The Southern Baptist Convention — the nation’s largest Protestant denomination (and a pretty conservative one at that) — passed two resolutions this week that should give progressives cheer: it called for Christians not to fly the Confederate flag, and it reaffirmed its support for welcoming refugees into the U.S. (Note: The second link, about the refugee resolution, includes a helpful chart that summarizes the many hoops applicants must jump through during the 1 ½ - 3 years it takes for them to gain admission to this country.)
The Confederate flag resolution was surprisingly unambiguous: “[W]e call our brothers and sisters in Christ to discontinue the display of the Confederate battle flag as a sign of solidarity of the whole Body of Christ, including our African-American brothers and sisters...”
The resolution on refugees, unfortunately, was somewhat weakened by the inclusion of a superfluous call for “governing authorities to implement the strictest security measures possible in the refugee screening and selection process, guarding against anyone intent on doing harm.”
In response to that concern, Matthew Soerens of World Relief, a church-supported organization that works with refugees, said “Most churches want there to be a strong vetting system in place for who is in the United States. The good news is, that system is in place.” (Emphasis mine.)
I am not a good writer, and I don’t know how to handle graphics, so I apologize for the shortcomings of this very short diary. But I hadn’t seen either of these items reported on DK yet. I think this information can be useful when talking with conservative friends and family. It never hurts to be able to say that our progressive position on an issue enjoys the support of a conservative organization.
