By Bob Allen
Southern Baptists in Oklahoma passed resolutions both urging compassion for homosexuals and opposing same-sex marriage at the 2014 Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma meeting Nov. 10-11 at Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.
A resolution on marriage described the institution as “central to our faith” and “the centerpiece of the family, which is the building block of society.”
“Based on convictions from the Scriptures, we acknowledge marriage as the sacred union of one man and one woman joined by God for life,” the resolution stated. “We will defend and promote marriage with our lives and words, knowing marriage is a portrait of the gospel and central to God’s design for the family.”
A separate resolution “on compassion for homosexuals” expressed belief that “every person is created in the image of God and has inherent value.”
“While the Old and New Testaments clearly declare homosexual acts as sinful, we admit that each of us is a sinner in absolute need of God’s grace,” the resolution stated. “We commit to love all our neighbors in word and deed, that all may be won to Christ and redeemed from sin.”
The resolutions follow a recent national conference sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission exploring ways to hate the sin and love the sinner amid shifting public attitudes more accepting of homosexuality.
Speakers addressed a balance of the need to reject anti-gay jokes and stereotypes in society while upholding traditional views of sexual morality in churches.
“Really there are two things going on,” Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma spokesman Brian Hobbs told The Oklahoman. “It is affirming our convictions while expressing our compassion in a Christ-like way.”
The Oklahoma City-based newspaper said messengers debated the wording of the resolution on homosexuality for about 25 minutes before finally voting its approval.
Other convention resolutions warned of threats to religious liberty in the United States and overseas; opposed abortion, marijuana and gambling and confronted the problem of domestic violence.