Free Republic

After more than 60 years together, Jimmy Carter has announced himself at odds with the Southern Baptist Church -- and he's decided it's time they go their separate ways. Via Feministing, the former president called the decision "unavoidable" after church leaders prohibited women from being ordained and insisted women be "subservient to their husbands." Said Carter in an essay in The Age: At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions...

Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson predicts pastors will soon face prosecution under hate crimes laws if they preach that same-sex relationships are sinful. Colson, who served prison time for his role in the Watergate scandal, delivered a grim forecast to Southern Baptist pastors at their annual meeting in Louisville, Ky. Sponsors of congressional hate crimes legislation insist it won't restrict speech, but Colson warned that ministers will face the threat of prosecution within the next two years. He also said medical professionals are losing their conscience right to refuse to perform abortions, and faith-based ministries could soon have to hire...

THE SOUTHERN Baptist Convention voted June 20 to adopt a resolution renouncing its racist roots and apologizing for its past defense of slavery.

SOUTHAVEN, MS (WMC-TV) - Several outraged people in Southaven, Mississippi said one church has gone too far. Gracewood Baptist Church in Southaven is a traditional Southern Baptist Church. And on the sign out front, the subject for the upcoming week's sermon is "Exiles in an Obama Nation." "We're not racist at all and again we're going to pray for him. He's our president. But we don't agree with our platform," pastor Dr. Barry Baker said. Baker said the church does not like Obama's stand on homosexuality and abortion and that is what he will talk about on Sunday. Church member...

DALLAS - When a pair of Mormon missionaries knocked at the door of Jerry Pierce's home in a north Dallas suburb last month, he marshaled his arguments and stood his ground. "I look forward to encounters like that. I like to talk to them about the nature of Christ and who Jesus is," said Pierce, a staunch Southern Baptist, the biggest Protestant denomination in the United States. Mitt Romney, a Mormon, is running into similar resistance as he tries to win over Southern Baptists and other evangelical Protestants in the race for the Republican Party's nomination for the 2008 U.S....

MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 5 /Standard Newswire/ -- Today the Fred Thompson campaign announced the addition of Shannon Royce, an experienced social conservative coalitions director and former Executive Director of The Arlington Group, who will be joining the Thompson Campaign to serve as Grassroots and Special Projects Director. Shannon Royce most recently served as Executive Director of the Arlington Group where she managed a coalition of over 70 organizations advocating on numerous pro-family initiatives. In that capacity, she coordinated coalition efforts on behalf of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. A former Legislative Assistant to Senator Slade Gorton and...

David W. Key, director of Baptist Studies at the Candler School of Theology at Emory, put it more starkly. “The real underlying issue is that fundamentalism in the Southern Baptist form is incompatible with higher education,’’ Professor Key said. “In fundamentalism, you have all the truths. In education, you’re searching for truths.’’

A group of Baptist leaders called on its members Friday to "speak positively about public education" in response to a conservative movement to pull Baptist children out of public schools. Fifty-six pastors and organizational leaders -- some from the conservative Southern Baptist Convention and others from the more moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship -- signed a letter supporting public schools. The document was posted Friday on the Web site of the Baptist Center for Ethics, a Nashville group that often criticizes the conservative direction of the Southern Baptist Convention. The letter said it's wrong for church leaders to urge their congregations...

WASHINGTON (BP)--Most Southern Baptists want the country’s immigration laws to be enforced before supporting a type of guest-worker program, ethics leader Richard Land told President Bush March 23 at a White House meeting on the controversial subject. The president discussed the topic with Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, and 14 others during a week in which the rhetoric on illegal immigration had escalated even as the United States Senate prepared to confront the issue when it returns from a recess March 27. Various proposals have been offered to address the increasing number of illegal...

Southern Baptists Focus on Defending Unborn, Marriage and Religious Freedom in 2006 WASHINGTON, D.C., March 17, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The largest Protestant denomination in the United States will concentrate on protecting the sanctity of human life, traditional marriage and basic human rights as the top priorities for public policy in 2006. The Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission released the legislative agenda for 2006 earlier this week, highlighting the issues the commission will be concentrating on this year. Read more: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06031708.html

An army of volunteer agencies and faith based groups from throughout Louisiana and much of the nation has been assembled to take help directly to persons suffering the dual attacks of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. To date, more than thirty million meals have been served to those stricken by the storms, thousands have been sheltered and assisted in making temporary repairs to damaged homes, cleaning away choking debris, and generally comforted by numerous faith-based groups and some larger, more familiar agencies like the American Red Cross, Salvation Army and others, according to a FEMA news release. [...]

I originally posted this as a reply but am new to this web site. Here it is as a new thread:Volunteers working with the Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief Unit honored the request of the host pastor to set aside canned water with an Anheuser-Busch logo. At no time was anyone deprived of water. In fact, there was a huge surplus of bottled and canned water available at the Clewiston relief site. There was never any disruption in the supply of water being given out to members of the public who continued to receive food, water and other types of assistance...

Out of the Southern Baptist's 16,287,494 members, only 6,024,289, or 37%, on average, show up for their church's primary worship meeting (usually Sunday morning). This is according to the Strategic Information and Planning department of the Sunday School Board (2004 statistics). If your church is anything like normal, and is not brand new, your statistics are probably similar. In other words, if you have 200 in attendance on Sunday morning, you likely have 500-600 or even more on your roll. Many churches have an even worse record. Discerning who among us is regenerate is not an exact science, but a...

NASHVILLE - Most Southern Baptists send their children to public schools, but some leaders in the faith are urging members to yank children out of schools deemed too tolerant of homosexuality. The issue is expected to be prominent at the annual Southern Baptist Convention next week in Nashville, where Houston lawyer Bruce Shortt and popular Christian speaker and writer Voddie Baucham Jr. are co-sponsoring a resolution that says churches should look into whether schools are teaching acceptance of homosexuality. Advertisement If they find that's the case, the resolution says, churches then need to inform parents and encourage them to remove...

Far too few Christians are willing to remain steadfast in their beliefs, in the face of the enormous pressures of liberal social change. Fortunately, Bruce N. Shortt exemplifies the meaning of such worthy resolve. Last year Shortt, along with T.C. Pinckney, made waves at the 2004 Southern Baptist Convention by stating the obvious. America's educational system has, over the past several decades, completely degenerated from any pretense of promoting academics. Instead, it is primarily focused on a program of indoctrinating students towards countercultural social transformation.

Evangelist Proposes to Combat Homosexual Agenda in Public Education By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker May 11, 2005 (AgapePress) - A popular black evangelist is hoping that the new resolution on homosexuality in public schools that he has helped to put before the Southern Baptist Convention will spark a mass exodus of Baptist children from public schools. The resolution, submitted by attorney and author Bruce Shortt and Dr. Voddie Baucham, Jr., calls on Southern Baptist churches to investigate whether their local school district has a "gay-straight alliance" or other homosexual clubs. The resolution also calls upon churches to encourage parents'...

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Frustration with public education seems to be growing among the nation's Southern Baptists, with supporters of Christian schools and home schooling arguing that if God is absent from the classroom then their children should leave, too. ``What has happened is not so much that the Christians are leaving the public schools as that the public schools have left the Christians,'' advocate Ed Gamble said. Gamble is executive director of the Southern Baptist Association of Christian Schools, an Orlando, Fla.-based group that supports the more than 600 Southern Baptist schools created in the past eight years. ``As...

<p>The future might hold a new name for the Southern Baptist Convention.</p> <p>''We are no longer a regional influence,'' the Rev. Jack Graham, Southern Baptist president, told the group's executive committee last month. ''We are a network of churches, which circle the planet.''</p>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAugust 13, 2003 Contact: Anne Johnson, Director of Communications, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27 President Bush appoints new Commissioners WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush today appointed the Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput of Denver, Colorado, Professor Khaled M. Abou El Fadl of Los Angeles, California, and Dr. Richard D. Land of Nashville, Tennessee, to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent and bipartisan federal agency. “I am delighted that President Bush has appointed three individuals as distinguished and knowledgeable as Archbishop Chaput, Dr. Land, and Professor El Fadl. The experience and perspective they bring will...

PHOENIX (AP)--The Southern Baptist Convention headed into its annual meeting behind a strong pro-family message, arguing Christian faith can solve societal ills like divorce, domestic violence and alcoholism. The nation's largest Protestant denomination dedicated its two-day meeting, which began Tuesday, to preserving marriage and strengthening families. A rally celebrating families was held Monday night. President Bush addressed the meeting by videotape, calling Southern Baptists ``faithful servants'' and asking God to bless them. ``You and I share many common values. We believe in fostering a culture of life and that marriage and family are sacred institutions,'' he said, also noting their...

Are Christian evangelists eyeing Iraq? In its war against Iraq, the United States has reportedly been aiming to win over the “hearts and minds” of the Iraqi people. But some US-based Christian evangelists are readying themselves to take it a step further. Dedicated workers of the Southern Baptist Convention and the Samaritan’s Purse—two of the biggest evangelical Christian missions in the US—are reportedly waiting in Jordan on the Iraq border for the war to end. Ready to go into the battle-scarred country with both relief and their Gospel. Baghdad under attack: attempts to preach Christianity in Iraq is bound to...

April 4, 2003 Groups Critical of Islam Are Waiting to Aid IraqBy LAURIE GOODSTEINwo evangelical Christian organizations whose leaders have outspokenly denounced the Islamic faith are among the aid groups waiting at Iraq's borders to take humanitarian relief — and a Gospel message — to a nation whose people are predominantly Muslim. The situation presents a dilemma for the Bush administration, which does not want to alienate its strong Christian evangelical constituency but cannot afford to have the war in Iraq perceived as a crusade to Christianize a Muslim nation. Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, said yesterday that it...

2 Christian organizations are ready to convert Iraqis Missionaries set to tend to physical, spiritual needs By MARK O'KEEFE Newhouse Service Two leading evangelical Christian missionary organizations say they have teams of workers poised to enter Iraq to address the physical and spiritual needs of a large Muslim population. The Southern Baptist Convention, the country's largest Protestant denomination, and the Rev. Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse say workers are near the Iraq border in Jordan and are ready to go in as soon as it is safe. The relief and missionary work is certain to be closely watched because both Graham...

1 vote short, opponents nevertheless encouraged after first Nashville vote Mar 19, 2003 By Michael Foust NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Nashville's latest sexual orientation proposal narrowly survived its first step March 18 and provided some drama as both sides debated homosexuality's relation to slavery, religion and the public school system. The proposal passed the metro council 17-16 on its first reading -- enough to send it along but short of the votes it will ultimately need to become law. The bill must pass twice more, and on the third reading must garner 21 of the council's 40 votes. Seven members either abstained...

Sexual orientation law not good for Nashville, Land maintains Feb 4, 2003 By Dwayne Hastings NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The Nashville Metro Council bill reportedly designed to secure employment and housing rights for homosexuals remains alive, as supporters work toward wording that allegedly will exempt churches and other religious groups. In a televised panel discussion Jan. 31, Richard Land expressed his opposition to the proposal, noting that recent history has proven that such sexual orientation laws open the door to even more abuses of private and religious rights. Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, was joined on...

Nashville councilman's church has lesbian minister, newspaper reports Jan 28, 2003 By Staff NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A Nashville councilman's effort to add protections for homosexuals to city law, it turns out, may include a religious motivation. The councilman, Chris Ferrell, is a member of a Baptist church that hired an open lesbian as its associate pastor for children and families last May, according to an article in The Tennessean's Jan. 26 edition. The 200-member church, Glendale Baptist in Nashville, was described in the newspaper as "a renegade congregation of sorts for its ordinations of female pastors, its views on God and...

A group of Southern Baptist missionaries working in Muslim countries has asked the U.S. leaders of their denomination to tone down their harsh criticism of Islam for safety reasons. The missionaries said denigrating Islam puts them at risk as they work to spread Christianity under dangerous conditions overseas. On Dec. 30, a suspected Islamic militant killed three workers at a Southern Baptist hospital in Yemen -- the latest in a series of attacks over the last year on American religious workers abroad. "We are not sure if you are aware of the ramifications that comments that malign Islam and Muhammad...

ST. LOUIS - A former Southern Baptist Convention president stirred interfaith tumult when he described Muhammad, Islam's revered founder, as a "demon-possessed pedophile." The Rev. Jerry Vines made the comments Monday night at the Southern Baptist Pastors Conference, drawing strong denunciation from Muslim leaders Tuesday when his statements were publicized. But the Rev. Jack Graham, the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Rev. James Merritt, outgoing president, supported Vines. Hodan Hassan, a spokeswoman for the Washington-based Council for American-Islamic Relations, said Vines' comments were divisive and inaccurate. "This kind of hate-filled rhetoric is very shocking," Hassan said....

Christians should support Israel, Land & others say Jun 12, 2002 By Tom Strode ST. LOUIS (BP)--Supporting Israel is a "matter of being obedient to God," Richard Land said at an overflow briefing on the Jewish state June 10. Oliver North and Jerry Falwell joined Land at the briefing, which was sponsored by the new Stand for Israel campaign. The effort, announced only in late May, has a goal of mobilizing 100,000 churches and 1 million American Christians to support Israel. In giving a biblical defense for a Christian backing of Israel, Land pointed to God's covenant with Abraham in...

<p>Muslims and Christians alike said yesterday they were hurt and saddened that the pastor of Jacksonville's largest church publicly attacked Islam and called the prophet Muhammad a "demon-possessed pedophile."</p> <p>Muslims, however, also said they were encouraged by people of other faiths who have rallied behind them.</p>

!--Insert News Release Here-->Southern Seminary journal examines evangelical-Catholic dialogueApril 5, 2002By Jeff Robinson LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)--Unity between evangelicals and Roman Catholics must not compromise central biblical doctrines such as justification by faith alone, essayists conclude in the latest edition of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. The latest SBJT (Volume 5, No. 4), titled "Reflections on the Evangelical-Catholic Dialogue" and published by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., examines issues of unity and disunity between evangelicals and Catholics. The issue of Catholic and evangelical unity rose to prominence in 1994 when several evangelical and Catholic leaders signed a document...