Posted on 01/10/2007 8:15:08 AM PST by madprof98
Southern Baptist leader says politics motivates appeal to faithful who feel left out by conservatives.
Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton announced in Atlanta on Tuesday the creation of a Baptist organization they said would counter what they say is a negative image of their faith.
The New Baptist Convention was announced at the Carter Center by representatives of about 40 moderate Baptist groups that have distanced themselves from the conservative Southern Baptist Convention. Carter and Clinton —- both Baptists —- said the New Baptist Convention will look for solutions to problems such as poverty and racism. Carter and Clinton said they want to counter concerns that Baptists have been "negative" and "exclusionary" and promised an inclusive organization willing to debate openly all issues.
But an official with the Southern Baptist Convention —- the largest Protestant denomination in the country —- countered that the two presidents have fallen out of step with their church and are angry most conservative Baptists do not support their politics.
Tuesday's announcement stems from a long-running battle between conservative and moderate Baptists.
In 2000, Carter left the Southern Baptist church after years of feeling "increasingly uncomfortable." At the time, he said the final straw was a denominational statement saying wives should submit to their husbands.
The new organization plans to hold its first convocation in Atlanta in January. Organizers hope to attract more than 20,000 Baptists.
"This is a historic event for the Baptists in this country and perhaps for Christianity," Carter said. "Our goal is to have a major demonstration of harmony and a common commitment to honor the goals of Jesus Christ. We want to be all-inclusive, and we call on all Baptists to share those goals and join us."
Clinton, who said he was just a cheerleader for the group, said Tuesday's announcement is part of an effort to bring Baptists together to fight poverty and to work on health care and environmental issues and eliminating religious and racial conflict.
"This is very important in the history of modern Christianity and how religion should relate to the larger society," Clinton said. "This is an attempt to bring people together and say, 'What would our Christian witness require of us in the 21st century?' "
About 80 moderate Baptists involved in the group met at the Carter Center this week as part of a retreat by the North American Baptist Fellowship, an organization that's part of the Baptist World Alliance and has about 20 million members, according to the NABF.
Notably absent from the Carter-Clinton press conference were leaders from the Southern Baptist Convention, which represents 16.4 million Baptists nationwide. The Southern Baptist Convention pulled out of the Baptist World Alliance in 2004.
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said he wasn't invited to Tuesday's gathering.
"I am puzzled as to why I wasn't invited," Land said. "For 18 years, I have been doing what they are trying to do, and my organization has as well."
Carter said he would welcome Southern Baptists.
"There are a number of folks here who are Southern Baptist," Carter said. "I don't want this to be the source of a fight. I'd be thrilled to have them come to this meeting."
But Land said the former presidents are "unfairly characterizing" what the Southern Baptist Convention stands for, and pointed to the presidents' liberal politics.
"Most Southern Baptists, 90 percent or more, are pro-life [when it comes to abortion]. Clearly Carter and Clinton are pro-choice," Land said. "This might be the 'Pro-choice Baptist Convention.' And whenever you disagree with Mr. Carter, you are narrow-minded."
Land said most Southern Baptists voted against both Clinton and Carter, and four out of five voters who identified themselves as Southern Baptists voted in 2000 for George W. Bush over Al Gore, a member of the denomination.
"I suspect that Mr. Carter and Mr. Clinton are upset about that," said Land.
Bill Underwood, president of Mercer University and the organizer of the meeting at the Carter Center, said politics has nothing to do with the creation of the organization.
"President Carter and President Clinton are not here in their capacity as statesmen, politicians or Democrats," Underwood said. "They are here in their capacity as Baptists."
The formation of the New Baptist Convention springs in part from a 28-year denominational feud.
Moderate and conservative Baptists have for years clashed on issues such as the inerrancy of the Bible, the virgin birth of Jesus and women pastors.
Conservative Baptist leaders took control of the national convention in 1979 and gradually purged it of moderate leaders. The convention's conservative wing became the primary voice in the nation for Baptists, becoming a leading voice in opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion rights.
The Southern Baptist Convention withdrew from the Baptist World Alliance and in 2004 formally ended its relationship with Georgia's Mercer University. Convention leaders said both groups had become too liberal.
David W. Key, director of the Baptist Studies program at Emory's Candler School of Theology, says the convention thought withdrawing from the Baptist World Alliance would cause the group to collapse because it was the alliance's primary funder, but something else happened.
"All of these other Baptist entities suddenly began to see the possibilities of working together," Key said.
Conservative Baptist leaders said they were simply trying to combat the leftward drift of their denomination.
Underwood, of Mercer, said the new group simply represents Baptists who decided "to focus on ideas that bind us together —- like feeding the hungry and caring for the sick."
The New Baptist Convention will include people of all races, classes, sexual orientations and political persuasions, Carter said.
Carter said the organization is "not trying to replace or work against anyone."
"There is a deep crisis and division among Christian believers who are separated from one another because of these ancillary issues," said Carter. "The main thrust of our efforts is to heal those wounds."
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
WIshing they'd take the FAKE Catholics; Pelosi, Kennedy, & Kerry with them!
Rosalyn must not have liked that.
Problem is, if you argue with that you're arguing with Scripture (Colossians 3, Ephesians 5, 1st Peter 3), so it's a little difficult to be a Southern Baptist (a very Scriptural denomination) and reject the teachings of the New Testament.
If Carter had a brain in his head, though, he would read that Scripture in context and understand what it meant. While wives must obey their husbands, in return the husband must be Christ-like and sacrifice everything -- even his own life if necessary -- for his wife.
My son was at a gathering of college students in Atlanta over New Year's. One of the speakers was John Piper, and he talked about a movement that was denying several tenets of the Christian faith, but in a very subtle way. The group is called "The Emergent Church."
I had never heard of them, so I did some looking and sure enough they are trying to appeal to the "non fundamental, less conservative" Christian, but deny such doctrines as substitutional atonement and hell.
Here's a link that discusses the new movement.
http://signsoflifebooks.com/blog/2006/09/what-is-the-emergent-church/
Democrats never miss a church photo-op but Christians are "right-wing". I take that as, to a Democrat, it's OK to lie about being religous but not OK to actually BE religous. Mmm-hm.
Do you have to hate Jews to join up?
What this really amounts to is an attack on an enemy constituency......the Southern Baptists.
I had to go back and read this several time to make sure my eyes weren't failing me. Carter and Clinton announcing the creation of a new Baptist organization? Now, that's an outfit you can trust. (/s)
I have no problem with this. I just wish they wouldn't use the Baptist name. They should pick something more historically accurate.
I would recommend the "Church of Malignant Narcisissism." In the long run, they could form a united alliance with other narcissistic religious enterprises, such as the Unitarian Universalist Association. and at least half of the mainline Protestant denominations.
"Emergent Church" is just the latest hip name for something that is not new at all.
[promised an inclusive organization willing to debate openly all issues.}
Clinton and Carter mean issues can be honestly disccuess as long as they are politically correct. Politically incorrect issues are hateful, hutful, and extreme.
"There is a deep crisis and division among Christian believers who are separated from one another because of these ancillary issues," said Carter. "The main thrust of our efforts is to heal those wounds."
_____________________________________________________
There should be a huge division, he is preaching heresy and the body of Christ should use the sword of truth to lobe his head off.
What about separation of church and state - if the republicans had done this, man they press would be eating them alive!
Let me think....oh, what on earth could these solutions be?
Could they be....uh....socialism and statism? Just a wild guess.
Where's the ACLU complaining? Afterall, they claim tobe non-partisan? :)
Notice the media is more than willing to have Christians on tv say the faithful shouldn't get involved in politics in regards to abortion or gay marriage. However, in the next sentence, they say Christians have a Godly duty to combat global warming and support universal healthcare.
Read the ticker on this music video, about Clinton getting mad at Wallace,
Cheap Trick - Voices
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huARDXzPEN8
Then enjoy this one for all those who want surrender,
Cheap Trick - Surrender
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9EMJzu8kV4
Both are great, and we all could use a little joy.
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