WHEREAS, abortion is today's defining moral issue;
WHEREAS, Texas Southern Baptists are entrusted by God with the responsibility of declaring His moral standard as a foundation to the good news of forgiveness and healing in Christ;
WHEREAS, Texas Southern Baptists agree that human life is sacred and that the wrongful taking of that life is a moral violation of the highest significance;
THEREFORE, IT IS RESOLVED by the messengers of this convention that all human life is sacred specifically life in the womb.
And further, BE IT RESOLVED, that decisions regarding abortion whether personal, political, legislative, or judicial should be governed by the same ethical understanding that should oversee decisions about all human life.
Resolution #2: Sanctity of Human Life, adopted at the second SBTC convention, 16 November 1999:
WHEREAS, all life is a gift from God, and
WHEREAS, life begins at conception, and
WHEREAS, man has been created in the image of God and for His glory, and
WHEREAS, Christ died for those men and women yet unborn, even before the creation of the world, and
WHEREAS, the unjustifiable taking of any human life by another is prohibited and condemned by God, and
WHEREAS, the presence of abortion in all its forms as well as the premature ending of human life for reasons of convenience or malice continues to be a defining moral issue for Christians everywhere.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the messengers of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, meeting in Dallas, Texas, November 16, 1999, adopt the following statement:
All human life, both born and unborn, deserves equal dignity and rights, and those who are old, those who are ill, those who are mentally and physically impaired deserve full protection and honor as human beings.
FINALLY BE IT RESOLVED that while we fully agree that the Holy Scriptures do not condone the unjustifiable taking of any human life, we faithfully affirm the biblical teaching of forgiveness and restoration.
Resolution #2: Sanctity of Human Life, adopted at the third SBTC convention, 14 November 2000:
WHEREAS, creation is the first element of the Christian worldview and is the perspective from which we learn who we are and why we are here and how we should treat one another; and
WHEREAS, the questions of human life have become the most pressing issues of our day, and engaging our culture is a God-given responsibility for the New Testament church; and
WHEREAS, the premature, selective, and forced ending of life has never been more prevalent in our society, of both the unborn through infanticide or of the ill or aged through euthanasia (God hates the shedding of innocent blood (Pr. 6:17)); and
WHEREAS, the continuing development in medical research and technology in the use of fetal tissue and the rush to judgement in legalizing the production and distribution of RU486 further demonstrate man's depravity through our greed and propensity to call wrong right; and
WHEREAS, historical lessons clearly teach that a nation decays from within and we agree that we are as a sinful society continue [sic] to allow a holocaust of mankind that began with the passing of Roe vs. Wade in 1973.
Therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the messengers to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention meeting in San Antonio, Texas, November 14, 2000, adopt the following statement:
Based on Ps. 92:13-15, Ps. 127:3-5, Ps. 139:13-16, Matt. 18:14, all human life, both born and unborn, deserves equal dignity and rights; and those who are old, those who are ill, those who are mentally or physically impaired deserve full protection and honor as human beings; and
Be it further RESOLVED, that those who have experienced the emotional, physical and spiritual scars of abortion and other forms of murder should be assured that God's love offers redemption and restoration for all who turn to Him through Christ; and
Be it finally RESOLVED, that the time has come for all spiritual leaders to identify abortion as murder; and for all evangelical Christian churches and denominations to repent from ignoring this current American holocaust; and for them to begin to lead and speak out in bold and redemptive ways opposing all methods of abortion, and all other attacks on the sanctity of each individual human life.
Resolution #3: Stem Cell Research, adopted at the fourth SBTC Convention, 30 October 2001:
WHEREAS, all human life is sacred from the point of conception (Exodus 20:13, Ps. 139:13-16; Jer. 1:4-5); and
WHEREAS, Human beings "created" for the purpose of scientific research nonetheless remain human beings (Gen. 1:27; 9:6); and
WHEREAS, the destruction of human embryos and the abortion of human babies is murder; and
WHEREAS, even a secular document, The Nuremberg Code, recognizes the moral abhorrence of scientific research knowingly built upon the murder of humans; and
WHEREAS, the use of God-given resources to seek to alleviate and prevent human suffering by any righteous method is good; and
WHEREAS, stem cell research may possibly hold potential for human healing; and
WHEREAS, multiple sources for stem cells which are not harvested as the results of the murder of the donor exist; and
WHEREAS, potential financial gain from unrestricted stem cell research is likely to encourage further murder of unborn children.
Be it therefore RESOLVED that we, the messengers to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention affirm President Bush for preventing future murder for the sake of scientific research; and
Be it further RESOLVED that we support only scientific research which does not utilize stem cell lines obtained by the murder of humans (at any stage of life from conception forward) unless the victim has made an informed donation of body tissue for research; and
Be it further RESOLVED that we call upon our state and federal governments to allow no public funding of such immoral research, and to make such research illegal.
Resolution #1: The Psalm 139 Project, adopted at the fifth SBTC Convention, 29 October 2002:
WHEREAS, The Bible teaches human life is sacred because God created human beings in His own image (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 9:6); and
WHEREAS, Southern Baptists have historically affirmed the Bible's teaching on the sanctity of human life from conception onward, acknowledging that it is God who fashions us in our mother's womb (Psalms 139:13); and
WHEREAS, Modern medical technology such as ultrasound provides a window to the womb allowing a mother to see her unborn child; and
WHEREAS, Evangelical pregnancy centers report that when a woman considering abortion views a sonogram of her child, 98% of them choose life for their child; and
WHEREAS, Scripture commands us to defend the rights of the defenseless and to care for those who are in distress (I John 3:16-20; I Peter 3:8; Philippians 2:4);
Be it therefore RESOLVED, that we, the messengers to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, meeting in Houston, TX, October 28-29, 2002, affirm the biblical teaching that God is the author of life and that human life begins at conception (Psalm 51:5; Psalm 139:14-16; Jeremiah 1:5); and
Be it further RESOLVED, that we encourage the use of ultrasound technology in pregnancy care centers to save babies' lives and spare women the trauma of abortion; and
Be it further RESOLVED, that we affirm The Psalm 139 Project (www.psalm139project.org), an effort of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission to make Southern Baptists and others aware of the value of this ultrasound technology and encourage gifts to fund the placement of sonogram machines at evangelistically-oriented pregnancy care centers, and
Be it finally RESOLVED, that we encourage the churches and members of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention to support this life-saving effort.
Resolution #9: The Sanctity of Human Life, adopted at the sixth SBTC Convention, 28 October 2003:
WHEREAS, The Word of God affirms the sanctity of human life, and
WHEREAS, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention has historically affirmed the sanctity of human life,
Be it RESOLVED, we affirm the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America for passing the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003,
Be it further RESOLVED, we affirm President Bush in his stated intention to sign the Partial Birth Abortion Act into law.
Resolution #6: Regarding the Sanctity of Human Life: Stem Cell Research and Partial-Birth Abortion, adopted at the seventh SBTC Convention, 25 October 2004:
WHEREAS, all life is sacred from the point of conception (Exodus 20:13; Psalm 139:13-16); and
WHEREAS, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention has historically affirmed the sanctity of human life; and
WHEREAS, all human life is GodÕs prerogative and embryonic stem cell research involves the destruction of a human life; and the practice of abortion is still far too common; and partial-birth abortions are still permitted by court order in certain states despite the law; and
WHEREAS, embryonic stem cell research has to this point produced no successful therapies for known diseases; and, therapeutic success, in any case, would not provide ethical justification for the destruction of human life; and
WHEREAS, adult stem cells have proven to be adaptable and useable for therapies now in over 70 diseases; and
WHEREAS, personal and corporate gains are being put ahead of the value of human life;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the messengers to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, meeting in Plano, Texas, October 25-26, 2004, will be well-informed citizens on these issues through the fine resources of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and others; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we stand firm in the fight for all human life and that we encourage all governmental officials within our sphere of influence to do the same; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that we not only support The Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act and those governmental officials who stand behind it, but that we urge them to go further to end all abortions.
Resolution #2: On the Sanctity of Human Life, adopted at the eighth SBTC Convention, 24-25 October 2005:
WHEREAS, the Bible teaches that all people were created in the image of God; and
WHEREAS, our Creator specifically designed each person for a special purpose; and
WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence affirms the ÒinalienableÓ right to life;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the messengers to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, meeting in Amarillo, Texas, October 24-25, 2005, are against abortion after conception has taken place; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that every embryo without exception deserves the opportunity to be born; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, we strongly oppose embryo-destructive stem cell research; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we urge all families that seek pregnancy through in vitro fertilization to consider the ethical and spiritual implications of storing their embryos indefinitely in a medical facility, or authorizing their destruction;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we encourage families to have fertilized only as many embryos as they are to willing to rear, or to give priority consideration to adoption or implantation of their embryos;
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, we affirm that every person once conceived, even if in a test tube, and regardless of circumstances or the ability to defend themselves, deserves the opportunity to fulfill the divine plan of their Creator.
(incomplete 2006-2010)
Resolution #1: On the Personhood of the Unborn, adopted at the fourteenth SBTC Convention, November 2011:
WHEREAS, holy Scripture states that the very soul of an individual exists in the womb beginning at conception (Jeremiah 1:5-6; Psalm 139:13; Isaiah 49:1); and
WHEREAS, the Southern Baptist Convention is on record in The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message as affirming our belief that “we should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death”; and
WHEREAS, Texas Southern Baptists have historically accepted the challenge to declare God’s moral standard as a foundation of His good news; and
WHEREAS, the very first resolution passed at the 1998 constitutional convention of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention was to affirm that life begins at conception and that all human life is created by God and sacred; and
WHEREAS, in the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, Chief Justice Harry Blackmun, writing for the majority of justices, stated, “If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant’s case, of course, collapses, for the fetus’ right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the [14th] Amendment,” thus the court found that the developing fetus was human but not a person and therefore separated humanity and personhood within the womb; and
WHEREAS, the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution states that no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…”; now, therefore, let it be
RESOLVED, we, the messengers to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, assembled in Irving, Texas, November 14-15, 2011, affirm that the personhood and humanity of the unborn begins at conception; and be it further
RESOLVED, we affirm that all human life in the womb should have the protection rights of personhood under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution; and be it further
RESOLVED, we affirm and support those states that have a “Personhood Amendment” under consideration for their respective states to adopt; and be it finally
RESOLVED, we encourage our elected Texas legislators to adopt an amendment that would affirm the personhood of the unborn.
Last modified 23 June 2012.
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