Dear Colleagues,

PLEASE NOTE: The BGCM and the CBF are in FULL cooperation with gay-lifestyle advocates. Further, they are in cooperation with Christian Science - a group that believes God is not omnipotent and there is no real sin.

Last night an event called the "First Freedom Dinner" was held at the First Baptist Church of Jefferson City. The event was hosted by Americans United for Separation of Church & State, MNEA, Baptist General Convention of Missouri, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Women's Voices Raised for Social Justices, the Christian Science Committee, and many other liberal organizations.

I want to be clear about one thing -- the Missouri Baptist Convention is NOT associated with the Baptist General Convention or the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. The MBC is in sharp disagreement with these groups and urge you to be cautious with them.

These groups advocate for gay rights and many are very pro-choice. In fact, many churches in the Baptist General Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship have withdrawn from the MBC because of their liberal views on these issues.

The groups that sponsored this event will tell you that they do not support the mixture of religion and politics -- claiming a separation of church and state, but they do more to limit speech and have testified in committee against the posting of the ten-commandments. They further have spoken against teaching founding documents. While I agree that government should not endorse religion, I do believe that we should allow people of all faith to express their freedom and share their beliefs in our Democrat-Republic. These groups would tell you they agree, but then would oppose a ban on gay marriage.

Further, they are very, very supportive of social welfare programs and socialized health-care. Many of these groups would advocate nationally run health-care like many European nations. However, as one who has personally toured the hospitals in Europe and as a firm believer in Capitalism -- a founding principle of our nation -- I believe moving to socialism is dangerous. I assure you, this is something many of these groups advocate and support.

You will find many of these groups dominated by left-leaning leaders. Again -- be very cautious.

If you visit the American's United website you will find this:
This is ridiculous. Many churches provide the largest venue for such an activity. American's United simply wants to remove church from EVERY aspect of public life. Various groups that work with American's United support these type of efforts. You will also find this headline on the American's United website:

Church-State Watchdog Group Says Hastings Law School Is Right To Refuse Aid To Christian Legal Society Chapter That Rejects Non-Christians, Gays

The fact is, they are moving toward a goal of not allowing churches or Christian groups to set standards they believe are important. The line of reasoning here would force Christian groups to accept any life-style they deemed wrong or in opposition to their beliefs. This is not freedom of religion -- but forcing religion to deny its beliefs. American's United line of argument would require a Christian organization to allow membership from members of the Church of Satan (this is a real organization).

The Christian Science group has some interesting beliefs. They believe God is not all powerful. One of the tenants of their faith says:

Evil - The Christian Science position on the nature of evil can be described as follows: If there is any evil power in the world, then God cannot possess all power, and is thus not omnipotent. If God is omnipotent, evil does not exist. Christianity is incompatible with a belief in the reality of evil.

Now, they can believe what they want -- that is their right -- but I wanted to expose some of their ideology to you. They have a constitutional right to believe how they choose, BUT they support the groups mentioned above and support very liberal issues. Further, if you look at the organization "Women's Voices Raised for Social Justice" you will find some concerning positions. Visit www.womensvoicesraised.org to find this:

Reproductive Choice
Members of Women's Voices believe that the current debate surrounding reproductive choice speaks to one of the basic foundations upon which our country was established: the freedom of religion. We believe that religious matters are best left to religious communities, and not to politicians, and we are concerned about the increasing influence of the "radical right" being manifested today and the increasing tendency to blur the lines between religious belief and government. More than two dozen members of Women's Voices turned out for an April 2006 rally on reproductive choice in downtown Kirkwood. They joined 250 others who listened to a speech by Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization of Women, and vowed to continue working for increased funding for family planning clinics, comprehensive sex education, and access to emergency contraception.

Abortion
In September 2005 and again in March 2006, we accompanied members of the Missouri Religious Coalition for Reproductive Rights to lobby state legislators in Jefferson City during debate on bills that continued to make access to abortion more difficult for women in Missouri. (See photos)

Emergency Contraception
Members of this Focus Group have worked with Planned Parenthood and NARAL to call attention to the difficulties women encounter when pharmacists, because of religious reasons, refuse to fill prescriptions for emergency contraceptives. They support the efforts of the Missouri Women's Coalition and other groups that are working to ensure that emergency contraception is available to all women who need it.

For complete information about the organization's stance on women's reproductive rights, read our position paper on this issue.

You will also find the following:

Members of Women's Voices are concerned about the thousands of poor Missourians who have inadequate or no access to health care. The situation became critical in 2005 when, in response to revenue shortfalls, the legislature approved Gov. Matt Blunt's proposal to cut 90,000 citizens from the state's Medicaid program. But even before these cuts, Missouri's record of providing health care to its neediest citizens, many of them children, elderly and disabled, was poor, putting it in the bottom third of states.

The focus group studied the Dec 2005 report of the Medicaid Reform Commission, which was charged with suggesting ways to end the state's current Medicaid program by 2008. We will continue to monitor this campaign as it unfolds. In the meantime, we are tracking the spring legislative session, looking for opportunities to speak out in support of our positions. We have written letters, sent emails, and made phone calls to urge restoration of Medicaid benefits. Two organizations that have been excellent resources for us during this process are the Missouri Budget Project and Citizens for Missouri's Children.

We also studied the proposal of the Committee for a Healthy Future to raise the state's tobacco tax. This group circulated petitions to get an initiative placed on the Nov 2006 ballot ... one which would use tax-generated revenue for Medicaid restoration and other health-related services for the poor, as well as smoking prevention and cessation programs. We developed a Position Paper in support of this increased tax, which was subsequently endorsed by the general membership of Women's Voices. Unfortunately, not enough signatures were collected, and the issue will not be on the November 2006 ballot.

Please note Rep. Bearden's past emails about the Missouri Budget Project -- which is run by liberals who promote socialism. Also note their continued work in opposition of reform. These groups are not friendly to our efforts to bring sound, fiscal government to our state. You will also find on the "Women's Voices" website this statement - (notice they participated in the St. Louis Gay Parade).

Members of Women's Voices Raised for Social Justice fully support the rights of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered individuals to participate fully in society and enjoy the rights and benefits available to other Americans. Members of the organization showed their support by participating in the Gay Pride parade in St. Louis in June 2005 and 2006. (See Photos)

If you have further questions about the intent or direction of these groups, please feel free to visit with me at anytime.

God bless!

Brian L. Baker