Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, sparked controversy this week by stating that Christians are “unfaithful” if they “vote wrongly.” Mohler is a staunch Republican, and many interpreted the comments as condemning Christians who vote Democrat.
“We have a responsibility to make certain that Christians understand the stewardship of the vote, which means the discipleship of the vote, which means the urgency of the vote, the treasure of the vote,” Mohler said. “And they need to understand that insofar as they do not vote, or they vote wrongly, they are unfaithful because the vote is a powerful stewardship.”
The comments were made Wednesday at the Family Research Council’s Pray Vote Stand Summit in Atlanta, Georgia, and sparked strong backlash.
“Here we have a sitting president of an sbc (Southern Baptist Convention) seminary who is emphatically saying to vote ‘wrongly’ matters to God,” tweeted prominent Texas Pastor Dwight McKissic. “Voting ‘wrongly’ to Mohler means voting Dem. God is not a Dem or Republican. To imply that voting exclusively Republican is God’s choice defies Jhn. 18:36”
In a follow-up tweet, McKissic said Mohler had also “categorized 90% of African Americans as non-Christians. This statement places the SBC in opposition to Black Christians. Painful & shameful.”
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Mohler is saying if you don’t vote Republican, you aren’t a Christian. He just categorized 90% of African Americans as non-Christians. This statement places the SBC in opposition to Black Christians. Painful & shameful. https://t.co/dsw9GBO8fn
— Dwight McKissic (@pastordmack) September 15, 2022
Expressing a similar view was popular author and historian, Beth Allison Barr. She tweeted: “Because I thought being a Christian was about Jesus. Who knew it was actually about voting Republican.”
Because I thought being a Christian was about Jesus. Who knew it was actually about voting Republican.
— Beth Allison Barr, PhD (@bethallisonbarr) September 16, 2022
Likewise, Scott Coley, a philosophy professor at Mount St. Mary’s University, tweeted: Either evangelical gatekeepers have lost the ability to distinguish their own opinions from the will of God, or they’re aware that they have no actual argument to make and so they’ve resorted to claiming that we should share their opinions because God says so.”
Mohler responded to the backlash boldly.
“If you are offended that I encourage Christians to vote FOR candidates who defend the unborn and support the integrity of marriage and to vote AGAINST candidates who support abortion and subvert marriage, that has been my message for my entire adult life,” he tweeted.
Mohler directed people to his website and added, “It’s not like the argument is in secret code. I am confident the vast majority of Southern Baptist agree.”
More than 2,100 people liked Mohler’s tweet.
It’s all there on the record in written form for you to read. Better make a strong cup of coffee, there are a few million words. I direct you to https://t.co/Frg6grY0D6. It’s not like the argument is in secret code. I am confident the vast majority of Southern Baptists agree. 2/2
— Albert Mohler (@albertmohler) September 15, 2022
“More importantly God agrees,” responded Robert Bortins, CEO of the homeschool education company Classical Conversations,” in support of Mohler.
More importantly God agrees
— Refining Rhetoric (@TheRobertBshow) September 16, 2022
Similarly, John Kuykendall, pastor of a Baptist church in Missouri, tweeted, “Keep standing. Those who are offended deserve to be so.”
But others took exception.
“To be clear . . . I renounce his statement and I believe that a fair segment of the SBC joins me,” tweeted Dave Miller, an SBC pastor from Sioux City, Iowa. “We are saved by grace, not by voting GOP. . .”
Pastor Joel A. Bowman Sr., a Black pastor whose church recently left the SBC, tweeted that Mohler had “doubled down on his belief that the bulk of Black Christians are ‘unfaithful’ because they vote for Democrats. . . . (T)he SBC is not a very safe place for Black people.”
Bowman added in a follow-up tweet, “When the seminary presidents are willing to oppose what they deem to be ‘critical race theorists,’ rather than racists like Donald Trump as well as Christian nationalism, that tells me it’s not safe.”
When the seminary presidents are willing to oppose what they deem to be “critical race theorists,” rather than racists like Donald Trump as well as Christian nationalism, that tells me it’s not safe. In fact, Mohler has embraced these.
— Joel A. Bowman, Sr. (@JoelABowmanSr) September 16, 2022
Some pointed out that in 2016, Mohler argued that support for Donald Trump was “the Great Evangelical Embarrassment,” stating: “How could ‘family values voters’ support a man who had, among other things, stated openly that no man’s wife was safe with him in the room?”
Yet, in 2020, Mohler changed his position and announced he’d vote for Trump. He also stated he’d exclusively vote for Republican presidential candidates from now on.
“In retrospect, I made my vote of minimal importance,” Mohler said. “I don’t intend to do that in 2020. There’s a bit of regret in that.”
In addition to heading Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Mohler also is editor of WORLD Opinions.
Earlier this week, former longtime WORLD editor Marvin Olasky accused the magazine of becoming partisan and compromising its news coverage with potential “pay-to-play editorial favoritism.”
Mohler ended his message Thursday by stating that Americans will know “greater joy” when they have “righteous laws.” This, he said, depends on voters voting the correct way.
“We need the right voters showing up with the right convictions at the right time to vote the right way, in order that our children and our children’s children may inherit this grand constitutional experiment, which I believe under the providence of God is unprecedented in human history,” Mohler said.
Albert Mohler – Pray Vote Stand Summit – Sept. 14, 2022
Julie Roys is a veteran investigative reporter and founder of The Roys Report. Before that, she hosted a national talk show on the Moody Radio Network, called Up for Debate. She’s also worked as a TV reporter for a CBS affiliate, a newswriter for WGN-TV and Fox News Chicago, and has published articles in numerous periodicals.
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Wow, just wow. I am glad I have walked away from the evangelical church. As a Democrat and still a Christian, I feel that there is a part of the evangelical church has lost its ever loving mind. Lost in politics, nationalism, fame, fortune, replatforming wannabe celebrities. It should be renamed the narcissistic church so that it is distinguished away from the Church.
Russel Moore is such a great example of a solid leader and Christian that saw Mohler and the likes nonsense and said “good day sir” and walked away. Solid theology, solid morals and all around solid guy and he saw through it all.
It’s this type of rhetoric from Mohler and the like that’s causing so many youth from the SBC to follow down the path of deconstructing their faith. But these “leaders” keep following down the path of Christian Nationalism with Trump in the lead like the Pied Piper. When will it end?
Glenn:
How are you defining “Christian”?
I have always been confused as to why preachers feel they have to instruct congregants on how to vote. Voting is a private matter between you and God. But certainly political issues bleed over into biblical directives and beliefs. Maybe I’m wrong, sometimes some I really don’t know. I think the best advice is pray, pray, pray, consider all the issues, look at the position of the candidates, ask the Lord for wisdom and proceed to vote your conscience.
Like it or not, the Bible contemplates only two systems of government: a) General anarchy, moderated by local strongmen, and b) A more or less benevolent despotism, ruled by somebody that nobody voted for.
After watching the entire 24:49 speech (click on the YouTube link above), I found Mohler’s remarks to be less provocative than the excerpts, without context, suggest. He concludes that preaching the gospel of salvation is our highest priority, and he reminds the audience that our citizenship is in heaven. Amen.
Frequent use of the words “right” and “wrong” concern me, however. Some theological doctrines are absolutely right and wrong, and such distinctions should be emphasized at seminaries, including the one that Mohler leads. But decisions at polling places are not always black and white when voters must select some sinners and not others to represent them.
I concur with Mohler that elections have consequences, public policy influences society, and voting is a duty of stewardship. But discipleship isn’t about researching candidates for elected office; it’s about deepening one’s understanding of the God who sent Jesus to rescue fallen human beings. Knowing Him brings joy that enacting righteous laws cannot deliver.
Good comment Glenn but as a fellow Christian, how do you justify voting for a democrat with their abortion platform? Btw I never voted for Trump. Thank you
Chuck,
Democrats do not support abortion per se what they do is they identify the fact that they do not have the authority to choose over a woman’s physical body they do not have the authority to take the chains of government and enslave a woman to do their own personal will Jesus never gave us that Authority with her abortion is right or wrong is a completely separate issue from the matter of authority.
that’s not exactly right. democrat politicians today support abortion up to the millisecond before the baby leaves the birth canal. you think that is hyperbolic? it’s not, just go view the many videos of these democrat politicians being asked if they support abortion in the third trimester. they will not condemn it, but say that a woman has the right to choose. this is simply a matter of public record. it is an objective fact that democrats support abortion at any time for any reason.
wow chuck do your homework., until the late seventies the right-wing evangelicals like Falwell and his ilk had no problem with abortion. they grabbed that mantel when the IRS was about to take away their tax-free status due to their segregation in their university. Liberty U and bob jones didn’t allow them Black folks in. They grabbed the anti-abortion issue because it stuck better than segregation. Abortion was never the key issue until it was needed by the evangelicals. google everything i just presented. Now I am not for abortion but giving the evangelicals a pass is not factual.
Chuck, if Democrats have to take accountability for their stance on abortion, shouldn’t Republicans have to take responsibility for the wars they started?
I’d be willing to bet that the number of people were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are as many or even higher than the number of late term elective abortions during the same period.
Being prolife is more than being against abortion.
Amazing. Your headline is just a ruse, and you don’t even have a quote from Mohler saying what you claim he says. You start with people “assuming” what he said, and then you take his statements about abortion (an issue I thought you two would agree on) and making that into your story. Then of course we get all the anti-Trump stuff, Christian nationalist stuff, etc. I listen to Mohler’s podcast and, as he says, it’s no secret that he opposes pro-abortion politicians. Your dishonest headline appeals to a certain group of Christian readers, and if you’re trying to appeal to the leftist, pro-abortion folks, then you have left many of us others behind.
The one good thing about Trump and his cult that has overtaken the church is to prove that evangelicalism is empty of any value. It took the Trump cult to wake me up to the reality of the worthlessness of evangelicalism and church.
Tim,
Thanks for a reality check – evangelicalism/evangelicals – filled with hypocrisy – will do ANYTHING for secular power and control…
ALL totally contrary to Jesus – whose focus is on the things above – on His kingdom – not the kingdom of America.
The reality of course is there is all kinds of injustice and oppression in the Republican party I can go on and on of course Jerry mandering decreasing the access to vote are just starting points but there is so much focus on enhancing the wealth of the wealth of the wealthy and taking away ability of the poor.
If we really wanted to there is all kinds of evidence for this and instances of this so no Republican party’s not about life it’s simply using abortion as an issue to inflame its base.
As a follower of Jesus Christ I’m not gonna allow my faith to be used for other people’s political power and control… I can’t think of anything more dishonoring to the name of Jesus Christ.
When you have professing Christians supporting a party that wants wholesale, unrestricted rights to destroy God’s image bearers in the womb you have voters without a biblical worldview who value party of Jesus. When you have professing Christians supporting a party that tells children it’s ok to change the person the Creator created you to be, they demonstrate they have a problem with the Creator. When professing Christians support a party that rigs the game against minorities and the poor, keeping them dependent on the government and robbing them of dignity, all in the name of compassion, you have Christians who ignore the sage wisdom of Proverbs in favor of party. The list can go on and on and on. It’s not about voting Republican, it’s about voting as biblical as possible and not voting for a party that snubs its nose at God’s design in creation, his explicit commands, and his moral law revealed in the conscience he gives to all. Thank God for Mohler. A Christian who stands with scripture and rejects a morally bankrupt secular humanist party that is appropriately identified as a donkey.
Marty – AMEN! Although it may be truer to categorize liberals and progressives, mostly Democrats, as anti-Christian rather than a donkey. Hatred for Trump is Not a Christian attitude, Jesus said to love our enemies!
And by the way, who cares about voting for Trump or Biden in 2024 – that question is a distraction from the fine mess that our current administration has intentionally created. However, God Is Sovereign and the confusion and evil of the day is most likely a sign of the times, End Times that is.
Julie, I confess that I perceive many of your reports to be provocative and divisive rather than proclaiming Jesus as the Way and the Truth and the Life.
Every man, and woman, is or were lost in sin. The answer is Jesus!
Wow! It is ok to encourage people to vote. That is a good thing. But to state that a specific party, in understating, is not right. I was at a church once and the whole sermon was on her view of her party. A few people left. Rightly so. Don’t bring politics into the church. Sermons need to focus on Jesus and Him alone!
Karen – AMEN! to your words also. Sermons should focus on our Sin and our need for a Savior! Jesus! who said, “No one comes to the Father except by Me”
Here’s an idea. Can we agree to vote constitutionally? Our current President has trashed the Constitution repeatedly. Can we do better? Well, can we?
Why are some Christians upset that Al Mohler said Christians must not vote for candidates who promote evil as good? Is voting for candidates who affirm and promote human slaughter, same sex faux-marriage, the sexual integration of private spaces, and the mutilation of children’s bodies less evil than voting for candidates who supported, for example, slavery or Jim Crow laws? (Btw, the Catholic Robert George says Christians should not vote for any candidate who supports abortion.) Does anyone think Dr. King would have supported Christians voting for George Wallace? Here’s what Dr. King said about Christians:
“In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churches stand on the sidelines and merely mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. … I have heard so many ministers say, ‘Those are social issues which the gospel has nothing to do with,’ and I have watched so many churches commit themselves to a completely otherworldly religion which made a strange distinction between bodies and souls, the sacred and the secular.
“There was a time when the church was very powerful. … Wherever the early Christians entered a town the power structure got disturbed and immediately sought to convict them for being ‘disturbers of the peace’ and ‘outside agitators.’ … They brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contest.
“Things are different now. The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice. … It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s often vocal sanction of things as they are.”
Hi Laurie –
Thank you for the Dr King quote. I actually find it eerily relevant today, as white Christians tout abortion as their moral high ground – and even quote stats about Black babies – yet do NOTHING about Black children stuck in the foster care system (they’ll adopt from overseas instead), do NOTHING about poverty and lack of access to healthcare by the poor (will vote to cut it and give taxbreaks to the rich instead), do NOTHING about the social injustices that impact these communities (taunting and belittling social justice), and more. Very few Christians are even aware of all the gray areas around abortion (that MANY medical treatments are defined as abortions – like for a septic uterus – and completely banning these treatments because of the “abortion” word is dangerous yet happening now).
If you think that the government should stay out of these issues, then fine. But then YOU as CHRISTIANS be ready to stand in the gap as Christ calls us to help the poor. Don’t vote then go home and do nothing but feel morally superior.
Hi Marin, good points but in defense of white couples, many agencies prefer not to place black children with white couples because of culture differences etc. The few white couples that I personally know adopted children from Africa. Nevertheless the Christian community could do so much more to assist minority communities with help. We must remember too that many people are working diligently with our black brothers and sisters in Christ but without much publicity. I knew many in my small community . With love
Chuck
Really? “White Christians … do NOTHING about Black children stuck in the foster care system, do NOTHING about poverty and lack of access to healthcare by the poor, do NOTHING about social injustices”? That’s quite an absolutist claim, which I think requires some evidence.
Is your solution to foster care problems, access to healthcare, and social injustice killing black babies in their mothers’ wombs?
Since you seem to know some stats I haven’t read, maybe you could share how many Christians are unaware of the “gray areas” around abortions. What I do know is that abortion bans do not prevent procedures related to, for example, ectopic pregnancies, spontaneous abortions etc.
I’m not sure how disagreement with you on abortion constitutes evidence of a “feeling of moral superiority.”
Hi Laurie –
As someone whose family adopted a Black child – who is now a psychologist for kids in foster care – and someone who volunteers at a foster care program, I can send you a LOT of data on Black kids stuck in foster care. It’s sad and appalling. If white Christians were as passionate about taking these kids in as they are about the reversal of Roe v Wade or banning of CRT, this issue would be HANDLED.
I have had discussions (online and in-person) in Christian communities to express my concern about the medical procedures that fall under “abortion”, and specifically how there are moves to fully ban them in Texas, Tennessee, and Indiana. That is dangerous, and I am concerned. But I was talked over, shouted down, and warned about being “pro baby killing.” I realized the word “abortion” evokes a thought-stopping, black-or-white reaction of NO, rather than constructive discussion.
My solution is to expand the focus BEYOND birth. Can we discuss why so many Black women are dying in childbirth – and why the white Christian community is silent? Discuss how to provide quality healthcare to women? Lobby to fix the bureaucratic adoption system? Feed the children whose only meal comes from school lunch? These are pro-life issues, but it seems like “pro-lifers” just care that children are born, and that’s it.
And statements like “is your solution killing babies” is exactly the moral grandstanding I’m talking about. That’s not a real question to have real conversation. It’s to position yourself and your views as superior.
Laurie, it’s great that today we can quote Martin Luther King. But we cannot forget that he was not supported by white Christianity at the time.
Here is a story that Christian author Phillip Yancy recalls from his younger days that shows us where much of the American church was at the time.
The summer before his junior year in high school, Philip Yancey attended a Fourth of July rally that featured some of the most dangerous racists in America.
It was 1964, and the event, billed as “Patriots Rally Against Tyranny,” was held at a racetrack in Yancey’s hometown of Atlanta. It featured a Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard alongside segregationists such as governors George Wallace of Alabama and Ross Barnett of Mississippi.
As Yancey sat in the bleachers with about 11,000 cheering White Southerners waving miniature Confederate flags, he heard speakers denounce the same enemies he learned about in his fundamentalist church, where the pastor lampooned “Martin Lucifer Coon” and preached that “coloreds” were inferior because of the “Curse of Ham.”
But something took place at the rally that made Yancey question what he had been taught.
He noticed a group of Black men sitting in the stands. Just before Wallace spoke, three of them began to boo. That was the cue for a group of Klansmen to rise from their seats and attack the men. Other Whites joined them, punching the Black men in their faces and hitting them with folded chairs as the men frantically tried to escape. The crowd began chanting, “Hit ‘em! Kill ‘em!”
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/17/us/philip-yancey-white-evangelicals-trump/index.html
Many Evangelicals have been stating something like this on and off for years. Unfortunately Mohler picked a very wrong time to say it.
And he (Mohler) must clearly address the “black church” issue. Are most of them spirituality inferior because they vote Democrat based on his statement?
Where in Al Mohler’s comments did he suggest that Christians should vote republican? I did not see it in the article. Is it in the recording?
Jesus gets turned into some political lackey propping up corrupt political systems. How glorious! This does not smell of anything self-serving at all. He is not a King anymore, He is brown-nosing a temporary party. One that did not exist a couple of hundred years ago and won’t in a couple of hundred more for sure. You can find “Christians” saying this not only to both of our political parties today in the U.S. but also many other parties that exist in other parts of the world. Do we really believe that Christ is King and that all of us, including the narcissist politicians, are going to bend our knees to Him, The One and Only, one day? My b.s. meter went so high on this one it broke…
Our faith should inform our politics, not vice versa. I see too much of the latter, both formally and informally in the church.
When going back to the Bible (isn’t that where we are supposed to go?), it’s easy to see there are unBiblical standpoints, beliefs, actions and statements on both sides of the aisle. I grow concerned when I see Christians ready to throw labels and stones at one side of the aisle (usually Democrats), but ignore or have “well see, here’s why that’s ok” excuses for unBiblical views and behaviors on the other. The same people who claim anti-Trumpers should “love their enemies” and “pray for him as our leader” spout downright hateful things about Democrats and are outright silent when asked if they pray for Biden. This sort of politicized hypocrisy was exacerbated under Trump – which is quite correlated to the plummeting membership and reputation of the church.
You want to retsore the reputation of the church? Politics is not the path. Going back to the Bible is – even if that means shining an uncomfortable light on your own politics or party of preference.
So, Mohler says Trump is an “embarrassment”.
Compared to who??
Bill Clinton?
JFK?
Mohler has a serious lack of discernment.
Mohler would apparently call more than half the world’s population an “embarrassment”.
And in comparison to Christ – which should be our ONLY comparison as Christians – we ALL are embarassments. It’s why we needed salvation.
We need to stop with the defensive “well if he’s bad, what about THIS person” positions. Moral relativity is NOT Biblical. Sin is sin, whether committed by Trump,Clinton, JFK, you or me. Comparing to try to justify or make one person’s sin seem “not as bad” is NOT Christian.
Marin,
Jesus hung out with prostitutes. Did you forget? He came to seek and to save the lost. Sanctimonious Christians remind me of the Pharisees and Sadducees mentioned in the Bible.
He’s free to say what he wants and I am free to write him off as a politician wanna be. As an SBC church member I am curious if he considers himself to be speaking for Southern or just his own opinion…or both. Probably both. Since he is funded in part by tithe money…does he get paid for these events? If so, does he take a personal day off at Southern or is he getting paid double for the day? Who is funding the travel expenses?
It’s difficult to vote for either major party. Both are incredibly influenced by big donors and corporations–big money, both. It seems we always need to vote for the least evil, not the best of the two. I don’t see how anyone can brag on either major party.
Mohler simply has a Baptist way of saying what Pentecostal Pastor and frequent Fox News guest “Reverend” Mark Burns said at Eric Trump and Michael Flynn’s Reclaiming America event in Idaho:
“I’m coming here to declare war on every demonic, demon-possessed Democrat that comes from the gates of Hell!”
I was misled by the headline. As others have noted above, it seems Mohler did not specify “Republican” in his comments, meaning the headline does not fit the specific facts.
So why is it that when election season comes along there are always news stories about how Evangelical Christians need to stay out of politics while Democrat politicians openly campaign in Black churches. Not a peep from the media about this being a problem. Why the double standard?
Bill –
I can provide a multi-layered theory: the mission of the Black church is VERY culturally and historically tied to social justice. (I’m still adjusting to how even saying “social justice” in a white church is like cursing at the altar, when I learned that part of one’s witness is fighting for the marginalized.) That being said, much of the civil rights activism around fighting for the right to vote started in the Black church. So today, a lot of Black voter registration and education comes from the Black church. When I was active in a few events, all candidates on the ballot were invited to church. Republicans NEVER showed up. Democrats and third party candidates consistently did. My grandpa once said: “I don’t agree with all that man said, but he came to MY church in MY neighborhood, looked me in my eye and shook my hand as a man.” To a group of voters like him – who used to be called “boy” and see white people avoid their communities at all costs – that can mean a lot.
Overall, activism is so tied to the rich history of the Black church, it would be shaky ground to start saying it’s a problem. I can see that being misinterpreted as being upset at how the Black church keeps “starting trouble” via its activism.
I’ve also said before, if Republicans spent even a LITTLE effort going after the Black church, they’d get the Black Boomer vote on lock (as data shows this block is the most religious and conservative – against gay marriage, etc). But IMO that would make their base uncomfortable.
So if everything you say is true that would support the political activism of the Black Churches but does nothing to explain why white churches should be forbidden from doing the same thing. Do we really want to have separate rules for this depending on the primary racial make up of a given church?
It’s not “forbidden” because of “primary racial makeup”. That is an oversimplification that overlooks that the Black church and the White church are different institutions. Like it or not, they were founded for different reasons and still have different views and perspectives on what their role is in the community. This is why it is hard to do an apples to apples comparison (and why you see separate denominations, chapters of Christian books, and even sections in the “Museum of the Bible” dedicated to the Black church as a separate entity). I also believe this is one reason (among many) why they struggle to integrate, even in very diverse cities.
Now of course, we CAN get into how White churches (especially in the South) used to conduct Klan and “White Citizen Council” meetings on how to combat the “unholy rise” of the civil rights movement. That plays a part in why it would be a bad look for White churches to get “politically active” today too.
Not saying it’s right or wrong; it just is.
Bill,
You do understand that Black Christian churches used activism to protect their members from the unjust society that was created by White Christians and from the teachings of White Christian churches, don’t you?
Can you see a difference?
So just to be clear you believe it is acceptable for predominantly Black churches to be engaged in political activity but it is unacceptable for predominantly white churches to do the same.
Bill,
Nobody is saying that white Christians should not be active politically. But I think we need to make a distinction between white and black social activity in the church.
Black people have used the Gospel and the teachings of Jesus to *survive* in this white “Christian nation.”
Whites have used the Bible to *dominate* others in this white Christian nation. We used it to justify slavery and Jim Crow so we could dominate blacks. We used it to dominate women by preventing them from owning property, running businesses and voting.
Roger Stone, Michael Flynn and Steve Bannon are holding Christian nationalist rallies in evangelical churches all across the nation, using Bible verses to “return America to a time when America was great.”
But when exactly was that? If we go back to the days of Mayberry Rfd, blacks didn’t have basic civil rights in this nation. Phillip Yancy’s pastor could refer to MLK as “Martin Lucifer Coon” without anyone blinking an eye. If we go back to the days of WWII, we have the KKK holding mass rallies at Madison Square Garden. If we go back to the “Christian roots” in this nation, blacks were bought and sold like animals.
George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards, to of the most famous evangelists the early days of our nation not only turned a blind eye to slavery, they were both *slave owners.*
So yes, I do see a difference in white activism and black activism in the church.
Bill –
It seems like you’re taking a “so they can do it, and I can’t” defensive positioning that is focused on (perceived) fairness and boils a very nuanced issue with a complicated history down to black-and-white. Furthermore, it puts YOU and YOUR rights and feelings at the center of something that is WAY bigger and involves a LOT more factors. It’s not that simple, and it’s focused on the wrong thing.
Greg and I both laid out the rich context and history that shape the current status of political activism in the Black and white church. I hope you took more out of that than “what about me?” or “why can’t we do that too?”
So let me be clear: predominantly white churches can be politically active if they choose. But given the historically complex relationship between the Black and white church, and considering the past AND present segregation of churches AND their political positions (e.g., the % of Black Christians who vote Democrat and the % of white Christians who vote Republican), this is a HUGE risk. Just as saying “Christians should vote Republican or they are unfaithful” can be seen as labeling the majority of Black Christians as unfaithful, a white church lobbying for activism around positions that oppose the interests and activities of the Black church won’t be a good look. It wasn’t in the past, and it won’t be in the present.
Now, what would get both institutions on the same page? THAT should be of interest.
What a sad time we live in today. From what I’m reading in the comments here, many believe good can not come from others who share different political ideologies.
I wish to know more about how Mohler defines voting “wrongly.”
On occasion I select pro-choice Democrats over pro-life Republicans in state and local races. Why? Because the positions to be filled have no authority to influence public policy about marriage or abortion. And the GOP candidates were severely underqualified. If the job description excludes duties related to these moral issues, being pro-life does not excuse incompetence.
For me this is wise voting. What do other readers think?
Al Mohler confirmed he was referring to the Republican party, so the headline was not misleading. Anyone adding to faith alone, in Christ alone, elevating politics to do the work of the Holy Spirit, should be silenced. Let’s start there.
“Satan transforms himself into an angel of light…his ministries transform into ministries of righteousness.” 2 Cor. 11:14. Any true Christian would want the Church cleansed of false and unworthy teachers. Thanks to Julie and staff.
“Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. Romans 14:5. Cover to cover, the admonition of the Bible is to love God with all our being, and our neighbor as ourselves. It is disingenuous to make single issues the only consideration for voting. RC Sproul said abortion is not the unpardonable sin.
Over 1 million “Christian” women have objected to a talented young woman, created by God, in His image, playing a “fictitious sea creature” because of her hair and skin color. No member represents the belief of every member of that party. Certainly, no party represents God or His will in entirety.
“Al Mohler confirmed he was referring to the Republican party, so the headline was not misleading.”
Do you have the citation to detail when he confirmed he was referring to the Republican party?
Thanks.
“Over 1 million “Christian” women have objected to a talented young woman, created by God, in His image, playing a “fictitious sea creature” because of her hair and skin color.”
Uh… Say What?
I’m a 50-year veteran of various SF & Fantasy fandoms, and I don’t get the reference.
Ken –
Some Christians have started campaigning against the casting of the live-action Little Mermaid being Halle Bailey (a Black young woman who has a gorgeous voice!). It’s gotten so out of hand that there are full blown petitions and sites full of direct threats and harassment towards the actress.
Groups of Christian women are saying they will prevent their daughters from watching it (what a great lesson for those girls, huh!) – and have even claimed their daughters are crying that the Little Mermaid no longer looks like them. Well, as a Black woman who grew up with NO Disney princesses looking like me (and watches conservative groups complain of any diverse casting as “woke” and demand a boycott), I think they will be fine.
Apparently THIS is our battle now. Lord, help us.