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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/10/us/beth-moore-southern-baptists.html
Now, one of the most prominent white evangelical women in the United States is breaking with her longtime denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, citing the “staggering” disorientation of seeing its leaders support Mr. Trump, and the cultural and spiritual fallout from that support.
“There comes a time when you have to say, this is not who I am,” Beth Moore, told Religion News Service in an interview published on Tuesday. “I am still a Baptist, but I can no longer identify with Southern Baptists,” she added.
Her stature in the movement poses a serious challenge for the Southern Baptist Convention, which has already been embroiled for years in debates not just about Mr. Trump, but about racism, misogyny and the handling of sexual abuse cases. Its membership is in decline.
Her departure is “tectonic in its reverberations,” said Jemar Tisby, the president of a Black Christian collective called the Witness. “Beth Moore has more influence and more cachet with Southern Baptists, especially white Southern Baptist women, than the vast majority of Southern Baptist pastors or other leaders. So her leaving is not just about one individual.”
Unsurprisingly, the article cites Ms Moore’s personal experiences of sexism in the male dominated world of conservative Christianity and her denunciation of “the sexism and misogyny that is rampant in segments of the SBC”. It also deals with the corruption of power and the hierarchical desire to cover up charges of sexual misconduct and abuse. We know the Catholic church is not unique in its desire to brush such charges under the proverbial carpet.
Ms. Moore often spoke out against widespread sexual abuse in the denomination and the reluctance of churches to face it, while many men in leadership often soft-pedaled the issue.
Jenny Taylor, 40, who grew up in Southern Baptist churches, left one of the denomination’s most prominent churches, the Village, a few years ago, angered by its leaders’ treatment of a young woman who brought a sex abuse allegation against a former minister.
The article also refers to the racism experienced by black Christians from some of their white brethren. “Ms. Moore has also publicly supported others critical of conservative evangelicalism from within. This week Mr. Tisby, the president of the Black Christian collective, described on a podcast for the first time his experiences of racism in white evangelical communities. His testimony was part of a campaign called #LeaveLoud, to tell the stories of Black Christians leaving evangelical spaces.”
And as a finale we have Tom Buck whose comments come straight from the nethermost reaches of Christian narrow-minded and blinkered patriarchy.
“The fact that Beth Moore joyfully promotes herself as a woman who preaches to men is only the tip of the iceberg of her problematic positions,” Tom Buck, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Lindale, Texas, said in a post online following the news.
“I sincerely wish Mrs. Moore had repented rather than left,” he wrote. “But if she refuses to repent, I am glad she is gone from the S.B.C. Sadly, leaving the S.B.C. won’t fix what is wrong with Beth Moore.”
For Mr Buck the SBC has nothing to which reproach it self and all the fault lies with Ms Moore, the woman.
Now, one of the most prominent white evangelical women in the United States is breaking with her longtime denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, citing the “staggering” disorientation of seeing its leaders support Mr. Trump, and the cultural and spiritual fallout from that support.
“There comes a time when you have to say, this is not who I am,” Beth Moore, told Religion News Service in an interview published on Tuesday. “I am still a Baptist, but I can no longer identify with Southern Baptists,” she added.
Her stature in the movement poses a serious challenge for the Southern Baptist Convention, which has already been embroiled for years in debates not just about Mr. Trump, but about racism, misogyny and the handling of sexual abuse cases. Its membership is in decline.
Her departure is “tectonic in its reverberations,” said Jemar Tisby, the president of a Black Christian collective called the Witness. “Beth Moore has more influence and more cachet with Southern Baptists, especially white Southern Baptist women, than the vast majority of Southern Baptist pastors or other leaders. So her leaving is not just about one individual.”
Unsurprisingly, the article cites Ms Moore’s personal experiences of sexism in the male dominated world of conservative Christianity and her denunciation of “the sexism and misogyny that is rampant in segments of the SBC”. It also deals with the corruption of power and the hierarchical desire to cover up charges of sexual misconduct and abuse. We know the Catholic church is not unique in its desire to brush such charges under the proverbial carpet.
Ms. Moore often spoke out against widespread sexual abuse in the denomination and the reluctance of churches to face it, while many men in leadership often soft-pedaled the issue.
Jenny Taylor, 40, who grew up in Southern Baptist churches, left one of the denomination’s most prominent churches, the Village, a few years ago, angered by its leaders’ treatment of a young woman who brought a sex abuse allegation against a former minister.
The article also refers to the racism experienced by black Christians from some of their white brethren. “Ms. Moore has also publicly supported others critical of conservative evangelicalism from within. This week Mr. Tisby, the president of the Black Christian collective, described on a podcast for the first time his experiences of racism in white evangelical communities. His testimony was part of a campaign called #LeaveLoud, to tell the stories of Black Christians leaving evangelical spaces.”
And as a finale we have Tom Buck whose comments come straight from the nethermost reaches of Christian narrow-minded and blinkered patriarchy.
“The fact that Beth Moore joyfully promotes herself as a woman who preaches to men is only the tip of the iceberg of her problematic positions,” Tom Buck, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Lindale, Texas, said in a post online following the news.
“I sincerely wish Mrs. Moore had repented rather than left,” he wrote. “But if she refuses to repent, I am glad she is gone from the S.B.C. Sadly, leaving the S.B.C. won’t fix what is wrong with Beth Moore.”
For Mr Buck the SBC has nothing to which reproach it self and all the fault lies with Ms Moore, the woman.
My compliments on your sense of humour.
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