“Also given that fact, I’d hope and pray you don’t end up with some self-described “Southern Baptist” pastor running around telling everyone that Jesus wasn’t divine, the holy spirit doesn’t exist, and the Bible is a fairy tale.”
If the local Baptist church did not throw him out, then he could not be dealt with until the annual convention. The annual convention meeting could throw his congregation out. We only have an annual meeting to do it in.
“Given this fact, the SBC should just reunite with the National Baptist Convention (NBC)...”
We have theological differences with some of the other Baptist conventions, and thus do not support their seminaries - or they support ours. But a Baptist church can be a member of more than one convention.
“Good luck with that one since your SBC is absolutely powerless to do anything about such an apostate self-identifies as a pastor in the “Southern Baptist Convention”.”
Since each baptist church is autonomous, no one in the SBC CAN do anything about it until the annual convention meets. Then a vote of those attending the convention can remove the congregation. It happens at times, usually over something like ordaining women as pastors or accepting homosexuality.
I was baptized by a pastor in the American Baptist Church. I’ve been a member of baptist churches who were not part of the SBC, and of those who were. Having moved around a lot in the military, I’ve been in a lot of churches. About half were SBC. The church I’m a member of now is in the SBC, but we have had discussions about leaving if the SBC gets too political.
All of this follows from letting the Holy Spirit be the “Vicar of Christ” instead of man - as the scripture says:
“For if I did not go away, the divine helper would not come to you. But if I go, then I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convince the world of the meaning of sin, of true goodness and of judgment. He will expose their sin because they do not believe in me; he will reveal true goodness for I am going away to the Father and you will see me no longer; and he will show them the meaning of judgment, for the spirit which rules this world will have been judged.
12-15 “I have much more to tell you but you cannot bear it now. Yet when that one I have spoken to you about comes—the Spirit of truth—he will guide you into everything that is true. For he will not be speaking of his own accord but exactly as he hears, and he will inform you about what is to come. He will bring glory to me for he will draw on my truth and reveal it to you. Whatever the Father possesses is also mine; that is why I tell you that he will draw on my truth and will show it to you.”
But I’m not sure someone who is a member of a church whose popes have included murderers and adulterers has much business criticizing others. Your bishops and popes have often been disgraces who revel in their public sins. Given the child molesters and practicing homosexuals who have run rampant in the Catholic Church, getting upset because baptists don’t care who the SBC president is seems a bit out of proportion.
Indeed, Pope Francis the Communist is only preaching to Congress what the Catholic Bishops in America have been preaching a long time...
Disagree. Jesus directly tells Peter in scripture that he is the rock upon which with the church will be built. He could have said "the holy spirit will lead my church, not you or any other man", if the intent was as you claim it was.
Of course if you accepted apostolic succession, you wouldn't be baptist.
I find just it amusing that other Christian denominations LOVE to bash Catholics about their leaders and tell us how much we suck and how stupid our cardinals are for electing him, then cry fowl and can't take it for five minutes if we do the same and google who they elected at their latest "annual convention".
You going ballistic when I held the SBC to the same standards you demand of the Catholic Church is proof of that. You've taken "turn the other cheek" in exactly the opposite context. Now its "keep your cheek facing this way while we slap you"
I don't think any Christian denomination can claim the high ground here. Human beings are sinful and thus all Christian churches are going to have prominent clergy that strayed from God's word and committed terrible acts, especially if the denomination has been around for centuries.
I'm sure we could find several examples of Baptist pastors who were "murderers and adulterers" over the last 400 years, and quite a few more who were "disgraces who revel in their public sins". If I was a Baptist, I'd be embarrassed to join the SBC simply because of their sinful origins as a Baptist denomination that started because they disagreed with the National Baptists over slavery, and broke away to support the "right" to own other human beings. That being said, I know no current SBC has this belief, so I can't blame the 2015 SBC clergy for the odious actions of their 1845 predecessors. Nor should the 2015 Catholic clergy be blamed for the horrible crimes that their predecessors committed centuries ago.
The latest "Communist" Pope, by the way, just denounced communism in his latest encyclical saying "Communism and other totalitarian regimes have been employed to kill millions of people". I'm sure you haven't read it aren't aware he wrote that. Can't blame you since you're not Catholic, but yes its disturbing you're also not aware what your own denomination is up to.
I'd say you need to go back to that bible passage about casting stones.