Sadly, it is the right decision

I just saw the headline on ABP that "Judge dismisses Klouda lawsuit against Patterson, Southwestern." Sadly, in light of the obvious unjust way Dr. Klouda was treated, I believe the judge's decision is correct, that "the decision made by defendants concerning plaintiff was ecclesiastical in nature. The testimony on both sides was filled with theological and biblical arguments. Based on the first amendment the judge had no choice but to rule that the court could not "entangle" itself in this issue.

However, that should not be the end of this issue. Whether Dr. Klouda wants to pursue it or not, there should be those who still have standing and influence in the SBC that would be willing to right this wrong. Unfortunately, I have not the slightest hope that this will happen. If current southern baptists would not stand up for missionaries I seriously doubt that they will stand up for a Hebrew professor.

It saddens me, but this is the new SBC that you wanted.

Where are the "Real" Baptists?

. . . every true Baptist understands that any attempt to “baptize” the faith with the imprimatur of the state – whether it’s the Ten Commandments or faith-based initiatives or public prayer in public schools – ultimately diminishes the integrity of the faith. Roger Williams warned us about that nearly four centuries ago. Those warnings were prescient then.

Today, they’re urgent.

That comment in a speech last week By Randall Balmer at The Religious Liberty Council Luncheon in Washington, D.C., addresses the same problem I have been trying to raise at every venue that I have access to. The so-called baptists who are leading the SBC today have not concept of what it has meant historically to be baptist. Their hunger for power and caused them to throw away the one thing that really made baptists distinctive, their absolute commitment to a "Free church in a Free state." I urge you to read the entire address at "In Search of America's Baptists"