WASHINTON (ABP) — The pleasures of the flesh — specifically liquor and sex — were among the most popular subjects of resolutions passed by Southern Baptist-affiliated state conventions this fall.
Although many state conventions avoided resolutions on controversial issues of any kind during their annual meetings, a handful addressed issues such as hate-crimes legislation involving protections for sexual orientation, the sexual abuse of minors, and the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages.
At least four major state conventions passed resolutions denouncing homosexuality: the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, the Alabama Baptist State Convention, the South Carolina Baptist Convention and the Louisiana Baptist Convention.
The Oklahoma, Alabama and South Carolina groups specifically denounced the expansion of federal hate-crimes statutes to add crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation. The laws already provide additional punishments for crimes motivated by a victim's race, national origin or religion.
Alabama's resolution focused on opposing the hate-crimes provision that is currently attached to the Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 1585. The bill is currently stalled in the Senate. The Alabama resolution said it would encourage President Bush to veto the entire bill if it is passed with the hate-crimes provision intact, and said Alabama Baptists would oppose any bill that limits the ability of Christians “to preach and speak biblical truths” about what they say God says about “homosexual activities.”
Many conservative Christian groups have said the bill could create a slippery slope that would lead to pastors or churches being silenced for fear of “hate crime” accusations stemming from exhortations against homosexuality.
The bill's supporters have countered by noting that the bill deals only with actual crimes and not mere speech, that it specifically says it is not intended to limit the free-speech rights of religious groups or leaders, and that the First Amendment protects churches anyway.
Nonetheless, Oklahoma Baptists also mentioned federal hate-crimes statutes in opposing any “legislation that potentially criminalizes speech and beliefs, which would threaten our First Amendment rights.”
On liquor, several state conventions passed resolutions discouraging expanding the sale of beverage alcohol. In Alabama, messengers commended Gov. Bob Riley (R), himself a Baptist, for reversing a decision that allowed a state-owned store to experiment with Sunday liquor sales.
Messengers to the Missouri Baptist Convention annual meeting, meanwhile, overruled their own resolutions committee's decision not to bring a statement to the floor that unequivocally denounced the production, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. They voted to bring the resolution up for discussion and a vote, and it spurred lengthy debate.
Micah Fries, the pastor of Frederick Boulevard Baptist Church in St. Joseph, Mo., spoke against the resolution.
“I absolutely detest alcohol use, and I personally abstain,” he said, according to the Pathway, the convention's official news organ. “And yet the wording of the resolution specifically encourages that we move beyond the words of Scripture in our expectations of our leadership.”
But the convention's interim executive director, in his address to messengers, said Missouri Baptists should look to the spirit of the Bible rather than its letter in opposing all alcohol consumption.
“I understand that the Bible does not say, ‘Thou shalt not drink,' ” David Tolliver said. “But I want you to hear me very carefully this evening, and I will be clear to say that I believe the only biblical position for Christians in this 21st century Show-Me State environment that we live in is total abstinence.”
Tolliver said that's because of Paul's admonitions in Romans not to be a stumbling block to other believers who may engage in behaviors that, while not inherently sinful, can lead to sin. Consuming alcohol “causes brothers and sisters to stumble, and therefore it is wrong,” he said.
Gambling — traditionally a frequent subject of Baptist resolutions — again received the attention of several conventions in states where gambling expansion or lottery measures are under consideration.
Arkansas Baptists passed a resolution opposing a lottery, saying is “the most regressive tax in use today” because it exploits the “lower socioeconomic strata” and “only serves to redistribute money from the many to a very few.”
South Carolina Baptists reiterated their “vigorous opposition” to all forms of gambling and specifically targeted plans by a state Native American tribe to open a high-stakes bingo operation. The expansion of gambling by a Native American tribe on their autonomous land within the state also received denunciation from Alabama Baptists. They approved a resolution opposing efforts by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians to expand slot-machine and high-stakes lottery gambling on their land.
Several state conventions passed resolutions denouncing child sexual abuse by church leaders. In Alabama, the resolution on child molestation expressed “moral outrage and concern at any instance of child victimization” and urged Alabama Baptist churches to perform background checks on potential employees to weed out abusers. It also acknowledged that a task force of state convention officials had written guidelines for Alabama Baptist congregations on dealing responsibly with child-abuse situations.