Twenty-seven people from the Soulforce organization were arrested June 14 outside the meeting hall for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). They were protesting Southern Baptists’ characterization of homosexual activity as a sin.
In an event as peaceful as it was choreographed, about the only expected action was the arrest of four animal rights activists.
Soulforce organizer Mel White said the group wants Southern Baptist churches to be accepting of gay and lesbian Christians.
“We’re looking simply for the Southern Baptists — and for the other churches — to say, ‘Hey, you’re welcome here, too. We’re all sinners here at the foot of the cross,” said White, a former ghostwriter for Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.
“They say, ‘We’re sinners but we’re saved. You’re sinners, and you won’t get saved until you get your sexual orientation changed,’ ” White said.
At about the same time as the arrests, Southern Baptists were approving changes to the Baptist Faith and Message doctrinal statement, which added homosexuality to a list of sins that Christians should oppose.
Demonstrator Richard Murphy from Miami said Soulforce speaks for “closeted” Southern Baptists who he said suffer because of the denomination’s stance on homosexuality.
“I don’t believe my Jesus Christ sacrificed his life for that situation,” Murphy said.
Outgoing SBC president Paige Patterson said, “We have no choice but to say whatever the Bible says, what God says. If that’s offensive, we’re sorry, but their argument is not with us, it’s with God.”
In an event coordinated with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, more than 50 members of Soulforce held a silent vigil at 9 a.m. June 14 across the street from the Orange County Convention Center.
At 9:25 a.m., about half the group marched into an open plaza singing and humming hymns. They were ordered to disband by a member of the county sheriff’s office. The group replied by singing “We Shall Overcome.”
Sheriff’s deputies moved in, placing plastic tie-wrap handcuffs on demonstrators and putting them in a van.
A sheriff’s office sergeant motioned for officers to arrest four demonstrators from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
PETA leader Bruce Friedrich said his group, with one man in a chicken suit and another dressed as “vegetarian Jesus,” had permission to be there.
Later in the day, representatives of four ministries to former homosexuals held a press conference to praise Southern Baptists for calling homosexuality sinful. (News Network)
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