February 24, 1999
SBC leaders decry Senate's acquittal of Clinton as moral demise
___WASHINGTON--Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention decried the U.S. Senate's acquittal of President Clinton as furthering the demise of the nation.
___A leader of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, meanwhile, called on Baptists to continue praying for Clinton and seeking to forgive him.
___Daniel Vestal, a former Texas pastor who now is coordinator for the Fellowship, said he has been "saddened and grieved by the president's actions."
___However, Clinton "has asked for forgiveness, and I am prepared to give him forgiveness," Vestal added.
___"This republic is strong and healthy, with an awful lot of good people, and we will move forward."
___Taking a different tack, Paige Patterson, another former Texan who currently is president of the SBC, said Clinton's acquittal in the Senate has "sown the seeds" for the demise of the country.
___"The message has now been clearly sent to our children and grandchildren that if you have money or prestigious position or both, your behavior can be totally irresponsible and reprehensible in the areas of sexual morality, truthfulness and faithfulness to personal covenants and commitments. You can still get by with doing whatever you wish," Patterson said.
___"We the people of the United States have sown the seeds of the dissolution of our republic," said Patterson, also president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. "The sad thing is that the people would apparently have it that way."
___Patterson was joined in condemning the Senate acquittal by Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. "Confronted with one of the greatest moral challenges in its history, the Senate responded with moral apathy," he said.
___Mohler appeared on a panel on CNN's "Larry King Live" Feb. 19, along with former Texas Agriculture Secretary Jim Hightower, actress Roseanne Barr and film critic Michael Medved, among others.
___"I think what we see here is a great culture war, the great moral divide in this country being made very apparent," Mohler said. People "saw the president's sins, and the resulting consequences which should come of them, in entirely different worldviews. It was impossible for persons on one side of that divide to understand the other."
___Meanwhile, Richard Land, president of the SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, also responded to the Senate acquittal with concern.
___"The president's inability to fully come to grips with the shamefulness of his behavior and the fact that he lied under oath, coupled with the congressional inability to rise above petty, partisan bickering and deal in any statesmanlike fashion with the profound issues ... reveals a great deal about the men and women we have elected to serve us in public office and even more about us--the people who elected them," he said.
___Based on Baptist Press and Associated Baptist Press reportsFrontpage / Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!