One of the nation’s largest Christian conservative advocacy organizations Family Research Council hosted its annual Values Voter Summit last week, a four-day digital summit that featured remarks from President Donald Trump as well as other notable politicians, religious leaders and celebrities.
Speakers addressed issues related to abortion, religious liberty, gender identity, the U.S. Supreme Court and the need for prayer as the country faces multiple challenges including a pandemic and social unrest.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Values Voter Summit, an annual conference usually held at a Washington, D.C. hotel and attended by hundreds of social conservatives from across the nation, was virtual this year.
On Wednesday, Southern Baptist leader Al Mohler, head of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, warned that politicians are using the coronavirus pandemic as a pretense to enact policies demonstrating an “overt hostility” toward churches.
The following pages focus on four highlights from Friday, the final night of the 2020 Values Voter Summit.
President Donald Trump, who became the first sitting president to address the annual gathering of social conservatives in 2017, produced two taped segments for this year’s Values Voter Summit that aired at the end of the broadcast Friday night.
In the first segment, filmed outside the White House, Trump touted his administration’s accomplishments on behalf of the pro-life movement and his accomplishments related to religious freedom issues.
Like he does in most stump speeches, Trump also touted his appointment of pro-life judges to the federal courts and two justices to the Supreme Court.
“By the end of my first term, we will have 300, approximately, federal judges, including the court of appeals judges,” he said. “This is something that is a record and a phenomenal number.”
After thanking his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, for leaving more than 100 openings in the federal courts, the president told viewers: “He was not good to you and I am good to you.”
“I am with you 100%. Your White House, your administration stands behind you,” Trump told the gathering. “I especially want to thank you for your prayers on my behalf and also for my family. It’s very much appreciated.”
Vice President Mike Pence made similar comments while speaking at Franklin Graham’s prayer march in Washington on Saturday. Pence noted that the “sweetest words” that he and Trump hear when they traveled the country are: “I’m praying for you.”
In the second video, filmed inside the White House on a later date, Trump specifically referenced the death of Ginsburg.
“We all pay our respects,” Trump said. “Whether you agree or don’t agree with her decisions, we had great respect for her personally.”
The president announced that he was about to choose a replacement for Ginsburg.
“I think you’re going to be extremely happy, whether it’s pro-life you’re talking about, whether it’s your Second Amendment that you’re talking about, no matter what you’re talking about,” Trump assured. “I think you’re going to be extremely pleased, [and] extremely happy.”
On Saturday, Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett, a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, one day after the 2020 Values Voter Summit concluded.
Benjamin Watson: Abortion is an ‘indictment of America’
Earlier in the evening, FRC President Tony Perkins interviewed former National Football League tight end Benjamin Watson.
Watson, an outspoken Christian who often speaks out about issues of injustice, is an executive producer for a new documentary on abortion in the United States titled “Divided Hearts of America.”
Perkins played a preview of the documentary, which features appearances from Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson, pro-life activist Alveda King, South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott and pro-life Democratic State Sen. Katrina Jackson of Louisiana.
Watson described abortion as a “justice issue,” comparing it to sex trafficking, racial injustice, poverty, homelessness and religious persecution.
“It’s incumbent upon us to always stand for the most vulnerable among us and we believe that is the child that is defenseless in the mother’s womb,” he said.
While Watson acknowledged the importance of overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide, he stressed that arguably the more important battles will take place at the state, local and even neighborhood level.
“All of us that are in our different states have to realize that there’s work to do on this issue with our next-door neighbors, with our local state governments … with the men and women that we come across every single day,” he explained. “There’s important work to be done at the state level that may, in some respects, be more important than what happens at the Supreme Court level.”
Watson said that he hopes the film will “facilitate and force civic discussion, civil discourse [and] understanding.”
“I want people to come into the film and to learn,” he said.
“This documentary is not propaganda. I wanted this to be educational. I learned a lot. I wanted to learn about the history of abortion law in this country but also of the overarching history of where the ideas of abortion came from, how we got to this place, what’s going to happen if we don’t address this, what happens if we don’t change course.”
The Super Bowl XXXIX champion said that he wanted to hear personal stories.
“I want people to come in from all sides, whether they have deep convictions that are in the pro-life community or even deep convictions in the pro-choice community, and think about this issue differently than when they came in,” Watson said.
He explained that he is seeking to “change the culture.”
“My wife and I … live by Micah 6:8 … ‘Do justice, love kindness or mercy, and walk humbly with your God,’” the former University of Georgia standout stated. “We see this as a way for us to do justice, we see this … as a way for us to love kindness and to walk humbly in doing what He has given us to do for this time.”
When asked if abortion was racist, Watson answered in the affirmative. Talking about Planned Parenthood’s origins in the eugenics movement and the location of many abortion clinics in minority neighborhoods, Watson declared “there is a racism that is baked into the abortion industry.”
“The abortion industry benefits from racism that is baked into a lot of other industries in our country,” he asserted.
Watson cited racial disparities in the criminal justice system, housing and wealth as reasons why abortion rates are higher in minority communities.
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SOURCE: Christian Post, Ryan Foley
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