I mean, if any Southern Baptist church member walked into her pastor’s office and asked him these questions and he equivocated, refused to answer, or couldn’t biblically answer them, he would be flirting with violating the SBC requirement that churches hold a biblical stance on homosexuality or face being disfellowshipped. If the SBC is going to make homosexuality the iconic issue on which we judge churches and authors, why should Beth, as LifeWay’s best selling author, and the best known and most influential Southern Baptist in the world not have to make it clear where she stands on homosexuality? If any Southern Baptist should have to clearly and publicly declare where she stands on the issue of homosexuality, it’s Beth. I have no doubt that she influences more Christians than the president of the SBC, the heads of all SBC entities, and all SBC pastors. Largely because the world has made homosexuality the litmus test of “Are you for us or against us?” the Southern Baptist Convention has, not unwisely, also made it a litmus test for whether or not churches can be in cooperation with the SBC and whether or not LifeWay will carry an author’s materials (we’ve seen this with Jen Hatmaker, Eugene Peterson, etc.).īeth Moore is the best known Southern Baptist in the world, hands down. (Again, I did not write it, though I do not fault the author for omitting this point.) It is my business and that of every single one of the 14.8 million other Southern Baptists out there. One of the reasons I personally believe it is very much my business is not mentioned in the letter. Asking what Beth believes about homosexuality is a legitimate biblical question that cannot be credibly answered with, “None of your business.” Asking a Bible teacher questions about what she believes about the Bible is perfectly reasonable, especially when that Bible teacher has decades of experience, is an evangelical celebrity, and publicly shares what she believes about the Bible on various topics every day on Twitter. Those are questions that can rightly be answered with, “None of your business.” The questions we have asked are more akin to asking a politician, “What is your position on the First Amendment?” If someone asked a politician that question in a public setting, we would find it very odd if he did not answer and his supporters told the questioner it was none of her business.īeth Moore has said repeatedly that she has been a Bible teacher for forty years. This is not a personal question like, “Boxers or briefs?” or “How’s your relationship with your husband?”. Ironically, the people who have asked this question consider it their business to know why it is our business.įirst of all, let’s clarify something. Why is Beth Moore’s position on homosexuality any of your business? It is to learn Beth Moore’s position on homosexuality in light of the fact that she has been virtually silent on this issue.ģ. The purpose of the letter should be self-evident if read carefully in its entirety. Most of the original signers have also posted the letter at their websites. I was asked to give input on the letter, be one of the original signers, and help publicize the letter, and I agreed to do so. I didn’t (long-time readers can probably tell from the format and phraseology), and it was not my idea. If you’re not familiar with the context of this article, please read An Open Letter to Beth Moore – Timeline of Events.ġ. Your comment will not appear immediately, since I manually approve comments.) (Ladies who would like to add your signature to the letter- click the link above, scroll all the way down, and add a comment in the comment box. Since the publication of the Open Letter to Beth Moore, several questions have arisen that I’d like to address in today’s edition of The Mailbag.
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