Faced with declining attendance, fewer baptisms, and congregations changing their names to remove "baptist" from the name, one would think that the Sourthern Baptist Convention ("SBC") might figure out that more of the same is perhaps not a formula for future success. But such is not the case and the SBC seems to have a "stay the course" mentaility as loopy as that of the Chimperator. All of which is fine by me since I regard the SBC leadership as one of the centers of un-Christian charlatans who talking constantly about being Christian yet are the authors of a message that is, in fact, anything but Christian unless, of course, hate, intolerance and Pharisee like behavior have somehow become the hall marks of true Christian conduct. Moreover, the SBC intends to continue fusing religion and politics. Hopefully, such wrongheaded thinking will lead to a further weakening of the denomination or a revolt by rational mamebers of the SBC. Here are some highlights from a Washington Post story concerning the new president of the SBC:
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The Rev. Johnny M. Hunt, the pastor of an Atlanta area megachurch, was elected yesterday as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and will take over as head of the nation's largest Protestant denomination as it is struggling with declining membership and decreasing number of baptisms.
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His election, at the SBC's annual meeting in Indianapolis, is seen as a victory for the more fundamentalist wing of the denomination, which led the conservative resurgence that began in the late 1970s and which takes a hard line on the inerrancy of scripture. It is seen as a rejection of young reformers, who have questioned the SBC leadership's reluctance to consider a wider range of issues, such as its bans on alcohol consumption and female pastors. "This signals that the establishment conservatives are definitely in charge," said Greg Warner, executive editor of the Associated Baptist Press, an independent news service.
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During a speech to pastors on Sunday, Hunt acknowledged the difficulties facing the SBC. Baptisms -- a key sign of spiritual health for Southern Baptists -- have fallen to a 20-year low. Membership dipped to 16.27 million last year, from 16.3 million. Except for a drop in membership in 1998, the last decrease was in 1926.
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In terms of meddling with politics and a continued push to subvert the U. S. Constitution in an effort to abolish religious freedom for those of different faiths and biblical interpretations in favor of a Taliban like theocracy, the WP also reported in part as follows:
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INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - America's largest evangelical denomination adopted a resolution on political engagement on Wednesday signaling its intention to flex its muscles in the November presidential election.
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The 16 million-strong SBC is a bedrock of political and cultural conservatism and a key plank in the Republican Party's evangelical base which is credited with helping secure two White House terms for President George W. Bush.
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But several Southern Baptists interviewed over the course of the conference left no doubt that they were in the Republican fold even if they viewed the party's presumptive nominee John McCain as the lesser of two liberals in the White House match-up with Democratic rival Barack Obama.
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"We plead with all Christians to exercise vigorously their responsibilities to participate in the political process by registering to vote, educating themselves about the issues, and voting according to their biblical beliefs, convictions and values," read the resolution. Voting by "biblical beliefs" is often code in such circles for supporting candidates who oppose abortion and gay rights and support moves to bring back school prayer.
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