Last fall, Wake Forest School of Divinity scholar John Senior celebrated the release of his first book, which examines the moral complexities that shape how politicians govern. The book also proposes that those who govern should view their positions as…
Christian website calls Trump candidacy a ‘scam’
In a first-ever position statement on a political candidate, the evangelical news-and-commentary website the Christian Post ran an editorial Feb. 29 urging Christians to back away from GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. “As the most popular evangelical news website in the…
Richard Land joins Starbucks red cup fray
By Bob Allen Former Southern Baptist leader Richard Land has added his voice to the latest “war on Christmas” campaign, suggesting Christians should boycott Starbucks over the plain red design of this year’s holiday cup. Land, retired executive director of…
Richard Land: Democrats don’t want gun control but gun ‘confiscation’
By Bob Allen A former Southern Baptist Convention official termed the declaring of certain public areas as “gun-free” zones “an invitation to mayhem,” citing what he said was evidence that increased gun ownership is a deterrent to violent crime. Richard…
Russell Moore, Richard Land, criticize normalizing relations with Cuba
By Bob Allen Both the current and past presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission have criticized President Obama’s recently announced plan to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba. Richard Land, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary who…
Former SBC leader says race a rift in America’s social fabric
By Bob Allen The former ethics spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention says visceral reaction to decisions by grand juries in Ferguson, Mo., and Staten Island, N.Y., not to indict police officers in the deaths of two unarmed African-American males…
Former SBC leader says forcing bakers to serve same-sex weddings ‘anti-Christian bigotry’
By Bob Allen A former Southern Baptist leader says requiring a Christian baker to make a same-sex wedding cake is like forcing black Americans to serve the Ku Klux Klan. Richard Land, retired president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics…
Land: Gay marriage a ‘truth serum’ for evangelicals
By Bob Allen A former Southern Baptist Convention official says gay marriage functions as a “truth serum,” distinguishing real evangelicals from those who don’t affirm the Bible’s authority. Richard Land, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary, wrote a March 27 column…
Former SBC leader warns of ‘thriving business’ behind gay surrogacy
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s former top expert on moral and public policy concerns says same-sex marriage is opening doors for a gay-surrogacy movement that he predicts will be harmful to children. “We’ve conducted a 40-year experiment in…
New ERLC head narrows legislative agenda
By Bob Allen Russell Moore’s legislative agenda for the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission parallels those of his predecessor Richard Land but leaves out concerns embraced by Land, viewed as a leader in the Religious Right. Like Land,…
Right rejects Baptist leader’s ‘pullback’ call
By Bob Allen Southern Baptists’ new leader for public policy concerns is drawing criticism from the Religious Right for public comments calling for a truce in the American culture wars. Russell Moore, the 42-year-old president of the Southern Baptist Ethics…
SBC leader on sidelines in GOP race
By Bob Allen Southern Baptists’ new spokesman for moral and religious-liberty concerns offered a corrective for Christian involvement in politics in a wide-ranging, 45-minute interview July 8 on C-SPAN. “I think there was a day when evangelical Christians in America…




