Posted on 07/13/2003 1:43:26 PM PDT by nwrep
Huh?
Can anyone name any SBC church in the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, or 80's that had a lesbian pastor?
Sorry chick, but the SBC didn't leave you, you have chosen to flaunt your sin, and true Christians call upon you to repent.
Glad to hear you quit. (I quit about 3 days after accepting Christ), but when you were born, who lit your smokes. :)
If you want to refute her statement, you'd do better to point to the Great Schism.
There were always other groups like the anabaptists that rejected the Roman Pope and Catholic hierarchy. Below is an excerpt of non-catholic church history from the following link. Church History
During all this time of the rise and development of false doctrines and practice in the churches, there were scattered through Europe, Asia, and Africa, groups of dissenting churches which refused to acknowledge the Roman pope and sought to follow the New Testament. Some early groups were the Montanists, Novatians, and Donatists. Later groups included the Petrobrusians, Waldensees, and Anabaptists. Catholic historians call most of these sects "Anabaptists". They were mercilessly persecuted throughout the centuries until after the Reformation, and some persecution against them has continued to modern times.
Though these groups did not carry the name "Baptists", many of them did hold various Baptist tenents, such as separation of church and state, spiritual democracy, salvation by grace apart from sacraments, believers' baptism, and immersion as the mode of baptism. churches holding these truths cherished New Testament principles. They shared with Baptists the desire to follow Christ's will for His churches.
When the Reformation came, numerous new non-Catholic groups appeared. Some of them became the large Protestant denominations of today. They all rejected many of the heresies of the Roman Catholic Church, but most of them retained some teachings which had no foundation in the New Testament. In the centuries since the Reformation, other denominations have been formed until there are now hundreds of separate denominational organizations. Some of them have departed far from using the New Testament as their only rule of faith and practice.
It didn't go on for long. The Southern Baptists kicked them out as quick as they heard about it and confronted them about it. But I know what you mean, you'd like to think a Southern Baptist church couldn't sink so low.
Before telling the story of how the Mennonite Church began, it is necessary to enumerate a number of false theories of its origin. Some historians have imagined a connection between the radical Zwickau Prophets or the fanatical Thomas Muenzer and the founders of the Mennonite Church. But for this supposed connection there is not historical foundation. Other historians have gone astray in seeking to account for the rise of the Mennonite Church by interpreting the movement as a revolt of the lower classes. This social-economic theory is also unsupported by the facts. Indeed the chief founder of the Mennonite Church was the university-trained son of a rich family. The early leaders of the church did not preach social revolt; they proclaimed repentance and baptism. Another unsound theory is that the movement arose under the influence of Catholic monastic orders. A much less harmless theory but one that is also without historical support is that of Apostolic succession. According the this theory there has been a continuity of organization in small groups outside the Catholic church from A.D. 30 to 1525. Actually these non-Catholic groups differed widely from each other; all held some heretical views and in many cases had no connection with each other. Finally, there have been those who thought that the Mennonite Church was of Waldensian origin. Actually the Waldenses disappeared in Switzerland a century before the rise of the Anabaptist movement. (from The Anabaptist Story, William R. Estep, 1975)
And I am glad to see the Southern Baptists take action in this case, BTW. Someone who is going to be a pastor should at least subscribe to the basic beliefs of the church or denomination they supposedly belong to.
We are all sinners, but we also must repent of our sins.
When Kreis White's family was considering whether to join Glendale, he was told about Baker's sexual orientation. He didn't see it as relevant. "My kids got to help in the soup kitchen yesterday, and Habitat for Humanity is a blast. The activism is what attracted me," he said. Baker's sexual orientation is "such a small fraction of who she is," White said. "She is also a Braves fan, which I find horribly compelling. She is a gifted speaker, a great pulpit speaker. She is a very spiritual leader for the kids."Inclusiveness? Activism? How about simply preaching the Word of God? And a lesbian in the pulpit? No thanks! I am so glad the SBC and TBC handled this situation quickly. That is one women's retreat I would NEVER attend! :( I hope a good SBC affiliated church is there to receive the refugees.
I agree, but there really isn't a central doctrine that members of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) are required to adhere to. I believe the SBC does require employees to sign a statement of faith, but individual churches may or may not.
It's a kinda weird system, but each church is independant and does not answer to the SBC.
In my opinion, not having a centralized dogma handed down from on high is both one of the greatest strengths and greatest weaknesses of being a Baptist. The typical small Southern Baptist congregation changes pastors every two years or less. Since there is no centralized dogma that every pastor is required to adhere to, the congregation tends to get a rather wide selection of views on the Bible over the years.
Most of the churches that I have attended would probably be called "Fundamentalist" congregations. They each chose pastors who were either basically conservative in perspective or smart enough to not let on that they weren't.
That doesn't mean they each taught every Scripture from the same perspective. There are a number of passages that can be approached from different perspectives. Growing up Southern Baptist taught me to respect other's opinions even if I don't agree with them.
On the other hand, it also means that you can't judge a church by the sign out front. I've been pretty shocked a few times by folks who claim the title "SBC" but share virtually nothing in common with my conservative upbringing.
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