By Steve DeVane
President Bush promised the nearly 8,600 messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in Indianapolis he would defend the sanctity of marriage against activist courts.
Bush’s address via satellite marked the third straight year he has spoken to the meeting. Messengers interrupted his speech more than 15 times with applause, including several standing ovations.
Some of the loudest cheers came when Bush mentioned his defense of marriage.
The union of a man and woman is the most enduring human institution, he said.
Bush got another standing ovation when he referenced his signing a ban on partial-birth abortions.
“I am working to build a culture of life in America,” he said.
Bush said he was working for other related legislation.
Legislatively speaking
“Common sense and conscience tell us that when an expectant mother is killed, two lives have ended and criminals should answer for both,” he said.
Bush talked about military victories in Afghanistan and Iraq, but said tough challenges lie ahead. In Afghanistan and Iraq, we will finish the job. Bush thanked Southern Baptists for their strong support of the war on terror.
He called freedom “God’s gift to every man and woman who lives in this world.”
Bush cited his economic accomplishments and attempts to release federal funding to faith-based groups. He called on lawmakers to stop holding up his judicial appointments.
“It is time for those senators to stop playing politics with American justice,” he said.
Before Bush spoke, SBC President Jack Graham praised Bush’s strength and resolve, saying the president and Southern Baptists have strong, shared values.
Tim Goeglein, a special assistant who deals with evangelicals for Bush, talked to messengers a short while before Bush. Goeglein thanked Southern Baptists for praying for the Bush-Cheney administration.
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