c. 1998 Religion News Service
Ideological conflicts, social issues dominate Baptist meetings
(RNS) Conflicts between conservatives and moderates and debates over social issues such as homosexuality highlighted this fall’s annual meetings of Southern Baptist state conventions.
In Texas, moderates tightened their control of the nation’s largest state Baptist group, the Baptist General Convention of Texas. They re-elected a slate of officers by acclamation and gave final approval to constitutional changes that allow the convention to operate independently of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Conservatives in Texas, feeling they were losing their influence on the 2.5 million-member BGCT, severed ties and started their own state convention on Nov. 10, reported Associated Baptist Press, an independent news service.
In Missouri, on the other hand, conservatives were elected as officers of the Missouri Baptist Convention after a group of laymen mounted a campaign that encouraged conservatives to attend and vote at the annual meeting.
The Georgia Baptist Convention amended its constitution to exclude churches that”affirm, approve or endorse homosexual behavior.”A proposal that would have withdrawn fellowship from churches encouraging charismatic worship did not gain the necessary two-thirds majority of votes.
The Baptist General Association of Virginia”commended”a statement on homosexuality that affirmed”the biblical teaching that homosexual behavior is sinful and unacceptable for Christians”but also included guidelines for showing”Christ-like compassion for homosexual persons.” Several conventions dealt with ongoing disputes with schools in their regions.
Tennessee Baptists voted to withhold $2.2 million in funds budgeted for Carson-Newman College until a conflict over election of trustees of the school is resolved. Trustees of the Jefferson City college voted in the spring to elect their own successors, but trustees previously were elected by the state convention.
Baptists in North Carolina passed a resolution criticizing the sale of alcohol on the Wake Forest University campus but recognizing the right of the trustees of the Winston-Salem school to set policy.
Among other highlights:
Arkansas Baptists passed a resolution encouraging prayer for President Clinton and Congress as it considers impeachment proceedings.
Florida Baptists for the first time elected an African-American president, Elroy Barber, pastor of a Hollywood church.
South Carolina Baptists passed a resolution opposing”all forms of legalized gambling.”That state recently elected a governor whose political platform supported a state lottery to fund education.
Poll shows nationwide drop in anti-Semitism
(RNS) A new poll found Americans to be less anti-Semitic than ever, but also said blacks are nearly four times more likely to accept negative Jewish stereotypes than are whites.
The Anti-Defamation League poll, released Monday (Nov. 23), indicated that 12 percent of Americans hold”strongly”anti-Semitic views, down from 20 percent in 1992.
But approximately 25 million Americans _ more than one-in-10 _ continue to embrace a wide range of stereotypes about Jews, including”Jews have too much power,”and”Jews are more loyal to Israel than America,”according to the poll.
Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the 85-year-old Jewish organization, said the poll indicated progress in ending anti-Semitism.”Overall, we are heartened by these findings. It is a real sign that Americans are becoming more tolerant and accepting of others. Clearly, educational efforts, access to information on a very broad scale and political leadership are paying dividends,”he said.
As in past surveys, the ADL reported that anti-Semitic beliefs are more likely to be found among certain demographic groups: those age 65, those with a high-school education or less, and black Americans.
Anti-Semitic beliefs are least likely to be held by Americans who are under age 40 and college educated.
But even college educated black Americans report significantly higher levels of anti-Semitism than Americans as a whole, according to the poll. The ADL said that 18 percent of blacks with a four-year college degree accept anti-Jewish stereotypes, compared to 5 percent of college educated Americans as a whole.
According to the poll, 35 percent of black Americans have some negative feelings toward Jews. Foxman said”we do not pretend to fully understand why the discrepancy between white and black attitudes exists, but it clearly underscores a problem that we as a society cannot afford to ignore.” However, the NAACP disputed the survey’s accuracy.”I find it very hard to believe that a third of all black people are anti-Semitic as this survey suggests. I think the findings are faulty,”said NAACP President Kweisi Mfume.
The survey was conducted by a national telephone poll of 999 people between Oct. 12-21 and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Pope’s health will alter Mexico visit
(RNS) Pope John Paul II’s increased health problems will force changes in his usual protocol during his January visit to Mexico City, Mexican church officials announced Monday (Nov. 23).”We are keeping his health, his physical condition very much in mind,”said Bishop Abelardo Alvarado Alcantara.”Because of considerations that are related to him personally there will be some exceptions to the usual protocols.” When the 78-year-old leader of the world’s 1 billion Roman Catholics arrives in Mexico City for a four-day visit in Jan. 22, John Paul may have to cut short some scheduled walks and also deliver speeches sitting down, officials said.
Plans for the Pope’s fourth visit to Mexico include a Mass and a meeting with four generations of Latin Americans via a satellite link-up from Mexico City’s Azteca football stadium, Reuters news agency reported.
Porn filters at Virginia libraries declared unconstitutional
(RNS) A federal judge Monday (Nov. 23) declared that software installed to block pornography on a Virginia county’s library computers violated free speech.
Although the filtering software was meant to protect minors from viewing sexually explicit material, Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that the Loudoun County policy violated the First Amendment and failed to serve a compelling government interest.
Central to the case, filed by a group of adults late last year and joined by People for the American Way and the American Civil Liberties Union, was the filtering software’s broad approach. Without regard for adult users, the program restricted access to any websites deemed inappropriate for minors.
Brinkema indicated that her ruling was affected by the frequency of errors associated with the county’s commercial software package; including blocking access to religion and even Beanie Babies web-pages.
In her 46-page opinion, Brinkema, a former librarian, maintained that libraries seeking to protect minors could explore alternative means of censorship, including installing filtering software on computers specifically designated for children.
Although the U.S. District Court ruling is not legally binding on other courts, proponents believe the decision, the first of its kind, will set a precedent in the ongoing debate over Internet censorship.
An attorney for the Loudoun County Library Board said he will ask Brinkema to allow the filtering software to remain in place while the board determines if it will appeal the ruling or modify its policy.
Charity moves to end human trafficking
(RNS) A British charity has announced a campaign targeting the trafficking of women and children for sex in Asia.
Action Aid, an overseas development charity, said organized crime rings target poverty stricken women and children. The organization said 1 million women are annually sold into prostitution in Asia.
Of particular concern to the organization is the plight of Nepalese women who are often taken to prostitution houses in India, said the charity.
Furthermore, Action Aid said over 650,000 children, some as young as 10,are victims of sex trafficking in Asia. “It is not acceptable to sit back and allow trafficking to continue. It is brutal and demeaning and is ruining the lives of thousands of women and children,”Archana Tang, a worker for the charity in Nepal, told Reuters Tuesday (Nov. 24).
Action Aid called for government and public support. It will organize an international letter-writing campaign calling on heads of government in south Asia to eliminate the practice and urging enforcement of international law to protect women and children. It also wants rehabilitation provided those who have escaped prostitution.
Georgia sodomy law struck down
(RNS) The Georgia Supreme Court struck down the state’s 156-year-old law against sodomy Monday (Nov. 23), saying it violated the right to privacy.
The ruling, which overturned the conviction of a man who sodomized his teen-aged niece, was hailed as a victory for gay rights activists opposed to anti-sodomy laws throughout the United States.
The court voted 6-1 to overturn the 1996 conviction of Anthony Powell, found guilty of sodomizing his 17-year-old niece. Powell had also been charged with rape, but his lawyers argued successfully that the sex was consensual and he was acquitted.
Under the sodomy law, any oral or anal sex, whether between heterosexuals or homosexuals, was against the law.
Gay rights groups have long maintained that anti-sodomy laws have been used unfairly and disproportionately to target homosexuals.
Chief Justice Robert Benham penned the court’s majority opinion, which said that citizens are entitled to privacy. The Georgia ruling was counter to a 1986 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held the U.S. Constitution provided no protection for private homosexual conduct.”We cannot think of any other activity that reasonable persons would rank as more private and more deserving of protection from governmental interference than consensual, private, adult sexual activity,”Benham wrote.
But the ruling was not without critics, including Justice George H. Carley, who dissented. He wrote that the majority misconstrued the constitution and”usurped the legislative authority of the (Georgia) General Assembly to establish the public policy of this state.” Georgia Lt. Gov.-elect Mark Taylor also disagreed with the ruling. “I think there needs to be a law of some sort on the books,”said Taylor,”I think, Republican or Democrat, it’s an issue the legislature would rather not deal with. But we don’t have that option.” The ruling comes at a time when Kentucky, Tennessee and Pennsylvania have recently overturned similar laws. But 12 other states still have laws that make consensual oral and anal sex between heterosexual or homosexuals illegal, and six other states have anti-sodomy laws that only apply to homosexuals.
J.D. Sumner, gospel singer and composer, dead at 73
(RNS) J.D. Sumner, a Grammy Award-winning gospel singer known for his deep bass voice, died Nov. 16 after a heart attack.
Sumner, 73, died in Myrtle Beach, S.C., where he was performing with the Stamps Quartet.
He became leader of the quartet in 1963 and grew to prominence in the gospel music field. His group provided back-up vocals for Elvis Presley from 1972-77.
Sumner, born John Daniel Sumner, composed more than 500 gospel songs during his time with the group and was instrumental in the creation of the Gospel Music Association and the National Quartet Convention.”Many of us in the gospel music industry feel privileged to have known and worked with such an industry pioneer and gospel music legend as J.D. Sumner,”said Frank Breeden, president of the Gospel Music Association.”Through his support of industry organizations and his continuing performances until his death, J.D. truly devoted his life to furthering gospel music. He will be sorely missed by the entire industry.”
Quote of the Day: New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
(RNS)”I think it is one of the most idiotic ideas I have ever heard.” _ New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, commenting Monday (Nov. 23) on a scuttled plan to adorn a Christmas tree with condoms as part of a World AIDS Day (Dec. 1) commemoration at Central Park’s Wollman skating rink. The condom idea was proposed by the San Francisco-based clothing firm Levi Strauss & Co. The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights threatened to boycott Levi Strauss if the condom-laden Christmas tree was displayed.
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