SBC’s Land Comments on Roberts’ Nomination

By staff - Jul 20, 2005 - comment

Dr. Richard Land commented Tuesday on President Bush’s nomination of Judge John Roberts Jr., to the Supreme Court after the president’s official announcement.

Roberts’ nomination follows nearly three weeks of national speculation about who would take the place of retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

“President Bush promised in 2000 and again in 2004 that he would nominate only strict-constructionist, original-intent judges and justices in the Scalia-Thomas mold,” said Land, president of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of The Southern Baptist Convention.

“I have found the president in the 17 years I have known him personally to be a man of integrity and a man of his word. I will trust the president until I have compelling evidence to the contrary. The nomination of Judge Roberts has certainly not given me any reason at present to believe that the president has done anything other than to fulfill his campaign promises.

“Justice-nominee Roberts gives every indication of being the kind of judge that will be a neutral judicial umpire, calling them the way the Constitution sees them, not seeking to ‘fix’ the game by tilting judicial decisions toward those who do not offend his personal sense of right and wrong.”

The Southern Baptist Convention is America’s largest non-Catholic denomination with more than 16.3 million members in 43,024 churches nationwide. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is the SBC’s ethics, religious liberty and public policy agency with offices in Nashville, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C.

Further Learning

Learn more about: Citizenship, National

Post a Comment




Notify me of follow-up comments?

Before You Submit Your Comment (below), Read This:

Thank you for your interest in the ministry of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (SBC).

Comments are moderated to preserve the family-oriented nature of this website and in an attempt to avoid comment spam. We welcome opposing viewpoints, and we will not turn comments away as long as your views are presented with respect to everyone.

Your comments will not appear immediately and are subject to editing or deletion. We will make every attempt to check new comments in a timely manner, though there will likely be delays on the weekends and around holidays.

Please follow the these guidelines to insure your comments will be posted:

  1. Use a real name, at least a real first name. We find folks are less-rude online when not hiding behind a screen-name.
  2. Name-calling and vulgar-language will not be tolerated. Zero-tolerance is our policy. We will not spend time editing profanity. If it contains foul language, your post will be deleted. Oh, and we decide what is and what is not vulgar.
  3. Comments must be on topic. General comments (compliments, complaints, and otherwise) are best delivered here or expressed on your own personal Web site.
  4. And please, do not type in ALL CAPS. It looks like you're screaming at people.

Additionally, within Baptist polity, please recognize that many issues and decisions are addressed at a local church level. SBC denominational (national) offices have no control and desire no control over the activities of a local church. This entity is not responsible for overseeing and insuring the ethical behavior of Southern Baptist pastors or church members. If your concern involves a legal civil or criminal matter, we suggest you contact the proper local officials.

Issues involving pastoral staff or other church members, local Baptist associations or state Baptist conventions are local issues. Therefore the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission cannot and should not address such issues. While we regret we are unable to assist you, we encourage you to seek a biblical resolution of the issue at the local church level. If your question or submission pertains to a matter covered in this text, it is likely we will not acknowledge your submission.

Other than that, we welcome you and hope to see thoughtful discussions at ERLC.com