Bruce Feiler - Where God Was Born, Abraham, Walking The Bible

The Baptist Civil War
Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have joined the decades-old civil war of Baptists.

With the help of former President Carter, Baptists who have distanced themselves from the conservative Southern Baptist Convention announced plans Tuesday for a major meeting that aims to improve the Baptist image and broaden its agenda.

Carter, who left the Southern Baptists in 2000 after the denomination came under conservative control, and former President Bill Clinton, also a Baptist, joined leaders of about 40 Baptist groups in making the announcement at The Carter Center.

"Our goal is to have a major demonstration of harmony and a common commitment to personifying and to accomplish the goals that Jesus Christ expressed," Carter said.

Actually, Carter's involvement is not new; but Clinton's public involvement would appear to be a new twist. Religious reconciliation is one of four broad areas that the Clinton Global Initiative has dedicated itself to addressing, and while attacking another denomination (fundamentalists in the Baptist community) may not seem like a good tactic, it's actually a bold move to strengthen the moderates. Picking up on what I said yesterday, the oft-heard claim, "Where are the moderates?" in Islam can equally be applied to Christianity. Here's another full-throated yell.

Posted by B Feiler at 1:33 PM
Permalink Digg this Post Email this Post

0 Comments: