ground is always level. When I came to fully trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior at the age of 20, I determined that I wanted to think like Jesus and live like Jesus for the rest of my life. When it comes to sex I want to think like Jesus. When it comes to marriage I want to think like Jesus. That means I will affirm covenantal heterosexual marriage. It also means loving each and every person regardless of their lifestyle choices. It means, as His representative, proclaiming His Gospel and extending the transforming grace of the Gospel to others that takes us where we are, but wonderfully and amazingly, does not leave us there. That is a hope and a promise that followers of Jesus gladly extend to everyone, because we have been recipients of that same amazing grace. --30-- Daniel Akin is president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. This column also was posted at [URL=http://www.betweenthetimes.com]www.betweenthetimes.com[/URL]/, a Southeastern Seminary website. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter ([URL=http://www.Twitter.com/BaptistPress]@BaptistPress[/URL]), Facebook ([URL=http://Facebook.com/BaptistPress]Facebook.com/BaptistPress [/URL]) and in your email ([URL=http://baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp] baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp[/URL]). -- End of story -- FIRST-PERSON: God will answer pleas for nearness By Paige Patterson Aug. 9 2012 http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38468 EDITOR'S NOTE: This first-person is part of a series of first-persons Baptist Press will publish in anticipation of the 40/40 Prayer Vigil for Spiritual Revival and National Renewal. The 40/40 Prayer Vigil is an initiative of the North American Mission Board and Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission to encourage Southern Baptists and other evangelicals to pray for 40 days from Sept. 26 to Nov. 4. To learn more, visit [URL=http://www.4040prayer.com]www.4040prayer.com[/URL]. FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- "Pawpaw," said the two sweetest voices I can imagine this side of heaven, "would you take us to Menchie's for frozen yogurt?" OK, we have taken my two granddaughters Abigail and Rebekah for the past two evenings. And yes, I do have a major project due at the seminary in the morning. Sure I am out of cash and will have to stop at the ATM on the way. Oh, and no, I do not have their parents' permission! Who were those people anyway? "Yes, hop in the car and we will go now." Why? Because I love to hear the excitement and trust in those little voices. "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?" (Matthew 7:11). And how exponential that will be if what we seek is nearness to God, the cleansing of His grace, the comfort of His presence and the wisdom of His words and thoughts. Will you turn a deaf ear to the earnest admonition of your child who asks nothing more than the grasp of your arms and the intent of your heart? Unthinkable! For God to turn away from such a plea from His children is more impossible still. Furthermore, the manifest presence and power of God is the greatest need Southern Baptists have at this hour. A plethora of negative reports and statistical analyses have chronicled our ills. Thousands of our churches are evangelistically ineffective. A world of more than 5 billion souls without Christ on the down escalator to eternity find few riding the upward bound escalators who will reach across for a rescue. Our convention, for all -- and perhaps in part because of -- our successes, is pulled in every direction like a pan of taffy candy. This is why orthodox theology in itself is wholly inadequate. Believing the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God does not guarantee obedience to the Lord who spoke it. Comprehending that repentance and faith are essential to salvation is not to be equated with the act of humble repentance and self-abandoning trust in Jesus. Even orthopraxy, doing the right things void of the energy of the Holy Spirit and the motivation of love for God and for neighbor, becomes sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. Consequently, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and the North American Mission Board have urged Southern Baptists to participate in earnest intercession with our heavenly Father for 40 days. The 40/40 Prayer Vigil for Spiritual Revival and National Renewal calls for a visitation and intervention of God in our churches and our nation. This request ought to be like asking a famished man to eat or a parched throat in the desert to accept a cold sip of refreshing water. Do you really love God? Was there ever anyone whom you genuinely loved whose presence you did not covet? Is it our desire to continue the task of "doing church" without a visitation from heaven? Do we have an appetite for witnessing the powerful hand of God doing the inexplicable in our day? Among us coterie of souls is there anyone left who longs for the holiness of the cleansing of the Holy Spirit? While I do not indulge in the hopeless prognostications about the dismal future, nothing could be more obvious than our present need for a fresh visitation of God's Spirit. We are not such able theologians and churchmen as to be able to "heal the hurt of the daughters of My people" (Jeremiah 6:14, 8:11). We are unable by political or statesman-like sagacity to curtail the immoral descent of our nation into the abyss. If our God does not show Himself mighty in America once again, our First Amendment promises of religious liberty will be squandered and we will soon be as totally secular as much of Europe. The greatest hour for Southern Baptists has come. I believe that the problems of the church and nation have convinced us to run to God in sacrificial, heartfelt intercession. Our wonderful Lord has promised, "You shall find Me when you seek Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). All of our people and all of our churches must rejoice in the challenge from the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and the North American Mission Board and say with the Shulamite shepherdess seeking Solomon, "I sought him whom my soul loveth" (Song of Solomon 3:1). Join with the hundreds of thousands as we make 2012 the year of seeking God, the One whom our souls love. --30-- Paige Patterson is president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter ([URL=http://www.Twitter.com/BaptistPress]@BaptistPress[/URL]), Facebook ([URL=http://Facebook.com/BaptistPress]Facebook.com/BaptistPress [/URL]) and in your email ([URL=http://baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp] baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp[/URL]). -- End of story -- Copyright (c) 2013 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press 901 Commerce Street Nashville, TN 37203 Tel: 615.244.2355 Fax: 615.782.8736 email: bpress@sbc.net