Baptists Denounce Gulf Oil Disaster, Pro-Homosexual Bills, and Divorce

"God has designed us with a dependence on the natural resources around us and has assigned us a dominion of stewardship and protection of those resources for future generations," states the resolution addressing the BP oil spill, the worst in U.S. history.

"Our God-given dominion over the creation is not unlimited, as though we were gods and not creatures, so therefore, all persons and all industries are then accountable to higher standards than to profit alone."

Adopted on Wednesday, the resolution comes as new estimates by scientists and the government reveal that BP's well in the Gulf of Mexico is gushing as much as 60,000 barrels of oil a day. The massive disaster was the result of an April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig. President Obama has called it the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced.

Along with a call to prayer, the Southern Baptists' measure calls on the government "to act determinatively and with undeterred resolve to end this crisis; to fortify our coastal defenses; to ensure full corporate accountability for damages, clean-up and restoration; to ensure that government and private industry are not again caught without planning for such possibilities; and to promote future energy policies based on prudence, conservation, accountability, and safety," as reported by The Washington Post.

Southern Baptists are also urged to generously assist in the clean-up process, just as they did in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

In another resolution, the Protestant church body expressed opposition to repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bars gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.