ON PRESIDENT WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON
WHEREAS, William Jefferson Clinton was inaugurated 42nd President of the United States of America on January 20, 1993; and
WHEREAS, The Bible instructs believers to pray “for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (I Timothy 2:2); and
WHEREAS, President Clinton has publicly stated that he is a member of a congregation of believers in friendly cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention; and
WHEREAS, President Clinton has advanced certain public policies which contradict previous resolutions adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention; and
WHEREAS, More than a dozen Southern Baptist state conventions, while offering prayers for the new President, adopted resolutions last fall which expressed concern about and opposition to certain positions held by President Clinton, especially as they pertained to abortion and homosexual rights; and
WHEREAS, On his third day in office, January 22, 1993, the twentieth anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which made abortion on demand legal throughout the United States, President Clinton signed executive orders repealing pro-life policies of the two previous presidential administrations; and
WHEREAS, At the direction of President Clinton, the Food and Drug Administration is attempting to make certain abortion pills available in the United States; and
WHEREAS, The President has requested funds from Congress to pay for elective abortions in the federal Medicaid program; and
WHEREAS, News reports indicate the President and his health care advisors are seriously contemplating the inclusion of abortion coverage in the national health care insurance program which would coerce private employers as well as taxpayers to pay for elective abortions; and
WHEREAS, President Clinton has asked the Congress to repeal the Kemp-Kasten Amendment so that the money we give to the United Nations might be used to support nations that require abortions, namely the “coercive abortions” of China; and
WHEREAS, President Clinton on January 29, 1993, requested the Department of Defense to present to him by July 15, 1993, a draft executive order repealing the policy which bans openly declared homosexuals from serving in our nation’s armed forces; and
WHEREAS, President Clinton met on April 16, J 993, with leaders of the homosexual lobby in the Oval Office of the White House, marking the first time such an event has occurred between a President and homosexual leaders; and
WHEREAS, President Clinton endorsed by letter and the presence of Clinton Administration officials the “March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi-Equal Rights and Liberation” in April; and
WHEREAS, President Clinton appointed Roberta Achtenberg Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, who is a militant lesbian activist and who, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, was integral1y involved in attempting to force the Sail Francisco area Boy Scouts to accept homosexual scout masters and to drop belief in God from their oath; and
WHEREAS, President Clinton has nominated Dr. Joycelyn Elders to be Surgeon General of the United States who aggressively promotes the “safe sex” myth regarding sex education (including establishing clinics on school premises to dispense condoms and other birth control materials), has been an ardent advocate of abortion as director of the Arkansas Department of Health, having said on more than one occasion pro-lifers ought to “get over their love affair with the fetus,” and who supports public funding for elective abortions.
Therefore, Be it RESOLVED, That we the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Houston, Texas, June 15-17, 1993, call upon all Southern Baptists to pray earnestly for President Clinton and other government officials in accordance with biblical instruction; and
Be it further RESOLVED, That we as a Convention, the denomination with which President Clinton has publicly identified, separate ourselves from the aforementioned acts and positions of the President and urge him to affirm biblical morality in exercising his public office, recognizing that to do so is not inappropriate nor is it a violation of the separation of the institutions of church and state; and
Be it finally RESOLVED, That we urge the more than 15 million Southern Baptists to use their influence with (he President to urge him to stand for biblical morality and to reverse his stands on the issues aforementioned for the sake of our nation’s survival.