Once again Christian leader Beth Moore has rocked the evangelical boat. Moore wrote a handful of tweets about the need for Christian leaders to succinctly call out white supremacy as evil and refuse to “shrink back in cowardice” by being silent.
The full statement Moore offered in a series of three tweets is as follows:
Any “Christ” that can be invoked in support of white nationalism is a false Christ of the highest, most hellish order. An anti-Christ. A wholly-opposite christ. No such christ is the Christ Jesus of Scripture who taught His followers a love that sacrifices life & limb for others.
Let it be known, let it be declared by genuine followers of Jesus, that the man who opened fire in El Paso may invoke a Christ of some kind but it is NOT our Christ. His Christ would be unrecognizable to us. Unrecognizable in Scripture. We claim no Christ of white nationalism.
Christian leaders, LEAD. Do not shrink back in cowardice. Be bold. Be clear. Do not assume people know where you stand. History will prove this to be a most critical hour and our silence to have been our shameful complicity.
Moore doesn’t implicate any leaders in her tweet for being complicit in the evil of white supremacy, rather her words read more as a pep talk.
What Are Other Southern Baptist Leaders Saying About the Shootings and White Supremacy?
According to Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the shootings reiterated the fact that humanity’s real problem is evil. Speaking in his daily Briefing on August 5, he also pointed out the “absurd” depths of violence an “alienated young male” is capable of perpetrating; however he doesn’t mention white supremacy, except when quoting an article published in the Wall Street Journal.
Russell Moore, the president of the Southern Baptist’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee, had a more straightforward condemnation of white supremacy. Russell Moore called the shooting in El Paso an act of “white nationalist terrorism” and presented the argument that the Gospel clearly stands in opposition to evil in general and things like racism and nationalism in particular.
Russell Moore’s reasoning behind the argument that racism and nationalism are condemned in the Bible is similar to Tim Keller’s observations about the book of Jonah. Keller hasn’t made a statement about these most recent rounds of shootings (nor is he affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention), but given his previous statements expressing concern over growing nationalism in America, it appears he agrees, at least in theory, with Russell Moore and Beth Moore.
Other leaders have been even more specific in their assessment of the problem, such as author Trillia Newbell and author and pastor Malcolm Yarnell.
Every responsible Christian theologian must thoroughly denounce racist and misogynist ideologies, attitudes, and actions.
The vicious anthropologies of the past must be seen for the derivative heresies they are.
If you diminish God’s image, you have diminished God himself. https://t.co/S72CFRTCLZ
— Malcolm Yarnell (@myarnell) August 5, 2019
Author and pastor Alan Cross had something to say, too:
White Supremacy Is Evil.
White Nationalism Is Evil.
We’ve dealt w/ this evil for 300+ yrs. We should be able to recognize it.But, don’t expect moral clarity today from those who think they benefit from it, who see its adherents as their base, either in politics or in church.
— Alan Cross (@AlanLCross) August 4, 2019
Ed Stetzer didn’t mince words in his tweet:
Racism, white nationalism, and white supremacy all make no sense if you are a Christian. Christians literally worship a dark-skinned, Jewish savior from the Middle East. Not only is racism sinful, it is remarkably stupid for anyone who identifies as a Christian.
— Ed Stetzer (@edstetzer) August 4, 2019
And then there are these comments from the President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS), Adam Greenway and Pastor Dwight McKissic:
Grateful beyond measure to hear a word of compassionate identification with those who weep, & a prophetic rebuke of the racial/ethnic/superiority ideology that obviously drove the El Paso shooter. Hearing this from my SBC/SWBTS Seminary President is especially encouraging. Thx. https://t.co/mxR5v6Aq48
— Dwight McKissic (@pastordmack) August 4, 2019
