SBC Ethics Guru Dick Land Goes Anti-Vasectomy

I never realized that the Southern Baptist Convention had taken a position on the Vasectomy until I read this quote from Southern Baptist ethics guru Richard Land:

The Southern Baptist Convention is not opposed to the use of birth control within marriage as long as the methods used do not cause the fertilized egg to abort and as long as the methods used do not bar having children all together unless there's a medical reason the couple should not have children," he told Dallas television station WFAA.

Good gracious. Land definitely puts the kook in kooky.

SBC Pastor to McCain: Palin Not A Pro-Family Pick

As previously mentioned, Richard Land has found him a new crush in Sarah Palin.

Meanwhile, countless other Christian Right leaders have been gushing over John McCain's VP selection. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council declared that McCain had made an "outstanding pick." Wendy Wright of Disturbed Women for America announced that Palin's "admirable record of confronting corruption and living her pro-life convictions shows she is a doer, not just a talker." Matthew Staver of the highly influential Liberty Counsel described McCain's decision as "absolutely brilliant." Roberta Combs, the President of the Christian Coalition, praised McCain for making an "outstanding selection." This list would be incomplete without a good word the Dr. James Dobson who proclaimed McCain's selection of Palin to be "an outstanding choice that should be extremely reassuring to the conservative base of his party."

However, not every so-called Pro-Family leader has been giddy over the selection of Sarah Palin. Meet Voddie Baucham.

Voodie Baucham (bio) is an extremely popular Southern Baptist minister especially in Reformed circles. He's a 6'3, 300 pound, former All-American football player at Rice University who has done graduate work at Oxford University. He preaches. He publishes. He's a homeschooling advocate. And clearly he's a consistent complimentarian.

In his most recent blog post, Baucham asks: Did McCain Make a Pro-Family Pick?

And Baucham says NO!!!!!!!!!

Baucham writes:

Unfortunately, Christians appear to be headed toward a hairpin turn at breakneck speed without the slightest clue as to the danger ahead. I don’t see this as a pro-family pick at all! Moreover, I believe the conservative fervor over this pick shows how politicized Christians have become at the expense of maintaining a prophetic voice. I believe that Mr. McCain has proven with his VP pick that he is pro-victory, not pro-family. In fact, I believe this was the anti-family pick. I say that for at least two reasons.

First, Baucham reasons that the office of Vice-President is NOT A PRO FAMILY JOB!

First, if Mr. McCain was pro-family, he would want to see Mrs. Palin at home taking care of her five children, not headed to Washington to be consumed by the responsibilities of being second in command to the most powerful man in the world (or serving as the Governor of Alaska for that matter). Let me also say that I would have the same reservations about a man with five children at home seeking the VP office. It’s not exactly a pro-family job.

Baucham goes on to uncover what he calls a "disturbing trend" that "plagues far too many young women with families." What exactly is so disturbing? Baucham is disturbed that Palin commutes to and from work every day by herself. Not sure how Baucham expects the Governor to get to work. But clearly he'd rather have her back at home cookin and cleanin.

Second, Baucham explains that picking Palin as VP does NOT SEND A PRO FAMILY MESSAGE!

Here's Baucham:

Not only do I believe that a pro-family candidate would prefer to see Mrs. Palin at home taking care of her children, I believe a pro-family candidate would also avoid validating and advancing our culture’s desire to completely erase gender roles. Much of the discussion about Mrs. Palin’s candidacy centers around her opportunity to “break through the class ceiling” and be a “role model for young women.” The same was said of Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy in the Democratic primary. But what does this mean?

Are we really saying that we want to completely erase the distinctions between men and women. Do we really believe that it is good for our country to promote the view that women are merely men who happen to be biologically capable of having children (when it does not interfere with career advancement, of course)? I don’t think so. What do we do with the Bible’s admonition in Titus chapter two? Are Christian conservatives saying that Paul’s instructions concerning women’s duty to be “keepers of their homes” has somehow been overturned in light of recent discoveries? Or are we saying that pro-family means one thing when we’re in church, but something else when we’re trying to beat the Democrats?

And Baucham concludes:

My point is simple. The job of a wife and mother is to be a wife and mother. Anything in addition to that must also be subservient to it. There is no higher calling. Moreover, I believe Paul’s admonition should lead us to reject any notion of a wife and mother taking on the level of responsibility that Mrs. Palin is seeking.... My heart breaks for her husband. Mrs. Palin is not even supposed to be the head of her own household (Eph. 5:22ff; Col. 3:18; Titus 2:5; 1 Peter 3:1-7), let alone the State of Alaska, or the United States Senate (The VP oversees the Senate). He should be shepherding her, but instead she is ruling over him (Rom 13:1-7; 1Pet 2:13-17). How difficult it must be for him to walk the fine line of bowing to the culture that is stealing his bride while still trying to love his wife and lead his family.

My heart breaks for the so-called Christian right. All the usual subjects have been falling all over themselves to praise Mr. McCain and justify their blind allegiance to the Republican Party in an effort to secure more “pro-family” judges. They want to protect marriage from redefinition by the homosexual movement, and they are willing to redefine marriage (and motherhood) to do it....In an effort to win the pro-family political argument, we are sacrificing the pro-family biblical argument. In essence, the message being sent to women by conservative Christians backing McCain/Palin is, “It’s ok to sacrifice your family on the altar of your career; just don’t have an abortion.” How pro-family is that?

To Baucham, I say YUCK. He might be just plain wrong but at least Baucham is trying to be consistent and actually put into practice what he preaches.

So while Sarah Palin is the Christian Right's choice to be Vice President and but one heartbeat away from holding the title "Leader of the Free World" - she's still not fit to hold the office of Pastor (if "called" to do so) according to America's largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. And don't look for Sarah Palin to adjunct at the Richard Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Seminary if this VP gig doesn't work out. Women teaching men is a no-no in today's patriarchal Southern Baptist Convention.

Ironically, Southern Baptists like Land and Mohler seem excited to humbly submit to the authority of a Vice-President Palin in the secular sphere but are dead opposed to Palin exerting authority over any Bible-Believing male in the sacred sphere.

At least Voddie Baucham isn't ashamed to take all this "Biblical Manhood" talk that so many Southern Baptists are engaged in to its logical conclusion....

The Faith of America's Hottest VP Candidate

As surely everyone now knows, John McCain has now tapped Sarah Palin, a former beauty queen turned Governor of Alaska, as his running mate. Several publications have referred to Palin as "America's Hottest Governor."

For weeks, the Southern Baptist Convention's "Ethics" guru Dick Land has been pushing hard for McCain to pick Palin. Land described Palin to a CBS reporter as a "person of strong faith."

So what exactly is Governor Sarah Palin's "faith" ?

A thorough search of the internets didn't turn up many specific results. However, several bloggers have reported that Palin is a "regular attendee" of Church on the Rock in Wasilla, Alaska where Palin grew up and served as Mayor. According to this newsletter (HT: Dallas Morning News), we know that has a history with the Assemblies of God denomination. The newsletter mentions Palin's junior high pastor and current Alaska State Superintendent, Ted Boatsman, who once pastored Wasilla Assembly of God (belief statement here). The newsletter also mentions that when in Juneau Palin attends Juneau Christian Center, a Pentecostal congregation.

Here's some info on Church on the Rock in Wasilla where Palin supposedly attends when not in Juneau.

Church on the Rock is a rather new congregation. It began in January, 2000 with seven families. The church quickly outgrew their sanctuary which held 200 people and now holds two services on Sunday mornings. Read the history of Church on the Rock here. Their doctrinal statement can be found here. No mention of the Bible as inerrant. Their doctrine statement describes the Bible as "inspired by God, the Bible is truth without any mixture of error."

The senior pastor of Church on the Rock is a guy named David Pepper. However, Church on the Rock lists a female on staff as a "Pastor." Laurie Miller and her husband Chris Miller serve as "Equipping Pastors" at Church on the Rock.

And here's a bit about Palin on a few social issues:

According to the Boston Globe, Palin believes that abortion should be banned for any reason other than saving the life of the mother. She opposes stem cell research (I assume that means she opposes EMBRYONIC stem cell research). She opposes physician-assisted suicide. She opposes giving state health benefits for same-sex partners. And she supports a constitutional amendment to bar such benefits.

Here's where she gets a little kooky.

Palin believes that creationism should be discussed in public schools. Here's Palin from a couple of years ago:

Growing up with being so privileged and blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject -- creationism and evolution. It's been a healthy foundation for me. But don't be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides."

On Church-State issues:

When asked during a debate how she would feel if she walked into a church and heard a minister or pastor endorse a candidate for governor, Palin responded:

“A pastor, a priest, a rabbi, certainly they have the freedom to say whatever they want to say. And you know, thank the lord that we do have that freedom of speech....Faith is very important to so many of us here in America, and I would never support any government effort to stifle our freedom of religion or freedom of expression or freedom of speech...You know, I would just caution maybe a pastor to be very careful if they’re in front of a congregation and they decide to endorse one candidate over another. You know, there may be some frustration with that candidacy endorsement being made manifest by a few, fewer dollars in the offering plate, so I would just offer that bit of caution. (laughing.)...But, no, I’ll tell you, freedom of speech is so precious and it’s worth defending and of course freedom of religion and freedom of expression will be things that I will fight for.”

Religious Right leaders are already gushing over McCain's VP choice.

Here's Dick Land:

"Governor Palin is a vice-presidential selection which shows that John McCain at the age of 72 today is still able to think outside the box. Governor Palin will delight the Republican base. She is pro-life. It appears that Senator Obama played it safe in picking Senator Biden and Senator McCain made the bold and unconventional choice in picking Governor Palin."

I'm not an expert on the Presidency. But would Sarah Palin's selection as VP make her the first Pentecostal on a major party ticket?

Richard Land & Frank Page Do Numa Numa Dance

Remember Numa Numa, the You-Tube phenomenon from 2005, which mostly notably featured the pudgy Gary Brolsma of New Jersey doing an odd yet hilarious dance to an obscure Romanian song?

Here is the original Numa Numa Dance below which has been viewed by millions:

Now, apparently Sir Richard Land has decided to join in on the Numa Numa fun along with his pal Frank Page. Dick's rendition of the Numa Numa Dance is below:

HT: Tony Kummer of SBC Voices

Richard Land's Baptist Joint Committee Reunion

Check it out:

K. Hollyn Hollman, general counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee, and Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, will participate in a church-state forum at Campbellsville University on Tuesday, April 1.

The event, titled “Church and State and Religious Liberty Issues,” is sponsored by Campbellsville's Kentucky Heartland Institute on Public Policy.

Sounds like a must-see event. Let's hope Richard is on his best behavior because there's definitely no love lost between Sir Richard and the Baptist Joint Committee.

See Dick Apologize..........Apologize Dick Apologize

Earlier in the week, EthicsDaily.com broke the story about Richard Land's use of a Yiddish slur directed towards a Jewish United States Senator. The following day, well-known historian Randall Balmer called for Land's resignation.

Now, Richard Land has issued what looks sorta like an apology. Read for yourself:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--It has come to my attention in the last 48 hours that some people were offended by my reference to Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as a "schmuck" during the Criswell Lecture Series at Criswell College, Jan. 29-31. In reviewing these criticisms I have learned some consider the word crude, if not obscene. I apologize for my ignorance of that fact. If I had known that, I would never have used the word. I always attempt to avoid crude and offensive language as a matter of conviction.

As Jeffrey Weiss of The Dallas Morning News has pointed out, the idiom means "jerk," which was my intended usage. I truly apologize to anyone offended by my use of a word they perceived to be crude or obscene. I used the word "schmuck" in my reference to Senator Schumer solely in an attempt to employ a word that alliterated with Schumer's name and describe my perception of his behavior during the confirmation hearings for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito -- nothing more!

However, I am deeply offended that anyone would interpret my remarks as anti-Semitic. My entire Christian life I have been taught, and believe, that the Jews are God's chosen people. I have said on dozens of occasions in public that anti-Semitism is the most irrational of prejudices for a Christian, since Jesus our Savior was Himself a Jew. My entire public ministry I have denounced anti-Semitism, and I have sought to combat it wherever and whenever I have encountered it. Anyone who knows me knows this to be true. Once again, as Jeffrey Weis commented, "Elevating a relatively harmless insult into an accusation of anti-Semitism devalues real attacks on Jews and Judaism."

Anti-Semitism is far too dangerous and virulent in our world to tolerate the luxury of such a trivialization going unchallenged.

Further reading: SBC Leader Pleads Ignorance of Jewish Slur

New Baptist Covenant in The New York Times

This past weekend over half-a-dozen articles were written in newspapers across the country on this week's Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant which is being held at the World Congress Center in the ATL from Wednesday - Friday.

Several of the articles either focused more on the Southern Baptist Convention or were riddled with factual errors. But there were at least two noteworthy articles that I'd like to point you to.....

The New York Times: A Baptist Coalition Aims For Moderate Image

For more than 150 years, Baptists in the United States have splintered along political, theological and racial lines. But this week, some of the country’s largest Baptist groups — representing about 20 million believers — will meet to try to mend the old fractures and, some leaders say, present a more diverse and moderate image of their faith than the one offered by the conservative Southern Baptist Convention.

....The meeting’s statement of shared purpose, known as its covenant, calls for Baptists to focus on their traditional values, like “sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ,” and to work together on social issues like fighting poverty. It does not create a new denomination.

“I would like to see a demonstration that Christians who have different backgrounds and different political and theological orientations and geographical locations can come together in the spirit of unity,” Mr. Carter said, “not just for Baptists, but for Christians all over the world.”

Sounds good, huh? Not so according to Richard Land, self-appointed spokesman for all things Baptist. Land declares:

“This is part of the continuing search for significance by those who lost in the struggle for control of the Southern Baptist Convention,” Mr. Land said.

Ah, Richard. Poke him in the belly and I bet Land will ooze arrogance. Without Fred Thompson in the picture to go Ga-Ga over, it seems that Mr. Land has nothing better to do than insult a group of fellow Baptists. At least Bill Harrell, chairman of the SBC Executive Committee, chose to take the higher road.

Speaking of Southern Baptists, be sure to check out Bruce Prescott's podcast interview with Rev. Ben Cole of Enid, Oklahoma. Cole, a young Southern Baptist leader and a former classmate of mine, will be attending the Celebration in Atlanta this week.

Of all the articles on the NBC that I've read, this snippet with a quote from Bill Leonard has to be my favorite.

But for it to work, many participants said, Baptists must first learn what it means to be a Baptist. Local church autonomy, freedom of conscience, the right to interpret the Bible for oneself, and the separation of church and state have historically been the hallmarks of Baptist faith, Leonard said.

"A good Baptist never expects anyone to agree with him or her completely, but should always demand that his or her voice be heard," Leonard said. A Baptist historian, he will be teaching a class on the distinctive Baptist touchstones at the conference.

Ain't that true. I know of at least a few Baptist churches that aren't quite sure of what it really means to be Baptist. Bill Leonard's class at the NBC on Baptist Distinctives would do us all some good.

See also by Big Daddy Weave:
The New Baptist Covenant Required Reading Series
Bloggin' At The New Baptist Covenant
David Gushee, Race & The New Baptist Covenant
Texas Baptist Delegation Headed to NBC Celebration
BGCT Presidents Support New Baptist Covenant
Texas Baptists and the New Baptist Covenant, Part 1
Texas Baptists and the New Baptist Covenant, Part 2
Canadian Baptists Support The New Baptist Covenant
Big Daddy Weave Makes West Coast News On NBC

Richard Land To Help Takeover Microsoft Corp.?

A bit of background first: Microsoft has publicly supported gay rights legislation and officially opposes discrimination based on sexual orientation. Microsoft was one of the first large corporations to offer employee benefits to same-sex domestic partners. And according to a Microsoft spokesman, those policies are supported by 97 percent of all shareholders.

Enter the Rev. Ken Hutcherson, pastor of Antioch Bible Church and one of the founders of Watchmen on the Walls and a former Dallas Cowboys linebacker. In 2005, Hutcherson pressured Microsoft into withdrawing its support of an employment anti-discrimination bill before the Washington state legislature. The bill would have made it illegal to fire an employee based on their sexual orientation. This sparked outrage around the country and Microsoft reversed itself and promised to support anti-discrimination legislation the future. In January 2006, the bill came up again in the Washington legislature where it passed both the House and Senate and was signed into law. At the recent annual stockholders meeting, Hutcherson made his way to the microphone and warned company leaders:

"I could work with you, or I could be your worst nightmare, because I am a black man with a righteous cause, with a host of powerful white people behind me...I hope to hear from you and if not, you will hear from me."

Hutcherson is back and has a new plan to roll back gay rights at Microsoft. He plans to Takeover Microsoft And he plans to do so with the help of well known Christian Right leaders including Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention

Check it out:

A conservative Christian pastor plans to launch a high-profile campaign Tuesday urging religious followers to load up on Microsoft Corp. stock, in an attempt to force the company to "stop financing ungodly ventures."

The Rev. Ken Hutcherson, who leads Antioch Bible Church in Microsoft's hometown of Redmond, says that he will create a global and powerful group to promote traditional family values, including marriage exclusively between a man and a woman.

Hutcherson, joined by some of the country's most influential Christian leaders, has created a new organization, AGN Financial Network, to finance the effort. The worldwide venture asks people to buy three shares of company stock and donate one to AGN. Its Web site tells visitors, "You have the power to change the world," and contains tips on how to open a brokerage account. Among the listed supporters are Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention and religious pundit Gary Bauer.

An impossible task? To gain just 1 percent stake in Microsoft, about 31 million people would each have to spend $104 to buy three shares.

After the failed boycott of Walt Disney, you'd think Dick Land would stay away from such ridiculous initiatives!

Well SBCers, go be a good Southern Baptist and pick yourself up three shares of Microsoft. 2 for you and 1 for Land and Hutcherson.

And when fighting the good fight against anti-discrimination bills and same-sex domestic partner benefits for Microsoft employees (and hate crimes legislation!) please don't forget the words of South Carolina's native son, Stephen Colbert:

Gay Marriage is: "The biggest threat facing America today - next to socialized medicine, the Dyson vacuum cleaner and the recumbent bicycle."

These Are Children For Crying Out Loud!

Rev. Joel Hunter, a former United Methodist pastor who earlier this year resigned from his pending presidency of the Christian Coalition of America has weighed in on the fight in Congress to override Bush's SCHIP veto.

In a recent sermon, the Orlando-based megachurch pastor makes an emotional plea on behalf of God's children. Listen to Rev. Hunter here. Below is an excerpt:

"There are people in this country - Children - and I hear these arguments all the time about these dirty filthy immigrants, these illegal immigrants who come into this country. And they are getting all these benefits because their kids get sick enough to get into an emergency and go to an emergency room.

And somehow those children don't deserve care because they come from another country and they are not like us and maybe they don't believe what we do and maybe they don't speak the same language we do. And we want to deny those children healthcare? God would say "what are you doing?"

I don't believe health care is a right. But I believe healthcare is the test of our character as a nation. And I believe that any nation that does not take care of the children among us is not much of a nation, is not much of a people, is certainly not much of a Christian......

And I gotta tell ya, what are we doing?!? These are children for crying out loud! God would say - there are 100,000 in the city who don't know their right hand from their left, and you would ignore them and not give them what they need because they don't happen to have what you have. If you're a nation that don't take care of your own children, you're not much of a nation, as a matter of a fact you're not much of a people, let alone much of a Christian. These are Children!

Here's what we have to understand. We gotta know that God cares for the vulnerable. This is a message to us all. We are to love the ones that we might not love naturally but God does. We are to love according to his standards not according to ours. And I know I may have just made some of you really mad. But I don't care. It's what the word of God says and I will always tell you what the word of God says. Pray with me."

Rev. Joel Hunter is one conservative evangelical that has my respect.

Unfortunately, many of his fellow pro-life conservative evangelical friends are united against SCHIP. The Baptist ethics agency that made war and torture cool again has also come out in support of Bush's veto. Surprise Surprise! I guess pouring hundreds of billions into Iraq is more POSH than providing millions of children with freakin health care!

And that my friends is the definition of Christian social concern. And unfortunately from a group that bears the name Baptist.

So while I'm embarrassed by Baptists like Richard Land and Barrett Duke, I thank God for Methodists like Joel Hunter.....

Bush The Universalist

That's the title of Terry Mattingly's latest post over at GetReligion.

Mattingly writes:

The media have written extensively, if poorly, about Bush’s faith. There was that New York Times Sunday Magazine cover story about Bush’s faith. And countless others which we’ve all read over the past decade.

And yet when President Bush celebrates other religions or otherwise expresses his universalism — which he has done repeatedly — the media barely notice. In an Oct. 4 interview with Al Arabiya, President Bush said

Well, first of all, I believe in an almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God. That’s what I believe. I believe that Islam is a great religion that preaches peace.

Mattingly wonders if the media ignores Bush's universalism (pluralism?) "because it doesn't fit with their preconceived notion of Bush as an evangelical extremist."

Fascinating stuff, check it out.

Back in late July, I wrote a post entitled Universalist Addresses Southern Baptist Convention.

What amazes me (well, not really) is the way Southern Baptist leaders treat Presidents when they talk theology. Jimmy Carter gets labeled a heretic by Al Mohler & Company. Yet, folks like Richard Land give Bush's unambiguous theological statements a pass. After Bush's interview with Charlie Gibson back in 2003, Richard told Baptist Press that the President was "simply mistaken" and that "we should always remember that he is commander in chief, not theologian in chief." Instead of calling Bush a heretic - Southern Baptists invite him to speak year after year to their annual meeting!

Ah the inconsistency of fundamentalists....

Richard Land's Man Crush & The New Republic

Apparently, the folks at The New Republic are familiar with Sir Big Daddy Weave.

Michelle Cottle, senior editor of The New Republic has picked up a bit of my man-crush lingo in her latest post appropriately entitled Richard Land's Man Crush. Check it out:

RICHARD LAND'S MAN CRUSH:

While, as Chait points out, many social conservatives remain unconvinced of Fred Thompson's commitment to their cause, the Southern Baptist's Richard Land continues his tireless cheerleading for Big Daddy.

Even having talked to Land about Fred at some length a few months ago, I still don't understand this particular attraction. It's not as if Fred is the most conservative or the most religious or has the most irreproachable personal history of the GOP contenders.

My best guess is that Fred's appeal for Land is culture based--i.e., he is the only arguably top-tier Southerner in this race. Rich or poor, Southerners tend to be protective of our own, in part because we're sensitive to the fact that much of the rest of the country still looks down their noses at us as a bunch of racist, ass-backward, banjo-pickin' hicks.

Continue reading here.

For more on Richard - check out the blog by onemom (here and here) - a Southern Baptist who is ticked that Land has snubbed Mike Huckabee.

Onemom concludes:

What’s most important Mr. Land … money? Power? Or standing firm on our convictions - especially when there is a horse in this race that is a TRUE CONSERVATIVE, and not one who just came by those beliefs recently to achieve a political goal. You encourage Christians to vote their values in one breath, and then in the next you encourage us to make compromises in areas of conviction just to support candidates that you see as rich and powerful.

You have said that you think Mike Huckabee best represents the conservative Christian base, but that you won’t support him because you don’t think he can win. Well, Mr. Land - he can and will win, but it would be a whole lot easier if you followed your own instructions and voted your values. If you would pick up the banner for Mike Huckabee, the burden would be lighter.

Richard To The Rescue

Last week James Dobson caused a small ruckus after a "private e-mail" of his was exposed in which he lambasted Fred Thompson. Here's the e-mail:

“Isn’t Thompson the candidate who is opposed to a Constitutional amendment to protect marriage, believes there should be 50 different definitions of marriage in the U.S., favors McCain-Feingold, won’t talk at all about what he believes, and can’t speak his way out of a paper bag on the campaign trail?”

“He has no passion, no zeal, and no apparent ‘want to.’ And yet he is apparently the Great Hope that burns in the breasts of many conservative Christians? Well, not for me, my brothers. Not for me!”

For the sake of Southern Baptists (who all apparently love Freddie T), Richard Land has come to the rescue. In an interview with the David Brody, Land defended Freddy T against Dobson's "harsh and unwarranted" attack.

“I’ve received phone calls and emails from Southern Baptists about Senator Thompson. They are all furious at Doctor Dobson. They just feel that first of all there was a mischaracterizing of his positions. Do I wish that he supported the marriage protection amendment? Of course I do. To say that he is for 50 different views of marriage in 50 different states is a gross mischaracterization of his position. Secondly, do I wish that he attended church every Sunday? As a Baptist pastor, of course I do. But does that make him a person of unbelief? That’s harsh and unwarranted.”

“It’s (Thompson’s marriage amendment position) a problem. I think Southern Baptists have an ethical issue in which they need to deal. They may face a situation where they have a choice of three candidates. One they agree with 95% of the time, one they agree with 80 percent of the time and one they agree with 10% of the time. It may come to pass that they’re faced with a choice.”

Always great to see Richard Land out and about telling Southern Baptists to vote Republican and which Republican to vote for....

Finally, Brody concludes the interview by asking Land what about Thompson appeals to him and many other evangelicals. Here's where Richard's man-crush on Freddy T begins to show....

“Fred Thompson grew up in a very modest means in a small town in America just like Ronald Reagan grew up in very modest means in a small town in Illinois. You acquire not only an understanding of but a respect for everyday folk when you come from the background that you don’t get otherwise and people sense it. That this is a guy who respects me, a guy who understands that we are the backbone of this country, we are the salt of the Earth and he not only understands us, he’s one of us. He’s a successful one of us but he’s one of us and they trust a guy like that. They give a guy like that a larger margin of error. Nobody gets everything right but its core values. My assessment is that this guy is a whole much like Reagan including his Teflon quality. The press has been beating up with him for these types of gaffes and he continues to climb in the polls.”

It is incredibly rare that anyone on the Right dares to criticize James Dobson. According to Right Wing Watch, the last people to spar with Dobson ended up getting booted from the movement. We'll have to wait and see how this all plays out.

Love Is In The Air.......Everywhere I Look Around

The John Leland Award

Love is in the air
In the rising of the sun
Love is in the air
When the day is nearly done

And I don't know if you're an illusion
Don't know if I see it true
But you're something that I must believe in
And you're there when I reach out for you

Love is in the air
Every sight and every sound
And I don't know if I'm being foolish
Don't know if I'm being wise

But it's something that I must believe in
And it's there when I look in your eyes

"A lot of conservatives, they've been sitting by the phone waiting for Sen. Thompson to call and they're ready to go on a date and see if it works" - Richard Land

Richard Land's Lie

As a follow-up to last week's post entitled The Faith of Fred Thompson, I recommend that you check out the blog of Brian Kaylor and his post Land's Lie?

From Brian's blog in full:

In my Ethics Daily article last week on Fred Thompson's church attendance, Southern Baptist leader Richard Land claimed that Thompson "is attending church on a regular basis." Land's comment seemed like an exaggeration based on the comments in the article from the pastor of the Presbyterian church that Land said Thompson attended regularly. Now Thompson himself has spoken about his church attendance and his words very clearly contradict Land's claim. As Ethics Daily reports today, Thompson said that he does not attend church regularly.

So, Land said that Thompson attended regularly and Thompson says he does not. One would assume that Thompson would know if he attended regularly or not. The question then is why did Land claim otherwise. It could be that he was simply mistaken. However, he does know Thompson and it had not been previously reported that Thompson occasionally attended a Presbyterian church so Land must know Thompson well enough to know that. The other option, then, is that Land lied. He has been rooting for Thompson and may have thought that this claim would help Thompson. In fact, he told me as much right after saying that Thompson attended regularly. If he did intentionally exaggerate the level of Thompson's church attendance, then it should make Baptists wonder why Land is the head of an organization called "Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission."

Well said, Brian.

However, I have chosen not to put a question mark behind Land's Lie.

According to WordWeb (a great program indeed), "lie" is defined as a "statement that deviates from or perverts the truth."

Land's comment definitely deviated from the truth.

In an effort to put the E back in the ERLC, perhaps it's time for Richard Land to quit "selling candidates" and begin promoting the social concerns of the folks that pay his bills?

The Faith of Fred Thompson???

Fellow Baptist blogger Brian Kaylor has a breaking news story today over at EthicsDaily.com. Brian has uncovered information about where (if???) Freddy T attends church.

Let's look at a snippet from Brian's piece:

Questions about Thompson's religious affiliation have dogged the former senator and star of "Law & Order" since Focus on the Family founder James Dobson remarked in March he was under the impression that Thompson is not a Christian.

The Thompson campaign shot back by saying Thompson was baptized into the Church of Christ as a boy in the 1950s. A bio on Thompson's exploratory Web site said he attended First Street Church of Christ while growing up in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., where he learned "the importance of family, hard work, faith and education."

A political science professor at a Church of Christ-affiliated university responded with a tongue-in-cheek "I Saw Fred Thompson at a Church of Christ" Challenge on a blog, observing the former senator "may not be filling out an attendance card at a Church of Christ on Sundays."

Brian reports that a Church of Christ newspaper investigating Freddy T's religious roots discovered that he had been spotted on "occasion" at Brentwood Church of Christ in Tennessee where his mother is a member.

So, the good folks at EthicsDaily.com picked up the phone and rang Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. As all of my avid readers know, Dick Land is a frequent subject of many of my posts. Over the past 9 months, Dick has been mentioned over 20 times. What can I say? We like Richard - perhaps more than Ben Cole and SBC Outpost like Paige Patterson.

Over the past two months, I have documented Richard Land's more than obvious man-crush on now Presidential candidate Freddy T here, here, and here.

In an interview with EthicsDaily.com, Richard Land who has described Freddy T as "Southern Fried Reagan" claimed that Thompson's wife is a "very regular attender" at Vienna Presbyterian Church in Vienna, Virginia. Vienna Presbyterian Church is affiliated with the mainline Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) denomination - a "pro choice" denomination that has rejected Christian Zionism and recently intiated a process of divestment from multinational corporations operating in Israel. Not exactly kosher in Christian Right circles....

Land added that Thompson "attends there with his wife and children when he's in town." "So, he is attending church on a regular basis," Land said. "I think that that information will help, perhaps, with all but some very-devout Church of Christ folks."

However, Peter James, pastor of Vienna Presbyterian Church told EthicsDaily.com that Freddy T "has attended" the church but that he has not had a conversation. Pastor Peter said Freddy T was at the church "on occasion" and "much less often" than his family.

This is quite interesting. Pastor Peter says Freddy T only visits VPC "on occasion." Yet, SBC political guru Dick Land asserts that Freddy T attends church on a "regular basis."

Which is it? Is Freddy T a Church of Christ guy or a mainline Presbyterian?

Or just more of a Bedside Baptist?

I recall another prominent conservative who is friendly with the Christian Right and has a poor track record regarding church attendance. Any guesses?

Ann Coulter.

Ann Coulter has said she is a Christian; she said she attends Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City - however Redeemer has no information that she has ever attended. Sounds alot like Freddy T. At least he's managed to roll out of the bed on Sunday AM's "on occasion."

Like Robert Parham said in the article, "Christian voters especially deserve straight-talk if Thompson is going to use God-talk in his campaign...If Thompson doesn't walk the talk, then he misuses faith for wrongful political ends and discloses a deep moral flaw."

Already, media personalities are misleading American's about Thompson's faith. Tonight, Chris Matthews of Hardball referred to Freddy T as a Southern Baptist not once but twice.

Let's hear from Freddy T not Richard Land about his religious roots and church activity.

Richard Land & The Tyranny of the Majority

In the September/October issue of LIBERTY magazine, G. Edward Reid offers a thoughtful critique of Richard Land's The Divided States of America? What Liberals AND Conservatives are missing in the God-and-Country shouting match. LIBERTY magazine is a religious freedom outreach project sponsored by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Reid's fascinating review details Land's neo-majoritarian approach (i.e. majority rules) to church-state relations. As Reid notes, Land argues that America is a democracy and thus should establish moral values consistent with the majority of its citizens. For example....

Dr. Land uses this concept of legislating the moral values of the majority (p. 141) in several more places. For example, “To those who are advocating homosexual marriage, I say, if you think there ought to be same-sex marriage in the United States, then go out and convince a majority of the American people that is what should be done” (p. 160). “The winning team is the one that can put the most able-bodied players on the field with the best game plan for victory. Moral values can carry an election because they are important to the majority of the American people” (p. 162).....

{Land} cites several more similar examples; each time advocating the right of the majority to make the laws that affect everyone. The concern I have for this position is that, thank God, America is not a democracy. If it were, the rights of the minority to their own religious moral values would not be honored and could, in fact, be legislated against! The fact is, America is a constitutional republic. Its citizens are not governed by the majority of the people but by the rule of law. Constitutional Republics are a deliberate attempt to diminish the threat of mobocracy, thereby protecting dissenting individuals and minority groups from the tyranny of the majority by placing checks on the power of the majority of the population. The power of the majority of the people is checked in electing representatives who govern within the limits of overarching constitutional law, rather than the popular vote having legislative power itself.

I would recommend the book to those who are interested in religious liberty - with the caveat to watch out for the slippery slope of majority rule - even if it is motivated by moral values.

In other related news, Dick Land speaking on behalf of Faith United Against Tobacco has urged Congress to let the FDA regulate cigs and other tobacco products. So, kudos to Richard for backing the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1108 and S. 625).

As a side note, it's always great to see Southern Baptists like Richard Land willing to coalition with religious officials from the United Church of Christ, National Council of Churches, and the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism.

It's too bad that just a decade ago the Southern Baptist Convention including Richard Land himself couldn't grasp the importance of working with organizations from across the theological spectrum for the purpose of preserving religious liberty.......

Morris Chapman Gives Some Love To Freddy T

Fred Thompson has found more love from Southern Baptist leaders. An article in the Tuscaloosa News quotes Morris Chapman, President of the Executive Committee of the SBC, as saying...

"Another Southern Baptist called Fred Thompson the Ronald Reagan of the South, and I think he has some of that appeal. He is a magnetic personality. He seems to articulate his opinions clearly. He seems to be unflappable."

As I've documented in past posts, Richard Land of the SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has spent most of his summer crushin on Hollywood Fred.

Past remarks from Dick Land include

"I'm around a lot of Baptists," Land said. "They find Fred Thompson to be a tantalizing combination of charisma, conviction and electability. He's got a Reaganesque ability to connect with ordinary folk that is powerful."

Land added: "He also has the same Teflon coating that Reagan had: Bad stuff just doesn't stick."

"This is Fred Thompson's race to lose" he said. "I have never seen anything like this
grassroots swell for Thompson. I'm not speaking for Southern Baptists, but I do believe I have my hand on the pulse of Southern Baptists and I think I know where the consensus is."

"Fred Thompson reminds me of a Southern-fried Reagan...To see Fred work a crowd must be what it was like to watch Rembrandt paint."

In the same Tuscaloosa News article, Marc Ambinder offers us a nice quote from Land on Romney....

"Clearly you have very significant segments of the population in the Southeast who are evangelical Christians, Southern Baptists and other faiths," said Richard Land, who heads the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. "Most of them want to know what the religious perspectives of the candidates are, and it's important to them. It's not determinative, but it's important."

While Land thinks Romney's religion could be a problem, he said the former governor's pro-life stance might prove more important.

"There is no issue that matters more to most evangelicals than the issue of the life of the unborn," Land said.

If no issue matters more to Southern Baptists than abortion then why are Land and Chapman so quick to jump on the Fred Thompson bandwagon?

Like Romney, Thompson also has a spotty abortion record. First, there is the report that Thompson was hired by an abortion-rights organization to lobby the first Bush administration. But more importantly, in 1994 Thompson wrote that the "ultimate decision" about abortion is a woman's and that government should not intervene. On other questionnaires, Thompson declared his opposition to both criminalizing abortion and a constitutional amendment "protecting the sanctity of life."

At least for Romney's sake, he claims to have had traveled down Damascus Road. Meanwhile, James Dobson has gone so far as to question whether Freddy T has ever had a salvific experience.

Nonetheless, Scott Helman of the Boston Globe recently declared:

Dissatisfied with the current crop of GOP contenders, these conservative leaders say Thompson, despite new questions about his record on abortion, possesses the right combination of electability and conservative values -- the two ingredients they believe are necessary to energize evangelical voters and keep the White House in Republican hands in 2008.

"It's almost as if the man and the moment met," said Richard Land, who speaks for more than 16 million people as head of public policy for the nation's Southern Baptists.

Why does it seem that Land's first priority is Republican success in '08?

School Prayer? Tom Ascol's War Against Islam

Tom Ascol is perhaps the most well known Calvinist in the Southern Baptist Convention. He serves as the Executive Director of Founders Ministries - an organization that desires the return of the SBC to her Reformed roots.

Over at the Founder's Ministries blog, Tom Ascol is complaining that a public school in San Diego has adopted a policy that sets aside 15 minutes from classroom instruction each afternoon to accommodate all students who wish to pray.

Shocked that a Southern Baptist leader would oppose a policy that allows for school prayer? You should be. After all, Southern Baptist "conservatives" like Richard Land, Jimmy Draper, Albert Smith and Sam Currin (to name a few) have been backing School Prayer amendments and bills since the Reagan years.

Well, here's the rub....

The San Diego school that Ascol is griping about has a large Somali Muslim population.

Ascol concludes:

Our government elementary and secondary school system is irreparably broken. There are obvious exceptions from classroom to classroom and even from school to school, but the system is beyond repair. We no longer have a Christian worldview underpinning the efforts to educate the populace. McGuffey's Readers (in their original form) would never be allowed in most modern government classrooms. Though I realize that this issue is laden with difficulties and often addressed unhelpfully shrill voices, I am more convinced than ever that Christians need to start developing exit strategies for our children to leave government schools. By all means, let's keep sending Christian teachers to the classrooms. They should go as missionaries who recognize that they are invading territory that is hostile to the claims of our Savior.

Education cannot be morally neutral. All teaching has an unavoidable perspective. The widespread perspective of our government schools has moved from a basically Christian worldview, to a secular worldview into rapidly developing anti-Christian worldviews that play right into the hands of radical Islamists who are unhesitant to work pluralism to their advantage as they plot to move from tolerance to equality to supremacy. If you doubt their goals you have not listened to their proclamations.

The battle against Islam will not be fought primarily on foreign fields and will certainly not be won by guns and smart bombs. It is an ideological fight. It is a battle for the minds and souls of men and women and boys and girls. Only a muscular, vigorous, radically biblical Christianity can prevail. The insipid versions that dominate the American landscape--including the evangelical landscape--cannot stand against militant Islam. Only the true Gospel of Jesus Christ will do. And it is that Gospel that, I believe, has been largely lost or forgotten by many in our day who name the Name of Christ and assume that they understand and believe what He taught.

Yes, folks, by extending the right to religious expression to Muslims, we are playing into the hands of "radical Islamists." Apparently giving 2nd graders the right to voluntary prayer is the first step in a Muslim machination to achieve Islamic supremacy!!! Horse hockey!!

Further, it's quite curious that Ascol decides to play the "separation" card when it's non-Christians that are attempting to pray. Does Ascol not recognize that this is the type of accommodationism that Southern Baptist "conservatives" spent years pleading for? Heck, Southern Baptists demonstrated that they were willing to abandon their separationist Heritage when they terminated a 50-year long relationship with the Baptist Joint Committee in order to promote the accommodationism of Dick Land & Company.

Does Ascol realize that his position has put him at odds with official SBC church-state guru, Richard Land (aka I Heart Freddy T.)?

Land and his Cooperative Program-funded Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission would most certainly approve of a policy that provides extensive religious accommodation in public schools. In his book, The Divided States of America, Land argues that religious and nonreligious minorities would not have the right to equal time, only the right to equal access. Thus, schools like the one in San Diego with a very large Muslim population would be accommodated with more time than fellow Evangelical students to express their religious beliefs voluntarily in a public setting. That's Ascol's Cooperative Program dollars at work....

While I argue that many of Land's church-state views such as above are contrary to the historic Baptist principles of religious liberty and an unfettered conscience, I wholeheartedly agree that public schools should accommodate the religious rights of students. But this accommodation must be made without disrupting the learning process or interfering with the rights of others. Our government must protect the religious expression of Muslims and Christians alike provided that the right to engage in voluntary prayer "does not include the right to have a captive audience to listen."

Finally, it's unfortunate that another well-known SBCer has decided that it's in the best interest of Christians to abandon the public school system. Fellow Calvinist and Ascol compadre Voodie Bauchum recently declared: "I want to bankrupt the American educational establishment one student at a time." This rhetoric is not helpful. But I digress....

I'll close with a quote that I encountered while studying religion at the University of Georgia...

"The process of pluralism is never complete but is the ongoing work of each generation. In America, we might go further to say that part of the engagement of pluralism is participating in the 'idea of America.'"

Universalist Addresses Southern Baptist Convention

Barely two months ago, Rev. Wade Burleson caught hell for his decision to meet with President Jimmy Carter and other organizers of the New Baptist Covenant. The Baptist Blogosphere was flooded with allegations that President Carter was a Universalist - one who believes that all will be saved and spared from hell. Suffice it to say, Carter got kicked around pretty good by his fellow Baptist-brethren for a week or so. Al Mohler even took the time to opine. This internet saga culminated with a thoughtful EthicsDaily op-ed penned by Brian Kaylor entitled Jimmy Carter Is Not The Anti-Christ.

Since his election in 2000, President George W. Bush has addressed the Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention almost every year usually live via satellite. A "born-again evangelical Christian," President Bush has also been a fan favorite among Southern Baptists and their leaders. Richard Land loves Dubya. Heck, Southern Baptists love Dubya so much that their publishing arm has printed a Bible that includes George W. Bush quotes!

Bush may be born-again and I have no reason to doubt that his faith in Jesus Christ is genuine. But dangit, he's a Universalist! Check out the video from just days before the 2004 election:

Charlie Gibson: Do we all worship the same God, Christians and Muslims?

President Bush: I think we do. We have different routes of getting to the Almighty.

Charlie Gibson: Do Christians and non-Christians, do Muslims go to heaven in your mind?

President Bush: Yes, they do. We have different routes of getting there.

Did I mention that Bush addressed Southern Baptist messengers just a month ago?

Meanwhile, Southern Baptist bloggers and leaders will continue to allege, accuse, moan, and groan each and every time these two words are uttered.........Jimmy Carter.

Richard Land Crushin' on Fred Thompson AGAIN!

We've written about Richard Land's man-crush on Fred Thompson a time or two before.

Tricky Dick has weighed in heavily again on Fred...

"I'm around a lot of Baptists," Land said. "They find Fred Thompson to be a tantalizing combination of charisma, conviction and electability. He's got a Reaganesque ability to connect with ordinary folk that is powerful."

Land added: "He also has the same Teflon coating that Reagan had: Bad stuff just doesn't stick."

Past remarks include:

"This is Fred Thompson's race to lose" he said. "I have never seen anything like this
grassroots swell for Thompson. I'm not speaking for Southern Baptists, but I do believe I have my hand on the pulse of Southern Baptists and I think I know where the consensus is."

"Fred Thompson reminds me of a Southern-fried Reagan...To see Fred work a crowd must be what it was like to watch Rembrandt paint."

Notice how Land keeps comparing Fred to Ronald Reagan....

So, does one need to use the word "endorse" to actually endorse a candidate?

How many Southern Baptists actually knew who Fred Thompson was just four months ago? Other than Tennessee residents, political junkies, and Law & Order addicts such as myself?

Should I be surprised that Land is crushin' on Fred despite his spotty record on abortion?

In 1994, according to news reports, Thompson wrote that the "ultimate decision" about abortion is a woman's and that government should not intervene. On questionnaires he submitted to the Eagle Forum and the Christian Coalition, he said he was opposed to both criminalizing abortion and a constitutional amendment protecting the sanctity of human life.

Reports that Thompson had been hired by the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association to lobby the first Bush administration renewed the questions.

Like Mitt Romney, Tricky Dick frequents the Marriott too!