SBC Leader: Pray, Sometimes Oppose Left-Wing President

By Jennifer Riley, Christian Post Reporter Friday, February 13, 2009

Christians need to always pray and sometimes oppose the left-wing policies of President Barack Obama, said the head of the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention during a radio program that aired this week.

Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), says that while there are several issues his organization would gladly work with the administration on, he urged Christians to continue to oppose Obama's policies on life and marriage.

"First of all, we're commanded to pray for those who are in authority. I pray for his safety; I pray for his family's safety. I pray that God will give him wisdom," Land said on American Family Radio program "Today's Issues" on Tuesday. "I also pray the promise that the heart of a king is in the hands of the Lord and He can turneth it whithersoever He wills. So, I'm praying that God will change Barack Obama's heart and change Barack Obama's mind on those issues where we disagree."

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During the interview, Land compared the justification for abortion to that used by those who supported slavery. The Declaration of Independence says all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, the SBC leader highlighted.

"The only way you can continue to justify slavery in your own mind [while believing in the Declaration of Independence] is to make slaves less than fully human," Land argued.

He then said, "Psychologically, I think the only way you can live with this horrendously pro-choice position is to find ways to deny the full personhood of the unborn child, in the same way that the only way people can live with slavery in the United States is to deny the full personhood of slaves."

Land pledged that he and the ERLC will continue to push for pro-life legislations to protect the unborn child as they work with the Obama administration to reduce abortions.

Finding ways to reduce abortion is among the issues that Land had expressed enthusiasm for in working with the new administration. He also highlighted the administration's desire to promote better fatherhood in the black community.

"He's made some very bold statements about needing to encourage and foster fatherhood in the black community, and the fact that a lot of what ails the black community is a result of fatherlessness," Land said from the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in Nashville. "And of course, he sets a tremendous example for that."

"Whatever else he may be, he gives every indication that he is a devoted husband and a devoted father," the conservative Christian leader said, commending Obama.

The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in America with 16.2 million members.