Southern Baptists Back Conservative Leader Amid Verbal Attacks
A string of verbal attacks against a conservative Southern Baptist leader has prompted a group of leaders to issue a statement of support, calling such criticism "not Christ-like."
"We believe that the incessant public attacks on Dr. and Mrs. Paige Patterson and other Baptist leaders of late are harmful to our mission of reaching the world with the Gospel," said the Board of Trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) in a statement this past week.
Patterson, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, currently serves as the president of SWBTS and played a prominent role in the conservative resurgence within the nation's largest Protestant denomination. He has recently been under a series of attacks for his stance on women's role among other issues.
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Former SWBTS professor Sheri Klouda filed a federal lawsuit against the school and Patterson, claiming she lost her tenure track position as a theology professor because she is a woman. Klouda taught Hebrew since 2002 but the seminary said her tenure denial is consistent with a policy enacted after her hiring that, for doctrinal reasons, the teaching of men in theology classes should be done by men, according to Baptist Press. SWBTS had changed leadership in 2003 when Patterson was elected as head.
Patterson said the seminary's policy prohibiting women from teaching theology to men was in keeping with the statement of faith of the SBC (Baptist Faith & Message), which states that the pastorate is reserved for men. Patterson believes the same standard applies to the seminary, according to the lawsuit.
"This is not a question of occupation. It is a question of an assignment from God, in this case that a woman not be involved in a teaching or ruling capacity over men," he said in an interview with Baptist Press.
"It is a prohibition of a woman teaching or ruling over a man in the church," he said.
Also drawing criticism is the seminary's new women-only homemaking course which is being offered this fall to prepare women to model the characteristics of the godly woman as outlined in Scripture.
Patterson said the school isn't saying women should stay at home but he emphasized the importance of the role of family.
"I do believe that society will do better when the family is placed in a prominent position and role that it needs to be," he said on Fox News Channel.
Amid wide criticism against Patterson's views and what some call his narrow interpretation of Scripture, Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a prominent evangelical, spoke out against the attacks.
"There is an unprecedented level of attack upon some of our own leaders ... in the form of innuendo and smear and caricature and character assassination," said Mohler during SBC's Executive Committee meeting last month. "Two of our own have suffered in particular along these lines," referencing Patterson and his wife, Dorothy.
Mohler said the SBC entity presidents have committed "that we will not ourselves tolerate personal attacks upon one of our colleagues."
Trustees of SWBTS expressed also support stating, "We join with other Southern Baptists in urging that public attacks against Dr. Patterson and other leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention that hurt the spread of the gospel to an unbelieving world cease for the sake of those who are headed to utter destruction.
"Scripture does tell us to speak the truth, but it also says it is to be done in love and gentleness, with the goal of redeeming a brother in Christ. Above all, there is a watching world that needs to see Christ's love in all of our words and deeds," their statement this past Wednesday stated.
"The trustees of SWBTS have found no reason to question the integrity of Dr. Patterson," they affirmed. "Indeed, we find him to be a man of exemplary integrity."
Patterson was elected twice as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, serving in that role from 1998-2000. During those years he appointed a committee to revise the Baptist Faith & Message, the confession most widely employed by Southern Baptists. The revised confession was adopted in 2000.
