Post by AuntieSocial on Nov 20, 2003 19:07:47 GMT -5
Baptists support display, but not defiance
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By KRISTEN CAMPBELL Religion Reporter
Published: November 20, 2003
Publication: Mobile Register
Representatives of Alabama's 1.1 million Southern Baptists offered their support for public displays of the Ten Commandments on Wednesday but stopped short of singling out former Chief Justice Roy Moore for his efforts in promoting the ancient moral code.
During the meeting of the Alabama Baptist State Convention at Mobile's Cottage Hill Baptist Church, delegates amended a resolution to remove language that identified Moore as a leader in the Ten Commandments struggle.
The substitute resolution makes no mention of Moore and says instead, "Many of our civic leaders have dem onstrated their support for the constitutional rights of Alabamians and Americans to acknowledge the moral foun- dation of our society as expressed in the Ten Commandments."
Moore was ousted from office last week after refusing to remove a 5,280-pound monument depicting the Ten Commandments from public view in the state courthouse rotunda after being directed to do so by U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson.
In a statement responding to Wednesday's action, Moore said, "For pastors to support such a display and uphold the right of a federal district judge to say that we cannot acknowledge God as public officials demonstrates an inconsistent theology and a failure to properly understand (the Book of) Romans ... that all powers of God and the powers that be are ordained of God."
Moore, a Gadsden, Ala., native, gained a national following in 1995 when the American Civil Liberties Union sued the then-circuit judge over a hand-carved copy of the Ten Commandments hanging in his Etowah County courtroom.
Elected to the state's top judicial post in 2000, Moore installed the controversial monument in the Alabama Judicial Building during the night on July 31, 2001; lawsuits seeking the monument's removal were filed Oct. 30, 2001.
Wednesday morning, Howell Easterling, minister of education at First Baptist Church of Mobile, proposed the resolution language that removed Moore's name.
"There's been a whole lot of emotion over this Roy Moore thing," Easterling said later. "I think he has certainly abused his position and his power. I know his personal beliefs, but I think to take it to the level that he did in his position was inappropriate. ... The best expression of the Ten Commandments or any faith guideline is the way that we live."
Earlier Wednesday morning, Robert Maxwell, a representative of First Baptist Church in Atmore and a Republican contender for the Alabama Supreme Court in 1998, voiced his opposition to the original resolution about the Ten Commandments as well.
"I am concerned that the adoption of this resolution by implication might constitute endorsement or ratification of the fact that Judge Moore, in his official capacity as the state's highest official judicial officer, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, failed to obey and overtly did defy the federal court order," Maxwell said. "I am concerned -- almost offended, really -- that in the pursuit of his enthusiasm he has run counter to the precept that our country is a nation of laws and not of man."
To that end, Maxwell proposed that a sentence be added to the resolution declar ing that the statement should not be viewed as an endorsement of Moore's failure to follow a federal district judge's order.
That amendment did not pass, though it received the support of former Mobile Mayor Lambert Mims.
"All of my life, I've done my best to obey the law," Mims said, noting that he had "paid the price that I shouldn't have paid" when he was convicted of an offense he said he didn't commit.
Mims was convicted in federal court on extortion and conspiracy charges in 1990 and served more than three years at the federal prison camp at Montgomery's Maxwell Air Force Base.
"I believe that we all ought to obey the law," Mims said.
John Killian, senior pastor of Maytown Baptist Church in Mulga, Ala., said he wished Moore's name had not been deleted from the resolution.
"I'm afraid people ... will think that we don't personally stand with Judge Moore," Killian said.
But Charles Hillman, a member of Cottage Hill Baptist Church, said he thought the convention's delegates, known as messengers, had made a good decision.
"I think it was probably right to remove the judge's name," Hillman said. "There may be changes in the direction he goes. ... I don't know the judge's heart or mind."
Lee Singley, pastor of Grandview Baptist Church in Dothan, Ala., said the final resolution was a "good compromise."
"It didn't put us in a position of trying to be political," Singley said.
In addition to the resolution on the Ten Commandments, messengers affirmed President Bush and the military for "their leadership in the successful execution of Operation Iraqi Freedom."
During the two-day meeting, messengers also re-elected convention officials -- Joe Godfrey of Pleasant Grove as president, Henry H. Cox of Bay Minette as first vice president and Roger D. Willmore of Boaz as second vice president -- and adopted a budget exceeding $40 million for 2004.
The money, which typically comes from congregations' undesignated receipts, goes to support ministries of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, such as the University of Mobile and the Southern Baptist Convention.
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Click here to read the article on the original site
By KRISTEN CAMPBELL Religion Reporter
Published: November 20, 2003
Publication: Mobile Register
Representatives of Alabama's 1.1 million Southern Baptists offered their support for public displays of the Ten Commandments on Wednesday but stopped short of singling out former Chief Justice Roy Moore for his efforts in promoting the ancient moral code.
During the meeting of the Alabama Baptist State Convention at Mobile's Cottage Hill Baptist Church, delegates amended a resolution to remove language that identified Moore as a leader in the Ten Commandments struggle.
The substitute resolution makes no mention of Moore and says instead, "Many of our civic leaders have dem onstrated their support for the constitutional rights of Alabamians and Americans to acknowledge the moral foun- dation of our society as expressed in the Ten Commandments."
Moore was ousted from office last week after refusing to remove a 5,280-pound monument depicting the Ten Commandments from public view in the state courthouse rotunda after being directed to do so by U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson.
In a statement responding to Wednesday's action, Moore said, "For pastors to support such a display and uphold the right of a federal district judge to say that we cannot acknowledge God as public officials demonstrates an inconsistent theology and a failure to properly understand (the Book of) Romans ... that all powers of God and the powers that be are ordained of God."
Moore, a Gadsden, Ala., native, gained a national following in 1995 when the American Civil Liberties Union sued the then-circuit judge over a hand-carved copy of the Ten Commandments hanging in his Etowah County courtroom.
Elected to the state's top judicial post in 2000, Moore installed the controversial monument in the Alabama Judicial Building during the night on July 31, 2001; lawsuits seeking the monument's removal were filed Oct. 30, 2001.
Wednesday morning, Howell Easterling, minister of education at First Baptist Church of Mobile, proposed the resolution language that removed Moore's name.
"There's been a whole lot of emotion over this Roy Moore thing," Easterling said later. "I think he has certainly abused his position and his power. I know his personal beliefs, but I think to take it to the level that he did in his position was inappropriate. ... The best expression of the Ten Commandments or any faith guideline is the way that we live."
Earlier Wednesday morning, Robert Maxwell, a representative of First Baptist Church in Atmore and a Republican contender for the Alabama Supreme Court in 1998, voiced his opposition to the original resolution about the Ten Commandments as well.
"I am concerned that the adoption of this resolution by implication might constitute endorsement or ratification of the fact that Judge Moore, in his official capacity as the state's highest official judicial officer, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, failed to obey and overtly did defy the federal court order," Maxwell said. "I am concerned -- almost offended, really -- that in the pursuit of his enthusiasm he has run counter to the precept that our country is a nation of laws and not of man."
To that end, Maxwell proposed that a sentence be added to the resolution declar ing that the statement should not be viewed as an endorsement of Moore's failure to follow a federal district judge's order.
That amendment did not pass, though it received the support of former Mobile Mayor Lambert Mims.
"All of my life, I've done my best to obey the law," Mims said, noting that he had "paid the price that I shouldn't have paid" when he was convicted of an offense he said he didn't commit.
Mims was convicted in federal court on extortion and conspiracy charges in 1990 and served more than three years at the federal prison camp at Montgomery's Maxwell Air Force Base.
"I believe that we all ought to obey the law," Mims said.
John Killian, senior pastor of Maytown Baptist Church in Mulga, Ala., said he wished Moore's name had not been deleted from the resolution.
"I'm afraid people ... will think that we don't personally stand with Judge Moore," Killian said.
But Charles Hillman, a member of Cottage Hill Baptist Church, said he thought the convention's delegates, known as messengers, had made a good decision.
"I think it was probably right to remove the judge's name," Hillman said. "There may be changes in the direction he goes. ... I don't know the judge's heart or mind."
Lee Singley, pastor of Grandview Baptist Church in Dothan, Ala., said the final resolution was a "good compromise."
"It didn't put us in a position of trying to be political," Singley said.
In addition to the resolution on the Ten Commandments, messengers affirmed President Bush and the military for "their leadership in the successful execution of Operation Iraqi Freedom."
During the two-day meeting, messengers also re-elected convention officials -- Joe Godfrey of Pleasant Grove as president, Henry H. Cox of Bay Minette as first vice president and Roger D. Willmore of Boaz as second vice president -- and adopted a budget exceeding $40 million for 2004.
The money, which typically comes from congregations' undesignated receipts, goes to support ministries of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, such as the University of Mobile and the Southern Baptist Convention.
Maverick: Added to the news page. Message icon updated.
