SBC presidential hopeful Tom Ascol weighed in with his opinion by tweeting a screenshot of Leatherwood’s statement and saying, “This!?! From @ERLC funded by SBC churches!”
“This judge can’t define a ‘woman,’ gave slaps on the wrist to child sex abusers, advocates for the murder of babies, & is celebrated by NARAL,” Ascol continued, referencing NARAL Pro-Choice America, a pro-choice advocacy group. “And we should ‘appreciate’ her appointment? We should weep! #changethedirection.”
After some prodding from other SBC leaders, fellow SBC presidential candidate Bart Barber also weighed in.
“I’ve spent weeks now saying that the intrusion of secular politics into our work as a family of churches is doing great harm to our fellowship,” Barber said. “Although I have actually commented somewhat indirectly on this platform before about one of her answers to a question during her confirmation, which would probably give you your answer, here’s my official answer.”
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Barber went on to express that offering “a take on everything happening in Washington isn’t even remotely part of the constitutional duties of the SBC President,” and that if elected to the office, he plans on focusing on those duties.
Though Barber is avidly pro-life, he said, “The fact that this is the sort of ‘question for the candidates’ that surfaces, and not anything to do with the core mission of the SBC or the president’s role in that mission, confirms for me the urgency of remaining firm about my not contributing to this sort of distraction.”
Other conservatives expressed their support for celebrating the historic nature of Jackson’s appointment, including Daniel Darling, best-selling author and director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Seminary.
“I disagree with her judicial philosophy but I celebrate the history of Judge Jackson’s appointment and am praying for wisdom and discernment as she serves on the highest court,” Darling said in a separate tweet.
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Radio host Erick Erickson expressed support for the statement Leatherwood made on behalf of the ERLC, saying, “If you’re a Christian offended by @LeatherwoodTN saying this, you’re putting worldly partisanship ahead of Christian loving your neighbor and you might need to get off Twitter for a bit.”
