"This liberal Baptist event embodies all the fads of today's Religious Left, including mindless pacifism, acidic hostility to America and Israel, and preoccupation with sexual orientation." -- Mark Tooley, IRD President
Contact: Jeff Walton, Institute on Religion and Democracy, 202-682-4131, 202-413-5639 cell, jwalton@TheIRD.org
WASHINGTON, July 8, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Christian faith is incompatible with military service, according to a leftist Baptist group convened this week in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.
Meeting July 4-8 in Harrisonburg, the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America touted pacifism, anti-Zionism, revisionist theology, and sexual liberation to an audience of about 300.
Billed as a "Peace Camp," speakers at the annual conference also alleged that Israel's existence results from a conspiracy by corporate advertisers, a censored mainstream media, and premillennialist Christians.
Making a pacifist argument against all forms of military combat, the gathering maintained that war is always evil rather than an unfortunate necessity in a fallen world. On Thursday, the peace gathering hosted an ostensibly sexually inclusive "prom for ALL" in which celebrants were invited to "come in drag."
The documentary "Soldiers of Conscience" also was presented, portraying the U.S. military as amoral killing machines. Reports from the peace conference are available at www.TheIRD.org.
IRD President Mark Tooley commented:
"This liberal Baptist event embodies all the fads of today's Religious Left, including mindless pacifism, acidic hostility to America and Israel, and preoccupation with sexual orientation.
"Seemingly, Christ takes a back seat at this event, where the Savior was overshadowed by political advocacy or equated with political liberators like Gandhi.
"Such 'Peacemaking' conferences typically hype the same imagined villains: a predatory America conspiring with Israel and conservative Christians to dominate and exploit an otherwise peaceful world.
"More thoughtful church activists might evaluate nations more equitably without relying on leftist stereotypes.
"This Baptist Peace Fellowship surely represents very few mainstream Baptists. But its conference accurately showcased the current obsessions of today's Religious Left elites."
The Institute on Religion & Democracy works to reaffirm the church's biblical and historical teachings, strengthen and reform its role in public life, protect religious freedom, and renew democracy at home and abroad.
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