August 5, 2002
TEXAS BAPTIST FORUM
Best ad
___The greatest advertisement the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention has is the Baptist Standard.
___With each passing issue, more churches join the SBTC as they read more of the "moderate" view of things. Jerry Vines is criticized for speaking truth, and women pastors are showcased without a word of criticism.
___Churches inclined toward the SBTC are given an open invitation to join with each publication of the Baptist Standard. I don't think you could do a better job of leading conservative churches away from the Baptist General Convention of Texas if you tried. After all, you just report the news as you see it. Therein lies the problem.
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
___ Paul Jacobs
___ Rockwall
'Under God'
___America pays lip service to our Creator with the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. In reality, we are "one nation, under capitalism," where the love of money--greed--is the root of all evil. We are a nation divided into haves and have-nots, and the gulf between the two grows wider each passing day.
___Unless individuals, corporations and Wall Street begin to take the greed out of capitalism, America and free enterprise will, in the long run, fail morally and spiritually. No matter how many times we utter the words "God Bless America" and "one nation under God," they will be meaningless and unfruitful coming from the lips of those of us who love money more than we love God.
___Will our political leaders ever declare war against the evil greed within that threatens our nation's present well-being and future survival?
___Preachers, politicians and pundits should talk more about greed and its destructive consequences. We need to be talking as much about it as we do about terror.
___History tells us that every most-powerful empire or nation has eventually fallen from its premier status. If America's fate follows history's course, it will primarily be due to our inability to find a cure for infectious greed. The greed problem was with us long before the events of Sept. 11.
___ Paul L. Whiteley Sr.
___ Louisville, Ky.
Veiled call
___Time has past when veiled character assassination and outright implied lies like those contained in the letter from Jeff Paul (July 22) can go unconfronted.
___As a member of the Christian Life Commission, I am wondering just which person, address, sermon, pamphlet or position paper Paul wants anyone to research on the commission's stand on abortion.
___Since his suspicions apparently are based on non-existent materials and events, I fail to see why he calls for research. How do you research what is not there except in the mind of someone like Roger Moran from Missouri or his fellow disinformation crowd?
___I am sick and tired of this kind of intimidation, even if it is veiled in a false call to do "research."
___ Cyrus B. Fletcher
___ Baytown
Scaling back
___It is with great sadness that I learned one of our most important ministries in the convention is being scaled back because of lack of funds--Baptist Student Ministry, formerly BSU.
___This ministry has been a vital missionary endeavor to higher education students throughout the convention. I know it has reached thousands of non-church students attending state institutions of higher education. For over 50 years, students at Texas A&M-Kingsville, formerly Texas A&I, have been reached and benefitted because of BSU. The success of the ministry is immeasurable.
___The devil must be dancing with glee at the downsizing of such a fine program. What a sad day in the life of the Baptist convention and the college communities.
___ Marchia Hutchison
___ Kingsville
Annual highlight
___For the past seven years, the highlight of my year has been MusiConference at Baylor University. Disappointment was keen when I learned that we would now meet at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. As a graduate of Baylor, it had been an added treat to take a trip down "memory lane" during the conference.
___The warmth of the UMHB staff quickly melted any disappointment. My daughter and young granddaughter joined us for lunch. As I attempted to fill my plate and carry the baby, a staff member in the cafeteria came immediately to my assistance, filled the plate and carried it to the table. In both the bookstore and the cafeteria, staff members asked if I were having a good time and if my needs were being met.
___The only disappointment that persisted was the paucity of publishers and vendors who brought exhibits to the conference. This was their loss as much as ours, as the number of those registered was consistent with that of previous years at Baylor. The gain for me, however, was that I spent much less money than in previous years.
___Commendation is due the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor for its gracious hosting of the BGCT MusiConference. This was my seventh consecutive year to attend MusiConference. I anticipate many more conferences equally as enjoyable as those in the past.
___ Julie Tanner
___ Kingsville
Defining Calvinism
___When asked if I am a Calvinist, I usually ask the inquirer to define Calvinism. It is precisely because of the misunderstandings of Calvinism which exist, as evidenced by a recent letter from Jack Newton (July 15), that I have to ask. I would not want to answer yes to someone who believes that Calvinism is as described by Newton.
___He purports to refute a couple of points of Calvinism, but I do not know of any Calvinists who would disagree with what he said in his "refutation."
___It also is interesting that Newton accuses Calvinists of not using the whole of Scripture, when he did not reference a single passage to "refute" Calvinism. I would just ask him how he explains Romans 9.
___Calvinism is portrayed in this letter as an "anti-mission, anti-witness philosophy." This is a common misunderstanding of Calvinism. Many seem to confuse Calvinism with hyper-Calvinism, when they are not the same thing. Hyper-Calvinists are anti-mission, but the problem is that they refer to themselves as Calvinists, not hyper-Calvinists. It is no more fair, or accurate, to label all who call themselves Calvinists anti-mission as it is to label all those affiliated with the BGCT "liberal," "moderate" or "pro-abortion."
___Keep in mind the "father of modern missions," William Carey, was a Calvinist.
___ William Bearden
___ Arlington
Feeling anguish
___Scott McIntosh should not feel guilty in precipitating the requirement of the International Mission Board to have missionaries sign an affirmation of the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message (June 3). This was already in the works.
___However, I feel his anguish because of parallels to an experience in my own life when I was just a little boy. My parents and I fled Nazi Germany in 1938 because of the oppression of the Gestapo, mind control and dirty politics. Morris Chapman reporting McIntosh to Jerry Rankin, Rankin talking about "damage control" and Bill Fudge coercing missionaries to sign the 2000 BF&M brings back strong and unpleasant memories
___I would urge readers to pay attention to Robert Velert's comments (June 3). Velert is a very able, gifted and knowledgeable Baptist pastor from Spain. What he says backs up my experience as a missionary.
___Of the 32 years served, 11 years were spent in Argentina. A dear pastor friend once said to me that he appreciated our family investing its life in Argentina, not like the Mormons, who came and went.
___ Siegfried Enge
___ El Paso
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