Church stands by gay position

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Vincent was honored by being asked to lead 8,000 messengers, or delegates, in prayer at the closing morning session on Wednesday.

The convention, he said, ?was an opportunity to make a statement about what we believe, back to the Bible.?

Those at the gathering gave near-unanimous support to the resolution addressing same-sex issues that was drafted by the convention?s resolutions committee prior to the meeting, Buckley said.

?It was well-crafted in that it spoke about the fact that we are certainly not in favor of gay-bashing or anything of that nature,? said Buckley, whose Jackson-based But God mission ministry is building a sustainable community in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. ?However, stating what we believe is the truth of Scripture, ? the convention does not equate that with gay-bashing.?

He said he didn?t think the measure would be controversial. ?It passed easily and overwhelmingly.?

The resolution notes that gays and lesbians sometimes experience ?unique struggles,? but it maintains they lack the ?distinguishing features of classes entitled to special protections.?

?We deny that the effort to legalize ?same-sex marriage? qualifies as a civil rights issue since homosexuality does not qualify as a class meriting special protections, like race and gender,? the resolution says in part.

Comparing the rights of homosexuals to civil rights is ?a slap in the face to our African-American friends who marched and died,? said convention delegate Bobby McKay, pastor of Harperville Baptist Church in Scott County.

?It?s not the same thing,? he said. ?Homosexuals have the same rights as you and I. Homosexual rights can?t be equated to me as the same thing as 50 years ago, when people were looking for a water fountain in a public place, or trying to vote without fear.?

At the same time as he holds on to his beliefs, McKay said, ?I have homosexual friends, and I believe God loves them.

?It may cost us as far as membership,? he said of Southern Baptists who either don?t agree with the resolution or who may not have a personal stand one way or another.

Article source: http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20120623/NEWS01/206230319/Church-stands-by-gay-position

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