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:::I agree that the casting of lots that you describe should be translated as "gambling", but it isn't.  We need a conservative translation of the Bible that does.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 17:17, 24 June 2009 (EDT)

:::I agree that the casting of lots that you describe should be translated as "gambling", but it isn't.  We need a conservative translation of the Bible that does.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 17:17, 24 June 2009 (EDT)

Sorry Andy, as a Baptist I disagree with your implication that liberalism is the downfall of the Southern Baptist Convention. You're right that politicization was a cause for their decline in numbers, but it's completely opposite what you imply, and has nothing to do with national politics of left and right. In the early-to-mid 1990s, the megalomaniacal leadership literally pushed out anyone who wasn't willing to accept the Convention's increasingly narrow orthodoxy, brandishing the word "moderate" against their enemies as if it were a curse. It was really just a power grab by a few individuals who saw no problem in alienating millions of believers, much less firing dozens of long-faithful staff members in underhanded ways that would not even be accepted in the secular world of business. In a denomination which was always about the freedom of the believer's individual interpretation of the bible, the Convention suddenly wanted to impose a mandatory oath on all congregations who associated with them. For most staunch Baptists, this was heresy.

Sorry Andy, as a Baptist I disagree with your implication that liberalism is the downfall of the Southern Baptist Convention. You're right that politicization was a cause for their decline in numbers, but it's completely opposite what you imply, and has nothing to do with national politics of left and right. In the early-to-mid 1990s, the megalomaniacal leadership literally pushed out anyone who wasn't willing to accept the Convention's increasingly narrow orthodoxy, brandishing the word "moderate" against their enemies as if it were a curse. It was really just a power grab by a few individuals who saw no problem in alienating millions of believers, much less firing dozens of long-faithful staff members in underhanded ways that would not even be accepted in the secular world of business. In a denomination which was always about the freedom of the believer's individual interpretation of the bible, the Convention suddenly wanted to impose a mandatory oath on all congregations who associated with them. For most staunch Baptists, this was heresy.