Southern Baptist Leaders Say the Pope's Speech Was Troubling

Baptist Press Reports:

• Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), expressed gratitude the pope spoke to Congress "about the dignity of all human life, whether the unborn, the elderly or the immigrant, as well as the importance of the family in a free and flourishing society."
  He went on to say, however, "I do think that the pope's address was an opportunity to address urgent moral issues like abortion culture and religious liberty with more clarity and directness than what was delivered."
  
  R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said the pope's reference to abortion and marriage "was a very fuzzy and evasive approach that left many people wondering if he was actually talking about either abortion or marriage at all."
  The invitation by congressional leaders to the head of a religious body to speak to legislators also was problematic, said Mohler and some Southern Baptist pastors.
  "I wonder what evangelical religious figure would be accorded such an opportunity," said Mark Dever, senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., in a written statement for Baptist Press.
  
  Bart Barber, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Farmersville, Texas, told BP in written comments, "For Congress to treat a church as though it were a state and the head of a church as though he were the head of a state runs contrary to basic First Amendment principles of disestablishment."
  While he commended the pope's advocacy for the sanctity of human life, "together with our Baptist forefathers I ask our government not to extend special diplomatic privileges to the Roman Catholic Church that it does not extend to any other religion," said Barber, a member of the ERLC's Leadership Network Council.
  
  Mohler described the pope's address to Congress as a "troubling development."
  Baptists "historically have been very opposed to the United States government recognizing any religion or religious leader in such a way," Mohler had told BP before the pope's visit to Washington.
  
  "[I]t is essential to note that almost no one in the media or in the culture referring to the pope's visit identifies him as a head of state, although that is the legal justification for the fact that he is here on a state visit," Mohler said in his Sept. 23 podcast, The Briefing. 

Tony Campolo Exchanges Biblical Truth For Social Acceptance

 In a recent podcast, Baptist theologian Al Mohler points out that Tony Campolo was right, but now he is wrong on same sex marriage:

Mohler points out Campolo's earlier comments:

•  “I believe that the Bible does not allow for same-gender sexual intercourse or marriage,” Campolo said in Sojourners Magazine in May 1999. “We can argue over this interpretation or that interpretation, but we must take the church very seriously,” Campolo said. “The fellowship of believers called the church of Jesus Christ has stood from the time of Christ to the present day, and I believe it speaks with authority. For almost 2,000 years, the church has read Romans 1 in a particular way. People who knew the Apostle Paul personally have written about what Paul meant when he wrote those verses.”

 And then this last week Campolo reversed his "theology":

•  In a 937-word statement titled Tony Campolo: For the Record, the 80-year-old leader of the evangelical left said he believes the Bible is divinely inspired and that he gives highest priority to words of Jesus in Matthew 25 concerning care for the poor and oppressed. “Because of my open concern for social justice, in recent years I have been asked the same question over and over again: Are you ready to fully accept into the church those gay Christian couples who have made a lifetime commitment to one another?” Campolo wrote. “While I have always tried to communicate grace and understanding to people on both sides of the issue, my answer to that question has always been somewhat ambiguous,” he said. After “countless hours of prayer, study, conversation and emotional turmoil,” Campolo said, “I am finally ready to call for the full acceptance of Christian gay couples into the church.” -

In a way it kind of epitomizes the current changes going on in some churches where they once adhered to a Biblical structure to giving it up in order to be more socially acceptable. Truth, however, cannot be compromised so it has to be discarded and exhanged for a lie.