Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Evangelical Hypocrisy on Religious Liberty


Dr. Russell Moore is head of the ultra-"conservative" Southern Baptist Convention's "Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee."  He was critical of candidate Trump.

He is currently under attack by "evangelicals" for his comments about post-election American Christians' situation.  Mike Huckabee (himself a Southern Baptist) has said he is "...utterly stunned that Russell Moore is being paid by Southern Baptists to insult them."  Some Baptist leaders and organizations have called for Moore to be fired, or defunded.

Moore's comments actually seem thoughful and conciliatory to me, urging that we act toward each other, and toward the president-elect, with gospel-righteousness.  His essay is posted on his website:

 http://www.russellmoore.com/2016/12/19/election-thoughts-christmastime/

The dispute seems to point up the blatant hypocrisy of much "evangelical" culture: which finds a violation of "religious liberty" in baking a cake for a gay wedding, but itself turns furiously on anyone who questions the "evangelical" politics.

I wrote Dr. Moore a letter of appreciation:


Dear Dr. Moore:

As a former Southern Baptist, I was encouraged to hear on N.P.R. about your comments on American Christians' situation after this year's election.  I came to your website to read your full blog.

The critical responses to your comments highlight a problem among American "evangelicals."  Religious liberty is under attack in America less from a few well-publicized government actions (many of which, in my opinion, are over-blown and "spun" by political manipulators, for their own purposes): religious liberty is under attack from within the "evangelical" movement, when it deviates any whit from the party-line.

More important than our religious liberty in civil law is the attack on any Biblical criticism of "evangelical" politics.  Criticism not only of the personal morals of "evangelicals' " current political darling: criticism of his moral formula, that the unrighteous policies he has promised will "make America great again."

You rightly cite Romans 3:8's reference to the teaching of "do[ing] evil that good may come."   That teaching is wholly contrary to the moral law guaranteed in God's Own Character.  It didn't work for Adam and Eve.  We must be skeptical it will work to "make America great again."

Thank you for challenging American Christians to measure our culture, including the political culture Christians themselves have so widely embraced, by Jesus' righteousness and teachings.  Without such challenges, our faith is entirely a creature of our culture (including our "evangelical" culture), and no good for anything except to be thrown out (Matthew 5:13).

blessings,  ----- -----


 

EXTRA !! EXTRA !! DONALD TRUMP JOINS ISIS !!!!


N.P.R. yesterday interviewed Canadian Graeme Wood, author of The Way of the Stranger.  The book is an expansion of Wood's 2015 cover-story for Atlantic magazine, "What ISIS Really Wants."
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[N.P.R.]: How do they justify the violence?

WOOD: You'll find some who will say the violence is temporary. We are Muslims who are reviving the faith and we have to do this in a fallen world, so we'll cut off the hands of thieves right now. But once the Islamic State is stronger and people realize this is the punishment, we won't have to cut off hands.

[N.P.R.]: The violence is a way to peace?

WOOD: Yes. That's what you find with the nicer ones.

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Note that the "nicer" adherents of ISIS operate by the lie called out in Romans 3:8, that doing evil will bring about good.


Note that Donald Trump joins ISIS in that operative lie, promising that his unrighteous policies will "Make America Great Again."