'Most Inclusive' Christian Group Ever? Count Southern Baptists Out
by Allie Martin
November 30, 2004
(AgapePress) - The nation's largest Evangelical denomination has no plans to join a new religious alliance.The alliance is called "Christian Churches Together in the USA" and would include mainline Protestants, Orthodox Christians, and the Roman Catholic Church. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, describes the group as "a new forum for leaders of the nation's churches to discuss topics of common interest and grow in their relationships with one another." Many of the NCC's 36 participating denominations have joined CCT.
But the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, has no plans to get involved in the new alliance. Other Evangelical and Pentecostal churches have opted not to join the group as well.
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Dr. Richard Land |
Dr. Richard Land, president of the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, says it would not be wise to join in the ecumenical endeavor."When you start coming together in any kind of organizational way, and [that organization] says it's a forum for participation so we can pray together, grow in our understanding together, and witness together our faith -- well, you know, the reason we have different denominations is we have different understandings of 'our faith' is," Land explains. "And if you're involved in these kinds of things organizationally, you can end up giving people a false impression that you have the same faith."
According to Land, such alliances create confusion. He says the SBC works with people of differing faiths and "people of good will" on issues of common concern, such as abortion, the defeat of same-sex marriage, and pornography.
"But when it comes to faith issues, when it comes to theology and doctrine," he says, "we feel it's best to make it very clear where we stand -- and to not stand in organic relationship with others that would give people the idea that we have similar or the same faith."
The CCT is set to kick off next year. The National Council of Churches initiated the exploration of the alliance in 2001, and envisions the group as "the most inclusive Christian organization ever" in the U.S.
