Courting The Fundies
...that's the way the left-wing blogosphere would characterize this. Being a Southern Baptist and proud-of-it fundamentalist myself, this article really interested me.
The South Carolina pastor [Rev. Frank Page] seems taken aback by the attention, but he shouldn't be: He leads a large congregation in a state with an early primary and is president of the 16.3 million-strong Southern Baptist Convention, perhaps the largest single bloc of evangelical voters and a must-have Republican constituency.
Page, in an interview at his denomination's annual meeting here last week, said he offers his thoughts about salvation to candidates but never an endorsement. And he talks to Democrats, too. He sees the political courtship as a duty: The nation's leaders need to hear a Christian viewpoint, he believes.
But some Southern Baptists would rather stay out of politics altogether. A small but vocal number of pastors believe the denomination is too cozy with Republicans and too political in general. By flirting with the line separating good citizenship and a grab for power, they say, a denomination already experiencing flat membership risks alienating more people.
Others contend such talk might inspire Southern Baptists to retreat from the public square and cede ground on urgent social issues such as abortion.
If anything, the debate is likely to become even more magnified in coming months because no one Republican candidate has captured the conservative evangelical imagination - and all of them are trying.
The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest protestant denomination...of course they're going to court it. It is not surprising that most in it identify themselves as conservative Republicans. Barack Obama and Hillary "Free At Last" Clinton are courting evangelicals, and it's really something to watch. How do you hide your disdain for Christians and court them at the same time? I do not know their hearts, but it is *really* hard to understand how one can be a Christian and approve of killing a live baby who is completely delivered except for the head. Such a barbaric practice should make them as sick as it does the rest of us, but they have both supported the continuing of such savagery.
I assume my thoughts on this matter are clear...I think Christians should be involved in the political process and active in working to elect leaders who share our views. Sulking in the corner and leaving it to the Godless will not help anyone...except the Godless.
The South Carolina pastor [Rev. Frank Page] seems taken aback by the attention, but he shouldn't be: He leads a large congregation in a state with an early primary and is president of the 16.3 million-strong Southern Baptist Convention, perhaps the largest single bloc of evangelical voters and a must-have Republican constituency.
Page, in an interview at his denomination's annual meeting here last week, said he offers his thoughts about salvation to candidates but never an endorsement. And he talks to Democrats, too. He sees the political courtship as a duty: The nation's leaders need to hear a Christian viewpoint, he believes.
But some Southern Baptists would rather stay out of politics altogether. A small but vocal number of pastors believe the denomination is too cozy with Republicans and too political in general. By flirting with the line separating good citizenship and a grab for power, they say, a denomination already experiencing flat membership risks alienating more people.
Others contend such talk might inspire Southern Baptists to retreat from the public square and cede ground on urgent social issues such as abortion.
If anything, the debate is likely to become even more magnified in coming months because no one Republican candidate has captured the conservative evangelical imagination - and all of them are trying.
The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest protestant denomination...of course they're going to court it. It is not surprising that most in it identify themselves as conservative Republicans. Barack Obama and Hillary "Free At Last" Clinton are courting evangelicals, and it's really something to watch. How do you hide your disdain for Christians and court them at the same time? I do not know their hearts, but it is *really* hard to understand how one can be a Christian and approve of killing a live baby who is completely delivered except for the head. Such a barbaric practice should make them as sick as it does the rest of us, but they have both supported the continuing of such savagery.
I assume my thoughts on this matter are clear...I think Christians should be involved in the political process and active in working to elect leaders who share our views. Sulking in the corner and leaving it to the Godless will not help anyone...except the Godless.
posted by Jennifer at 11:14 AM
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