Religion Today Summaries – July 1, 2005
Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world. In today's edition:
Ten Commandments Hotline Proposed
Ruling On The Kentucky Displays Of The Ten Commandments Was "Abominable."
Billy Graham to ‘Preach as Long as The Lord Gives Him Strength’
“Everyone Can Campaign” Unveiled
Ten Commandments Hotline Proposed
Erin Curry, Baptist Press
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, called the Supreme Court's split decision on the Ten Commandments June 27 a marginal victory because it will allow displays in certain contexts but overall has served to confuse Americans more. Now he is proposing a hotline for citizens to call when they wonder whether a planned display will stand the court's test. "Justice Stephen G. Breyer was the swing vote in both the Texas and the Kentucky cases," Perkins said in his June 28 Washington Update. "Justice Breyer's reasoning will further confuse communities that wish to display religious monuments with historical significance -- or is that historical monuments with religious significance? "A possible solution might allow Justice Breyer, a Clinton appointee, to establish a 1-800 number that city governments can call to ask the fickle Justice if their display would be permissible," Perkins added. The court issued a 5-4 ruling in both cases, invalidating Ten Commandments displays in Kentucky courthouses while upholding a monument of the Decalogue on the Texas capitol grounds.
Ruling On The Kentucky Displays Of The Ten Commandments Was "Abominable."
Agape Press
The legal counsel for Concerned Women for America says the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Kentucky displays of the Ten Commandments was "abominable." In two separate rulings on Monday (June 27), the high court held unconstitutional the display of the Commandments in courthouses, but permitted displays on state capital grounds. Jan LaRue admits she is both puzzled and baffled, saying it is a "stretch beyond reason" to try to reconcile these rulings with earlier rulings that upheld religious displays on public property. "We had expected that 'benevolent neutrality' by government toward religion in the public square would eradicate the insufferable 'malevolent hostility' that has reigned for too long," LaRue says in a press release. "The Court's use of the Lemon v. Kurtzman test is based on the fallacy of the so-called 'wall of separation between church and state.'" LaRue notes that the Supreme Court itself has a Ten Commandments display, but expects no change there. "With his abominable courthouse ruling, you would expect to hear hammers and chisels resurfacing the Court's own walls and doors that display Moses and the Commandments," she says.
Billy Graham to ‘Preach as Long as The Lord Gives Him Strength’
Charisma News Service
Billy Graham's recent New York crusade was regarded as his last stadium appearance, but family and friends of the world's most famous preacher are not so sure. Graham's New York crusade drew more than 242,000 and resulted in more than 9,400 commitments to Christ. "I was asked in an interview if this is our last crusade, and it probably is-in New York," Graham told the crowd of 90,000 gathered for the final meeting last Sunday. "But I also said, 'Never say never.'" Graham added that he has a strong invitation to preach in England this fall, which he will discuss this week with a delegation that came to New York. Graham's eldest son, Franklin Graham, who heads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), noted that "right now his health is very good." "He's the best he's been in three years," Franklin said. "When he gets strong he starts having all kinds of ideas and that means more work for me!" What are Graham's plans for the future? When asked about the legacy he hopes to leave, Billy Graham told Charisma: "I want to be remembered as a person who was faithful to God, faithful to my family, faithful to the Scriptures and faithful to my calling. I want the world to remember Billy Graham as a man that dedicated his life to the Lord and never looked back." (www.charismanews.com)
“Everyone Can Campaign” Unveiled
Agape Press
Churches throughout the Southern Baptist Convention are being challenged to dramatically increase their witnessing efforts in the coming year. During the recent SBC annual meeting in Nashville, denomination president Bobby Welch unveiled the "Everyone Can Campaign." That initiative calls for Southern Baptists to witness, to win to Christ, and to baptize one million people in the coming year. In reaction, Welch says, Southern Baptists must expect an increase in spiritual warfare. Witnessing, he says, is hard work -- and hard spiritual work as well. "You can get away with just about anything until you try to bust Hell wide open and win souls and keep them from going to Hell and get them on the road to Heaven," he says. "You can get away with murder, almost, out there -- the Devil won't bother you much. In fact, sometimes I think he helps you. But when you get to this [winning souls to Christ], it's tough sledding." Last year, more than 10,000 SBC churches reported they had no baptisms.
Originally published June 30, 2005.
