The convictional but kind approach to cultural engagement promoted by the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) lead ethicist has gained the attention of one of the country’s top newspapers.
The Wall Street Journal profiled Russell D. Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, in a front-page article Oct. 22. The article sets Moore’s approach since taking office in June — maintaining strong biblical stands on such issues as abortion and same-sex “marriage” while communicating kindness and grace to those who disagree — in the context of the change it represents from the previous tone often used by conservative Christian leaders.
Evangelical Christians should soften their rhetoric on controversial cultural issues and resist political battles, The Journal cites Moore as saying. Yet he “insists he isn’t seeking to return the Southern Baptists to a past in which [they] shunned politics entirely,” according to the article.
“We are involved in the political process, but we must always be wary of being co-opted by it,” Moore told reporter Neil King Jr. “Christianity thrives when it is clearest about what distinguishes it from the outside culture.”
While Moore calls for a kinder tone, the article reported that he has not shifted his positions: “He equates abortion with the evils of slavery, considers homosexuality a sin and insists the Southern Baptist Convention will never support gay marriage.” Moore said there is “no doctrinal daylight,” as The Journal described it, between the SBC and him.
A political and cultural shift among young evangelicals, according to the article, helps explain why Moore faces a different challenge than did Richard Land, who served as the ERLC’s president for a quarter of a century before his retirement this year.
The transformation from an expectation of quick fixes politically and culturally demonstrates a new awareness among evangelicals, said Mark Dever, senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, D.C.
“What is happening right now with evangelicals is a disabusing of any idea of a simple victory of the right in a fallen world,” Dever told The Journal. “They realize that is not going to happen.”
But Moore’s stance is also drawing some criticism from the Religious Right.
Conservative groups such as the American Family Association (AFA) took strong exception to Moore’s views.
“Since one man’s ‘pullback’ is another’s ‘full-scale retreat,’ social conservatives have a right to raise questions about the new course Moore is setting for the SBC,” commented Bryan Fischer, director of issues analysis for AFA.
Sandy Rios, a Fox News contributor who hosts a daily talk show on American Family Radio (AFR), said Christians are compelled to speak the truth — even when it’s difficult and unpopular to do so.
“Whether Russell Moore wants it to be a war or not, it is a war,” she stated on AFR. “Southern Baptists are going to suffer — there will be jobs lost; I would imagine we will be the targets of punishment by the IRS. This is a war whether he wants it to be or not.” (BP, ABP)
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