There is a Comparison II
By David Flick

There are those in the Southern Baptist Convention who fly off into conniption fits when someone draws a comparison that makes them look bad. In October of 2000, I wrote an editorial in which I  compared certain attitudes of fundamentalist Southern Baptists with the attitudes of fundamentalist Muslims. (There is a Comparison) Several people expressed themselves in fits of rage that I would compare Southern Baptist fundamentalists with of Islamic fundamentalists. An anonymous person wrote letters to the pastors in my association and included scurrilous remarks about the article, which led in part to my untimely departure.  I had served 20 months as the GBAC Director of Missions.

Following my forced resignation, numerous persons took me to task on the article. In their minds, I had sinned against fellow Southern Baptists for drawing the comparison.  I was declared to have been unkind and disrespectful toward fellow Baptists.  Actually, I was accused of much worse than being  unkind.  I was declared to be "unchristian" for the words I wrote.  I was accused of saying that fundamentalist Southern Baptists are equal to murderers and terrorists. I have no idea how they can accuse me of this because I did not compare Southern Baptists fundamentalists to Islamic fundamentalists in such a way as  to declare that Southern Baptists are murderers in the same way Muslim terrorists are murderers.  I simply delineated ten characteristics common to the mindsets of Islamic fundamentalists and Southern Baptist fundamentalists.  I believed in October of 2001, as I do now,  that a valid comparison can be drawn.

Here are a few of the milder remarks of those most critical of my article.

...By his lumping together of Southern Baptist inerrantists, David shows that he is unable to make a clear point and must resort to blanket accusations. Exaggeration, while sad, appears to be David's strong point in this argument.

...by comparing his opponents with the most evil men in the world, David is attempting to damage the reputation of his opponents.

...David has made the comparison and the comparison is so over the top that any point that he wants to make by doing so is lost in the noise. That he continues to do so may be evidence that he has no real point.

...Alas, a door has been opened...but not the door you speak of. David, and those like him, opened this door with their use of terms like "rape" to describe their opponents' actions. Finding that this did not satisfy, they elevated the rhetoric to include "Nazi" and "Hitlerian." This easily paved the way for the current Islamic militant comparisons. Having swallowed all of there, it may be concluded that no comparison will be considered too vulgar or over the top. You all don't have much room to maneuver at this point.

...What I have stated is that your comparisons are over the line. You know this to be the case but you would rather continue down your path than to admit it. Rage does have that warm quality to it. And rage, mixed with self-righteousness, has a uniquely tempting quality all its own.

...David says, "Mommy, they don't play fair. I'm not gonna play with them no more, they ain't nice." Mom wipes the tears from her little boys cheeks and assures him that he can't always have it his way. Sometimes you have to play the game by the rules of those in charge or not play at all. Mom continues to assure little David that different rules to the game is not a bad thing if they don't physically hurt anybody.  --A life lesson, David never learned.

...David, I think you have some kernels here but err in invoking the Islamic extremists. Mods are close kin to SB cons. Islamic fundys are light years removed. When there are good points to be made against SB cons, why go for broke with the Taliban and lose it all?

I recently read Shadow Warriors: Inside the Special Forces, by Tom Clancy with Gen. Carl Stiner (Ret.). Toward the end of the book, Clancy made some observations about the terrorist who flew planes and people to their death into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  Speaking of the Islamic fundamentalists, he said, "These individuals are bent on purging civilization of all those who do not share their beliefs." This is obvious on a world wide scale. Islamic fundamentalists have the view that all people who do not share their beliefs are not worthy to live. They are on a crusade to purge the world of all who disagree with their beliefs and world view.

How, pray tell, is this different from what we are seeing in the Southern Baptist Convention? From the very beginning of the Southern Baptist takeover movement, the fundamentalists have been determined to purge all Baptists who do not share their beliefs. The purpose of the takeover movement was to elect powerful fundamentalist presidents and stack Committee on Nominations with those who shared their beliefs.  The Committee on Nominations then purged all trustees of boards and agencies of members who did not share their beliefs. Once the boards and agencies had been stacked with people who shared the fundamentalist beliefs of those who had gained control, they began purging seminaries of professors and presidents who did not share the fundamentalist beliefs.  Never mind the fact that those who were purged have all been within the bounds of traditional Baptist beliefs.

The purging continues to this day. The Southern Baptist International Mission Board is presently purging all missionary personnel who do not share their beliefs about the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message. The comparison is very clear here.  As the Islamic fundamentalists are determined to purge civilization of all those who do not share their beliefs, so the Southern Baptist Convention is determined to purge the convention of all who do not share their beliefs.  Purging of the Islamic sort is terrorism. Lives are destroyed at the expense of theological purity. Purging of the Southern Baptist sort is a form of terrorism.  Because the careers  and lives of good and godly Southern Baptists are being destroyed at the expense of a fundamentalist theological purity.

I said it in in October of 2001, there is a comparison.  I'll say it again in December of 2002, there is a comparison.

-- December 14, 2002

 (This article was written for  BaptistLife.Com Discussion Forums)