Posted on 03/17/2008 7:17:01 AM PDT by Terriergal
Leaders in the new Southern Baptist environmental movement were careful Monday to avoid criticizing fellow Southern Baptists still skeptical of climate change, while at the same time pushing them to have greater concern for the environment.
Tue, Mar. 11, 2008 Posted: 14:07:05 PM EST
Leaders in the new Southern Baptist environmental movement were careful Monday to avoid criticizing fellow Southern Baptists still skeptical of climate change, while at the same time pushing them to have greater concern for the environment.
“This is a journey for each of us and Southern Baptists are at different points in this journey,” said Jonathan Merritt, national spokesperson for the Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative, during a media teleconference.
“I want to say that we have the greatest respect for Southern Baptist brothers and sisters who are not at this time signatory of this initiative,” assured the 25-year-old son of former Southern Baptist Convention president James Merritt and student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. “There is plenty of room for justified disagreement.”
Merritt and other speakers were cautious to not spark unnecessary arguments over specific policies by refusing to answer any questions related to legislations or recommendations on how to cut greenhouse gas emissions. They explained that they are not experts on policies and that the declaration was simply meant to mobilize Southern Baptists to be more engaged on environmental issues.
The declaration, "A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change," was released Monday signed by the current president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Rev. Frank Page, as well as seminary presidents, megachurch pastors and former SBC presidents. The grassroots campaign is the first of its kind in the SBC and encourages congregations to be greater advocates for environmental protection.
However, influential SBC leader Dr. Richard Land did not sign the declaration because he believes as president of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission he is obliged to follow the denomination’s official position on public policy as determined by the SBC meeting each year.
“The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has a Convention-assigned role to express the consensus of Southern Baptists on public policy matters when they have reached such consensus,” Land said in a statement. “If the ERLC asserted Southern Baptists were in a different place on an issue than they actually were, we would lose the trust of Southern Baptists, and we would rapidly lose our credibility in Washington as well.
“Consequently, in our Convention-assigned role to share faithfully with Washington and other public policy venues where the Convention is on an issue, it would be misleading and unethical of the ERLC to promote a position at variance with the Convention’s expressly stated positions,” the SBC’s public policy head explained.
At the denomination’s 2007 annual meeting, Southern Baptist leaders arrived at their latest statement on global warming, which questioned the belief that humans are largely to be blamed for climate change and warned that increased regulations on greenhouse gases will hurt the poor.
But signers of the declaration contend that current evidence for global warming is “substantial,” and that potential results are too grave to wait for perfect understanding on whether and how much humans are contributing to the warming of the earth.
"We believe our current denominational resolutions and engagement with these issues have often been too timid," the statement said. "Our cautious response to these issues in the face of mounting evidence may be seen by the world as uncaring, reckless and ill-informed. We can do better."
Signatories of the declaration include Dr. Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; the Rev. Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church and former SBC President (2002-2004); and the Rev. James Merritt, pastor of Cross Pointe Church and former SBC president (2000-2002).
The Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals, reflected on the declaration: “This is more than a small increment. It is a large step for some people who have stepped into a void that needed to be filled,” he said to The Christian Post Tuesday.
“I think it’s very significant, courageous, groundbreaking and it’s this crack in this dam that has been pulling back millions of people who dare to think differently,” said Cizik, who is often seen as the evangelical spokesperson for creation care. “So it’s cracking that wall of silence on this issue and for that I applaud Jonathan Merritt and all the others.”
Michelle A. Vu
Christian Post Reporter
Well ain't that special!
SBC: Biblical Duty To Stop Climate Change?
The Southern Baptist Convention has formally announced that the denomination has been "too timid" on environmental issues and has a biblical duty to stop global warming. The document "A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change", signed by the president of the Southern Baptist Convention , shows a growing urgency about climate change.
It's biblical duty to stop global warming? The SBC has neglected to fulfil it's primary biblical duty of protecting doctrinal purity by eliminating the pollution in the river of truth that is drying up within the banks of SBC today.
The SBC is silent on the contamination of Biblical Truth by:
The SBC remains silent on:
I attended a Code Blue rally in Texas this past weekend http://www.worldviewweekend.com/upcoming.php#springfieldilcodebluerally
Great, Biblical exhortation to engage the culture with Truth, be not deceived by lies, and how to recognize such.
Why is the church in crisis?
#1 - the church has a man-centered theology and evangelistic view.
#2 - the church disdains Biblical doctrine.
#3 - self-proclaiming Christians do not study the Bible.
These “Green” Baptists are and in glove with the other apostates, reading into the Scriptures what they want to see , in order to justify their flesh.
However, everything else remains God’s Will...
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
#3 is the main reason followed closely by #1 as a great many pastors’/priests’ sermons in all denominations are becoming watered down to not offend any sinners present. There are exceptions here and there and they are refreshing when heard.
I am a southern Baptist and climate change is bunk.
I guess you missed this one: Seminary student's climate change project is not Southern Baptist Conference's
Church in crisis?
I’ll offer several observations...as a ex-Baptist.
The church I attended in my youth....hired up a new minister two years ago...taking a long time to find the “right” guy and he demanded a contract that guaranteed a minimum of two years of hire. Sure enough...twelve months into this episode...he started to spout off on Democratic values...to a mostly Republican crew...and they fired him....but then discovered they had to cough up an entire year’s pay to the guy because of the contract...so they borrowed heavily from the bank because of their incompetence.
Then the deacon crew in their incompetence came around to mostly older folks in the community talking of extra donations to help in missionary work (after borrowing the money from the bank). I know because they came to my dad’s house when he was out back and did their little show to my 80-year old mom...who was ready to give them $500. My dad went into a huge fury when he figured this game out and kicked the deacon and his assistant out of the house. The missionary story was totally bogus...which is another example of poor decency to openly lie.
The key theme of this Baptist church is anti-alcohol and at least 20 percent of the sermons are geared toward warding off the threat of drinking...especially in Sunday schools with the 18-25 year old guys.
The true priority of any church is to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and shelter the homeless...which is about priority number 99 for the Baptist church.
Now we have a bunch of divinity graduates running around to tell us science facts...which is amazing in that they won’t admit evolution exists but then global warming does. You can ask simple science questions to any of their top 1000 ministers and I doubt that 10 percent can answer 4th grade science questions.
The leadership? Well....if they were convinced of global warming then we could probably convince them that power tools are the “hands of the devil” and get everyone back to handsaws and hammers. We could probably convince them that NFL football is satanic and that we should ban ESPN from every Baptist home. I see immature leadership who needs to pack their bags and go back home. They aren’t leading folks as much as they are allowing propaganda to sink an entire religion.
Interesting links - I’ll read them in a while. Thanks...
I will try to be gracious and just say that I believe there are “bigger fish to fry”, especially in our local SBC congregation, and I suspect the same in most all others. How this glorifies God by working towards the Great Commission - I’m at a loss to explain. I doubt there will be further elaboration from young Merritt.
What bigger fish? (just curious)
I think they’re all connected (those fish I mean).
FRegards,
H-T
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