The ministry founded by famed evangelist Billy Graham and a 180-year-old Baptist newspaper, the Biblical Recorder, say they were targeted by the Internal Revenue Service. Read more

With the U.S. Supreme Court set to take up gay marriage and potentially legalize it this summer, churches that host wedding ceremonies or other events for traditional couples should examine their bylaws and shield themselves from the impact of possible litigation, says an attorney who specializes in religious liberty issues. Read more

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As people on both sides of the debate wait for the Illinois House to vote on a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage, Christian leaders continue to gather together to pray the state legislature will vote to protect a traditional definition of the institution. Read more

The same-sex marriage debate continued in Illinois, while the U.S. Supreme Court took it to the national stage late last month with their discussions on the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act. And everyone, from state and national legislators to former baseball players, is being asked to choose a side. Read more

Illinois lawmakers took another step on Tuesday toward legalizing same-sex marriage in the state. Members of the House Executive Committee voted 6-5 to move the “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act” to a full vote on the House floor. Read more at iB2news.org

Hundreds of people rallied on the steps of the Illinois Capitol Wednesday, February 20 in support of a traditional definition of marriage. They gathered in front of the statue depicting the sixteenth President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and listened as speakers urged them stand up as Christians and to make their voices heard inside the Capitol Building. Read more at iB2news

The Illinois Senate voted Thursday afternoon to pass SB 10, which would legalize same-sex marriage in the state, by a vote of 34 to 21. The bill now faces a vote in the State House.

A few Illinois Baptists – who were vastly outnumbered by supporters of same-sex marriage – were present in the gallery for the vote and the debate which preceded it. Read more at iB2news.org

At first glance, the fight about same-sex marriage appears to be over whether to “normalize” homosexuality. But there is a more chilling danger lurking unseen: legalizing same-sex marriage will change the government’s posture toward religion from neutral to antagonistic. Read more

Last summer when civil unions became legal in Illinois, many homosexual groups said the action did not go far enough and they would continue their efforts to make same-sex marriage legal in the state. Read more

Baptists join other groups in making defense of traditional marriage known
Proponents of same-sex marriage still see Illinois as the likely tenth state to make gay marriage legal, despite a setback in state legislature’s lame-duck session last week. Meanwhile, advocates for traditional marriage, including a variety of religious groups, are using the time before a new bill is introduced to make their opposition to the possible law known. Read more

Last year I wrote a brief post on the future of the evangelical response regarding homosexuality after Starbucks’ Howard Schultz withdrew from speaking at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. In that post, I listed five principles to consider about the issue of homosexuality and evangelical churches. Those principles still apply today. Read more

The North American Mission Board's executive director for chaplaincy, Douglas Carver, is reiterating that Southern Baptist military chaplains endorsed by NAMB on behalf of the convention do not support same-sex civil unions or marriages that might take place on some military installations. Read more

An Illinois judge has granted intervenor status to the Thomas More Society to do what the Cook County state attorney and the Illinois attorney general won't do: defend the state's 1996 Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. Learn more

African American SBC pastors criticize President Obama’s new view, but new poll shows a shift in the pews
Characterizing President Obama’s changing opinion on same-sex marriage as betrayal, a prominent Southern Baptist pastor who is also African American came out against the president’s declaration, capturing the views of many black Christians whose political support of the first African American President is being challenged by their convictions on this biblical issue. Read more

Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention approved resolutions Wednesday reaffirming their convictions regarding the means of salvation and the inerrancy of Scripture while indicating their intention to continue cooperating in the Great Commission despite some theological differences. Read more

After both Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan pushed for acceptance of same-sex marriage Sunday (May 6), North Carolina reversed the trend and became the 30th state to amend its constitution to define marriage as an act between one man and one woman. Now President Barack Obama has affirmed his support of same-sex marriage. Read more