COLUMBUS, Ga. (ABP) — William Neal, former editor of the Christian Index, said he was ousted from that position earlier this year because he would not carry out the agenda of fundamentalist leaders who had gained control of the Georgia Baptist Convention and its historic newspaper.
“The reason I'm not editor of the Christian Index today is because I was not sold out to this new agenda,” Neal told a breakfast meeting of the Baptist Heritage Council of Georgia Nov. 11.
However, Neal said his “darkest day” came a few months before his termination when the Index board held a hastily called meeting to air concerns over an editorial in which Neal urged sensitivity to persons of different faiths during civic events.
Neal described the lengthy, confrontational meeting as an “inquisition” concerning his work and personal faith. “They questioned whether I was really a Christian,” said the mild-mannered Neal. He called the event “one of the darkest days of my life.”
Neal, 56, said he had been “a little naive” in thinking Baptists of differing opinions could get along and the state Baptist newspaper could serve the needs of all cooperating churches in Georgia.
Fundamentalists have a strong commitment to uniformity and a misunderstanding of freedom, said Neal. “They believe you are free to believe as they do or you're free to go to hell.”
After working 28 years for the Georgia Baptist Convention, Neal said he was abruptly forced into retirement in January 2003 by Robert White, executive director of the convention. The GBC released a statement through the Index and Baptist Press claiming Neal had voluntarily sought early retirement. Other news sources provided more accurate accounts of his dismissal, he said.
Neal told the Baptist Heritage Council, which met in his hometown of Columbus, Ga., that he dislikes theological and political labels because they are often arbitrarily assigned by others based on what church or friends one chooses. While editor, Neal said he was called everything from a Nazi to a bleeding-heart liberal.
“I'm liberal on some issues, conservative on some issues and, frankly, haven't made up my mind on some issues,” said Neal.
He is now comfortable calling himself a “moderate,” he said, because it “comes closest to explaining who I am.” Though more legalistic and judgmental in his younger years, Neal said, he disagrees strongly with fundamentalists who insist on full agreement before acceptance.
“Where we are different is in the length of our list of fundamentals,” said Neal. “Questioning the SBC Executive Committee doesn't make you any less Baptist than questioning the policies of the president and Congress makes you less of a patriotic American.”
Gerald Harris, who replaced Neal as editor of the Index, declined to respond to Neal's comments. “I don't know that I want to get into that because I considered Bill a friend and he was always very gracious to me,” Harris told Associated Baptist Press. “As best as I know how, I want to report good news. I don't want to get into this business where people get their characters assassinated.”
Neal told the Columbus group he was hurt deeply by convention leaders but refuses to harbor bitterness or leave the Baptist fold. Of others who have left, Neal said, “One of the greatest disappointments of my life has been to witness the loss of friends and family — especially women.”
A member of Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Ga., Neal said he will remain a Baptist as long as there is a local church where he is free to practice his faith.
Neal urged fellow Baptists who feel displaced by fundamentalism not to become cynical or bitter. Fundamentalists always insist that no one believes the Bible more than them, said Neal, but moderate Baptists must make their consistent theme: “They will know we are Christians by our love.”
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