June 18, 2001

SBC adopts 9 resolutions without discussion or dissent
___By Lacy Thompson
___Louisiana Baptist Message
___NEW ORLEANS--The old joke says--often with good reason--that wherever there are two Baptists, there are sure to be three opinions.
___Southern Baptists proved the cliche wrong last week, however, approving nine resolutions without so much as a moment of discussion or a sign of dissent.
___Southern Baptist Convention resolutions committee Chairman Danny Akin admitted that was "pretty unusual." However, he also said he thought it showed Southern Baptists "are very much of one mind" on the issues addressed in the resolutions.
___Although not the headline-making issues of previous years, the resolutions presented to messengers to this year's SBC annual meeting did focus on current and ongoing concerns.
___In addition to a customary resolution on appreciation for the host city, the approved resolutions take strong stands on:
___ Covenant marriage. The approved statement affirms the sacredness of marriage and the devastating impact of divorce. "The disintegration of marriage has tragic implications for the future of our churches and our nation," it reads.
___In response, the resolution affirms the current covenant marriage movement in many states and encourages its spread. The movement seeks to impose a higher standard of marriage on couples seeking marriage licenses, requiring types of counseling and setting tougher guidelines for divorce.
___The resolution urges couples to commit to the biblical principles expressed in the covenant marriage movement and urges churches to "celebrate enthusiastically and emphasize annually" the third Sunday in February as Covenant Marriage Sunday.
___ Human cloning. The resolution repudiates the movement toward cloning human beings. It urges a "permanent, comprehensive" ban on human cloning, including that involving human embryos. It also calls for severe penalties for attempts at human cloning.
___ Genocide in Sudan. The resolution outlines the tragic impact of an 18-year genocidal war in Sudan that has resulted in the deaths of 2 million people. The war is fueled by an extremist Islamic regime that "increasingly has tortured, maimed, raped, enslaved and murdered Christian men, women and children who refuse to deny their faith," the resolution says.
___The statement calls on Southern Baptists to be educated about the situation in Sudan, to pray regularly for those in the region and to support the delivery of relief aid to the nation.
___ Hunger relief. The resolution cites the biblical basis for responding to the needs of the hungry. It also points out that if every Southern Baptist gave just $1 per month through the convention hunger offering, gifts would multiply by 18 times.
___ Internet pornography. The resolution decries the impact of pornography and notes that the Internet has become a primary vehicle for the spread of porn.
___It urges individuals to commit to lives of sexual purity "in thought and action," urges churches to address the issue of pornography during Social Issues Sunday Aug. 5, calls on churches to educate others about dangers of pornography and calls on public libraries to use filters to protect Internet users.
___ Euthanasia in the Netherlands. The resolution notes the Netherlands recently became the first democratic country to legalize active euthanasia.
___In response, it affirms the sacredness of life and decries legalized euthanasia as "immoral ethically, unnecessary medically and unconscionable socially."
___ Discrimination against military chaplains. The resolution notes that a current lawsuit contends the Navy has discriminated against Southern Baptist and other evangelical chaplains. It renounces such unconstitutional treatment and urges the Navy to implement policies that guarantee free religious practice.
___It also commends Southern Baptist and evangelical chaplains and other military personnel serving in the armed forces.
___ Protecting free speech in campaign finance legislation. The resolution notes that some proposed versions of campaign finance reform legislation "threaten freedom of political speech by restricting individuals and organizations from exercising their divinely granted and constitutionally protected right to their consciences in the public square."
___It vigorously objects to "any attempts to abridge the free speech rights of any American citizen or group" and reaffirms Southern Baptist commitment to defend freedom of political speech.
___In a subsequent news conference, Akin explained the resolution should not be construed as opposition to campaign finance reform but to measures that would threaten free speech. Akin is dean of the school of theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
___He also stressed the importance of the cloning resolution as a means of putting Southern Baptists on the "front end" of the issue. "We wanted to make sure Southern Baptists were on record on where we stood on this issue," Akin said.
___He also responded to several questions related to covenant marriage.
___Akin made it clear he supports covenant marriage--and thinks all pastors should. Indeed, ministers should be doing everything possible to help couples get off to a good start in marriage and to help them maintain a strong marriage, he suggested.
___"If ministers are not doing that, they ought to be ashamed of themselves," he said.

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