Human gene-editing experiment ignites controversy On Nov. 27, 2018, professor He Jiankui announced that a pair of genetically edited twins had been born in China. He and his team used CRISPR/Cas-9, a gene-editing tool that makes it possible to add a healthy gene or disable an unhealthy one. In this case, he says he was […]
Even as ethicists and faith leaders decry a Chinese scientist’s claim to have altered the genetic code of twin girls (see story here), a recently approved cancer-fighting drug illustrates that genetics-based medical research can be profoundly effective in curing some forms of cancer. On Nov. 26, the Food and Drug Administration approved a drug that […]
Stanley was serving on staff at a Southern Baptist church in Aiken County Rick Stanley, a stepbrother to Elvis Presley who turned to Christ two months after Presley’s death in 1977 and, as an evangelist, spoke at Billy Graham-sponsored events and in a multitude of other settings, died Saturday evening, Jan. 5, in Aiken, S.C. […]
David Buie of Greer has released a new book that offers spiritual encouragement for people living with fibromyalgia. In “Jesus, Fibromyalgia and Me,” Buie, a member of Northwood Baptist Church in Greer, talks candidly about the physical, mental and emotional effects of fibromyalgia. “Some days this disease gets the best of me no matter what I […]
After World War II, decorated Army veteran Jesse Whitley returned home and became a soldier for the Lord, serving as a Baptist pastor and preacher for more than 45 years. “Sgt.” Whitley, who celebrated his 99th birthday Dec. 14, received renewed recognition on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, with Green Beret status for his service in […]
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s 71-page report on the institution’s history of slavery and racism garnered coverage in hundreds of media outlets during the week following its release. Reaction to the report ranged from affirmation by many evangelicals to criticism from both the left and right. “Insofar as there is any legitimacy to any criticism, we […]
Mark Aderholt, former associate executive director and chief strategist for the South Carolina Baptist Convention, has been indicted on charges of sexually assaulting a teenager in Arlington, Texas, more than 20 years ago. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, citing court records in Tarrant County, Texas, reported Dec. 19 that Aderholt, 47, was indicted Dec. 18 on […]
As a young man, Franklin Scott sensed a strong call to ministry but clearly knew it wouldn’t be in the pastorate. “But back in those days being a pastor was about the only way to respond,” he says on the eve of his Dec. 31 retirement after 29 years in campus ministry at the University […]
This article was updated Jan. 17, 2019, to correctly identify Richardson’s place of service as North Little Rock, not Little Rock. Wyman Richardson, pastor of Central Baptist Church in North Little Rock, Ark., and a South Carolina native, is the editor of an eight-volume series of books on “The Collected Works of James Leo Garrett, […]
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary released a report Dec. 12 that discloses the history of slavery and racism at the seminary. “Slavery was not only tolerated in many schools, but also expressly defended and even praised as divinely ordained,” the seminary said in its news release on the school’s past. “Though this was true of many […]