Posted on 06/01/2012 12:50:28 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The country’s largest evangelical Christian denomination on Friday announced it is reprimanding one of its top officials over comments he made regarding the Trayvon Martin case, pledging to cancel the official’s national radio show.
The trustee committee of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission announced two reprimands on Friday for Richard Land, who leads public policy efforts for the Southern Baptists, according to the official press arm.
The first reprimand was for remarks Land - one of the country's most powerful evangelical leaders - made about the Martin case. The second was because Land lifted some remarks from another source on his radio show without using attribution.
The commission will move to terminate Land’s radio program, “Richard Land Live!” because of the controversy, the Baptist Press reported.
In March, Land spoke of African-American activists and the Rev. Al Sharpton as “racial ambulance chasers” in the Martin case, in which the 17-year-old was shot to death in Florida by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.
“When there is violence it’s going to be Jesse Jackson’s fault,” Land said on his show, according to the Religion News Service. “It’s going to be Al Sharpton’s fault. It’s going to be Louis Farrakhan’s fault, and to a certain degree it’s going to be President Obama’s fault.”
On Friday, the trustee executive committee said in a statement that Land’s comments were “very hurtful and offensive to the Trayvon Martin family and too many in the African-American community...
(Excerpt) Read more at religion.blogs.cnn.com ...
I agree, Baptists do for the most part vote very conservatively. My problem with them is that they want to force all their ideals on everybody else, while they do not follow them themselves.
They have some awesome package stores in Tennessee...of course; I wouldn’t have been in there in the FIRST place if they sold ‘Arrogant Bastard’ ale in the grocery stores like most states...
So speaking the truth now gets you punished in the SBC?
If the shoe fits
And what does that have to do with the SBC condemning free speech?
I only have a problem with their hypocrisy. I was married in a Baptist church 34 years ago next Sunday. I do not dislike Baptists, just hypocrisy.
It is an old joke that displays their hypocrisy. They condemn the use of alcohol on minute, but use it when they think nobody is looking.
I agree.
Looks that way, doesn’t it?
I’d support firing him for his apology:
“First, I want to confess my insensitivity to the Trayvon Martin family for my imbalanced characterization of their son which was based on news reports, not personal knowledge. My heart truly goes out to a family whose lives have been turned upside down by the shocking death of a beloved child. I can only imagine their sense of loss and deeply regret any way in which my language may have contributed to their pain.
“Second, I am here to confess that I impugned the motives of President Obama and the reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. It was unchristian and unwise for me to have done so. God alone is the searcher of men’s hearts. I cannot know what motivated them in their comments in this case. I have sent personal letters of apology to each of them asking for them to forgive me. I continue to pray for them regularly, and for our president daily.
“Third, I do not believe that crime statistics should in any way justify viewing a person of another race as a threat. I own my earlier words about statistics; and I regret that they may suggest that racial profiling is justifiable. I have been an outspoken opponent of profiling and was grief-stricken to learn that comments I had made were taken as a defense of what I believe is both unchristian and unconstitutional. I share the dream of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that all men, women, boys, and girls would be judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. Racial profiling is a heinous injustice. I should have been more careful in my choice of words.
“Fourth, I must clarify another poor choice of words. I most assuredly do not believe American racism is a ‘myth’ in the sense that it is imaginary or fictitious. It is all too real and all too insidious. My reference to myth in this case was to a story used to push a political agenda. Because I believe racism is such a grievous sin, I stand firmly against its politicization. Racial justice is a non-partisan ideal and should be embraced by both sides of the political aisle...”
http://bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37795
Weenie.
No they don’t, but you seem to post that a lot, I’m not used to seeing someone focus so much against the people who attend Southern Baptist churches.
I can’t help but wonder why that church? Are you some other religion, or belong to a different denomination, how did it get to be about the actual individuals that make up the Southern Baptists, the best conservatives in America, the heart of the Christian vote?
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