Bill & Beer

by   Keith Ninomiya                                                                                                                                      Vol. XII, No. 7, August 1999

Before the Group of Eight world leaders gathered for their summit meeting in Cologne, Germany, President Bill Clinton visited Brauerei zur Malzmuehle, a local beer hall. Clinton dined there on the evening of June 17 and sampled the city's famous light brew called Koelsch. Patrons reported that Clinton, a Southern Baptist, downed three-quarters of his glass of Koelsch beer.

On June 15, messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) meeting in Atlanta, GA, were asked to pledge a total abstinence from alcohol, drugs, or any substance that would have a negative impact on their behavior or witness for Jesus Christ. Led by convention officials, messengers were encouraged to sign abstinence pledge cards.

Richard Land, president of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), said the pledge cards will "give Southern Baptists the opportunity to renew what has been the historic Southern Baptist position when it comes to the consumption of alcoholic beverages, as well as other drugs, which is total abstinence."

James Dunn, Land's liberal counterpart, is executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs (BJCPA), which is funded by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF). On February 2, 1994, Dunn said, "Thank God that there is no such thing as a Baptist creed that includes abortion or drinking booze or any other particular set of agendas and [Clinton] is in the mainstream of Baptist history as he asserts and affirms his religious liberty."

In the April 19, 1994, issue of the BJCPA's newsmagazine, Dunn wrote: "The only creed for Baptists is: 'Ain't nobody going to tell me what to believe.' We suffer from semi-Baptists today who would make creeds for us . . . Some invoke a moral creed. It really just has two test poles - abortion and homosexuality." Apparently, Dunn, a Clinton cheerleader and executive enabler, believes that abortion, drinking booze, and homosexuality are religious liberty issues.