There
is a Comparison II There are those in the Southern Baptist Convention who fly off into conniption fits when someone draws a comparison that makes them look bad. In October of 2000, I wrote an editorial in which I compared certain attitudes of fundamentalist Southern Baptists with the attitudes of fundamentalist Muslims. (There is a Comparison) Several people expressed themselves in fits of rage that I would compare Southern Baptist fundamentalists with of Islamic fundamentalists. An anonymous person wrote letters to the pastors in my association and included scurrilous remarks about the article, which led in part to my untimely departure. I had served 20 months as the GBAC Director of Missions. Following my forced resignation, numerous persons took me to task on the article. In their minds, I had sinned against fellow Southern Baptists for drawing the comparison. I was declared to have been unkind and disrespectful toward fellow Baptists. Actually, I was accused of much worse than being unkind. I was declared to be "unchristian" for the words I wrote. I was accused of saying that fundamentalist Southern Baptists are equal to murderers and terrorists. I have no idea how they can accuse me of this because I did not compare Southern Baptists fundamentalists to Islamic fundamentalists in such a way as to declare that Southern Baptists are murderers in the same way Muslim terrorists are murderers. I simply delineated ten characteristics common to the mindsets of Islamic fundamentalists and Southern Baptist fundamentalists. I believed in October of 2001, as I do now, that a valid comparison can be drawn. Here are a few of the milder remarks of those most critical of my article.
I recently read Shadow Warriors: Inside the Special Forces, by Tom Clancy with Gen. Carl Stiner (Ret.). Toward the end of the book, Clancy made some observations about the terrorist who flew planes and people to their death into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Speaking of the Islamic fundamentalists, he said, "These individuals are bent on purging civilization of all those who do not share their beliefs." This is obvious on a world wide scale. Islamic fundamentalists have the view that all people who do not share their beliefs are not worthy to live. They are on a crusade to purge the world of all who disagree with their beliefs and world view. How, pray tell, is this different from what we are seeing in the Southern Baptist Convention? From the very beginning of the Southern Baptist takeover movement, the fundamentalists have been determined to purge all Baptists who do not share their beliefs. The purpose of the takeover movement was to elect powerful fundamentalist presidents and stack Committee on Nominations with those who shared their beliefs. The Committee on Nominations then purged all trustees of boards and agencies of members who did not share their beliefs. Once the boards and agencies had been stacked with people who shared the fundamentalist beliefs of those who had gained control, they began purging seminaries of professors and presidents who did not share the fundamentalist beliefs. Never mind the fact that those who were purged have all been within the bounds of traditional Baptist beliefs. The purging continues to this day. The Southern Baptist International Mission Board is presently purging all missionary personnel who do not share their beliefs about the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message. The comparison is very clear here. As the Islamic fundamentalists are determined to purge civilization of all those who do not share their beliefs, so the Southern Baptist Convention is determined to purge the convention of all who do not share their beliefs. Purging of the Islamic sort is terrorism. Lives are destroyed at the expense of theological purity. Purging of the Southern Baptist sort is a form of terrorism. Because the careers and lives of good and godly Southern Baptists are being destroyed at the expense of a fundamentalist theological purity. I said it in in October of 2001, there is a comparison. I'll say it again in December of 2002, there is a comparison. -- December 14, 2002 (This article was written for BaptistLife.Com Discussion Forums) |