Alabama Baptist Convention Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Slavery issue=== In the years of increasing sectional tensions about the Baptist Church's position on [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] and [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolition]] prior to the [[American Civil War]], some Northern members opposed the appointment as missionaries of Southern Baptists who were slaveholders. Objecting to this infringement on their culture, in 1844, the ABSC passed the "Alabama Resolutions". Included was the following: <blockquote>2. Resolved, That our duty at this crisis requires us to demand from the proper authorities in all those bodies to whose funds we have contributed, or with whom we have in any way been connected, the distinct, explicit, avowal that slaveholders are eligible, and entitled, equally with non-slaveholders, to all the privileges and immunities of their several unions; and especially to receive any agency, mission, or other appointment, which may run within the scope of their operation or duties.<ref name=Baker1906 /></blockquote> Rev. [[Basil Manly, Sr.]], then president of the [[University of Alabama]] (1838β1855), drafted the resolutions. A strong supporter of the institution of slavery, Manly owned a [[plantations in the American South|plantation]] and 40 slaves. He argued for the humanity of slaves, but thought the institution was part of the proper scheme of man's social structures, and that the Baptist religion could help support proper treatment of slaves.<ref name=Fuller2007 /> In 1844 the ABSC sent its resolutions to the Board of the [[Triennial Convention]].<ref name=Newman2007 /><ref name=Geiger2006 /> Following the [[American Baptist Home Mission Society|Home Mission Society]]'s rejection of [[James E. Reeve]] for appointment as a missionary because he was a slaveholder, Alabama and other southern state Baptist conventions withdrew their funding from the national convention and formed the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] in 1845. It was another sign of the severe sectional tensions that developed in the nation before the outbreak of war. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page