A veteran leader of the “conservative resurgence” in the Southern Baptist Convention has publicly challenged Al Mohler’s Christian nationalism.
Richard Land is the former head of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. He was a foot soldier in the conservative movement in the SBC, beginning from a position at Criswell College in Dallas and then rising to national prominence.
Richard Land
Now, in an opinion piece for Christian Post, Land is challenging Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and one of the most influential voices in the SBC today.
During a debate on Christian nationalism at New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho, Mohler asserted that officeholders should make “public and authentic acknowledgment of the nation’s formal commitment to the God of the Bible, specifically the Holy Trinity,” and “an acknowledgement of the binding moral authority of the Bible, including both the Old and New Testaments.”
Mohler is a contributor to a new book published by Doug Wilson’s Canon Press titled Five Views on Christian Nationalism. Wilson is an Idaho pastor who is a self-described Christian nationalist who believes America was founded as a “Christian nation” and women should not be allowed to vote.
Mohler raised eyebrows for affiliating with Wilson, who is a spiritual adviser to U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Land writes that Mohler “espoused several governmental actions that appeared to contradict long articulated, deeply held Baptist beliefs on religious liberty and separation of church and state.”
What Mohler has proposed is a “religious test” for political office that is directly prohibited by the U.S. Constitution, Land said. “Thomas Jefferson, a Unitarian, would be disqualified from holding office, much less being president.”
Although sympathetic to Mohler’s desire for conservative Christians to serve in public office, “the only Baptist and constitutional way to do that is by electing them to office, not disqualifying those who do not meet these spiritual standards,” he wrote. “Who is going to adjudicate Mohler’s suggested legal standards? What does ‘authentic acknowledgment’ mean? What are the ‘acceptable’ parameters of belief or unbelief?”
Land says Mohler’s proposal is no different than “liberals who seek to disqualify Christian believers from running for office because it violates their twisted understanding of separation of church and state.”
Land concludes: “Religious liberty and ‘soul freedom’ are at the bedrock of Baptist convictions along with ‘salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.’ Aside from protecting religious freedom, it is always best to keep government out of religion. While I believe Mohler’s concerns are real, and I sympathize with them, I believe his prescription would sadly lead to severely diminished ‘soul freedom.’ I fervently pray he will reconsider his position.”
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Understanding Al Mohler’s case against women | Analysis by Rick Pidcock