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Does voter suppression in 2021 look like voter suppression in 1961? An Answer to Bill Leonard

Last week, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary research professor, Karen Swallow Prior, made a socio-cultural analogy between the systemic social consequences of the 1960s sexual revolution in the United States and the systemic racism in the United States we allegedly observe today according to Critical Race theorists. As I showed in my reply, Prior's analogy simply collapses in on itself making it far more difficult to accept her claim of systemic racism (via CRT) rather than easier. This week, a reputable Baptist historian makes yet another analogy from almost the same... Read more →

Systemic Racism & Sexual Revolution: Replying to Karen Swallow Prior

Formerly teaching English at Liberty University for over 20 years, Karen Swallow Prior presently serves as Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Prior is author of a number of books including Jane Eyre: A Guide to Reading and Reflecting; On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books; Heart of Darkness, and Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me not to mention her prolific online literary presence and numerous magazine articles published in Christianity Today and other major Christian publications. Prior's... Read more →

The ERLC, Donald Trump, and Inciting Insurrection

After the regrettable “storming of Capitol Hill” on January 8, 2021, and the subsequent condemnation of President Donald Trump for inciting insurrection claimed by social media platform, Twitter, the giant media platform permanently banned the president from his Twitter accounts. In an article by Jason Thacker, who serves as chair of research in technology ethics and creative director at ERLC, a public arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, wrote an article entitled, “Understanding Twitter suspensions and the need for consistent policies.” By design, Thacker speaks for the ERLC, that in... Read more →

A. H. Newman on Calvinism and religious liberty

pic source The year 2017 marks the 500th year since the Protestant Reformation was launched by Martin Luther's legendary nailing of his 95 theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517. And while John Calvin was only 8 years old when Luther began the protestant religious revolution, Calvin's theology became the standard expression of Reformed theology. Some attribute to Calvin and Calvinism the development of our broad American liberties including "anti-statism, the belief in transcendent principles of law as the foundation of an ethical legal system, free... Read more →

What’s at Stake in the Southern Baptist Convention for the backlash against Russell Moore? A Response

Jake Raabe is a student at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas and columnist for The Baptist Standard, the news service affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Raabe recently wrote an opinion column entitled "Voices: What's at stake for the SBC in backlash against Russell Moore?" arguing that it is a mistake for Southern Baptists to either silence or dismiss the views of the president of the Ethics and Religious Life Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention, Russell Moore. It would be naive... Read more →

Election 2016 Thoughts – Part Two: Trump Support Could Hurt Our Gospel Witness: A Critique

While I realize this post is virtually moot now since the election is upon us, Nathan Akin posted part 2 of his series only today. Thus, I thought I'd put this brief critique up. After considering the chief concerns #NeverTrump advocates like Akin have listed in campaigning against Trump and for 3rd party/write-ins, I feel even more confident I chose well in my decision. I only pray if and/or when Trump loses the presidency, and we hand off this country's political destiny to Hillary Rodham Clinton, I will be able... Read more →

Is John MacArthur selling out his moral convictions? Has he given up every thing he's ever believed by voting for Donald Trump for POTUS?

Al Mohler, Russell Moore, and Denny Burk among other leading evangelical voices have persistently presented a #NeverTrump agenda to the American public. Evangelicals have been accused of losing their soul; giving up everything they've ever believed; being so in love with political power that they are willing to lose their gospel testimony; and embracing a cheap version of moral relativism all just to rationalize their vote for Donald Trump as president of the United States. Below is John MacArthur's answer to a question he was asked about voting for Donald... Read more →

Thomas Schreiner: "Don’t we recognize in a sinful world that sometimes we need to choose the lesser of two evils?"

Thomas R. Schreiner is James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Associate Dean for Scripture and Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also serves as Preaching Pastor of Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. A widely respected New Testament scholar, Dr. Schreiner is the author of many books, including New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ (Baker, 2008) and Galatians in the Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series (Zondervan, 2010).1 Recorded in the 2011 issue of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, a published sermon... Read more →

#FaithTrumpsFear or #StopSinningbyVotingTrump?

Paul Hastings (source) A video entitled "FaithTrumpsFear" seems to be making its rounds on social media. It's appeared with glowing recommendations on The Resurgent, RedState, Caffeinated Thoughts, and even captures the personal view of the Southern Baptist Convention's Pastors' Conference president, Dave Miller: "Is it time we started viewing things differently? For me, it is. this video encapsulates my view."1 Produced by a small video production company in Austin, Texas run by CEO, Paul Hastings (who is featured in the video), the reason indicated making it was because that by... Read more →

Is shaming others into voting against their conscience the future of evangelicalism? Political Science professor Peter Wielhouwer hopes not.

Here's a worthy essay by my friend, Peter Warren Wielhouwer. As a longtime professor of political science and frequent network news commentator on all things political, Dr. Wielhouwer writes a much-needed plea for Christians to stop alienating each other over politics. I especially liked his focus upon the scriptural record. I might quibble with him a bit on some parts, but nonetheless agree with the broad swaths of his thinking. Please take the time to check it out. "Stop Shaming Other Christians into Voting Against their Conscience" by Peter Warren... Read more →

I voted for Donald Trump today. And, no, I don't feel an ounce of guilt. I feel like an American.

When it became clear to me months ago that Donald Trump would become the only real challenge to a Hillary Rodham Clinton victory for the White House, I became more verbal and perhaps more public about the 2016 presidential election than I've ever been about any election since I started voting in the early 70s. I believe this election remains, so far as this world is concerned, the last hope to preserve what we have left of a democratic republic founded upon our original constitution. Political corruption in both Democratic... Read more →

Is Voting for a 3rd Option a Wasted Vote in the 2016 Presidential Election?

UPDATE: November 4, 2017, a new Heat Street/Rasmussen Reports telephone and online survey of Likely Utah Voters finds Trump with 42% support to Democrat Hillary Clinton’s 31%. Republican-turned-Independent candidate Evan McMullin has faded to 21%. In a brief piece entitled, "Election 2016 Thoughts – Part One: A vote for a 3rd Candidate is not a Wasted Vote or a Vote for Clinton" by Baptist21 contributor, Nathan Akin, five reasons are listed as to why Akin believes a 3rd candidate vote for president in the 2016 election is not in vain.... Read more →

Division at Southern seminary concerning the #NeverTrump positions of Al Mohler & Russell Moore

I wrote this on Facebook a few hours ago: Finally someone with clout speaks out on Al Mohler and Russell Moore's nonsensical stance as advocates of #NeverTrump, a position he says will put Hillary in the White House. A member of the Foundation Board of Southern Seminary for years, currently an associate of the foundation, and a financial supporter who's donated thousands as well as given annual grants to professors. Louisville, KY attorney, Jack Richardson says, "I and others on the board could not disagree more with Mohler’s position on... Read more →

Joe Carter, the ERLC and Division over Donald Trump (Part 2)

Below is Part 2 of my critique of Why Evangelicals Are Divided Over Donald Trump written by Joe Carter, a staff member at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC). As we argued in Part 1, to suggest as Carter does that come November 9, evangelicals can just shake hands and go back to being co-belligerents in a worthy cause is too naïve for words. Russell Moore and the ERLC (which obviously includes Joe Carter) have been too verbally offensive to just forget about it... Read more →

Joe Carter, the ERLC and Division over Donald Trump (Part 1)

Joe Carter, Communications Specialist at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC), recently posted a piece on The Gospel Coalition website where he also works as editor. Entitled, Why Evangelicals Are Divided Over Trump, Carter claims the divide over Donald Trump within the evangelical wing of conservatism is clearing new ground since, according to him, up until the present presidential election cycle, “there has been a general sense of unity” among social conservatives. Carter blames Trump’s polarizing persona as the chief culprit: “Few people could... Read more →

Evangelical spokesmen still broadly condemning anyone thinking of voting for Donald Trump as POTUS

In no political election of which I've either participated or followed since I began voting in the mid-seventies do I recall such publicly negative emotion being spewed toward Christian believers. Let me qualify that a bit, for I've certainly observed and, at times, personally experienced, the fiery wrath from those both to the political left of me and unbelievers outside the church. There was a time when those who did not know me would conceivably assume "fascist bigot" was my middle name since it was spoken so often about my... Read more →

John Gano--an alternate description of an early American Calvinist missionary

John Gano (1727-1804) remains a hero among Baptist Calvinists for his role in evangelizing the heathen in mid-18th century. picture source For example, Baptist pastor and historian, Tom Ascol, highlights Gano's role as a gospel preacher commissioned by the Charleston Association to show how Regular (Particular) Baptists were "thoroughly evangelistic:" ...the [Charleston] association commissioned John Gano to preach the gospel at the Jersey Settlement on the banks of the Yadkin River—not far from Sandy Creek—in what is now North Carolina. Far from being a dividing point, Sandy Creek actually became... Read more →

Why do so many young evangelicals hate America so much?

pic source Take a look at Russell Moore's latest piece on religious liberty entitled, "Religious Liberty for All." There's much in his brief commentary with which we may agree. I find it more and more frustrating, however, to follow Moore's thinking on freedom of religion. Consider the following: A government that can shut down mosques simply because they are mosques can shut down Bible studies because they are Bible studies. A government that can close the borders to all Muslims simply on the basis of their religious belief can do... Read more →

Alabama Baptist association circular letter--"Christ Jesus made an atonement, general in its nature"

Below is a snippet from a circular letter published in 1843 for the North River United Baptist Association in 1843. Beginning in 1832, David Andrews an "Arminian" pastor was ousted from Bethel Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa and eventually led in the formation of the North River association. In the 1843 minutes, the circular letter is printed in full: But Brethren, pause and think back, and take a view of the situation of the churches in this section of country, some ten or twelve years ago, and contrast the condition of... Read more →

Denny Burk: Principled if you don’t vote Trump, Unprincipled if you do

At least two high-profile Southern Baptists just can't get enough bashing Donald Trump supporters. One, obviously, is Russell Moore, who seems to fan the flame he's set to hotter and hotter temperatures. The latest piece Moore posted unexpectedly drew friendly fire from one of his own soldiers in the young, restless, and reformed base camp. It also solicited responses from what some may call more hostile critics (my own contribution may be found in a piece entitled "Is it time for Southern Baptists to get new leadership in Washington?"). The... Read more →

Is it time for Southern Baptists to get new leadership in Washington?

A new president of the greatest nation on earth will be sworn into public office in just over eight months. It's time. Eight years of Barack Obama's butchered policies and broken promises have choked to death the American spirit. He promised he'd unite us both racially and politically. However, only the most obtuse observer could deny that racially and politically, the United States of America has perhaps become more hostilely divided than in any known era of American history. Why Washington's Oval Office needs a new leader The President's latest... Read more →

Clinton Predictable. Trump Unpredictable. Ergo Clinton for President

Baptist pastor in Washington D.C., Thabiti Anyabwile, argues in a piece on The Gospel Coalition blog that it is apparently better to vote for predictable evil than unpredictable evil, the two evils represented by Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump respectively. In the current presidential election, that means since only two viable candidates exist, the defacto choice is between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.1 And, for Anyabwile, it comes down to him voting for Hillary Clinton. "At this point, assuming Trump and Clinton are my only options, I'd vote for Clinton."... Read more →

Russell Moore: 'evangelicals who back Trump are unchristian'

Below is a brief commentary I penned on Facebook concerning what I perceive to be a unilateral campaign by the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Dr. Russell Moore, to ensure Donald Trump is silenced as a presidential candidate. One of my good friends, Dr. Peter Wielhouwer, Associate Professor of Political Science at Western Michigan University, asked if I would place the piece on my blog so he could reference it. Hence, the commentary is pasted below in unedited format. ======================================================= Evangelical Leader Calls Trump's Christian Backers Unchristian... Read more →

North Carolina’s Friendship Baptist Association organized in 1861 as non-Calvinistic

On Oct. 25-26, 1861, a group of Baptist delegates from several churches met with the Valley Town Baptist Church on Valley River in North Carolina and organized the Friendship Baptist Association.1 Among the first orders of business was adoption of a confession of faith which all the churches forming the alliance could embrace. Below is the Confession of Faith originally adopted by the Friendship Baptist Association in 1861. 1. We believe in one only living and true God, and that there are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the... Read more →

Sandy Creek Baptists viewed Reformed doctrine of election "troubling"

Emir Caner, President of Truett-McConnell College, writes an informative piece on the Sandy Creek tradition in the latest volume of the Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry published by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Contra the view of many Southern Baptist Calvinists who dismiss virtually all theological distinctions between the Sandy Creek Baptist tradition and the so-called Charleston Baptist tradition, Dr. Caner suggests that "The Reformed definition of election was particularly troubling to those birthed out of a Sandy Creek (Separatist) heritage." He then quotes from famed Baptist historian, George... Read more →

Lewis Duncan, Missouri Baptists, and General Atonement

1Lewis Duncan (1806-1852) was a native of Virginia, and born in Culpepper County, March 1st, 1806. Duncan grew up in moderate circumstances but nonetheless only received a partial common-school education. However, he managed to acquire a sufficient knowledge of the English branches to teach school. He professed conversion and was baptized in the spring of 1828. After his ordination to the ministry, Duncan quit teaching school. On October 16th, 1828, Duncan's family started for Missouri arriving about the middle of the following December and settling in Lincoln County where Lewis... Read more →

Looking Back:Southern Baptist seminaries desegregated before desegregation

Not until the Supreme Court's unanimous decision in Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education (1969) was racial segregation put to a complete end "now and hereafter."1 Below, however, is a short headline piece in The Christian Centtury concerning Southern Baptists' progressive action favoring racial desegration in 1950. Our seminaries apparently were the first institutions of higher theological education to tear down the racial divide. Southern Baptists Open Seminaries to Negroes* The boards of three Southern Baptist theological seminaries have opened the way for the admission of Negro students next... Read more →

Slip, slidin away: The Greasy Doctrine of Limited Atonement

Nineteenth century Baptist historian, David Benedict (1779-1874), details the forming of what is likely the very first Baptist church on American soil in Providence, RI by Roger Williams.1 Below are a few highlights one of which enlightens us concerning the theological shift that took place in the church while Williams was pastor. When they were out of the Massachusetts jurisdiction, they pitched in a place now called Rehoboth; but the men of Plymouth hearing thereof, sent to inform them that they were settled on lands within their territories. Now they... Read more →

Can scholars reach the general readership or is the general readership too dumb-downed to grasp it?

Jonathan Wilson, a PhD candidate in American intellectual history at Syracuse University, writes an interesting piece on The Junto, a group blog on early American history the contributors of which are all graduate students or "green" faculty1 whose speciality is or will be within the sphere of pre/post-Colonial America. "One-Star Amazon Reviews of Pulitzer Winners" is an intriguing post the consequent of which is Wilson's personal examination of all the one-star reviews published at Amazon books for all Pulitzer prizes winners in historical monographs from 1995-2014 (115 total reviews on... Read more →