BM 'Staff' wrote:During the opening session of the "New Baptist Covenant Celebration" in Atlanta Jan. 30, former President Jimmy Carter called for Baptists of all races, political leanings and theological stances to unite around a common belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to set aside the differences that have caused divisions.
It appears the President would have done well to take his own advice when he was a Southern Baptist. Rather than unite around a common belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and set aside differences, the former President is promoting divisiveness.
Although I didn't attend the NBC celebration, I'm aware that the former President was not promoting divisiveness. That's an assertion worthy of a double slab of baloney cheese. The SB fundamentalists fostered the division of the Southern Baptist Convention.
BM 'Staff' wrote:Rationalizing his reasoning for leaving the Southern Baptist Convention, Carter stated, "It's not the dedicated and inspired work of our missionaries. It's not the great preaching of Billy Graham or others who inspire people. It's the image of divisions among brothers and sisters in Christ as we struggle for authority or argue about the interpretation of individual verses in the Holy Scriptures," Carter said to an estimated crowd of 9,000 at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Take another look at what he said. "It's not the dedicated and inspired work of our missionaries." Really? 1Then why is Jimmy Carter turning his back on the most effective missions sending organization in the world by bailing out on the Southern Baptist Convention?
"It's not the great preaching of Billy Graham or others who inspire people." No, his issue is not with the preachers he mentioned. 2His issue is with the inerrant Word of God.
1) Jimmy Carter didn't "bail out" on the SBC. He became unwelcome in the SBC because of the divisiveness of the perpetrators of the takeover. The MESSENGER staff can thank W. A. Criswell, Paul Pressler, Paige Patterson, et. al., and their ilk for creating a spirit of divisiveness that drove the moderates out.
2) No, Carter's issue isn't with the Bible. His issue was with the intolerant fundamentalists who declared that anyone who disagrees with the so-called inerrant interpretation of the Bible. The fundamentalists are intolerant of diverse interpretations of individual verses in the Holy Scriptures.
BM 'Staff' wrote:Was the former President for real when he called the celebration of a New Baptist Covenant the most momentous event in his religious life? With all due respect Mr. Carter, what are you thinking? 1The most momentous event in your religious life was when a group of former presidents got together to support a new denomination because they failed to influence the leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention? This is the most momentous event in the former Presidents religious life? How sad. 2It certainly has to be one of the most arrogant!
1) There would be no Cooperative Baptist Fellowship ("new denomination") had the fundamentalists not driven the moderates out. The moderates, yours truly included, attempted every way under the sun to cooperate with the fundamentalist leaders. The moderates didn't leave the SBC. They were demonized, excluded, and forced to leave. In this blog, I cite 8 examples of how Oklahoma fundamentalists treated those with whom they disagreed.
2) Carter arrogant?? Hardly. There's nothing arrogant about striving for unity among Baptists. However, it's the epitome of arrogance to suggest that the former President is not practicing what he preaches.
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The MESSENGER staff (Ray Sanders and/or Anthony Jordan) deserves the head in the sand award for this editorial. No doubt about it.
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