#MeToo crisis jolts Southern Baptists ahead of key gathering

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

David Crary, Ap National Writer
 Updated 12:03 pm, Saturday, June 9, 2018

The Southern Baptists are facing their own #MeToo crisis as the biggest Protestant denomination in the U.S. heads into its annual meeting next week.

A series of sexual misconduct cases has prompted the Southern Baptist Convention's socially conservative, all-male leadership to seek forgiveness for the ill treatment of women and vow to combat it. Hoping for more than rhetoric, women and some male allies plan a protest rally in Dallas when the two-day meeting opens on Tuesday.

"The past two months have been tough for our convention," SBC President Steve Gaines wrote this week. "I believe God has allowed all of this to happen to drive us to our knees."

Illustrating the SBC's predicament, the central figure in the most prominent of the #MeToo cases, Paige Patterson, had been scheduled to deliver the featured sermon at the gathering. However, Patterson withdrew from that role Friday, heeding a request from Gaines and other leaders.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/MeToo-crisis-jolts-Southern-Baptists-ahead-of-12980934.php

[Initech]

1. Southern Baptists caught pussy grabbing? I'm shocked, shocked I tell you!

[keithbvadu2]

2. If they can praise sexual predator Donald for his faith, they'll have no problem with this.

If they can praise sexual predator Donald for his faith, they'll have no problem with this.

All they have to do is say 'God forgives me'.

[rurallib]

4. You got it - there will be some outward show of fake remorse

(maybe that is going on now)
Followed by a declaration that "God has forgiven them." Followed by returning to the same old crap.

And they wonder why people are flocking away from the churches.

[Plucketeer]

3. IT's a Sad-Assed

deity that uses suffering as a tool of teaching and redemption. All those poor folks that endured the lessons of waterboarding - here's hoping they've learned the err of their ways!

[StTimofEdenRoc]

5. Because we don't live by the rules we insist you do.

[keithbvadu2]

6. Religious freedom? ...

Religious freedom? ...

Cool: I must / cannot do it because of my religious beliefs.
..... I decide for myself.

Cool?: You must / cannot do it because of my religious beliefs.
..... I decide for you.

Uncool?: I must / cannot do it because of your religious beliefs.
..... You decide for me?

[bitterross]

7. Here's the biggist problem: "socially conservative, all-male leadership"

Though I would dispute the word leadership.

The Southern Baptist Convention was created because they wanted to keep slavery when everyone else realized that a real Christian wouldn't own humans. They have not really gotten a lot better on the issues of equality since their founding. They've had to be dragged all the way.

[Jedi Guy]

8. You're not wrong.

Growing up in southern Mississippi, I knew lots of Southern Baptists. Their households were like mini tyrannies. The dad said it, and that's that. Even the wives who worked were very reserved and submissive. The kids were under a ton of pressure to be "godly." Those kids were always so superficially happy, but deep down most of them were miserable. Especially the girls, surprise surprise.

[bitterross]

10. I grew up in TN. Girls were raised to find husbands. For real.

I grew up in the 60s/70s and girls were raised to be wives. Period. If they went to college it was to get their "Mrs." degree.

You NEVER questioned authority. The dad, as you point out, was the family authority - when he was around. Police, teachers, doctors, ministers, anyone in a position of authority was ALWAYS right. This is one of the reasons so many police get away with so much bad stuff.

We were taught that they were always right. Even if they stopped you for no reason my dad would say "Well, you must have been doing something wrong. You must have been acting guilty." This created the environment for easy abuse.

If you grew up in the South like I did, you were not surprised in the least that Roy Moore got away with his behavior. I wasn't. He would not have been questioned on anything given his position. The women he abused would have known for certain that they would not have been believed and reporting him would have hurt them and their families far more than enduring the pain of the abuse in silence.

[Jedi Guy]

11. I grew up in the 80s/90s.

It was pretty much the same, yeah. You didn't question authority, ever. Teacher, principal, cop, pastor, it didn't matter. I remember that very well, so despite the decades in between our youths, not much changed culturally. The lines on what was acceptable or not shifted somewhat, but not to a huge degree.

My parents are from the Midwest, so they weren't as hardcore about stuff like that. I remember when I first heard a kid call his dad "sir." That blew me away. But I was very fortunate in that my parents didn't buy into that nonsense, even though most adults around them did.

And yes, that culture of absolute respect for authority is ripe for abuse courtesy of Roy Moore and those like him. I think I remember reading that he straight up told one of his victims that no one would believe her, and the sad thing is he would have been right.

[keithbvadu2]

9. using Bible to rationalize child molesting

Roy Moore supporters using Bible to rationalize child molesting.... His supporters!

They would not feel the need to do so if they really believed he was innocent.

https://www.rawstory.com/2017/11/blasphemous-prominent-evangelist-blasts-really-creepy-use-of-the-bible-to-justify-sexual-abuse/

[paleotn]

12. "drive us to our knees"...???

Lets hope it drives your white male dominated wankery out of existence. I hate those bastards with every fiber of my being. They're no more spiritual than fence posts.