Southern Baptists condemn public schools as too gay-friendly

A prominent Southern Baptist is asking the national convention to consider a resolution recommending that parents remove their children from what he calls "godless" and "anti-Christian" public schools. The resolution, coauthored by T.C. Pinckney, publisher of a Baptist newsletter in Alexandria, Va., urges parents to home-school their children or send them to Christian schools. The resolution also says public schools are "adopting curricula and policies teaching that the homosexual lifestyle is acceptable." "Just as it would be foolish for the warrior to give his arrows to his enemies, it is foolish for Christians to give their children to be trained in schools run by the enemies of God," the resolution states. His proposal has been submitted to the convention's 10-member Resolutions Committee, which will decide whether to present it for a vote when the convention meets June 15-16 in Indianapolis. John Revell, a spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention, declined to comment on the resolution or its chances of passage. But he noted that many resolutions submitted to the Resolutions Committee are not presented to the convention for a vote. With 16.3 million members, the Southern Baptist Convention is the nation's second-largest denomination.