Let me affirm right away that I do not take issue with everything that the New Baptist movement seeks to do. Most all of their aspirations are honorable, and Bible based.
I spoke with Pastor Rusty about his experience at the New Baptist convention, and he told me that it was largely positive, though he did not fully agree with everything said by the speakers invited. I have reviewed quite a bit of material which was showcased during the New Baptist convention, and I have come to some conclusions which I'll share in this letter. Please feel free to leave your comments and opinions here in this blog thread, which you can do by joining the blog.com membership. If you'd rather not use your real name, that is fine.
Let me say again that it is certain that the overwhelming majority of folks who went to Atlanta to participate in the New Baptist Celebration have godly, honorable intentions. I know that Pastor Rusty's intentions were honorable, and I believe he went for the right reasons, and I believe it may have been a worthwhile experience for him. My concerns are not with the good folks who fellowshipped and truly honored Christ at the event. But I am concerned with the motives of some of the organizers of this movement. While there are occasional political undertones which are hard to miss, I am primarily concerned with a recurring theme espoused throughout some of the speeches that the Bible is not to be interpreted literally, or else it has become outdated and therefore needn't be adhered to as closely as it was in centuries past. This worries me.
If you have time to view some of the speeches which were given at the convention, you can do so here. I would pay particular attention to the speeches of Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and also John Grisham.
http://www.newbaptistcelebratio
And here is a news story from the Tennessean, where our pastor at Wytheville Baptist gets a mention... :)
http://www.tennessean.com/apps
Rusty assured me (for the record) that Bill Clinton had not won him over, as the article implies. Rusty was just tapped for an interview, and he was kind enough to oblige.
If you've watched Bill Clinton's speech (linked above) you'll realize that Clinton overtly questions more than a couple of times whether or not the Bible is "literally true." At the 19 minute point in the speech, Clinton quotes 1 Corinthians 13 as he asserts that the Bible cannot be fully understood because we "see through a glass darkly." Of course if the Apostle Paul had intended by his phrase in 1 Corinthians 13:12 that we cannot properly understand his letters (since we see through a glass darkly and all), he'd never have written them in the first place. Right? It seems obvious to me that Paul was speaking of our limited understanding of the things of God--not scripture itself here. I believe that Paul and the other inspired writers of the Bible believed that they were communicating clearly to mankind as they wrote down God's intended words for us--on this side of the dark glass. Once we're on the other side, we won't need the written Bible any longer, because we'll then be with Christ. :)
Now, before continuing, step away from the computer a moment, and open your Bible to 2 Peter chapter 3 and read verses 15 and 16...
At about the 22 minute mark in his half hour long speech, Clinton says "...so it almost doesn't matter if the Bible is literally true or not..." (so long as we all love each other, he has contended). Love is certainly one of God's most wonderful gifts. But if the Bible isn't literally true, what might be left for us after we die? Can we say that we are Christians and at the same time question the truthfulness of scripture?
If you do not even know for sure whether the Bible is literally true or not, you've got some major salvational issues I would think. If you call yourself a Christian, you've got to realize that the Bible is literally true. The Holy Spirit will tell you this, if indeed you have the Holy Spirit in you. Pray and ask God about His Word, then listen for His still small voice...
As mentioned earlier, I believe that most all of the participants of the New Baptist movement are sincere Christians, and their hopes and intentions are honorable. But these honorable intentions of decent Christian folks who are just looking for a place at the Baptist table are clearly being used by political operatives, with largely liberal agendas. This is undeniable, and cannot be intelligently questioned. The overt liberalism being espoused by some of those invited to speak at this convention is appalling to many of us who read, love, and believe God's Word. They seek to adulterate the truth, and to render the gospel to no effect for many. They are doing this under the auspices of being inclusive, and respecting diversity--but they're including sinful and ungodly behavior under their "diverse" umbrella, and it appears they would ask that the rest of the church do the same.
Former Vice President Al Gore spoke at the convention, advancing as may have been expected, his notion (in this non-political setting, remember?) that the rising temperatures on our planet are caused by the activities of mankind, rather than natural patterns set by God. (As an aside, google "NASA" and "Mars" and "melting" and you'll find plenty of articles discussing the fact that the polar ice caps on Mars are melting too... perhaps from all of the Martian industry and infrastructure run amuck, I guess?)... =)
In an attempt to give Biblical credence to his argument, Gore quoted the following passage from Luke chapter 12:
54 Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is. 55 And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is. 56 Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? 57 "Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?
Gore's "exegesis" of this scripture went like this: "The evidence is there," he said. "The signal is on the mountain. The trumpet has blown. The scientists are screaming from the rooftops. The ice is melting. The land is parched. The seas are rising. The storms are getting stronger. Why do we not judge what is right?"
Does Gore really think Christ was speaking about global warming or protecting the earth in Luke chapter 12? Or does he just hope that some of us are that stupid? In any event, he grossly twisted the words of Jesus to bolster his own contrived assertions. Bad juju.
Then there's novelist John Grisham, masquerading as a knowledgeable Christian but sounding much more like an atheist. From his 20 minute speech, we find him saying things like:
"In the Baptist church of my youth we were taught that the Bible is the infallible, inerrant Word of God -- every word is divinely inspired and it is to be read literally... It just dropped out of heaven. Five thousand years ago God made the earth in six days, 144 hours. Then He rested on the Sabbath, which is really on Saturday but we're not going to start that debate. Methuselah lived to be a [thousand], and when Paul wrote that women should be submissive, that was the literal interpretation. It was the law.
Here's the link to a page where the Grisham quotes are taken from: http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews
Grisham continued, saying: "Who are we kidding when we try to exclude? God made all of us. He loves all of us equally, and He expects us to love and respect each other without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, biblical interpretation, denominations or other religions." Note how he slips "sexual orientation" and "other religions" in among race and gender. This is to imply that God not only makes people of different genders and races (which He of course does), but that He also intentionally makes people who are homosexual, and who are born to worship other gods (which He of course does not). Of course we are to love our neighbors, whoever they may be. Christ commanded it. But that does not mean to turn a blind eye to sin, and allow it to take firm root in our churches because we're too politically correct to teach what the Bible says about these things.
What Grisham is advocating is that people who claim to be homosexuals, and people who grossly distort what the Bible actually teaches, and even people of OTHER RELIGIONS not be excluded from fellowshipping with Baptists. We should fellowship with them, but we shouldn't preach the gospel to them, or we'll be viewed as exclusionary. But what would the Apostle Paul say to such a notion?
2 Corinthians 6:14-15 14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
"In the Baptist church of my youth, women were expected to stay in their places," Grisham said. "They couldn't preach, couldn't serve as deacons... They could run the nursery. They could teach the children. They could sing in the choir, but they could not lead in public prayer. They could be appointed missionaries' wives but not missionaries. And two or three times a year, just for good measure, to remind them of their reduced status, we would hear a long sermon based on the first-century writings of the apostle Paul. How many times have I heard 1 Timothy 2:11-12?... Even as a child I did not understand this."
And obviously he still doesn't. It doesn't fit his liberal view of the world, so it just cannot mean what it says. Note that he says of Paul's writings that they are "first century," as if to imply that we do not have to go by those writings here in the grand old 21st century. Certainly, Grisham would contend, God has changed after all (even though the Bible tells us that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever)...
It seems that the ring leaders in this New Baptist movement have concocted a cleverly devised strategy which is directed at crippling the conservative Christian voting base in America--and it is political. But again, I'm far less worried about the politics here than I am the outright assault on the Bible.
"Millions of children are abused, receive inadequate healthcare, die of preventable causes and lack adequate education," she said. "The church must take responsibility for this problem and work for a solution... The church ought to be the locomotive and not the caboose in speaking up for the poor children and the neglected children in our country... One important way the church should help is by rediscovering its prophetic voice to the culture... It is particularly important for the church to speak against making President Bush's tax cuts permanent," she said.
This would be laughable if it weren't so sad. Not political? Right. I'm going to invite you to a party being thrown by Jimmy Carter where Bill Clinton and Al Gore are featured speakers but it's not political. Who is gullible enough to believe that?
Also prominently featured at this convention was Tony Campolo, a man who believes that many people who do not know the name of Christ (Buddhists, Hindus, etc.) will be in heaven in the end, because they had the relationship, but just never learned His name. (So I guess the Great Commission wasn't necessary after all... I guess someone should have let Christ in on this new way of getting to heaven but of course Campolo wasn't around back then to enlighten Him)... Don't take my word for it, hear it in Campolo's own words, in this streaming audio interview... http://www.wayofthemasterradio
Campolo was also once quoted as saying that God and Satan are engaged in this great cosmic battle and that the outcome is yet uncertain. I'll never forget hearing that interview. Here's a link to a review of Campolo's often apostate teachings: http://www.letusreason.org
The New Baptist Convention came to a close on Saturday, February 1st, 2008, with a wondering aloud of "Where do we go from here?"
Let me suggest that while the political operatives of this movement are wondering where they're going next (shudder to think, but I'll bet the devil knows)... let us consider where we, the conservatives in the congregation, are going next. Shall we let their adulterated views of scripture carry the day in our churches? Do we capitulate, all in the name of diversity, and preach not against certain besetting sins, and forget what God has taught us from His Word? I'll bet the good ministers from various churches in America who attended this event were quietly dismayed at what some of the speakers there were saying.
On the diversity matter, I do wish we had a more racially integrated church. My wife and I attended Bethlehem Baptist (a predominantly black church here in Wytheville) prior to joining Wytheville Baptist, and that congregation really knows how to worship, and they know how to love. I'm all for being diverse when it comes to the various ways God made us, but I draw the line when someone wants to call sinful behavior--be it homosexuality or wretched biblical exegesis or other such atrocities--acceptable and even desirable in our churches.
You see, the real issue here can be summarized in a question: Is the Bible literally true and inerrant? If you agree that it is, then you cannot go adrift of the Truth which God has given us. Conversely, if the Bible is not true in its entirety, if God has indeed found Himself incapable of managing the translations and publications of His Word, then why believe any of it? If a man is to climb a ladder, he must be able to trust each and every rung on that ladder--or else he should never venture up it. Remember that Satan deceived Eve by calling into question what God had said...
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" (NIV)
...and it appears to me that some of these New Baptists are asking similar questions, again at the behest of that same old foe.
Dan Newberry
Addendum, a link to a Wall Street Journal contributed by a WBC member for inclusion here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120242949190952127.html?mod=taste_primary_hs
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