Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Southern Baptist Women Reject Paige Patterson; Say He Must No Longer Hold Baptist Leader Role

More than 2,000 Southern Baptist women have signed a letter asking the trustees of a Fort Worth, Texas seminary to take action against its embattled president after audio and video clips emerged -- dating as far back as the year 2,000 -- in which he counseled physically abused women to quietly pray, and described a 16-year-old girl's body as "built," the Christian Headlines website reports today (May 8, 2018).

The letter does not explicitly demand a resignation, retirement or reprimand for Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and one of the key leaders of the conservative resurgence in the denomination, the nation's largest Protestant group.

But it does suggest Patterson cannot be allowed to continue to lead -- a stunning development for a revered leader in the denomination and an indication of just how pervasive the "Me Too" movement against sexual harassment and assault of women has become.

"The Southern Baptist Convention cannot allow the biblical view of leadership to be misused in such a way that a leader with an unbiblical view of authority, womanhood, and sexuality be allowed to continue in leadership," the online letter says.

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