Close call

I'm surprised. Who woulda thunk?

The Southern Baptist Convention voted down a controversial proposal today that would have asked parents to pull their children from public schools in favor of religious education.
...
Pinckney took the floor to move a briefer amendment encouraging parents to provide their children "a thoroughly Christian education" through private day schools or home schooling. That was defeated that by a show of hands after the most spirited debate of the meeting.

The Rev. Calvin Wittman of Wheat Ridge, Colo., who chaired the resolutions committee, said half its members are home schoolers but the panel opposed Pinckney's bid because parents must decide.

Baptists must be careful "not to usurp the authority that God has placed firmly in the home," he said, and there isn't enough consensus among church members to issue such a statement.

I'll admit I'm disconnected with parents of the baptist ilk. But my guess is it was too heavy-handed of the church to decree this to parents. I wonder how many of the parents couldn't afford home schooling or private school.

Discouraging: at the same conference, the anti-gay marriage resolution passed.