Creeping liberalism in Southern Baptist Convention accompanied by declining membership

Back to back stories at Real Clear Religion today report on a membership decline in the SBC in 2016 coincidental with the introduction last fall of a new gender-inclusive translation of the Bible:

Southern Baptists Embrace Gender-Inclusive Language in the Bible:  America's largest Protestant denomination has produced a revised translation that incorporates many features it had long condemned

Hundreds of New Churches Not Enough to Satisfy Southern Baptists:  Baptisms are at a 70-year low, while Sunday worshipers are at a 20-year low

The second headline avoids telling the truth up front: Membership is down 1 million since the 2003 peak, and 78,000 in 2016, according to the story, with total giving down 1% in the last year.

The first story might in part explain why:

The CSB [Christian Standard Bible] translates the term adelphoi, a Greek word for “brother” in a gender-neutral form 106 times, often adding “sister.” “Brotherly love” is translated “love as brothers and sisters.” The gender-neutralizing pattern is also present in its translation of the Old Testament. ...

In the CSB, there are hundreds of verses that fall within the “gender-neutral” category condemned in Southern Baptists’ own resolutions. Together, they provide an illustrative survey of the kinds of quietly progressive changes that have been inserted into this conservative denomination’s Bible translation. 

That breeze you're catchin' is W. A. Criswell, spinning in his grave.