Posted on 05/31/2018 12:21:47 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The board of trustees of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, announced Wednesday that effective immediately they have cut all ties with the school's former president, Paige Patterson, after new details emerged about his handling of a sexual abuse allegation while he was president at another institution.
The announcement comes a week after Patterson resigned from his position as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary after public uproar over comments he made in 2000 about how the Bible sees women and why spousal abuse isn't grounds for divorce.
While the seminary did not reveal specific details about the new information shared with their board of trustees on Wednesday, officials said it was "inconsistent with SWBTS' biblically informed core values." The revelation also required swift action to cut all ties with Patterson who served as the 52nd president of the Southern Baptist Convention prior to becoming president of the seminary in June 2003.
"Deeming the information demanded immediate action and could not be deferred to a regular meeting of the board, based on the details presented, the Executive Committee unanimously resolved to terminate Paige Patterson, effective immediately, removing all the benefits, rights and privileges provided by the May 22–23 board meeting, including the title of President Emeritus, the invitation to reside at the Baptist Heritage Center as theologian-in-residence and ongoing compensation," the seminary said in their statement.
Seminary officials also noted that Interim President Jeffrey Bingham strongly denounced behavior that leaves victims of abuse vulnerable.
"The seminary stands against all forms of abuse and grieves for individuals wounded by abuse. Today, Bingham made it clear that SWBTS denounces all abusive behavior, any behavior that enables abuse, any failure to protect the abused and any failure to safeguard those who are vulnerable to abuse. Additionally, Bingham called for the SWBTS community to join the Body of Christ in praying for healing for all individuals affected by abuse," the statement ended.
On Tuesday, the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors announced they were no longer going to hold their annual gathering in October at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary due to the controversies surrounding Patterson, and had found a new host location for their event.
In his now controversial comments made in 2000, he said he never counseled couples to get a divorce even in abusive situations, but noted that there were cases in which he advised a temporary separation due to the danger of abuse. He also reportedly encouraged a female student in 2003 not to report a rape.
A woman said she had been raped on campus and that Patterson, then the president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina, urged her not to report it to the police but that she should forgive her alleged assailant.
On Monday, Megan Lively revealed on Twitter that she was the woman who reported her rape to school officials in 2003.
"I am the woman you read about, #SEBTS 2003, not afraid, ashamed, or fearful. I am proud to be #SBC, bc of how many have responded with compassion & love. Our history isn't our future. Ephesians 4:30-32, Romans 8.Please join us in praying tomorrow. #PaigePatterson #sbc18 #matthew5," she tweeted with what appears to be a photo of her family.
“why spousal abuse isn’t grounds for divorce.”
He’s right about that. It’s grounds for making your loving man some of Velma Barfield’s Famous Banana Pudding.
Well, it’s here. It’s not “coming down the tracks” any more; it has arrived.
If you wish to be eligible for employment, you must conform *even in thought* to the orthodoxy of the more-equal pigs.
When cash goes away, they’ll be able to kill us in three days by withholding all access to fluids.
British Pastor David Instone-Brewer has the best resources on what he whole Bible says on these matters:
RE: British Pastor David Instone-Brewer has the best resources on what he whole Bible says on these matters:
Can you share with us the title of his book? Thanks.
He has a lot of things online, including YouTube videos. I don’t do links very well. Sorry.
Matthew 5:32 English Standard Version (ESV)
32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Patterson spoke on things which have no right/wrong answers from the Bible. He spoke from the viewpoint of a generation more closely tied to traditional marriage and defined male-female roles. The American church has one ear tuned to make sure the PC crowd doesn’t blow them up over some offense. They found something, and the church bowed down.
The SBC imagines they can make this 1/2 inch adjustment and stop. They will continue to bow to the secular thought police from now on.
Good, he and his movement did massive damage to the Baptist church. They have got massive mileage off the moniker “conservative”, but he is anything but. He is one of the fundamentalist crowd that rose to prominence in the 80s pushing the 4500 year old earth and other nonsense. They branded anyone who called them out as a “liberal”.
Texas Baptists in the 1960s and 70s were anything but “liberal”.
And you must conform 20 years before a trend is even on the horizon. If you thought or said something as a child that could be grounds for dismissal 50 years later.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.