Over the past hundred years, countless Protestant denominations in the West have fallen prey to theological liberalism.
Those threats still exist today.
Though they may no longer come in the form of directly questioning the resurrection and other miraculous elements of the Bible, they do come in the form of questioning the Bible’s teachings on issues like marriage, sex, and the nature of men and women.
Such battles are raging even in the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest association of Protestant churches and the main bulwark of conservative evangelicalism in our land.
The denomination is still broadly conservative among everyday pastors and laymen, but among its institutional elites, there is a noticeable woke and progressive steer occurring.
Look no further than the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the policy entity that is supposed to take the main ethical priorities of Southern Baptists to the public square.
On countless pressing issues in recent years, the ERLC has subverted rather than represented Southern Baptists, a problem that has become so severe that a sizable minority of attendees at last year’s annual meeting supported a motion to abolish the ERLC altogether.
Southern Baptist pastor David Schrock, who leads the ministry Christ Over All, helpfully summarized some of the main concerns with the ERLC ahead of the next annual meeting in a few months, especially as the ERLC goes on something of an image rehabilitation campaign.
For one, Schrock noted that the ERLC has been adopting a “whole life pro-life” position that muddles a clarion opposition to abortion by extending “the pro-life concern from babies to immigrants, refugees, the elderly, and beyond.”
Even worse, ERLC President Brent Leatherwood signed a letter three years ago joining with pro-life establishment lobbies to oppose a bill in Louisiana that would have fully abolished abortion, doubling down on the dying establishment pro-life claim that women are second victims of their own willful abortion decisions.
For another, Schrock recalled that Russell Moore, the predecessor of Leatherwood who is currently busy running Christianity Today into the ground, defended the ERLC’s decision to write an amicus brief “in support of a New Jersey mosque.”
Moore even “infamously rebuked a Southern Baptist pastor” for questioning the decision, which was made on the basis of supporting a general religious liberty in America.
Schrock also referenced concerns with the ERLC’s involvement in the Evangelical Immigration Table, an entity that supports granting legal status to illegal aliens and opposes border security measures.
Schrock then invited Leatherwood to “make a case for the best version of the ERLC.”
“In light of the recent call for abolition and the questions about leadership at the ERLC, what do Southern Baptists need to know about the ERLC?” he asked. “What is the best version of the ERLC going forward?”
When reading through these actions from the ERLC, it’s no wonder that many Southern Baptists want it abolished at this point.
Southern Baptists want abortion banned and borders closed, and they do not want their tithe dollars being used to keep mosques open.
They deserve a public policy arm that will faithfully represent those interests.
The ERLC, as noted by Schrock, is trying desperately to rehabilitate its own image.
But unless there are meaningful changes to that end, then there should indeed be serious questions about whether the ERLC even deserves to exist.
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