January 1, 2001
Texas Baptist Forum
Test of fellowship
___I would like to propose a new test of fellowship. It is a new one but one we heard long ago. "Is Jesus their Lord?"
___Specifics of theology provide a tenuous thread. For example, I personally loath thedoctrine of predestination, yet I count as two of my best friends ardent Calvinists. And what about the purpose and mode of baptism? The list is seemingly endless.
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___Sainthood should not be measured by a willingness to sign some dogma so as to be permitted to teach at some seminary. Is Christ first in his life? This is the true "litmus" test.
___ Thomas F. Harkins Jr.
___ Fort Worth
Soft answers
___As indicated in several letters to the editor, many Texas Baptists are tired of the Southern Baptist Convention-Baptist General Convention of Texas controversy.
___It seems that if the SBC leaders really desired harmony and peace with the BGCT, they would put a clamp on all the malicious and inciting words and actions by their in-group.
___By contrast, I wonder if the leaders of the BGCT could stop answering tit-for-tat and take Jesus at his word and begin to pray for their enemies, loving them into a restored relationship. It is still true that a soft answer turns away wrath.
___ Lee Neal
___ Guadalajara, Mexico
Losing sight
___I have been a Southern Baptist for 60 years. My husband has been a Southern Baptist pastor for over 50 years. I am concerned about the divisions taking place in our conventions.
___I have been proud to be a Southern Baptist because I feel we are the closest in doctrine to the Bible and because of the great work done worldwide through the Cooperative Program.
___I appreciate the letters from George Hodges and Shawn Brewer (Dec. 11). I agree: "The greatest mission-sending mechanism ever given to man by God will lose" because of disagreements and changes in the Cooperative Program.
___Leaders are losing sight of the position and responsibility of the office they have been elected to, which is that of being a servant to the churches, and are seeking power, control and a name for themselves. It is a very divisive thing and so sad.
___ Nell Williams
___ Rule
Innocent victims
___I always have loved Southern Baptists and Texas Baptists. I loved my professors at Howard Payne University and at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. My wife and I served our Lord for 37 years as Southern Baptist missionaries in Korea.
___Thus I sorrow as I think what has happened to our SBC. We have suffered a political takeover, and it involves prestige and power more than who believes the Bible. Baptist principles have been exchanged for denominational authority.
___I have marveled that God still has used us and multiplied our foreign missionaries to a force of around 5,000. Half of the budget supporting them comes from the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. What will happen as many churches continue to cut old ties and line up on one side or the other?
___Our missionaries are special innocent victims of this situation. No political ambitions or desire for worldly fame directed them overseas. Many of them who have served so faithfully soon may discover that someone has stopped "holding the ropes" after they descended into the dark well of a lost world. Where is the largeness of spirit, the mutual love that bound us together for so long?
___God's work will continue, but Satan accomplished a lot when he managed to divert our attention from the main task. God can do it without us, but we can't do it without him.
___ Don C. Jones
___ Grand Prairie
Baptist dichotomy
___Thank you so much for finally bringing the issue of social justice to the forefront of Texas Baptists (Dec. 11).
___For too long, we have had a mental attitude of vengeance-- lock 'em up, warehouse 'em or simply execute 'em--within the criminal justice system. I continually am amazed at the dichotomy that Texas Baptists display, fighting so hard for the sanctity of all life, yet calling for more and more executions.
___For many of my friends, there is no problem with capital punishment--not on religious grounds, not on humanitarian grounds and not on economic grounds. Yet for me, I cannot condone the viability of capital punishment with my own personal Christian beliefs. Those beliefs are challenged and tested by how I accept the most heinous criminal as a person who is loved by God.
___My New Testament tells me that a practical response is separation from society but still love, compassion and the hope for future rehabilitation.
___ Derryl York
___ Houston
Whose prayer?
___I was saddened by two letters concerning Palestinians in Israel (Dec. 11). There were several factual errors in their letters, which space does not allow me to address completely.
___One error, which is common, is that Palestinians only recently have come to live on the land. I am personally acquainted with a Christian pastor whose family had lived in the land they knew as Palestine since the third century. They were removed at gunpoint from their home near Ben-Gurion airport in the late 1940s. Thousands of Palestinians lost the land they had lived on for centuries. Many continue to live in refugee camps in Israel.
___The majority of Christians in Israel are Palestinians on the West Bank. In the current unrest, they are in a very vulnerable position. The leaders of this "intifada" are Muslim. They have had harsh words about Palestinian Christians who generally desire statehood but also peace. If these Christians were anywhere else in the world, they would be considered persecuted believers.
___Aside from the stunning admission that he desires harm to fellow Christians, Jack Aduddell, in his letter, indicated he had been praying that the Palestinians would be driven out. I am certain that the Palestinian Christians are praying that they will be able to stay.
___Which of his children will God hear? Whose prayer will he answer "yes"?
___ Jim Witt
___ Garland
Last event
___A different perspective of God's message in Revelation is needed than what is currently available on the market.
___One of the last, if not the last, identifiable events to be taking place at the appearing of Jesus is the current conflict between the Israelis and the Arab-Islamic people over the control of Jerusalem.
___Note Revelation 17:16: "And the 10 horns (Arab-Islamic nations, ethnic groups) which you saw on the beast (Satan), these shall hate the harlot (Jerusalem, also on the beast Satan), shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her with fire." This tells of the destruction of Jerusalem that is the judgment of God on her taking place right now (Revelation 17:1).
___The next verse shatters some people's theology. "For God has given to their hearts to do his mind, and to have one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast (Satan), until the sayings of God should be completed" (Revelation 17:17).
___This is saying, in part, for the redeemed through Jesus' blood to make sure they are walking daily with the Lord so they will not be ashamed at his appearing.
___ Ernest V. May
___ Livingston
Add to accolades
___Having just returned from my annual Christmas trek to College Station's First Baptist Church and reading the article about Malcolm Bane (Dec. 11), I had to add to those accolades.
___For 20 years, the members of that great church have provided Christmas gifts for all the children on the Round Rock campus of Texas Baptist Children's Home. The originator of the idea was Malcolm Bane. His service with the BGCT Human Welfare Coordinating Board gave him the idea that has generated thousands of Christmas gifts for children. The process of getting gift requests and assigning them to families in the church is a major task handled by David Rowland, but with Malcolm Bane's full support.
___He has not only brightened Christmas for children, he has influenced adults who are now staff members at TBCH. Not long ago, one told me of counseling with him while an A&M student. His words of wisdom remain with her today.
___We will miss his presence at FBC and pray that God will continue to use him in mighty ways throughout his retirement.
___ Jerry T. Bradley
___ Round Rock
Forgive hypocrisy
___While it may take awhile to do it, "traditional" Baptists should implore the Holy Spirit to forgive us of our hypocrisy, so we can assist him in snatching God's elect--the"whosoever wills"--from the very gates of hell.
___Perhaps the Holy Spirit would honor our dedication and permit us to lead the SBC again.
___Placing ourselves under the orchestration of the Holy Spirit would be a better course of action than refusing to fund the SBC seminaries. Why shouldn't we designate some of the Cooperative Program money to support BGCT seminaries?
___Obeying God will give us a greater quality of life than insisting on having it our way.
___Stanley Earl Anderson
___Abilene
Better off
___It seems Jerry Falwell thinks he has the answers to all the problems today.
___He asked Al Gore to withdraw from the presidential race? Why not George W. Bush?
___Also, I read in the Standard some time ago where Falwell said he and his group threw Jimmy Carter out. Jimmy Carter is a better man than Jerry Falwell.
___If Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson had kept their noses out of politics, … the mess we are in might have been avoided.
___The Southern Baptist Convention would be better off without Jerry Falwell.
___J. Earl Hahn
___Spring
A modern-day parable
___Everything went well at first. Excitement pervaded the disciples. Old vocations were left behind, and these men walked by faith. Each day brought thrills unprecedented.
___Jesus was indeed the miracle worker and the Messiah long awaited. Crowds thronged
___Until, in a discussion among the disciples, certain Old Testament prophecies were debated.
___"Isaiah said …"
___"Oh, no, no, no! He meant it this way …"
___"One thing for sure, the psalmist was on target when …"
___"Well, yes and no. Except when he put it in Hebraic verse, which was figurative language."
___"Figurative, my eye! Right, Thaddeus? Of course, I'm right!"
___"Let the Master handle that leper situation while we thrash this out."
___Suddenly, there was clear division in the group. Five were one way, and six the other. And Judas never knew how he stood on anything.
___Preoccupation set in. No more time for miracles and healing and walking. Let the blind wait. We must consult with the rabbis and get these things figured out. The more arguing, the more the disciples polarized.
___Sure, the ultra-conservatives are good men, but at times they seem a little strange. What are they trying to prove? Are they basically insecure?
___And those moderates are far, far out. Give them a little education, and they go berserk. Fie on them!
___And so, while Jesus went about doing good, the disciples hibernated and became stubborner and stubborner. And the lost world waited.
___Andrew M. Hall
___Lake Wales, Fla.
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