In the Witness this week

‘Expelled’: Intelligent Design foes no match for Stein
Published April 17, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)—Actor, commentator and comedian Ben Stein promises he hasn’t lost his mind. Well, he says with his famous dry monotone humor, at least not in this instance.

New Orleans church reopens more than two years after Katrina
Published April 17, 2008

NEW ORLEANS (BP)—Imagine the nation’s worst natural disaster striking your home. Water nine feet deep. No more books. No more furniture. No more safety or security.

Storms faces attacks over evolution bill
House, Senate panels adopt different academic freedom bills
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor
Published April 17, 2008

TALLAHASSEE (FBW)—Sen. Ronda Storms (R-Brandon) has been surprised by the personal attacks of those who oppose her bill to protect academic freedom for public school teachers and students addressing evolution.

Shoes for Haiti make big impact, fill ‘extreme’ need
BARBARA DENMAN
Florida Baptist Convention
Published April 17, 2008

PORT AU PRINCE (FBC)—Compliments of Florida Baptists, 4,200 pairs of shoes, 2,000 pants and 2,000 shirts—packed in 169 boxes— arrived April 3 in flood-ravaged Haiti.

Opinion

Editorial

Send a message: See ‘Expelled’
JAMES A. SMITH SR.
Executive Editor

Large majorities of Americans continue to reject Darwinian evolution as an answer to the origin of life despite the hegemony it enjoys in the academy, popular culture, government and the news media. Americans who are concerned about the unwillingness of our societal elite to consider the flaws of evolution can send a message about our unrelenting rejection of Darwinism by seeing the new documentary, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.”

Point of View

Part 2: Guidelines for interpreting the Bible
DAVID S. DOCKERY
Baptist Press

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of five articles by David S. Dockery, president of Union University in Jackson, Tenn., on the authority of the Bible. The five articles were published as one article in the February 2008 issue of SBC Life, journal of the Southern Baptist Convention (www.sbclife.org).

Walking together toward Jesus
BOB STITH
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

Melanie Spinks left lesbianism several years ago. She told me recently how glad she was to see Southern Baptists establishing a full-time office to help our churches deal with the issue of homosexuality. Her message to me was basically, “Encourage our churches to be the church.”

Color, form, balance & worldview: How to judge art
CHARLES COLSON
Breakpoint

At Prison Fellowship’s national headquarters hangs one of my favorite photographs. It is huge—six feet by four feet—featuring a close-up of a female prison inmate wearing a blue scarf and burgundy jumpsuit. Her face is lighted with a joyful smile.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor
Published April 17, 2008

Letters to the Editor may not reflect the views or opinions of the Witness. Letters may be mailed, faxed or submitted using our online form. Only letters marked clearly for publication, signed with address will be considered for use. Letters are subject to editing. Please limit letters to 250 words.

Florida

Florida News

Shoes for Haiti make big impact, fill ‘extreme’ need

PORT AU PRINCE (FBC)—Compliments of Florida Baptists, 4,200 pairs of shoes, 2,000 pants and 2,000 shirts—packed in 169 boxes— arrived April 3 in flood-ravaged Haiti.

Federal Judge dismisses lawsuit in Gay-Straight Alliance case in Okeechobee

OKEECHOBEE (FBW)—A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit April 9 against the Okeechobee County School Board which fought the establishment of a “Gay-Straight Alliance” at Okeechobee High School.

‘Season of Brotherhood’ at Easter benefits Children’s Homes Miami campus

New Piper Center opens at Lakeland home April 19

LAKELAND (FBCH)—A much-needed 15,000-square-foot Piper Children’s Center that has been under construction in Lakeland since last summer, is set to open in April. The public is invited to a dedication ceremony April 19, beginning at 3 p.m.

Women called to act in ‘one accord’ at SonShine 2008

LEESBURG (FBC)—Called to act in “one accord” at the 2008 SonShine conference, nearly 250 Florida Baptist mission leaders came together to focus on the needs of missionaries and missions education.

Spring breakers minister to Ticos in Costa Rica

STUART (FBW)—Twenty-one high school and college students from Treasure Coast area churches spent their Spring Break in Cachí, Costa Rica March 21- April 6 to continue an expansion project for a local church and to reach the community with the Gospel.

Campus ministry a refuge in wake of tragedy

GAINESVILLE (FBC)—It was a dark October evening. The man darting across the street was dressed in dark clothes. The pizza delivery driver never saw him. Neither did the people standing at a nearby bus stop.

Legislature Watch

Storms faces attacks over evolution bill
House, Senate panels adopt different academic freedom bills

TALLAHASSEE (FBW)—Sen. Ronda Storms (R-Brandon) has been surprised by the personal attacks of those who oppose her bill to protect academic freedom for public school teachers and students addressing evolution.

Senate panel approves ultrasound abortion bill
Arborist bill raises DR concerns; state song compromise floated

TALLAHASSEE (FBW)—The Senate Health Regulation Committee approved legislation requiring an ultrasound prior to a first trimester abortion on a largely party-line, 4-3 vote April 8, with one Democrat supporting the bill and one Republican in opposition.

Florida News Briefs

‘Call to Prayer’ at Blue Springs May 16-17

Unleash the power of your Sunday School

Spring recital at BCF April 22

Fort Myers hosts simple church seminar

Churches to go beyond the first visit

David McKinley to speak at PBAU Spring commencement May 3

National

National News

New Orleans church reopens more than two years after Katrina

NEW ORLEANS (BP)—Imagine the nation’s worst natural disaster striking your home. Water nine feet deep. No more books. No more furniture. No more safety or security.

Sex trafficking of minors grows in U.S.
Clearwater one of ten locations targeted to identify victims, victim services

WASHINGTON (BP)—American children are becoming victims of human sex trafficking, according to statistics released by Shared Hope International.

Senators urged to beef up sex trafficking bill

WASHINGTON (BP)—Southern Baptist ethics leader Richard Land is part of a diverse coalition calling on United States senators to pass improved legislation to combat human trafficking.

Chaplain Carver at SBTS; Mohler notes 4,000 lost in war

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)—Maj. Gen. Douglas Carver, the U.S. Army’s chief of chaplains and a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, challenged students to passionately serve God and to pray for the military during a chapel service at the Louisville, Ky., campus.

Clinton vows to fight for ‘gay rights,’ including marriage-like benefits

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)—Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton told a Philadelphia homosexual newspaper she would work to advance “gay rights” as president, including possibly signing into law a bill that would grant same-sex couples the legal benefits of marriage.

Features

Expelled

Editorial
Send a message: See ‘Expelled’

Large majorities of Americans continue to reject Darwinian evolution as an answer to the origin of life despite the hegemony it enjoys in the academy, popular culture, government and the news media. Americans who are concerned about the unwillingness of our societal elite to consider the flaws of evolution can send a message about our unrelenting rejection of Darwinism by seeing the new documentary, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.”

‘Expelled’: Intelligent Design foes no match for Stein

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)—Actor, commentator and comedian Ben Stein promises he hasn’t lost his mind. Well, he says with his famous dry monotone humor, at least not in this instance.

Creation Museum unexpected success

PETERSBURG, Ky. (BP)—Nearly a year after it opened, the Creation Museum near Cincinnati still has its secular detractors, but its success in attendance is erasing any doubts it can succeed.

Dembski: ‘Expelled’ exposes hypocrisy

FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)—A controversial documentary set for release nationwide April 18 could foster a cultural shift “equivalent to the fall of the Berlin Wall,” says William Dembski, research professor of philosophy at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Students: Thumbs up to ‘Expelled’ preview

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)—Some 200 students at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary recently got a free sneak preview of the upcoming documentary “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,” and they gave it high marks.

Sports News

ESPN’s Davis receives Wooden award

SAN ANTONIO (BP)—Former North Carolina star Hubert Davis accepted the John Wooden Keys to Life Award at the Legends of the Hardwood breakfast April 5, giving all credit to his faith in Jesus Christ.

Disgraced Baylor coach seeks forgiveness

SAN ANTONIO (BP)—Former Baylor coach Dave Bliss made his first public apology to fellow coaches at the National Association of Basketball Coaches convention April 4, saying God had restored his heart and asking them for forgiveness.

All-star Clemson guard here ‘to honor God’

SAN ANTONIO (BP)—Clemson shooting guard Cliff Hammonds’ team didn’t make the Final Four, but he was among the college senior players in the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-Star game in conjunction with the NCAA championship festivities in San Antonio.

Bible Study

Bible Studies for Life

April 27: Exploring Humility
Genesis 32:3, 6-12; 33:1-5, 9-11

Wiley Richards is a retired professor of theology and philosophy at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

May 4: Appreciate
Philippians 2:19-22, 25-30; 4:15-18

Wiley Richards is a retired professor of theology and philosophy at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

Explore the Bible

April 27: Delivered from all his troubles
Genesis 41

Mark Rathel is professor of theology at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

May 4: Forgetting the family hardship
Genesis 42

Mark Rathel is professor of theology at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.