Posted on 10/19/2007 8:35:02 AM PDT by Spiff
Dr. Don Wilton, Former President Of The South Carolina Baptist Convention, Endorses Gov. Romney
Friday, Oct 19, 2007FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kevin Madden (857) 288-6390Boston, MA – Today, Dr. Don Wilton, the immediate-past President of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, announced his support for Governor Mitt Romney and his campaign for the presidency. Dr. Wilton's endorsement is another indication of Governor Romney's growing support among faith and values leaders in South Carolina and across the nation.
"I am proud to stand alongside Governor Romney as he pursues our nation's highest office. His values are my values – protecting the sanctity of human life, defending marriage and strengthening the family. We need someone in Washington who will stand up for traditional families and Governor Romney is that person," said Dr. Wilton. "While we may not agree on theology, Governor Romney and I agree that this election is about our country heading in the right direction. Governor Romney is the best candidate to stand for conservative values in Washington."
With today's announcement, Governor Romney said, "As conservatives, Dr. Wilton and I believe that our nation is stronger when we build stronger families. I look forward to working with him in South Carolina to ensure that Washington stands for families, life and marriage."
Background On Dr. Don Wilton:
Dr. Don Wilton Is Senior Pastor At The First Baptist Church Of Spartanburg, South Carolina, And The Immediate Past President Of The South Carolina Baptist Convention. Dr. Wilton was the 2006 South Carolina Baptist Convention President. He has served in churches in South Africa, Mississippi and Louisiana. He began his pastorate at the First Baptist Church in Spartanburg in 1993. His church currently has 6,900 members. A former faculty member at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, he currently teaches at the Billy Graham School of Evangelism and the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove. Additionally, Dr. Wilton serves as President of the Encouraging Word Broadcast Ministry, which televises nationwide.
In addition to having authored numerous articles, he has written and published five books, including his most recent The Absolute Certainty of Life After Death. Dr. Wilton and his wife Karyn have three children.
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I just started watching this man on TV a few weeks ago - his sermons are very worthwhile and Scriptural, from what I can discern. So his endorsement is of consequence, IMO.
The End of the World is truly near...
I was raised Southern Babtist...the church I went to in eighties had “Mormon Cult Night”....where films where showed denouncing mormonism as a cult and a threat to the world...etc...
The fact that a leader of the Babtist Church is endorsing Romney is an amazing event.
And I think that you've hit on a significant part of the problem. I'm Mormon and I had friends who would talk to me after their pastors showed such films or gave their annual "Mormon cult threat" sermons. And everything that their pastors were telling them or showing them were lies. I was absolutely shocked at some of the lies that my friends reported their pastors were telling them or that were contained in some of those films. When you have millions of church-goers watching films and hearing sermons about the Mormon church that are absolute falsehoods, you create millions of people who believe those falsehoods who then oppose Mormons.
Easy to do when you see the films and hear the sermons when one is ten...ha! (It was the very early eighties.)
But, I think what we’re seeing today is a significant effort on behalf of many sects of the christian faith to bury the hatchet with each other...there’s a greater darkness out there to be fought, which is what makes this event so significant.
Would someone please explain why there are some “conservative Christians” who have, in the last month, decided that Romney is the “man”?
I have read his current positions - but his past comments, interviews, statements, campaign materials, and inaction in office speak a different story.
The only guy who is a perfect conservative, IMO, is Duncan Hunter. But it looks like he may not be the nominee. So I guess some of us, while hoping for a miracle, may settle.
I know I wil, since I’ll never vote for a dem! And I’m not going to stay home so that my vote doesn’t count.
Well, nobody is perfect, but we all love Duncan Hunter too! You may be consoled, in part, by the knowledge that Romney agrees with Hunter on more GOP platform issues than any other top-tier candidate. :-)
In their own words:
Dr. Bob Jones III, Chancellor of Christian fundamentalist Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC: "This is all about beating Hillary [Clinton]. And I just believe that this man has the credentials both personally and ideologically in terms of his view about what American government should be to best represent the rank and file of conservative Americans. As a Christian I am completely opposed to the doctrines of Mormonism, but I’m not voting for a preacher. I’m voting for a president. It boils down to who can best represent conservative American beliefs, not religious beliefs."
Robert R. Taylor, Dean of the college of arts and sciences at Bob Jones University: "We’re not electing a pastor — we’re electing a president."
Mark DeMoss, president of The DeMoss Group, a public relations firm for evangelical Christian groups and causes: "After spending months researching his life and his record, and hours with him (and his wife and staff) in his home, his office and on the road, I am convinced his values practically mirror my own—values about the sanctity of life, the sacredness of marriage, the importance of the family, character and integrity, free enterprise and smaller government.
James Bopp, Jr.: So it does come down to two things: (1) the viability of the candidate, which only Mitt Romney has demonstrated among the socially conservative candidates, and
(2) whether social conservatives will have the courage to rally around the only viable social conservative alternative to Rudy Giuliani. A divided field means that Giuliani is likely to win the nomination. This is our choice to make, and we don't have long to make it.
And actually, the majority of Baptist churches in South Carolina are not affiliated with Dr. Wilton’s convention. There are more independent Baptist churches in SC than there are SBC churches.
I only emphasize these facts to point out that Dr. Wilton’s endorsement is merely his own. Dr. Wilton does not speak for most Baptists in SC.
The endorser seems like a good man. I believe the guy he is endorsing is not worthy of his support.
It sounds like you may be a Baptist, or that you at least know something about them.
What does something like this mean?
“When the Southern Baptist Convention met in N.C.a couple of years ago I was sickened by the tactics of men like Johnny Hunt who nominated Pastors for Presidentof the Southern Baptist convention who held a low view of the Cooperative Program.I was delighted that Frank Page was elected as President.
In November of that year Donald Wilton,in spite of the conservative caucus,was elected President of the South Carolina Baptist State Convention.That was a real victory for our State Convention.
The following year the “conservative,political caucus anointed Tom Tucker to be the next President of the S.C.State Convention.”
“I was raised Southern Babtist...the church I went to in eighties had “Mormon Cult Night”....where films where showed denouncing mormonism as a cult and a threat to the world...etc...”
Threat to the world? LOL! I bet that film was ‘The Godmakers’, it has been totally discredited (http://www.fairlds.org/The_God_Makers/)
That kind of stuff is one of the great differences between the conduct of Mormons and Baptists. We would NEVER have a meeting or show a film specificly to attack another faith and promote fear and bigotry against it.
“The fact that a leader of the Babtist Church is endorsing Romney is an amazing event.”
Along with Bob Jones III and others, yes, I think it is something of a miracle that hearts are being turned away from the hatred of the past. This kind of thing is exactly what several hard-core Mormon haters have feared about Mitt’s run for POTUS. Not that he will be a bad POTUS, but that he will be a good POTUS and undermine their smearing of Mormons.
It will be very hard for them to demonize us and spread fear, bigotry and lies about us when the truth that we are pretty normal people who live Christian values becomes common knowledge. After 177 years of trying to marginalize us, they are being marginalized.
“But, I think what we’re seeing today is a significant effort on behalf of many sects of the christian faith to bury the hatchet with each other..”
Not all Christians.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YPyvJacwUI
Majority say Mormonism not an issue
These numbers will continue to get better as more people get familiar with Mitt and more religious leaders endorse him.
You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time.
There's a sucker born every minute.
These are the same people who fall for high-rollin' televangelists and huckster faith healers.
Shall I go on?
Bump for later...
More good news for Mitt. Thanks for posting!
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