Baptists Ask If Gay Marriage May Be An Issue ‘Where We Just Agree To Disagree’

[theHandpuppet]

Nashville Public Radio
October 27, 2014
by Blake Farmer
Baptists Ask If Gay Marriage May Be An Issue ‘Where We Just Agree To Disagree’

Southern Baptists are publicly wrestling with homosexuality this week. The Nashville-based denomination invited pastors and lay people to Opryland for a follow-up event to a similar, smaller summit on sexuality held earlier this year.

The country’s largest protestant denomination – which has been shrinking in recent years along with mainline churches – has struck a softer tone on homosexuality and encouraged pastors to talk less about gay marriage.

“How do we address this? Is there an acceptable view that committed homosexual marriage is taught by scripture?” asks Christian talk show host Bob Lepine in a promotional video for the conference. “Is it an issue like baptism where we just agree to disagree as Christians?”

The open-ended nature of some of the questions represents a shift in thinking. A decade ago, the Southern Baptist Convention was focusing its efforts on a marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. And in 2012, church representatives passed a resolution affirming its opposition to same-sex marriage....

MORE at http://nashvillepublicradio.org/blog/2014/10/27/baptists-ask-gay-marriage-issue-just-agree-disagree/

[TlalocW]

1. Considering a good number of them privately "wrestle" with homosexuals

Like the hypocrites they are, I guess it's good they're publicly wrestling with homosexuality.

TlalocW

[stopbush]

2. Fuck you, Baptists.

Agree to disagree. Translation: my religion says its OK for me to be a bigot.

Gay people = real.

God = make believe.

Get real.

[AtheistCrusader]

3. "Can you keep the bigotry to a dull roar? We're losing revenue here"

That's all they are concerned about. Oh shit, the congregation is moving on to greener, less offensive pastures.

Fuck 'em.

I will do a little dance the day these churches all close, for lack of members.

[Warren Stupidity]

4. "the quietly bigoted church" - kind of catchy.

[trotsky]

5. Well it's been a successful strategy for the RCC so far.

Perhaps Southern Baptist leaders will soon have a cheering squad on DU, too!

[rug]

6. How will you find the time to start anti-Baptist threads?

You're stretched thin as it is.

[rug]

7. As long as they don't use the church to legislate, who cares.

[Fumesucker]

9. As long as they don't do what they always do, who cares?

Come on, expecting the religious not to politic based on their deeply held beliefs is fairly unreasonable.

[rug]

11. Then it's a fair fight.

Religions can believe whatever they want. But they should not intrude into legislation and overt political activity. Because then it's a fight.

The converse is also true. As long as they do not do that, nobody should intrude into their beliefs. That's also a fair fight.

The line is pretty clear.

[Fumesucker]

14. Who is intruding in anyone's beliefs?

[rug]

15. Well, I have yet to see a correlation between Mormon underwear and public policy.

[Fumesucker]

16. People who feel invulnerable favor policy with fewer protections for the vulnerable

If you have Almighty God on your side how can you feel anything other than invulnerable?

[rug]

17. Lol, ok. We must root out invulnerable underwear.

[cbayer]

8. At least they are talking about it.

And they are live streaming it as well, which provides a great deal of sunlight.

Will be interesting to see what, if anything, comes of this.

[Act_of_Reparation]

10. No. I don't agree.

Did they "agree to disagree" when they were winning the fight?

Sorry, but no. A bigoted asshole is a bigoted asshole, even if they're quiet about it.

[trotsky]

12. Exactly.

And what does "agree to disagree" mean here?

They will allow society to proceed and they'll shut the hell up and get out of the way?

[Act_of_Reparation]

13. Translation:

"Let's agree to disagree" means "I'll continue to be a bigot if you agree to stop calling me a bigot."

I suppose they think this is a good deal.

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. Meanwhile, powerful Southern Baptists call for the shunning of a pro-LGBT ethicist

David Gushee, a professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University, a Baptist-rooted college and divinity school in Georgia, plans to announce that he now affirms same-sex relationships in a speech to The Reformation Project conference, a gathering of pro-LGBT Christians in Washington, on Nov. 8.

“I do join your crusade tonight,” Gushee’s prepared remarks say, according to a draft obtained by Religion News Service. “I will henceforth oppose any form of discrimination against you. I will seek to stand in solidarity with you who have suffered the lash of countless Christian rejections. I will be your ally in every way I know how to be.”
...
Gushee’s decamping will likely be seen as treasonous by conservative colleagues, including the Rev. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where Gushee taught in the 1990s. While Mohler said the decision is “tragic and causes me real grief,” the two have had ongoing disagreements dating back to Gushee’s time on the Louisville, Ky., campus.

“It was clear early on that he and I, and he and Southern Seminary, were moving in different directions, and those who’ve been watching David’s trajectory will see this as a logical conclusion,” Mohler said. “He’s now placed himself outside of employability at the previous institutions where he taught.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/evangelical-ethicist-david-gushee-is-now-pro-lgbt-heres-why-it-matters/2014/10/24/de265c9a-5bae-11e4-9d6c-756a229d8b18_story.html

They won't "just agree to disagree as Christians". People like Mohler, who have the real power in the Southern Baptists, hate anyone gay, and hate anyone who will try to treat them as equal human beings. They want them to be unable to work in the denomination.

[theHandpuppet]

19. HRC: Don’t be fooled by “softer” rhetoric from Southern Baptists

HRC: Don’t be fooled by “softer” rhetoric from Southern Baptists
Human Rights Campaign
October 27th, 2014

(excerpt)
Sampling of the words from Southern Baptists

The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) may be dressing up its upcoming conference with "softer" rhetoric, but SBC policies and practices remain the most stridently anti-LGBT among religious organizations in the U.S.

A sampling of typical LGBT animus from ERLC/SBC this year alone:

* ERLC President Russell Moore announces a conference to ostensibly help pastors answer community questions and asserts that “homosexual behavior is still a sin,” and “same-sex marriage Biblically forbidden.” [Tennessean, 6/10/14]

* ERLC signs on to anti-marriage equality amicus briefs in Indiana, Virginia, Oklahoma, and Utah cases; in Indiana, it cites Old and New Testament in seeking to deny marriage equality to same-sex couples, and argues that overturning laws banning marriage equality “would mean the end of representative government as we know it.” [Associated Press, 7/24/14]

* ERLC’s conference features Denny Burk, who asserted in a blog post for the ERLC that he has “concluded” that the Bible teaches both same-sex behavior and same-sex orientation to be “sinful.” [Presbyterian Church, Religion News Service, 8/22/14]

* SBC passes a resolution on transgender identity that opposes hormone therapy, gender reassignment surgery, and asserts that “God’s design was the creation of two distinct and complementary sexes, male and female.” [New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, 6/14/14]

* ERLC says on its website that “Satan was pleased with the narrative that Michael Sam [the first openly gay person drafted by a professional football team] is the new Jackie Robinson,” and asserts that using Sam as a symbol of the dream of equality is “at odds with the core message of the civil rights struggle.” [ERLC.com, 5/29/14]

* ERLC President Russell Moore says “there is not space in Southern Baptist churches for someone who is unrepentantly engaged in homosexual conduct,” no matter what’s happening politically with same sex marriage. Theologically, Southern Baptists are not ‘softening’ their views, he says, adding that many Christians are immersing themselves in what he describes as a sexual “counterculture.” [Atlantic Online, 5/21/14]

* ERLC pressures World Vision to reverse its decision to hire Christians living in sanctioned same-sex marriages; President Russell Moore says, “There's always a pragmatic streak in evangelicalism that negotiates away orthodoxy for cultural acceptance.” [New York Times, 3/28/14]

- See more at: http://www.sdgln.com/commentary/2014/10/27/hrc-don-t-be-fooled-softer-rhetoric-southern-baptists#sthash.MXKbYatT.dpuf

[cbayer]

20. Very good. I am really glad that HRC will be attending.

They will most likely be the best source for reports on what is really going on.