Southern Baptist Political Bosses Show Hands Again in Election Year
BY MARSE GRANT
– Raleigh, NC

In each election year, it is revealing to observe how the Southern Baptist Convention establishment signals its presidential preferences.

In 1980 it was a rousing political rally at First Baptist Church in Dallas, TX, featuring Ronald Reagan, opposing life-long Southern Baptist Jimmy Carter.

In all of the emotion rigged by super-conservatives, no one dared to point out that Reagan seldom attended church, before or during his presidency, a contrast to Carter’s loyalty to his church in and out of office.

In not so-subtle ways, the SBC inner circle which makes all important decisions supported Reagan in 1980 and 1984 and George Bush in 1988 and 1992. The Mutual Admiration Society of the GOP and the SBC hierarchy was evident for all to see. So far so good for this chummy relationship.

But with the 1992 election, for the first time in U.S. history, the President and Vice President— Bill Clinton and Al Gore—were both Southern Baptists, with little or no help from SBC decision-makers calling the political plays.

Now, let’s fast-forward to 1996 when the GOP is having one of its wildest, most divisive primaries in history. It looks as if Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS) will emerge as the nominee.

Dole and his wife—a native of Salisbury, NC—are a decent and honorable couple. But they are feeling the wrath of an Irish Roman Catholic, Pat Buchanan.

Buchanan’s views on abortion and homosexuals would please many fundamentalists. With his talent to sway those Christian Coalition crowds, he would make a more successful evangelist than a President.

Multi-millionaire Steve Forbes, the other GOP candidate, who recently dropped out, pushed for a flat tax plan which excludes tithes and offerings, in addition to mortgage payments.

So who’s the Republican favorite to be chosen by SBC leaders?

A repeat of the 1980 Dallas hoopla won’t be needed. Instead of deciding on one candidate, bashing and ridiculing Bill Clinton is the far better strategy, keeping rhetoric and bitterness at a fever pitch.

In fact this strategy is already evident in the recent SBC Christian Life Commission seminar, with Dallas’ O.S. Hawkins sounding the clarion call to action.

Castigating “liberals” in general in particular, Hawkins took off the gloves with this tirade against Clinton, as reported by Associated Baptist Press:

“When I see political leaders with their liberal agendas contrary to the word of God coming out of church on Sunday, being photographed with Bibles in their hands and waving to the television cameras, the words of Jeremiah 7:9 echo in my mind,” he said: “Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal and walk after other gods whom you do not know and then come and stand before Me in the house that is called by my name and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’?”

Hawkins targeted Clinton again, making a point that “it is one thing to be immoral, but another to encourage a moral decline in the land.” Hawkins said: “We have had Presidents of the United States in the past who have been known for immoral acts. But it is quite another thing to encourage immorality through people and policies.”

Only in free and democratic America where citizens are protected by the First Amendment could anyone condemn a national leader with that quotation from Jeremiah. That’s going too far, even in an election year when extremists such as Pat Buchanan hold sway with their captive Christian Coalition audiences.

Of course this is not the first or last time the Bible will be abused and misused to make a political point. Supporters of slavery 150 years ago come to mind. Present-day extremists in Israel, quoting their Bible, stirred up their followers to the extent that the nation’s leader was assassinated.

Can America be spared the mean-spirited name calling between now and Nov. 5? I hope so.

And I hope the largest non-Catholic body, the Southern Baptist Convention, will lead the way. Two Southern Baptists in the White House will welcome this move, regardless of the outcome.

Grant is editor emeritus of The Biblical Recorder, state Baptist paper in North Carolina. He is a columnist for newspapers in Charlotte and Raleigh.

August 1996