Southern Baptists Call Off the Culture War

[Aaron]

True. There may have been some believers who voted for Donald Trump in November 2016.

Yes, there were millions. It is also Christianity to vote for the one who will do good for believers, whether or not that one is a saint. I would have voted for a homosexual if he would be doing the things in office that Trump is doing.

 

[Wingman68]

True. There may have been some believers who voted for Trump in November 2016.

I believe you should change that to most believers voted for Trump. In the SBC it was 80% Trump from what I’ve read. They voted for pro life. What did the others vote for who didn’t vote Trump? Socialism? Gay rights? A woman because she had woman parts?

 

[KenH]

In the SBC it was 80% Trump

1. You are assuming that everyone in the SBC is truly a believer.

2. As the old spiritual says, "Everybody talkin' 'bout heav'n ain't goin' there."

 

[Wingman68]

1. You are assuming that everyone in the SBC is truly a believer.

2. As the old spiritual says, "Everybody talkin' 'bout heav'n ain't goin' there."

Ever wonder why you’ve posted 32,864 messages & only received 48 likes?

 

[KenH]

I couldn't care less about likes. As a stanza in my favorite hymn says,

"Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art" (emphasis mine)

 

[Wingman68]

I couldn't care less about likes. As a stanza in my favorite hymn says,

"Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art" (emphasis mine)

I assume you would like to be viewed as a true believer. Guess I should’t assume that just because you’re talking about hymns.

 

[Matt Black]

In other words, yes, you're saying support for marriage, religious liberty, policies that enable and strengthen families and that protect unborn children is partisan politics. If the Dems weren't pro Sodom, they would probably have garnered some SBC votes, but then, if the Dems weren't pro Sodom, they would be Republicans.

As long as Republican policies are pro-life, pro-religious liberty, pro-family and pro marriage, they will get the believers' votes. That's not partisan politics, that's Christianity.

What about policies that alleviate poverty, increase access to contraception, reducing corporate welfare, helping the poorest, marginalised and vulnerable in your society - when has the SBC endorsed those? The younger crowd in the SBC have woken up to this inconsistency

 

[Yeshua1]

More from the article:

“Though most Southern Baptists remain politically conservative, it seems that some are now less willing to have their denomination serve as a handmaiden to the GOP, especially in the current political moment. They appear to recognize that tethering themselves to Donald Trump—a thrice-married man who has bragged about committing adultery, lies with impunity, allegedly paid hush money to a porn star with whom he had an affair, and says he has never asked God for forgiveness—places the moral credibility of the Southern Baptist Convention at risk.”

IF the SBC is losing members, it is NOT due to President trump, as President Obama was even worse than him per Christian agendas and viewpoints, but due to not be willing to preach and teach solid doctrine, be willing to confront the sins of the individual and the culture.
Be strong on what scriptures affirms as right, and be strong to condemn what it states being wrong!

 

[Aaron]

What about policies that alleviate poverty, increase access to contraception, reducing corporate welfare, helping the poorest, marginalised and vulnerable in your society - when has the SBC endorsed those? The younger crowd in the SBC have woken up to this inconsistency

You know, Judas raised his voice for the poor too, but he didn't really care for them. He had the purse, and he was a thief. And that's Socialism. The poor fare better when men are free to work themselves out of poverty. And that's Capitalism.

 

[JonC]

“For more than a decade, the denomination has been experiencing precipitous decline by almost every metric. Baptisms are at a 70-year low, and Sunday attendance is at a 20-year low. Southern Baptist churches lost almost 80,000 members from 2016 to 2017 and they have hemorrhaged a whopping one million members since 2003. For years, Southern Baptists have criticized more liberal denominations for their declines, but their own trends are now running parallel. The next crop of leaders knows something must be done.”

Southern Baptists Call Off the Culture War - The Atlantic

I think it is also important to look past the Convention and to the actual churches that make up the Convention. I've seen SBC churches decline but I've also seen great growth and kingdom work in others. Ironically, the ones that are growing in my area are the ones that are dissatisfied with the SBC (one pastor described it as the SBC leaving its churches). I attend a SBC church of about 250 people. Last month we saw 18 people saved and baptized. So there is growth.

That said, it seems to me that the SBC has lost its usefulness. I suspect it is not that the SBC needs to do something, but rather that it is grown too large and is trying to "do" too much beyond its original charter.

 

[Matt Black]

You know, Judas raised his voice for the poor too, but he didn't really care for them. He had the purse, and he was a thief. And that's Socialism. The poor fare better when men are free to work themselves out of poverty. And that's Capitalism.

Except they're not really free, are they? They're beholden to the Big Bosses. And that's capitalism...and it ain't Christian

 

[KenH]

Capitalism, with laws to help mitigate its flaws, is a good policy. Unfortunately, in the U.S. much of it has morphed into crony capitialism, which is quite bad.

 

[Revmitchell]

That said, it seems to me that the SBC has lost its usefulness. I suspect it is not that the SBC needs to do something, but rather that it is grown too large and is trying to "do" too much beyond its original charter.

What? That doesn't make any sense. Do you know what the SBC's purpose is?

 

[JonC]

What? That doesn't make any sense. Do you know what the SBC's purpose is?

I know what was. It was to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ and discipleship through combined resources. I don't know what it is now.

It seems Howell's (the 2nd SBC president) objection to forming the SBC rings true. It takes away more than it offers.

 

[Yeshua1]

What about policies that alleviate poverty, increase access to contraception, reducing corporate welfare, helping the poorest, marginalised and vulnerable in your society - when has the SBC endorsed those? The younger crowd in the SBC have woken up to this inconsistency

We should be supporting those who are needy, and need help, but liberal socialist measures have been the primary cause of their ills, so time to try conservative ways that will work!

The traditional Dem/liberal ways in many ways have made it worse than better!

 

[Revmitchell]

I know what was. It was to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ and discipleship through combined resources. I don't know what it is now.

It seems Howell's (the 2nd SBC president) objection to forming the SBC rings true. It takes away more than it offers.

We currently have more than 5000 missionaries across the globe. We have more than that in the US. I'd say we are on mission.

 

[Matt Black]

We should be supporting those who are needy, and need help, but liberal socialist measures have been the primary cause of their ills, so time to try conservative ways that will work!

The traditional Dem/liberal ways in many ways have made it worse than better!

The conservative ways have been tried for many decades and have found wanting; one can read about their results in the pages of Mr Dickens' novels. Private charity on its own, while all very noble and worthy, doesn't work

 

[Yeshua1]

The conservative ways have been tried for many decades and have found wanting; one can read about their results in the pages of Mr Dickens' novels. Private charity on its own, while all very noble and worthy, doesn't work

Come check out flint and Detroit Mi, to see how the lib dem agenda ruined citiesw!
And capitalism and private sewctor support much better than big govt handouts!

 

[Matt Black]

Is that the Flint whose Republican administration allowed the water supply to be poisoned?

 

[JonC]

We currently have more than 5000 missionaries across the globe. We have more than that in the US. I'd say we are on mission.

Yes, we do have missionaries around the globe. We also have strong, godly churches. That part is good (and is why I have been Southern Baptist for the past 40 years). I haven't left the SBC. It's leaving me.