The Resolution That Wasn't

                                                                                                                                                                      Vol. VII, No. 1, January 1994

Following is the resolution drafted by Rev. Jimmy Acree, pastor of Bacon's Castle Baptist Church, Surry; which he submitted to the Resolutions Committee at the BGAV state convention last November. However, the Resolutions Committee did not report it out. The text reads:

Whereas, We as Virginia Baptists have always claimed to be people who believe. revere, love, and obey the Bible, God's Word; and

Whereas, The Bible teaches that God holds human life to be sacred because He created human beings in His own image (Genesis 1:27, 9:6); and

Whereas, The Bible clearly teaches that God is the author of life and that human life begins at conception (Psalms 51:5,139:14-16, Jeremiah 1:5); and

Whereas, Approximately 1.6 million unborn babies are now being killed each year in America, nearly 30 million in the past 20 years, as a result of the 1973 decision of the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade; and

Whereas, The Government of the United States continues to do more and more to make abortion easier and less restrictive;

Therefore, be it RESOLVED, That we, the messengers to the Baptist General Association of Virginia, meeting in Richmond, Virginia, November 9-10,1993, affirm the biblical teaching that God is the author of life and that human life begins at conception (Psalms 51:5, 139:14-16, Jeremiah 1:5); and

Be it further RESOLVED, That we affirm the biblical prohibition on the taking of unborn human life except to save the life of the mother; and

Be it further RESOLVED, That the Constitution affirms the right of every American to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and biblically those rights should be granted to every unborn child; and

Be it further RESOLVED, That we oppose those laws that remove the right to life from unborn children and we oppose all efforts by the United States Government to make abortion easier and more readily accepted as an alternative to an unplanned or unwanted child; and

Be it finally RESOLVED, That we encourage all churches and Christian people everywhere to do what they can to put an end to the holocaust of abortion and to provide care and help for women who find themselves facing an unwanted pregnancy.