Tom Ascol, a prominent Southern Baptist pastor and the founder of Founders Ministries, publicly criticized Brent Leatherwood, the president of the ERLC, and Bart Barber, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, for their recent remarks on President Biden’s State of the Union address. In a series of tweets, Ascol pointed out that the President’s stance on abortion has not changed, and that both Leatherwood and Barber are unreasonable in their assessment of the situation.
Ascol argues that Leatherwood is intentionally soft-peddling Biden’s speech in an effort to promote the acceptance of Democrat policy in the Church. In his tweets, Ascol stated, “If it is their perception that POTUS has shifted his view on abortion at all then they are sadly mistaken & are being shaped by something other than facts & reality.” He further noted that the 2022 and 2023 State of the Union addresses had virtually the exact same emphasis on supporting abortion, and that President Biden was even more unequivocal in his defense of legal abortion in the 2023 speech.
According to Ascol, Barber is equally naive in his agreement with Leatherwood’s assessment. Ascol wrote, “Given these facts, why would Brent & Bart claim that POTUS is in any way less confident in his abortion agenda?…They are for abortion for any reason at any time & they want our tax dollars to pay for it. They have not backed away from this radical pro-death position one iota.”
Ascol’s comments reflect a growing concern among many Christians that the Democratic party’s stance on abortion is becoming increasingly radical, and that leaders in the Church are not doing enough to address the issue. Ascol argues that it is past time for Christians and people of good will to stand up and call for an end to abortion, and for equal protection under the law for all pre-born children. He states, “It is a dereliction of duty to do anything less.”
Tom Ascol’s criticism of Brent Leatherwood and Bart Barber highlights the growing apostasy within the Southern Baptist Convention over the issue of abortion. While some leaders are advocating for a more nuanced approach to the issue, conservatives are rightly calling for a more forceful stance against abortion and the Democratic party’s pro-choice policies. Sadly, it seems as though the conservatives are in the minority.
