 The executive board of the California Southern Baptist Convention during its meeting September 11-12 unanimously endorsed the state’s proposed constitutional marriage amendment and encouraged the other Southern Baptists in the state to do the same.
This amendment known as Proposition 8 defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which overturns the decision in May by the California Supreme Court legalizing “gay marriage.” This proposition will appear on the November 4th ballot. The board also passed a resolution acknowledging the Bible as the “Word of God” and the “standard by which all humans conduct and religious opinion should be measured.” (The full text of this resolution is at the bottom of this story) The resolution acknowledges: "The Bible also teaches that marriage was the first institution ordained by God at the beginning of creation when it was established between Adam, a male, and Eve, a female, as the pattern for all time." According to the resolution California Southern Baptists are to pray about the issue and conduct voter registration drives now through October 20th, which is the cutoff date for voter registration. The pastors are urged through the resolution to inform their congregation of issues related to the ballot and to encourage their participation in the grassroots effort. The resolution in addition encourages California Southern Baptists to financially support Proposition 8. This resolution also points to Internet resources such as www.csbc.com/protectmarriage ; www.protectmarriage.com and www.protectmarriagesca.com . Don Fugate, communications committee chairman and pastor of Foxworthy Baptist Church in San Jose in sharing the recommendation to the executive board said the resolution is something all California Southern Baptists should support and he believes it is at the core of what Baptists believe about the family. Following is the complete text of the resolution supporting Proposition 8: "WHEREAS, The Bible is the Word of God, written by men, but divinely inspired, the Bible also is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is God-breathed and inerrant, and all Scripture is true and trustworthy. It is the standard by which all human conduct and religious opinion should be measured; and "WHEREAS, The Bible teaches that God loves all people and commands us to do likewise; the Bible also teaches that marriage was the first institution ordained by God at the beginning of creation when it was established between Adam, a male, and Eve, a female, as the pattern for all time. Since the beginning of time societies, cultures and religions have endorsed marriage as the union between one man and one woman for a lifetime. Marriage provides the framework for intimate companionship, the avenue of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation. It also is God's unique gift to demonstrate the relationship between Christ and His church; and "WHEREAS, The family unit that God intended -- a father, a mother and children -- has fallen into disarray while the divorce rate in our state and nation is at an all-time high, and the percentage rate of divorce in the general population is reflected in the church; and "WHEREAS, California voters in 2000, by more than 61 percent of the vote, approved Proposition 22 which reads, 'Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California;' and "WHEREAS, The California Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, disregarded the will of the people on May 15, 2008 by striking down Proposition 22, thereby granting marriage privileges to 'same-sex' couples; and "WHEREAS, Same-sex marriage is legally unnecessary since homosexual couples in California already are entitled to all the legal rights and privileges of marriage, short of the name; now, therefore be it "RESOLVED That the California Southern Baptist Convention Executive Board, meeting September 12, 2008, endorse Proposition 8, a California constitutional amendment that states, 'Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California;' and be it further "RESOLVED That California Southern Baptist Convention churches and members are urged to pray about this important issue, and that at least 7 million Californians will vote for traditional, biblical marriage; and be it further "RESOLVED That Churches are encouraged to conduct voter registration drives between now and October 20 since as many as 50 percent of Christian eligible voters are not registered to carry out this civic privilege; and be it further "RESOLVED That California Southern Baptist Convention pastors are urged to inform their congregations of the issues and encourage them to participate in the grassroots effort; and be it further "RESOLVED That California Southern Baptists be encouraged to financially support Proposition 8 by making donations to ProtectMarriage.com by Oct. 10; and be it finally "RESOLVED That California Southern Baptist Convention church leaders are urged to avail themselves of resources provided on the World Wide Web at www.csbc.com/protectmarriage , www.protectmarriage.com , and www.protectmarriageca.com ."
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NRB 2009 Convention
