Texas Baptist Forum_53104

Posted: 5/28/04

TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM:
No fear of God

You know, I usually just toss the Baptist Standard in the trash without even reading it because of its history, but I looked through it today, and nothing has changed.

Why would you print a political letter like “Holy war” (May 17) for some hateful ignorant (person) from Louisville in our Texas state paper? The letter has no merit for the Standard. Why would you misuse the paper like that?

E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com

I don't want to pick up the Baptist Standard and read someone trashing our president and his efforts to deal with terrorism. Especially when you don't print a balanced response. And the editor needs to reread the mission statement of the Standard, assuming there is one.

The Standard has no place in my home or our church. It has the liberal slant of much of the major press. It has been used by Satan to keep the pot stirred for the last 30 years.

Many of your articles are so hateful and do not edify, but rather tear down and further divide Southern Baptists. It is as though you don't think you will have to stand before the Lord and give an account of every divisive and ridiculous opinion you have printed! It appears very clear to me there is no fear of God among many Texas Baptists. I am afraid you are in for a very rude reception if you arrive in heaven.

Frank Moore

Spring

Absurd resolution

I have realized again why I consider myself a Texas Baptist and no longer consider myself a part of the Southern Baptist Convention. This realization is because T.C. Pinckney is attempting to have the SBC vote on a resolution urging the convention to take their kids out of public schools. He wants them home schooled or sent to Christian schools.

In essence, he is saying the teachers are godless.

This is absurd, but most SBC resolutions in recent years have been absurd.

It is time that Texas Baptists cut off all funding to the SBC.

A.J. Dickerson

Brownwood

Pushed out

Is anyone really surprised at the news that some SBC leaders want to coerce Baptists into removing their kids from public schools (May 17)?

This is yet another sad example of the narrowing Baptist “umbrella” and the shift away from freedom of conscience and a shift toward total denominational thought-control.

As a graduate of two Baptist institutions and a long-time Baptist church member in Arlington and Houston, it saddens me to see this departure into mind-control and indoctrination.

And the most depressing part is this: It seems pretty clear that the vast majority of Baptists want it this way. They appear to really enjoy being told what to think and how to live.

Just in the past year, I watched a significant “moderate” church veer substantially to the right, alienating a large portion of its congregation, and this seems to be the going trend in Baptist life.

So, sadly, my wife and I are no longer Baptists. It's not just that I am ashamed to call myself Southern Baptist today, which I am.

The truth is, we have been pushed out. There is no place for us, and we are not allowed to be the thinking and questioning Christians we feel we have the right to be by grace because of denominational politics.

This is why, as I write this today, I am a member of a Methodist church. Ten years ago, I would never have thought it would have come to that.

James Moore

Austin

Naming rights

In the past 40 years, we have changed almost everything of value to the SBC. We were growing in most areas of church life. Some of our larger church leaders led the way in belittling our Baptist Training Union by saying we didn't need a “union” in our churches. This was the beginning of changes to follow Satan and weaken our churches.

Our leaders have led in changing the names of the Baptist Sunday School Board, Home Mission Board, Foreign Mission Board, Christian Life Commission, Annuity Board and others. None of these changes increased ministry effectiveness.

Now our executive officers, including our president, want to change the name of the convention because the word “Southern” to them indicates a location of the country.

As a home missionary, I was in most states for various meetings. I found no objection to the word “Southern.”

What would be our name in the foreign countries where we have missionaries? Our executive officers–corporate leaders–want to control our members, churches, associations, state conventions and all the boards. This is not good for our ministries.

Let God's Holy Spirit be our guide.

If nothing else, think of the cost to change all the legal forms. This was given for mission/ministry expenses.

The word “Southern” has not been detrimental to the cause of Christ through churches bearing the SBC name for over 150 years. Perhaps we need to change the names of our executive officers and president.

James Griffin

Kilgore

Evil, not power

Your editorial missed the whole point of the Abu Ghraib event (May 17). It is not about power. It is about evil. It is about Satan. We are battling evil. Evil is not always on the other side of the enemy's war front, as was exposed at Abu Ghraib. It can also slip in amongst troops on our side of the war front.

This does not make me look down on America at all. It makes me proud that as soon as God exposed this evil within our own army that we attacked it as well, very quickly.

The world will see that America will not tolerate anything less than God's command to love thine enemies and to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and most importantly, evil anywhere will not be tolerated.

If America's innocents are attacked by evil, our military should always fight back. But once the enemy is subdued, clearly, “love thine enemies” and “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

More power to America, truly, one nation under God.

Rick Gibbs

Dallas

Punishing menaces

After reading the article about George Mason's opposition to capital punishment (May 17), I had one question: How did he come to that conclusion in light of Romans 13:1-5 and 1 Peter 2:13-15?

While I agree that we are to forgive those who do us wrong, that never releases the government from its responsibility and God-given authority to punish those who are a menace to society.

Michael L. Simons

Cleburne

Hard look

The secular press is filled with Jesus stories. A good thing it seems to me.

It's also a good time to remind our Southern Baptists that we should take a hard look at ourselves and be certain the “no women in the pulpit” syndrome that seems to be dear to some does not take the place of allegiance to Jesus. In distant the past, it was “Southern Baptists are for slavery” and later, “Southern Baptists are opposed to visual aids in the church” (movies are of Satan).

Loyce T. Gary

Irving

Healing wounds

What a loving appeal you made for Baptists to move on from disappointment to become active again (May 3). There is one thing I would like to say.

The Baptist controversy has been going on for more than 25 years. Many bewildered believers had already been consigned to the trash can before things went so public because they were considered a threat to the Cooperative Program or the unity of a congregation over issues where a traditional interpretation of the Scriptures was not a part of decisions being made by persons in authority.

Still, it is necessary to move on and be active for our Lord–first for his sake and then for our own good. However, it is not easy. I have often thought that there should be meetings where wounded people could be nursed by Scripture reading, songs and prayers back to spiritual relational health before they become part of an active congregation.

Nora Ann Best

Henderson

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