Universalist Addresses Southern Baptist Convention
Barely two months ago, Rev. Wade Burleson caught hell for his decision to meet with President Jimmy Carter and other organizers of the New Baptist Covenant. The Baptist Blogosphere was flooded with allegations that President Carter was a Universalist - one who believes that all will be saved and spared from hell. Suffice it to say, Carter got kicked around pretty good by his fellow Baptist-brethren for a week or so. Al Mohler even took the time to opine. This internet saga culminated with a thoughtful EthicsDaily op-ed penned by Brian Kaylor entitled Jimmy Carter Is Not The Anti-Christ.
Since his election in 2000, President George W. Bush has addressed the Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention almost every year usually live via satellite. A "born-again evangelical Christian," President Bush has also been a fan favorite among Southern Baptists and their leaders. Richard Land loves Dubya. Heck, Southern Baptists love Dubya so much that their publishing arm has printed a Bible that includes George W. Bush quotes!
Bush may be born-again and I have no reason to doubt that his faith in Jesus Christ is genuine. But dangit, he's a Universalist! Check out the video from just days before the 2004 election:
Charlie Gibson: Do we all worship the same God, Christians and Muslims?Did I mention that Bush addressed Southern Baptist messengers just a month ago?
President Bush: I think we do. We have different routes of getting to the Almighty.
Charlie Gibson: Do Christians and non-Christians, do Muslims go to heaven in your mind?
President Bush: Yes, they do. We have different routes of getting there.
Meanwhile, Southern Baptist bloggers and leaders will continue to allege, accuse, moan, and groan each and every time these two words are uttered.........Jimmy Carter.
Labels: Al Mohler, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Richard Land, Universalism, Wade Burleson
posted by Big Daddy Weave at 11:53 PM
7 Comments:
"Bush may be born-again and I have no reason to doubt that his faith in Jesus Christ is genuine." What? Leave aside his heretical blasphemous universalism for a second. How about his membership in the occult group Skulls and Bones? What about his affiliation with the anti - Christ group Council on Foreign Relations? What about his support for abortion and gay marriage? And as a progressive Christian this ought to strike you: what about his his spreading wide scale death and destruction against innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan? What about his policies that oppress the poor and redistribute tax dollars to wealthy oil companies and similar? What about his desire to have the state fund and regulate the church? What about the Patriot Act, torture, denying people due process and civil rights, and spying? And perhaps most importantly: what about his giving our Supreme Court over to the Vatican? Now in the face of ALL THAT EVIDENCE INDICATING THAT HE IS NOT a Christian, give me ONE THING THAT INDICATES THAT HE IS. That he says so? Well, I am sorry, but I need a little bit more than that from a person whose agenda and associations have been so anti - Christ. I actually used to support the Iraq War because I felt that A) it would end the U.N. sanctions, which many progressive Christians claimed was causing many lives and B) it would make it easier to spread the faith over there. But the result of this war has been the EXACT OPPOSITE. It has been a disaster for human rights and Christianity in Iraq, America, and worldwide, and BUSH DOES NOT CARE. By the way ... just to poke at you a little bit ... import your blog to Wordpress ... once you get past the learning curve it is superior in every way, especially in terms of getting Internet search traffic to your blog.
8:28 AM
LOL
This is toooo funny! Thanks for bringing a smile to my face.
Tim Dahl
9:40 AM
Dear BDW,
Thanks for the clip. It's nice to reminisce about old news once in a while.
"But dangit, he's a Universalist!" is not quite precise. Actually, your frustration would have contained much more punch had your said "But dangit, he's a religious pluralist!"
Had he been a universalist, terrorists--whom the President said worshiped false gods--would have squeezed in.
Grace, Aaron. With that, I am...
Peter
1:19 PM
Good catch on these quotes!
6:02 PM
Ahh, but you see, the difference is, when Bush says those sorts of things, he's lying. When Carter says them, he's being truthful.
So it is much better to have a lying non-universalist (or religious pluralist) than an honest universalist (or religious pluralist).
1:35 AM
Oooh, you're going straight to hell for this one! :)
2:48 AM
Strictly speaking, neither of these comments prove either Bush or Carter to be "universalist," in the sense of "everyone will be saved." In the comments quoted, Bush appears to be espousing a pluralist view of salvation, extending at least to the 3 monotheistic religions stemming from Abraham. That's what Carter's been accused of, too, although I think his remarks have been taken out of context.
9:25 PM
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