Quote from the article:
“It was the result of having multiple pastors tell me, essentially, the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount, parenthetically, in their preaching — “turn the other cheek” — [and] to have someone come up after to say, “Where did you get those liberal talking points?” And what was alarming to me is that in most of these scenarios, when the pastor would say, “I’m literally quoting Jesus Christ,” the response would not be, “I apologize.” The response would be, “Yes, but that doesn’t work anymore. That’s weak.” And when we get to the point where the teachings of Jesus himself are seen as subversive to us, then we’re in a crisis.”
Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. - Seneca ~2,000 years ago.
To quote a modern philosopher: Same as it ever was.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
He criticized Donald Trump and the Southern Baptist Convention’s response to a sexual abuse crisis.
Russell Moore was one of the top officials in the Southern Baptist Convention.
According to Moore, Christianity is in crisis in the United States today.
Listen to the full All Things Considered conversation with Russell Moore by tapping the play button at the top.
Moore spoke to All Things Considered’s Scott Detrow about what he thinks the path forward is for evangelicalism in America.
On how he begins to address the issues he sees:
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That’s cause Jesus, for all intents and purposes, was a damn lefty anarchist type with lots of empathy and strong principles. Jesus was cool af. Paul and the rest of them ran with it and churned out the modern day church as a power piece. Been like this since day one.
It’s crazy it has come to this amount of transparency as far as motives. I grew up in a catholic church. I’m down w Jesus the man and philosophy. Not so much the rest of it at all.
I don’t think he was an anarchist type. He was of the monarch type. You know, king of kings and all that. He talked about the Kingdom of God. Benevolent monarch, to be exact.
No you see I personally know Jesus. I welcomed him into my own. He’s a total freak, trust me. 😉
I always find it hilarious that people cherry-pick the nice things to believe about Jesus. When you read the Gospels critically, he was absolutely a dick. Yes, in the stories he advocated for leftist values, but only for his fellow Jews.
Here are some examples of his other teachings that conservative Christians prefer:
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Jesus fails to “turn the other cheek” and instead gets violent: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+21:12-13
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He threatens eternal torture in fire to anyone who doesn’t accept his teaching:
https://biblehub.com/matthew/10-28.htm
https://biblehub.com/matthew/7-19.htm
https://biblehub.com/matthew/13-41.htm and https://biblehub.com/matthew/13-42.htm
https://biblehub.com/matthew/13-49.htm and https://biblehub.com/matthew/13-50.htm
https://biblehub.com/matthew/25-46.htm
https://biblehub.com/mark/16-16.htm
https://biblehub.com/luke/12-5.htm
https://biblehub.com/john/3-18.htm, etc. -
He kills a fig tree for not bearing fruit that he knew was out of season: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+11%3A12-25
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He endorses racism: https://biblehub.com/matthew/15-24.htm
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When a gentile woman begs for his help he calls her a dog: https://biblehub.com/matthew/15-25.htm and https://biblehub.com/matthew/15-26.htm
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He plays favorites: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark+4%3A10-12
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He destroys a village’s livelihood: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+8
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He teaches Christians to have a persecution complex: https://biblehub.com/matthew/5-11.htm
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He teaches thought crime: https://biblehub.com/matthew/5-28.htm
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He disputes the concept of personal responsibility: https://biblehub.com/matthew/6-25.htm
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He condemns skepticism: https://biblehub.com/matthew/14-31.htm and https://biblehub.com/john/20-27.htm
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He teaches self-harm in the cause of religious purity: https://biblehub.com/matthew/18-8.htm
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He sends his disciples to steal a man’s donkey: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+19%3A29-34
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He was not a peacemaker: https://biblehub.com/matthew/10-34.htm
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He was divisive: https://biblehub.com/luke/14-26.htm and https://biblehub.com/luke/14-33.htm
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He was a liar: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+7%3A8-10
Oh wow, nice summery
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The teachings were quite subversive back in their day. We are in crisis.
This is not really new.
that doesn’t work anymore. That’s weak
The book “Jesus and John Wayne” addresses that mindshift in Evangelical thinking.