Cruelty Is Apostasy

Reflections on Beth Moore’s departure from the Southern Baptist Convention.

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565

It’s not often that a single person’s decision to leave a Christian denomination dominates the pages of Christianity Today, the Washington Post, and New York Times, but when that person is Beth Moore, one of America’s most popular Bible teachers, and she’s leaving the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, that attention is justified. 

But is the commentary surrounding her departure hitting the mark? Is it capturing what’s really going on? I’m not sure. But first, let’s briefly discuss the facts.

Beth is a longtime Southern Baptist. She has filled arenas and reached millions with her Bible studies. And while she’s always been the subject of some controversy in a denomination that often wrestles with questions surrounding women’s roles preaching and teaching, she lived happily within the Baptist theological tent. 

As Bob Smietana wrote when he broke the news of her departure, Moore “support[ed] Southern Baptist teaching that limits the office of pastor to men alone” and was an important cheerleader “for the missions and evangelistic work that the denomination holds dear.” What happened? Here’s Smietana again:

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  1. Avatar photo
    Donny from Queens

    At some point we just need to excommunicate these people and move on.

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  2. Tom (Inadvertent Obfuscation)

    Thanks for this analysis! You've clarified what I had sometimes seen in myself. That vague realization led me to turn to The Dispatch.

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  3. Danny Grizzle

    A few weeks ago Stirewalt blamed education for the civic rot exhibited recently, and the seemingly unfathomable stupidity and cruelty of some Americans. Would you say its fair to point to Sunday schools and pastoral education of the flock for the unChristian behavior written about in the French Press?

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    Michael Dan Martin

    The only thing I don't like about this article is the phrase "biblical evidence". It may be a step removed from "biblical commands" but still smacks to me of legalism. "Biblical evidence" is what Beth Moore's critics used against her. She was weighed by legalists and found wanting. The answer to that is not to find your own competing evidence and then taking it to court.

    I believe I come from the same fundamentalist bleeding into evangelical background as Mr. French and it is difficult not to resort to those legalist modes of argument. But they diminish the gospel.

    Perhaps this will be seen as a nit-pick. I don't mean it that way. For me it is central for understanding the power of the scriptures.

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    Dan Francis

    I just finished a series on Galatians 5 and your thoughts were my thoughts, ... thanks for your weekly clarity on the stuff that matters.

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  6. Curtis Jensen

    I keep being surprised by David’s reactions to developments in the Evangelical church. Most of the evangelicals in my neighborhood were quite certain that Obama was the antichrist because he had dark skin and was well spoken. I’m surprised he hasn’t encountered more of this over the past decade.

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    Kevin C. Smith

    Beautiful (about something so not).

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  8. Mathew A

    By far one of your best messages.

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  9. Jeffrey Tucker

    I think this is one of the best pieces David French has ever written. So true and powerful. For the life of me, I have not been able to figure out why the Evangelical Church has chosen to carry Donald Trump's water. I get why they voted for him...I just don't understand why they choose to defend so much of his indefensible behavior. I do however, have one point of contention with this article. Mr. French states:

    "No one should look at the cross (or at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma) and think it is easy to display these virtues. God help me, I fail all the time. But the fruits of the spirit are among the defining elements of the Christian life and the Christian witness."

    The cross should NEVER be compared to any other symbol or event, human or otherwise. The events in Selma that day are a watershed moment in our nation's history and in the history of the civil rights movement but they are not comparable, in any way, to what happened on the cross. The death of Jesus on the cross and his subsequent resurrection are the defining events of all human history. To compare an event in the civil rights movement (albeit a very important one) to what happened on the cross 2000 years ago do both a monumental disservice.
    Other than that...well done Mr. French. Kudos to you.

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  10. Hector Padron

    This is a bunch of malarkey, David. Beth Moore endorses the Social Gospel (SG) and, now that social justice is in vogue, she's "come out of the closet". She's a Baptist ala Jimmy Carter and is better aligned with the GBC. For years, Life Way benefited from the millions of $ she generated. The SBC had their own bona-fide version of Joyce Myers, but cloaked in the Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M). Her theological differences and aspirations (which I suspect will come to light soon now that she's leaving the SBC) were flying beneath the radar until she revealed them on Twitter. Clearly, her position was in violation of the SBCs BF&M. Beyond her SG bent, many of her teachings wreak of heresy leading many evangelicals to warn of her teachings pre-Trump.

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    1. Beth

      Which position of Moore’s was in violation of SBC’s BF&M ( and what is BF&M)?

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      1. Hector Padron

        Critics who asked her to clarify her teaching and position on same-sex orientation. Please read the entirety of the post above...Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M). There is plenty of room for believers to have different political views but there's no wiggle room on moral matters.

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        1. Beth

          I read the entirety of your post - my brain clearly skimmed over where you used the BF&M phrase in its entirety. I was simply asking for clarification, because "social gospel" means different things to different people. To you, it refers to same-sex orientation? Does it encompass race-related matters? Just trying to understand.

          In what way is she similar to Joyce Meyer, who for years promoted prosperity gospel?

          Moore stated in 2019 "I hold firmly to a traditional Christian sexual ethic and continue to believe the Bible sets apart marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman. But I also believe that Scripture clearly teaches that all sex outside of marriage is contrary to God‘s will."

          How is that using "wiggle room" on moral matters? Because she wouldn't use the exact words others wanted her to use?

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          1. Hector Padron

            Thank you, Beth for giving me the opportunity to clarify for you and anyone else which may not fully comprehend why conservative Evangelicals are so opposed to the Social Gospel (SG)...especially those of us that fled repressive Socialist governments.

            While the SG may mean different things to different people but what it really is - especially in its modern form - is ascribing to Christianity a Marxist philosophy on ethics and economics. And, everything associated to a Marxist worldview is antithetical to Christianity (on ethics, private property, wealth, human/race relations, the role of the State, etc.)

            You ask, "does it entail race-related matters?" Of course it does. Marxism fuels envy and covetousness through race-related matters. It seeks to divide people by race (color) or economic line (haves and have nots) - even destroying families all to gain the approval of the masses in order to destroy God ordained institutions (State, Church, and Family). It is the enemy of unity and the cause for so much dis-unity in our country today.

            In what way is Mrs. Moore similar to Joyce Meyer - she preaches to men and women alike. Mrs. Moore confessed to having preached at an undisclosed SBC church - again - clearly violating the SBCs BF&M. While one may or may not support the SBCs stance on female preachers, it is irrelevant. She was part of an organization that clearly opposed such practices and she willing violated those rules after having referred to it as "sexism".

            Mrs. Moore may have stated that she held to traditional sexual ethics but she wouldn't precisely define what those sexual ethics entailed. In an open letter (https://michellelesley.com/2019/06/19/an-open-letter-to-beth-moore/) to her from female teachers asking her, in fact, begging her to clear up her position, Mrs. Moore was silent. As a "teacher" of the Bible, she has the duty to be clear and upfront with her beliefs (which must match the Bible she so professes). She could have simply replied with "chapter and verse" but she didn't. For this reason, she has no wiggle room.

            As believers of Jesus Christ, we're called to love all - even the most flagrant of sinners - but we're not called to affirm their lifestyles.

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          2. Beth

            You mentioned "plenty of room for believers to have different political views." What does that mean when it comes to politics? Can have differing views on economic issues? Legal issues? What "moral" things should be codified into law and what shouldn't?

            Just trying to understand your position in full.

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