Mercury News Online: The Latest: Southern Baptists condemn Confederate flag use

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Latest on resolutions at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting Tuesday in St. Louis (all times local):

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5:15 p.m.

The Southern Baptist Convention has passed a resolution calling on Christians to stop displaying the Confederate battle flag.

The resolution was first proposed by an African-American pastor, the Rev. Dwight McKissic. The proposal presented to thousands of delegates at the denomination’s annual meeting in St. Louis on Tuesday was less strongly worded than the original. It added a paragraph saying that the flag serves for some not as a symbol of racism but as a memorial to loved ones who died in the Civil War.

It also called on Christians to “consider prayerfully whether to limit, or even more so, discontinue” the flag’s display.

But on Tuesday, the convention approved a motion from the floor to remove the added paragraph and strengthen the language by calling on Christians to simply discontinue the flag’s use.

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4:45 p.m.

The Southern Baptist Convention has approved a resolution expressing love and compassion for the victims of the Orlando shooting and their families.

The nation’s largest Protestant denomination adopted the resolution at its annual meeting in St. Louis on Tuesday. Southern Baptists consider same-sex marriage and sexual relations to be sinful, but the resolution says “we regard those affected by this tragedy as fellow image-bearers of God and our neighbors.”

At the same time, the thousands of delegates to the meeting of the Nashville-based convention also adopted a resolution seeking protection for the religious liberties of those who oppose gay marriage and transgender bathroom access.

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Read more at The Latest: Southern Baptists condemn Confederate flag use. 

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