Southern Baptist seminary drops bombshell: Why Paige Patterson was fired

[Demovictory9]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2018/06/01/southern-baptist-seminary-drops-bombshell-why-paige-patterson-was-fired/?utm_term=.c6712857270c

Leaders of a Southern Baptist seminary dropped a bombshell Friday night about why they two days earlier fired their president, a longtime leader of the huge denomination: He lied about his treatment of an alleged rape victim, according to a new statement, and he tried to isolate another woman from the seminary’s chief of security so he could “break her down.”

Paige Patterson, who until a few weeks ago was a towering figure in the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination with about 15 million members, set off a firestorm among conservative evangelicals in recent months after comments were revealed about counseling a woman to go back to her abusive husband.

Last week, the 75-year-old was demoted from his position as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a decision that upset many Southern Baptists who considered the decision too lenient because he would have remained on paid staff as “president emeritus” and been able to retire on campus.

[heaven05]

1. Southern Baptist

are hypocrites, racist, sexist religious a**holes.

[malaise]

2. That's true of most religious leaders

Religion may well be one of the myriad evils on this planet

[heaven05]

3. true this nt

[malaise]

4. You see I know that we can deliver social services

without the oppression and exploitation of women, children, the poor and the weak by men peddling myths that empower and enrich them.

[heaven05]

5. the greedy, racist, sexist

Last edited Sat Jun 2, 2018, 11:54 AM - Edit history (1)

wypipo will either destroy this country or will make us stronger as resistance fighters against white male oppression that has been with us 300 long years and has killed millions of both races. When will wypipo understand that not all people want to think and be deluded as they are?

[malaise]

16. +1,000

[heaven05]

18. the edit

just came to me. Not all white people are wypipo.

[malaise]

23. Very true

Some sre in laws -others good friends and acquaintances - others are DUers or decent folks I've seen along the way or heard about.

[kwassa]

27. oh bullshit. Who actually stands up and does this work?

says a former employee, non-Catholic, of Catholic Charities.

Catholic Charities, and many other religious denominations, particularly the Lutherans and Jewish Family Services, provide services with no questions asked. Most here have no idea who actually does charitable work. Many are intertwined with US government services, and there can be no religious requirement.

Nobody does more.

Until some atheist organization surplants them, this is bullshite.

[Rainbow Droid]

6. One of my favourite quotes on the subject comes from the 11th century blind Arab poet Al-Maʿarri

“The inhabitants of the earth are of two sorts: those with brains, but no religion, and those with religion, but no brains.”

It holds up. At least in my life, which has witnessed quite a lot of... stuff.

[WhiteTara]

9. Great quote.

I think with brains you are so open to the universe that to close oneself down to a small mindset of religion is to hampering to the task of being a human.

[Rainbow Droid]

10. As a huge number of humans throughout history have done it so many times,

for so many various reasons, in support of so many similar and dissimilar religions and spiritual beliefs, you'd have to say that "closing yourself down to a small mindset of religion" is very much a human thing to do. The fact that it interferes with the human experience so much actually makes it more relevant rather than less.

Just maybe not in the way that these people think or believe. I don't know. But I know that I don't know.

[mythology]

12. A rather short sighted view

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/17/100-religious-groups-doing-good_n_5460739.html

I'm an atheist myself, but I can't imagine being so close-minded that I would assume all religious people are idiots.

[Rainbow Droid]

15. Considering he was blind that's a rather crude insult to throw. Pointless, too, you know, since

he wasn't speaking literally with a blanket statement about every single religious person who ever lived, nor did he refer to them as idiots. He said they were without brains, and people who live by their religion absolutely do not live by their brains. This isn't an insult, merely an observation, one that is just as true in 2018 as it was in 1050.

Al-Maʿarri also lived among religious zealotry that shaped almost every facet of daily life. These applications of religion definitely did not conform to anything remotely resembling Reason, or "brains".

Oh, and nobody said anything about Religion being incapable of Good. Your knee-jerk response defending its capability of doing good was therefore also unnecessary.

[malaise]

13. Perfect

[AllyCat]

8. Gives 'em a place to hide their crimes

And get support for it from their sheep

[doxyluv13]

25. It's worse than that. The SB denomination split with the northern Baptist to support slavery.

The exact controversy was whether morally, a slave owner could be a deacon. The then-united Baptist were on the way to saying "no" so the southerners made their own schismatic church.

[True Blue American]

7. Witnessing the bigotry,

Hate and hypocracy first hand this does not surprise me at all.

Listening to a Pastor come back from a Convention, have him say from the Pulpit slapping his chest and saying,” Our side Won,”I was already half out the door!

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2018/may/paige-patterson-swbts-letter-southern-baptist-women-sbc.html

Notice the Denomination is shrinking.

[Hortensis]

17. Hope you'll also be witnessing continued resurgence of the

liberalism Patterson helped drive from the SBC, according to Wikipedia beginning in the 1960s. (!) That was a long run of great backwards power, exercised very notably against the women of the SBC, and in general. How nice to see it's ending, and in disgrace.

Thanks for the article.

[True Blue American]

20. I will observe it at a distance

Will not go back there at all. I am still trying to get over the illness.

[Hortensis]

22. I'm sorry. More and more are making that decision

along with you I take it.

We have a lot of SBC around here, and of course other conservative denominations, and from those I've seen and been dismayed by, their congregations are going to be very slow to change sufficiently. Who, for instance, is there to hire pastors actually capable of providing true spiritual leadership to people who genuinely want to be good Christians? The ones who hired and didn't fire people like that one you mentioned, or like those who probably knew much better but went along to keep their jobs? What's happened is very sad.

[True Blue American]

24. I am now attending a Church Of The Brethren

Almost across the street from me. The two young Pastors are changing the direction of the Church established in 1812.

Following in the Footsteps of Jesus. Love and Inclusion of all. It is great to attend a Church that preaches how we can give love and understanding to all. When you leave you feel like you really are a better person.

They bring Pastors and Laymen from different Denominations once a year to speak about what binds us together, never mind the differences.

[Hortensis]

26. Glad to hear that, True Blue. I'm not a person of faith,

but I have an idea of how important it can be to those who are. And I envy those who seem to be truly living their religion because what it brings them shows in their faces.

[paleotn]

11. Southern Baptists just being Southern Baptists...

Power and control by the white, male hierarchy is the name of their game. What would one expect from a denomination born of slavery and racism.

[dalton99a]

14. Figures

[Mariana]

19. Why I think Paige Patterson was fired:

All this bad publicity has been causing the collection plates to be lighter than usual.

[The Genealogist]

28. Yep, follow the $$$

At least someone someplace in that denomination was probably having problems with his money flow because of this scandal.

[True Blue American]

21. No, this has been an ongoing battle at th3 Convention every year

But you are right about the collection plate, the young are turning away in droves.

Pretty smart and Educated, this younger generation.