A Southern Baptist Seminary Removes Stained Glass Windows of Former President
In 2013, a prominent seminary, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, exalted the name of its ... president, Paige Patterson by installing a stained glass window with a graven image of him and his wife, Dorothy. According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, Patterson's "dream was to portray the 20-year history of the conservative resurgence of the Southern Baptist Church."
Other graven images of various prominent Southern Baptists include Rick Warren and Paul Pressler.
Last year, sparked by the #metoo movement -- and Beth Moore --a scandal broke out at Southwestern Seminary involving Paige Patterson and alleged sex-abuse cover-ups -- which invariably turned out to be either false, or totally overblown. You can read more about that here. Suffice it to say, the movement took out Patterson, an Arminian but nonetheless a theological conservative, and replaced him with another Al Mohler clone and Southern Baptist yes man, Adam Greenway.
Now, there is a dilemma here, because certainly Paige Patterson, with his rabid anti-Calvinist and anti-Reformed rhetoric, needed to go. Certainly, he was unfit for the presidency of one of the most prominent seminaries in the country. Yet, for none of these reasons was he removed from his post. He was ousted because, well, Beth Moore and her gaggle of lady-preachers and castrated men who bowed at her feet wanted him out.
Now that he's out, and most of his retirement benefits stripped, it's safe to say that the lynching of this man in the name of social justice has effectively altered the course of Southwestern for the foreseeable future. That's the bad part.
All in all, however, there is some light that comes from all of this. The graven images of Southern Baptist leaders installed at the MacGorman Chapel are being removed.
Hallelujah!
According to the Alabama Baptist,
In an April 11 email to The Alabama Baptist, SWBTS spokesperson Colby Adams, confirmed what had been circulating on social media for several days: “The stained glass windows have been removed from MacGorman Chapel and we are working with donors to finalize plans for relocating the windows.”
All we can say is, good riddance!
Credits: Photos by Don Young