THE BAPTIST INQUISITION

The symbolic water-boarding and rendition of moderate Southern Baptist congregations that are "gay-friendly" continues apace:

Choosing to quit rather than get thrown out, members of St. John's Baptist Church in Charlotte tentatively voted Sunday to become the second local church within a week to end its affiliation with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

Tim Funk says that about 20 churches statewide are "under the gun" of queer fear, but that's just the prominent churches everyone knows about. Just wait until the whisper campaigns get cranked up by disgruntled deacons against this or that pastor, or against this or that youth minister, who has the audacity to be nice.

ADDENDUM
The Southern Baptists' pursuit of ideological purity (and see the last post, down-column) is nothing but a microcosm of their political masters' search for the same thing:

Since the 1980s, Southern Baptists have taken increasingly conservative theological and political views, insisting that the Bible must be read literally, declaring that only men can serve as pastors and establishing close ties to the Republican Party.
--N&O

Historically, the need for purity of belief often leads to inquisitions, autos-da-fe, and burnings fueled by a wide variety of incendiary materials.

Good times!