February 17, 1999
Civility urged in debate, but disputed
___WASHINGTON (ABP)--Religious leaders met Jan. 26 in Washington to address what one described as "a frightening degree of incivility" in the nation's public debates.
___The Interfaith Alliance Foundation, a non-profit institution, sponsored the "National Religious Leaders Summit on Civility in Public Discourse and the Future of Democracy" on Capitol Hill. Welton Gaddy, the group's executive director, moderated the discussion.
___"An openness to learning from each other has been lost to an eagerness to condemn one another because of differences between our opinions and beliefs," said Gaddy, pastor of Northminster Baptist Church in Monroe, La.
___He said the purpose of the meeting was to engage in "dialogue that sensitizes people to the importance of civility and creates within people an instinctive intolerance for uncivil behavior."
___"We have arrived at a critical moment in the life of our nation," Gaddy noted. "Amid the harshness of the present political climate, even a call to civility is being used as a political weapon."
___Along with Gaddy, the panel included Robert Drinan, law professor at Georgetown University Law Center; and Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
___During the panel discussion, Gaddy asked Land about approaching members of religious groups that hold different opinions about the nature of humankind and society.
___Land said it is important to remain civil in these discussions and to "disagree on issues without being disagreeable." He quoted civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. saying, "Those whom you must change, you must first love."
___However, in interviews after the meeting, both Land and Gaddy engaged in verbal sparring with each other over what constitutes civility.
___Land said he doesn't want liberal groups like the Interfaith Alliance to "co-opt the issue of civility."
___Conservative evangelicals like himself are civil in their debate as well, he insisted.
___"I know a lot of evangelical Christians and most of them agree that you should disagree about issues without 'dissing' the people," he said. "They would agree with me wholeheartedly and completely that to carry around a placard in the name of Christ that says 'God hates fags' is blasphemy. It's just blasphemy. It's as blasphemous as using the cross to promote the racial bigotry of the Ku Klux Klan."
___Land said there was nothing uncivil about comments he made in October that the influence of moderate Baptist leaders was partly responsible for the moral flaws of Bill Clinton.
___A Newsweek article that sought to explain Clinton's moral failings in light of his growing up as a Baptist quoted three moderate leaders: James Dunn, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee; Foy Valentine, former executive director of the Southern Baptist Christian Life Commission; and Glenn Hinson, a former professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary who now teaches at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond.
___Commenting on the Newsweek article, Land said "liberal antinomianism" of those three "is partially responsible for producing people with the tragically flawed moral compass of a Bill Clinton."
___Asked about the civility of such a comment, Land stood by his October remarks.
___"I didn't say Foy Valentine was immoral. I didn't say James Dunn was immoral," Land said. "I do think Southern Baptists have to take some responsibility for Bill Clinton being who he is. I stand by that statement."
___Land said the comment was civil because he did not attack the individuals but pointed out that the theology they and other moderate Baptists hold has consequences.
___Gaddy said he viewed Land's October comments as an attack on the three men. "I think you easily could have made the point Richard was trying to make by saying that what's happened to the president is the product of rampant antinomianism in our society," Gaddy said. "Why tie that to three people, unless you're trying to hurt them and attack them as individuals?"
___But Land cited recent statements by Gaddy about the Religious Right, which he said undermine civility.
___He pointed to a news article in which Gaddy said Rep. Bob Livingston, R-La., could not pass the "dangerous, dangerous litmus test" of the Religious Right.
___"I'm certainly at least suspicious, if not confident, that the Livingston scenario developed with an eye on the influence of the Religious Right, which holds the Republican Party captive," Gaddy said in an article published by the Deseret News.
___"Now is that civility?" Land asked.
___Gaddy said he viewed his statement "as an observation of factual data." He added, "I'm sure Richard probably sees his stuff about the three men in the same way."Frontpage / Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!