Study – Grow – Know

Identity Politics Officially Enters the Southern Baptist Convention

June 15, 2017 at 11:34 AM 2 comments

It is difficult to completely narrow down and put forth an accurate and succinct definition of what today is termed Identity Politics. One site presents the following definition:

Identity politics is a political style and ideology that focuses on the issues relevant to various groups defined by a wide variety of shared personal characteristics, including, but not limited to, race, religion, sex, gender, ethnicity, ideology, nationality, sexual orientation, gender expression, culture, shared history, medical conditions, and other of the many ways in which people differ from each other, and into which they may be classified or classify themselves.

Another site says this about Identity Politics (IP):

Political attitudes or positions that focus on the concerns of social groups identified mainly on the basis of gender,race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.

Irrespective of the differences between the many definitions, it is clear that within the spectrum of Identity Politics, things are focused on concerns of specific groups of people over and above other groups. Often, these concerns relate to people of color, women, or gay, lesbian, or transgender groups. Unfortunately, all too often, Identity Politics tends to vilifying white people as the main reason racism exists and allegedly flourishes. Whether this is the intended or indirect result of it is not thoroughly clear, but it is the result too often.

We’ve come to expect forms of identity politics from godless society. After all, we have many groupings of people who are demanding attention and even “protection.” Decades ago in America, blacks and whites were segregated and blacks rightly pushed for the equality that they had and have inherently because all people share inalienable rights under the Constitution and beyond this, God made the human race in its entirety. He did not simply make “white” people or “black” people. We were made by Him and in His image. That makes us valuable.

Now, in today’s ever-changing societal norms, groups of blacks graduating from Harvard want their own “black-only graduation” (“safe place”), and they want whites kept out. At another college in Washington State, students wanted a “no-whites” day and then demanded a progressively political professor be fired for disagreeing with those students.

In truth, much of society appears to be going insane, literally. On one hand we’ve got hardcore fascist Leftist (average people, political leaders, and media types), encouraging a strong and even violent “resistance” against President Donald Trump and his supporters, and then when someone on the Left takes a gun and tries to kill members of the GOP as reported in a previous article here, these same leftists tell us the shooter wasn’t really “evil;” he’s just sick and tired of politics. They follow that up with cries for more gun control. The lunacy of the Left is always on display. It appears to be unavoidable and acceptable by too many. While we expect this type of idiocy from lost individuals, we don’t expect it from within Christendom, yet this is also what we’re seeing and experiencing.

A few years ago, my wife and I left the Southern Baptist denomination (SBC). I had gotten tired of the tenets of the Emergent Church creeping in and it appeared that church leaders were oblivious to what was happening or maybe they were simply willfully ignorant. Then again, too many pastors worry about how to pay the bills and in so doing, wind up taking the path of least resistance instead of actually being the leader God called them to be over a local flock of believers.

We found a church that held to the solid doctrines of the Christian church as outlined in Scripture and we became part of that local body. The difference between the churches is starkly noted each Sunday. I could list any numbers of errors and problems I believe began taking over the SBC a number of years ago, but rather than do that, I’ll simply focus on what I consider to be their latest doctrinal gaffe, which we’ll get to that shortly.

In today’s climate of social unrest and “resistance,” the Left plays the perfect Alinsky game. They create “truth” (their version) through labeling and repetition. Eventually, because the same thing is repeated so often, it becomes truth for many people. Such is the case with what has been labeled the “alt-right.” The “alt-right” got its name because it is largely nationalistic in belief. Folks who are nationalistic believe in “Make America Great Again” (MAGA), a slogan that came to the fore during Donald Trump’s run for office as president. There’s nothing wrong with being proud of America, proud of the good that America has accomplished, and for wanting American citizens to come before illegal aliens and criminals.

However, at some point, the Left began to refer to the “alt-right” as “white supremacists” and in true Alinsky fashion, it was repeated so often (dutifully helped along by various “news” outlets), that the two have now become synonymous. To many people, both labels mean essentially the same thing.

It was due to this that the SBC adopted several resolutions at its most recent convention in Phoenix, which just ended. One of them condemns the alleged “alt-right racism.” It is titled, “PROPOSED RESOLUTION #10 ON THE ANTI-GOSPEL OF ALT-RIGHT WHITE SUPREMACY.”

Of course, it is imperative that each and every Christian condemns any form of racism as the evil it is. However, the way the SBC has done it, it has taken all sense of “nationalism” and applied it only to white people who happen to be conservative (part of the “alt-right”), and are loyal to America and the Constitution. What the SBC has forgotten (or purposefully ignored for the sake of political correctness), is that there are many people of color who consider themselves nationalists and support President Donald Trump because he seems to support the rule of law. If this country cannot stand on the rule of law, it cannot stand and this is why we are seeing what we are seeing throughout society today, with Black Lives Matter (BLM), AntiFa, and a myriad of other violent left-wing, progressive organizations and protests.

Russell Moore, along with Al Mohler, and other leaders within the SBC have successfully caved into the Left’s demands by making decisions based on emotional virtue (aka political correctness). Prior to the election of Donald Trump as this nation’s 45th president, Moore and Mohler both came out against Trump as a man who lacked morals. They condemned him, though I read nothing of any such condemnation of either Hillary or Bernie. They are still on that same path, refusing to support Trump in his efforts to realign America under the Constitution.

The reality is that because of political correctness, identity politics has now officially made its way into the SBC. If you read the resolution carefully, you’ll come away thinking, “What’s wrong with that? All forms of evil including racism should be targeted and denounced!” I would agree wholeheartedly. However, they have included the following in their resolution: “…decry every form of racism, including alt-white supremacy…” They say it again in the very next line, “we denounce and repudiate alt-white supremacy…” They wrongly conclude that being nationalistic toward America makes one a “white supremacist.”

What the SBC has done is bought the Left’s lie that to support America and want it to become great as it once was is anti-thetical to the gospel because it is allegedly based in white supremacy. That is truly absurd and reminds me again of Romans 1, where Paul describes people who have become darkened in their thinking (Romans 1:21). But let’s look at the SBC for a moment, shall we?

Russell Moore is the head of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the SBC. Moore is white. Of a total of 23 staff members of ERLC, only two of them are people of color, one man and one woman.

LifeWay is the publishing arm of the SBC. According to their web page, there are seven individuals who oversee leadership. I could be blind, but it does not appear to me that any of them are people of color.

Regarding the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, there are numerous levels and groups of people. The officers of the Executive Committee comprises six people, with only one being black. The executive committee president’s office itself boasts three people – all white.  The Executive Committee Members totals 81 members and the vast majority of those members are older white males. There are a few white women and very few people of color.

The Convention Policy and Operations has five people, all white. The Cooperative Program & Stewardship has two people and yep, they’re both white. The Convention Communications and Relations group has nine people and all are white except one. Convention Finance has eight people and only one of those folks is non-white. The Convention Advancement group has two people with the VP being black.

I don’t know about you, but for a denomination that has gone to the trouble of creating a resolution that disavows racism in all its forms, it’s difficult to take their resolution seriously because of the abject lack of people of color in the decision-making process. The president of the SBC is Steve Gaines, who is white. Albert Mohler is the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and again, Mohler is white.

What it’s starting to look like is exactly the way the Left rolls. They decry racism after they label someone they disagree with as racist, then do whatever they want even though their actions give them away as complete hypocrites because of their violence, racism, or both.

Will Mohler, Moore, or Gaines be stepping aside anytime soon, giving up their prestigious positions to a person of color? Will we see them put their actions behind their words? I can’t imagine it. In fact, this is the problem with some of the larger Christian denominations and non-profits within Christendom. They become so large with budgets into the millions that it is way too difficult for people to walk away from what they’ve built. The pull of “mammon” is too difficult to resist.

While on one hand, all forms of racism must be decried and resisted, the SBC has simply fallen for the ploy of the Left with its outrage at something they have simply labeled racist; nationalism and support for America’s rule of law under the Constitution. It is not racist to support the law and the Constitution, while not a perfect document, it certainly acknowledges the fact that all are created equal and should be treated equally. Whether that was done perfectly or not is not the fault of the Constituion.

When groups like SBC start believing the lies of the Left, we have a serious break with truth. It’s been a long, slow, steady slide for the SBC, but it appears that they have finally jumped the biblical shark because they are now going after “ghosts” and “goblins” that the Left claims are racist. SBC has bought the lie that being nationalistic equates to racism. Let’s keep tabs on SBC to determine whether or not more people of color will be invited into the vaunted higher positions that mainly white men have held for decades. That would be the proof of SBC’s intentions.

I can’t imagine that Jesus is impressed with SBC’s latest resolution. Sure, it’ll allow members to believe that they are truly making headway against racism, but what will actually change within the SBC? Identity politics in any form ends up taking away from the truth of the gospel, in spite of what SBC and those who agree with this latest resolution actually believe. Jesus came to save all people who are willing to put their faith in His finished work. That was His goal and objective. Denominations like SBC do the gospel a tremendous disservice with their round table discussions, resolutions, and think tanks headed up by people with six-figure salaries, when they should be out presented the gospel to the lost.

Jesus did not form a non-profit and work hard to increase its size. More often than not, He didn’t know where His next meal was coming from and had no permanent place to lay His head. For way too many denominations today, Christianity has become the starting point for huge budgets and strongly worded resolutions. But that’s not where the rubber meets the road.

In effect, SBC has made two errors here. First, they have wrongly categorized everyone who is in any way nationalistic toward America as being “alt-right, white supremacist,” and second, they have failed to recognize their own hypocrisy because they have precious few people of color in true leadership positions. This is exactly what the Fascist Left does. They essentially say, “Do as we say but not as we do.” It’s easy to sit around a huge table drinking coffee and having lunch brought in, while discussing the rigors of ethics and creating position white papers. It’s quite another thing to put the pedal to the metal where the rubber meets the road and do something beyond words. Unfortunately, the SBC started off on the partial wrong foot by grouping every patriot in this country as “alt-right” and “racist” simply because of their support for America and Trump.

Is the “alt-right” causing the violence? AntiFa is left-wing. The Alexandria shooter hated conservatives and was himself a Leftist. Most of the news bureaus create hatred of Trump by presenting lie after lie after lie. When a group like the SBC gets behind these people and plays the same game using the Bible to support their egregious conclusions, something is seriously wrong. It has been for a while in the SBC. It won’t get better anytime soon.

Why do I think in five to ten years from now, nothing will have changed with the SBC? Writing out a resolution is one thing (though it is predicated on at least a partially erroneous starting point). Putting that resolution into effect is quite another. I’ll be looking for the first black president of the SBC soon. How about you?

Entry filed under: 9/11, Agenda 21, alienology, Atheism and religion, Barack Hussein Obama, Barry Sotero, christianity, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Cultural Marxism, Demonic, devil worship, Eastern Mysticism, emergent church, Emotional virtue, eternity, Global Elite, Life in America, Political Correctness, Politically Correct, Politics, Racism, Religious - Christian - End Times, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, Religious - Christian - Theology, salvation, Satanism, second coming, Shadow Government, Socialism, Trilateral Commission. Tags: al mohler, russell moore, sbc, sbc resolution, sbc17, southern baptist convention, steve gaines.