Mosque in Manhattan – Baptist Round-Up, Part 2

On Friday, I offered a survey of sorts of Baptist responses to the Ground Zero Mosque controversy.

Also on Friday, President Obama had this to say about the controversy:

But let me be clear. As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. (Applause.) And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are. The writ of the Founders must endure.

And then on Saturday, President Obama added:

“I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there,” he said. “I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding.”

Since his Saturday remarks, President Obama has taken quite a bit of heat, has been accused of “backpeddling” and worse.  I don’t see the President as backpeddling.  It’s his job to defend the Constitution, to stand up for our First Amendment freedoms.

And he did just that by boldly stating that Muslims enjoy the same right as everyone else to practice their religion.  Frankly, it’s sad that such a statement is considered bold.  It would be nice if more elected officials would stand up for religious liberty.  As President of the United States, it’s not President Obama’s place to weigh in on whether a religious organization should or should not build a mosque/temple/church here or there.  He can and did affirm their right to build the mosque.  But whether building a mosque in that exact location is wise or not is a completely different question.  And it’s a question that the President – any President – does not need to answer.  President Obama clearly understands this point.

Sarah Palin responded to the President’s Saturday remarks with this tweet:

We all know that they have the right to do it, but should they? This is not above your pay grade.

Well, that’s just not true.  As I wrote on Friday (which the Associated Baptist Press is now reporting here), Richard Land – the Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics guru – has rejected the right of Muslims to place the Mosque near Ground Zero.  Here is Richard Land:

As a Baptist who believes in religious freedom and separation of church and state, I strongly support religious communities’ right to have places of worship within reasonable distance of where they live. However, no religious community has an absolute right to have a place of worship wherever they choose, regardless of the community’s objections.

So, Sarah and Richard are not on the same page.  Perhaps Palin should be a bit more careful about using words like ALL!

A few more Baptists have commented on the Ground Zero Mosque controversy:

Tony Cartledge, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Campbell University Divinity School, has a post titled Build Mosque, Build Goodwill.

David Stratton, pastor of Brunswick Islands Baptist Church in Supply, North Carolina, also has a post worth reading.