Reply #40: The Southern Baptist Convention....

[Bridget Burke]

Is at the forefront of "Biblical inerrancy." That is, absolute literal belief in every word of the Bible. (But they tend to ignore the inconvenient stuff.) Keeping women subserviant is one of the doctrines they like. However, Baptist ladies have been active in the Church for many years--this has already caused trouble.

The SBC also pioneered erasing the barrier between Church & State, when they got into bed with Texas Republicans. (Historically, Baptists avoided politics.)

MANY Baptists have left the SBC for other Baptist groups--because of these antics.

You mentioned slavery?

The Southern Baptists Convention may be very vocal and public, but they do not represent the only face of Baptism in America - indeed, the history of Baptism is much more liberal and tolerant than you might imagine. Key to understanding that is understanding how the Southern Baptist Convention first developed.

Baptist churches are characterized in part by the independence of local churches and the first national Baptist organization wasn’t created until 1814. Already in 1845, though, the group was split - over slavery. The Southern Baptist Convention was established in Augusta, Georgia, in order to preserve a religious foundation for human slavery.

http://atheism.about.com/od/baptistssouthernbaptists/a/southernbaptist.htm

However, it appears that this particular congregation is NOT SBC! http://www.nnyinfo.com/firstbaptist/