Beth Moore and her influential Evangelical mover-and-shaker friends really want women’s voices to be heard.
So why did she just silence the 450+ women who have raised their voices to her in a letter of doctrinal concern?
A year ago at this time Beth Moore was on a #metoo crusade to empower women’s voices. Her tireless advocacy influenced much of the political activity at the SBC’s 2018 annual meeting and spilled over into countless podcasts, articles, speeches and tweets in the Evangelical world.
In one typical SBC podcast, Moore stated that women are often “already intimidated by feeling overpowered and if there are not many female voices,” that “exaggerates the feeling she’s got that she’s not going to be heard.”
The more women’s voices the better, right Beth?
At the 2019 SBC annual meeting, many similar statements were made by Dr. Dwight McKissic, Jen Wilkin, JD Greear, and Russell Moore.
In fact, Dr. Russell Moore felt so strongly about the need to hear women’s voices that he redirected a messenger question on the role of women in preaching to instead call for everyone present to listen to women’s voices at times like these.
Not long after this statement, nine concerned, Bible-loving women lifted up their voices on a matter which deeply concerned them. They wrote a courteous, open letter to Beth Moore asking exactly what are her beliefs on the topic of homosexuality. Here are some of the questions the letter addressed:
- Do you believe homosexuality is inherently sinful?
- Do you believe that the practice of the homosexual lifestyle is compatible with holy Christian living?
- Do you believe a person who dies as a practicing homosexual but professes to be a Christian will inherit eternal life?
- Do you believe same-sex attraction is, in and of itself, an inherently sinful, unnatural, and disordered desire that must be mortified?
- Why have you been so silent on this subject in light of your desire to “teach the word of God?”
The women kindly add that we “ask these questions to you out of genuine concern.”
“As Bible teachers, all of us are held to a very high standard and will give an account for how we handle God’s word. As you know, homosexuality is widely discussed and debated amongst evangelicals and society at large. Many families are affected by this issue. The most loving thing obedient Christians can do for them is to clearly communicate God’s truth. We look forward to your clarification on these pressing issues.”
It was a simple and reasonable set of questions for any Bible-believer. This letter must articulate what is on many minds, because the original letter now carries 450+ signatures, all from Christian women.
Beth Moore won’t answer.
Beth Moore never answers, except to change the subject to vague insinuations against those who dare raise their voices.
Michelle Lesley, one of the original letter framers, has been blocked from Beth Moore’s social media accounts. Silenced.
Here are some of the ways Lesley expressed herself on Twitter this week:
The Evangelical world now stands slack-jawed, trying to figure out whether bad-faith is a sufficient term to describe not just what Beth teaches, but also how Beth rolls.
