___ Senator wants nominees to swear "So help me God." An Alabama Republican wants the United States Senate to mandate that nominees swear "So help me God" in their confirmation hearings. On Aug. 2, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., lashed out at Judiciary Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., for not including the words at the end of the oath taken by nominees appearing before the committee. "Ninety-five percent of the people believe in God," Sessions said. "An invocation of his name, in conjunction with the seriousness of telling the truth, has an importance beyond mere legal requirement." Leahy said he simply reads the oath--to tell "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth"--from a card and will include the reference to God if the committee desires it.
___ Buffer zone constitutional. A Massachusetts law that creates a buffer zone around abortion clinics is constitutional, a federal appeals court decided Aug. 13. The year-old law--spurred by a 1994 attack on an abortion clinic--prohibits protesters from approaching within 18 feet of a clinic where abortions are performed, and within 6 feet of clients entering the clinics.
___ ELCA keeps gay ban. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted Aug. 13 not to overturn a ban on non-celibate gay clergy, opting instead to launch a churchwide study on homosexuality and craft a timeline for a final decision on the issue. The decision to keep the policy sparked non-violent protests, resulting in 50 arrests. Opponents promised to continue to openly challenge the ban by irregularly ordaining gay pastors.
___ Assemblies opens door to divorced. In a groundbreaking decision, the General Council of the Assemblies of God decided Aug. 8 to allow men and women who were divorced before their Christian conversion to seek ministerial credentials with the denomination. The approval of a resolution by a 998-834 margin followed discussion that revealed a sharp division on the matter during the biennial meeting in Kansas City, Mo.
The Baptist Standard
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