Texas Baptist Forum_111504

Posted: 11/12/04

Texas Baptist Forum

School support

I attended the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting in San Antonio and came away challenged, renewed and recommitted to do the work God has called me to do.

I was especially encouraged by the resolution affirming the public schools of our state.

E-mail the editor at –Marv Knox E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

My wife, my two daughters and one of my sons-in-law all work in the public school system. I frequently hear stories about administrators, teachers and staff who are interested in the spiritual as well as the educational needs of the students they work with. A recent incident at a North Texas high school bears this out.

At the end of a pep rally on the day of the school's final regular-season football game, a teacher was pushed to the floor by a group of students as they left the gym. The teacher was then walked on by several students and sustained numerous injuries as a result.

A couple of days after the incident, the injured teacher sent an e-mail to the faculty and staff of the school, thanking them for their prayers for her and her recovery. She closed her message by asking that her fellow workers especially pray for the students of the school. What a great example of praying for those “who persecute you.”

Without the presence of Christian administrators, teachers and staff members, I cannot imagine what our public schools would be like.

Thank you, Texas Baptists, for voicing your support for these dedicated people.

Richard Rose

Arlington

Haunting implications

I am the mother of two children who have died from a terminal illness that perhaps, if stem-cell treatment had been available years ago, could have benefited from new medical advances.

I know without the slightest doubt, however, that I never would have allowed aborted fetus tissue to be used for a “maybe” regression of loss of bodily function.

I don't believe the Old Testament story of Joseph and his fate correlates at all to terminal illness and treatment derived from embryonic stem cells (Nov. 1). As one familiar to suffering, I see Joseph's plight as one of encouragement in suffering, knowing it is the will of God for us to join in his suffering, not a “pie-in-the-sky” hope that a doctor with unsubstantiated experiments might improve one's life skills.

As one who has had conversations with women who have aborted babies, I wonder if the Newton and Lyles families have thought of the haunting implications of being able to live with such a decision.

My letter is sent with the understanding of such a terrible situation but also with the firm conviction that a murdered child's tissue is not the answer.

Kelley Forster

San Antonio

Amazing stance

I want to let William Reddick (Oct. 4) know that as a Southern Baptist myself, I deeply welcome his fellowship in our denomination. And furthermore, I don't have a problem with him being a Democrat.

However, he did say that he does not “agree that any abortion should be illegal.”

I would like to know why he supports abortion. I realize some Christians may sincerely believe abortion is not murder and therefore not a sin. Maybe he believes the “pro-choice” crowd has some good points.

But the truth is abortion is the most evil and heinous violation of human rights (in this case, fetus rights) in human history.

An evil committed against adults is bad enough, but abortion is committed against the most innocent and helpless of all humans.

The moment the sperm fertilizes the egg, it becomes a living organism. If it is living, then, by definition, it has life. A fetus is alive; it is not dead. Therefore, everyone should be against abortion except, perhaps, when the mother's life is in danger as a result of the labor.

Again, I welcome him in the SBC. I just would like to encourage him to rethink his stance on abortion. It just amazes me.

If a person in the United States were to take the egg of a bald eagle and throw it against a wall, destroying it, they would do jail time. But if one kills a human baby while it is still in the womb, it is perfectly legal.

Larry A. Jones

Beaumont

Loving acceptance

I do not feel accepted in my church when others make remarks like this: At a post-election adult choir rehearsal, at least half of the singers loudly remarked that they were pleased with the election of a Christian president. This is their privilege. I voted for a Christian Democrat, and he lost.

As a Christian, I have tried my best to accept others who do not believe or act as I do. But I wonder about others who are like me. Are they as considerate as I try to be? Or will they leave the church and attend nowhere? Or will they find a church where they can be happy not being put down by fellow members and pastors.

What about non-Christians in our churches? Twenty years ago, a number of non-Christian Vietnamese attended our mission. Many still attend as Christians today. When I first ministered with them, how far do you think I would have gotten to have come at them strongly against their former religion? Rather, I accepted and loved them even while I still held my Christian convictions. By myself, I did not try to get ahead of Christ Jesus in convicting them of their need of him. He saved them.

Do you want to reach others for Christ? First, learn to accept and love others who do not believe like yourself.

Gilbert Thornton

Longview

Repeating history?

A Baylor University law professor and the university's provost recently debated academic freedom and institutional governance. The debate was suggested by several events, including proposed changes to the university policy on academic freedom, the administration's response to a Lariat editorial on homosexuality and a speech the provost delivered at Wheaton College.

There were many issues that the Texas Baptist community would find interesting, but one I found alarming. In the course of making a case for the emergence of a broader institution denominationally and more of a uniform focus theologically, the administration sees a Baylor in which there will be a decrease in Baptist faculty and students (it is noticeable already); indeed, the provost suggested there may come a day when there are very few Baptists left at Baylor.

I came to Baylor largely because of its leadership in the Baptist world of higher education. I was director of a short-lived program in Baptist studies that was the envy of other institutions who lacked a graduate program. I saw the potential Baylor had to become virtually the paradigm in the Baptist tradition for a full-scale church-related university.

As a Texas Baptist by choice, I am greatly alarmed by this type of projection. Baptist history is replete with recognized colleges and universities that have severed ties with their Baptist constituencies for much the same reasons–Brown, Colgate, Bucknell, Chicago, Richmond, Stetson and Wake Forest, to name a few. Are Texas Baptists prepared to let history repeat itself at Baylor?

William H. Brackney

Waco

Reaching out

I could not agree more with your editorial calling for civility to be restored to the American scene (Nov. 1). But I hope you are not saying that President Bush should be any more responsible for this than the man on the street.

President Bush was re-elected, and he still is our president, so the people across the aisle should be doing the reaching if they want to have successes in their districts.

One explanation for the uncivility of our nation is the type of television broadcasting being “fed” to our populace. It is now the norm to belittle other people, your parents, your authority and each other.

I would like for us Christians to be more outspoken and proactive about stopping some of the filth that is sent over the airways. I am convinced we must take our Christianity out to the streets and into the schools to make a difference.

We were given a gift on election day, in that a clearer mandate was set forth for the election, and Christians can be very proud of their accomplishments. But we must use this gift wisely as we Republicans must use this power discreetly. We must be diligent to see that we offer up candidates who have those values that we voted to preserve.

Yes, civility needs to return to America, but I believe it has to start in the home and by example. And indeed President Bush must do his part in sharing the power, and I believe he will.

Betty Westbrook

Plano

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