Bush, Baptist Leaders Call for Passage of Federal Marriage Amendment
by Allie Martin and Jody Brown
June 16, 2004
(AgapePress) - Southern Baptists gathered here cheered as President Bush reiterated his support for traditional marriage, and as denominational leaders urged the messengers to do their part by demanding passage of the Federal Marriage Amendment.
While it is not official, press reports say the U.S. Senate is moving toward a mid-July vote on an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. A Capitol Hill newspaper quotes Senator Rick Santorum, the Republican Conference chairman, as saying GOP leaders want a July vote, but have not yet set a date. If a vote does occur then, it would come just before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts -- where same-sex marriage is now legal.
On Tuesday, speaking to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention via a satellite hookup, President George W. Bush said he drew strength from the prayers of evangelical Christians -- and that he supports a Constitutional amendment to protect marriage as the union of a man and a woman. He noted that marriage is honored by every religious faith, but needs defending from activist courts and local officials.
"My administration is defending the sanctity of marriage against activist courts and local officials who want to redefine marriage forever," Bush said. The president also said it is time to reign in activist judges who want to trample religious liberty.
A Stand for Righteousness
The thousands of Baptist "messengers" -- representatives from SBC congregations nationwide -- were urged by their denominational leaders to demand that their congressional representatives pass legislation for a constitutional amendment protecting marriage.
The convention's outgoing president, Rev. Jack Graham, challenged Southern Baptist ministers to be soldiers in the culture war and to preach the Bible's definition of marriage and its condemnation of homosexual behavior from their pulpits. "Why aren't we as preachers in our pulpits teaching and preaching what the Bible says about marriage as God has defined it, and what the Bible says about homosexuality as God has condemned it?" he asked.
And Graham said Southern Baptists must speak out on moral issues or else the "unrighteous" will dominate and control believers' lives, their future, and their families. "If we abdicate our role and our responsibility socially and culturally to bring Christ to the culture so that truth and righteousness can prevail, then we will lose this battle," he said. "Satan is on the prowl; he's devouring everything around us."
The stakes are high in the fight to ban homosexual marriage, he said, adding that the results of the culture are will define America "for generations to come."
Dr. Richard Land, who heads the SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, issued a solemn warning at the convention, saying that unless Christians demand a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, they and their children will suffer the consequences.
"Same-sex marriage will become the law of the land," he stated. "It will be forced upon us by tyrannical courts unless the people of the United States stand up and say 'No!'"
Associated Press contributed to this story.
