Mohler tumor clear of cancer
Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Seminary, received good news from the results of his recent surgery: A tumor removed from his colon is not cancerous. Mohler, 48, underwent surgery in March to remove what was believed to be a pre-cancerous tumor, but he had to await the results of pathological testing to learn whether the tumor was malignant. Doctors found the tumor during a routine colonoscopy in February. Mohler said he is working his way back into his presidential duties.
McDonald’s exec. supports gay agenda
A McDonald’s executive has joined the board of directors for the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, a business organization known for aggressively pushing the homosexual agenda. Richard Ellis, McDonald’s vice president of communications, was elected to the advocacy group’s board in March. According to an NGLCC news release, Ellis said. “I share the NGLCC’s passion for business growth and development within the LGBT community and I look forward to playing a role in moving these important initiatives forward.” The American Family Association is asking its supporters to call their local McDonald’s and ask why the company is using its resources to promote the homosexual agenda. AFA also is urging concerned citizens to send an e-mail to Andrew McKenna, president of McDonald’s, providing a link to send an e-mail at https://secure.afa.net/afa/activism/TakeAction.asp?id=314.
Oprah editorial gets Enquirer spotlight
The National Enquirer took an editorial potshot at Florida Baptist Witness executive editor James A. Smith Sr. in their April 7 edition. Under a headline that declared, “Baptist leader condemns Oprah,” National Enquirer writer Alexander Hitchens drew readers’ attention to what he called a “bizarre warning from a leading Baptist authority who says the talk-show host’s support for some New Age teachings is leading Christians astray.” The bulk of Hitchens’ article was then devoted to quotes from Smith’s March 6 editorial, including an observation that “far too many Christians – including many who would consider themselves conservative, Bible-believing evangelicals – are more likely to take their theological cues from Oprah than they are from their faithful pastors.” Smith’s editorial focused on an e-mail circulating on the Internet that warns Christians about Winfrey’s promotion of a New Age teaching called “A Course in Miracles.”
Evangelists: Probe chills religious liberty
Lawyers for “prosperity gospel” televangelists Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar have told U.S. senators that they will not comply with a probe into their ministries because it threatens religious freedom rights. Letters on behalf of Copeland and Dollar were sent March 31 to inform members of the Senate Finance Committee of the noncompliance, contending that the probe was based in part on the targeting of teachers from the “word of faith” movement. Copeland and Dollar’s ministries are two of six asked to provide personal and ministry-related financial records in a probe initiated in November by Sen. Charles Grassley, R.-Iowa, the Finance Committee’s minority leader. “Word of faith” teaching normally includes the “prosperity gospel,” which evangelical critics say mistakenly equates God’s promises of blessing with temporal, materialistic success.
ERLC expands values Web sites
A new iLiveValues.com initiative of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is calling Southern Baptists and other evangelicals to apply their faith-informed convictions in all areas of life, not just at the ballot box. Citing the ERLC’s ongoing emphasis on active and principled civic involvement by Christians, Land noted: “While voting is a critical civic obligation, we make important decisions every day – decisions in which our faith should play an important part. Whether in our home, our workplace or the marketplace, we have both an opportunity and an obligation to live out our values,” Land said. “Considering your values on just one day a year falls far short of what God expects from us,” Land continued. “Our biblically based beliefs should guide and direct our thoughts, speech and activities every day of the year.”