Russell D. Moore

Christian Post Guest Columnist

Latest

Jun 18, 2015
Standing With Charleston
We stand today in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Charleston, South Carolina. The brutal massacre of those in prayer at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church should shock the conscience of every person. There is hardly a more vivid picture of unmasked evil than the murder of those in prayer.
May 23, 2015
What Should the Duggar Scandal Teach the Church?
I'm not interested in litigating the specifics of this case—the civil authorities and the relevant employers are now alerted to the situation. I'm more concerned that we see that this story is one more in what has been an endless cycle of stories of sexual abuse in "churched" contexts. We cannot assume that we can avoid this topic simply by making sure our doctrines are right, our values conservative, and our people sheltered from the world. If we are not addressing this issue, it is only becaus
May 2, 2015
How the Prosperity Gospel Hurts Racial Reconciliation
The prosperity gospel teaches us to seek God's blessing outside of the covenant fulfillment in Christ, and to hope not for the reconciliation of heaven and earth in him but instead to aspire to whatever Western culture deems as success. This is not gospel; this is witchcraft. And, as such, it cannot bring about reconciliation. You cannot reconcile people across carnal divisions with a gospel based on carnal promises.
Apr 29, 2015
What Baltimore Needs
Our television screens glow with images of criminal rioting and assault on police officers in the streets of Baltimore. This is in the aftermath of the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody, despite the pleas from Gray's family for calm. The horrific scene seems to bring out the worst ideological responses from divergent corners. Some, wrongly, excuse the rioting, pointing out the issues leading up to it as justifying such criminality. On the other side, some suggest, wrongly, that such
Apr 27, 2015
What Should the Church Say to Bruce Jenner?
Bruce Jenner, of course, is a symbol, a celebrity spokesperson for an entire mentality that sees gender as separate from biological identity. So is there a word from God to the transgender community? How should the church address the Bruce Jenner in your neighborhood, who doesn't have the star power or the Malibu mansions but who has the same alienation of self?
Apr 10, 2015
Marriage and the Supreme Court: A Call to Prayer
The Supreme Court will soon decide whether states can legally choose to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. It is a watershed moment in our nation's history. As an organization, we have filed briefs with the court, argued in public and in private about why marriage, defined as the union of one man and one woman, matters as a social good, and more than I have space to list in one post. But beyond all this we as Christians and churches need to pray—because marriage is not just a
Apr 8, 2015
Rolling Stone and the Culture of Lying
Rolling Stone magazine printed serious criminal accusations against a campus group, accusations the periodical now admits are completely false. Despite all of this, both the article's author and the magazine editor will keep their jobs according to the publisher. This matters, and matters to far more people than just those on the campus of the University of Virginia or even to the target demographic of Rolling Stone. Behind this scandal is a larger point. In our society, it's become acceptable t
Mar 31, 2015
Blame Ignorance for Claims That Indiana's Religious Freedom Law Grants Right to 'Discriminate'
The public debate over Indiana's new religious freedom law is (almost) enough to drive this Baptist to drink. The conversation has been the most uninformed and ignorant I've seen in years. This culminated in a panel on one of the Sunday talk shows suggesting that the law would return us to the days when signs would hang in stores detailing who would not be welcome to do business there.
Mar 13, 2015
Left Behind In America: Following Christ After the Culture Wars
As a child growing up in a Southern Baptist church, I learned my place in American culture through rapture movies. These films—based on a pop-dispensationalist reading of prophecy—pictured a time when the church would be suddenly ripped from the earth, sailing through the air to be with the invisible (to the viewer) Jesus Christ.
Mar 6, 2015
Is Utah's LGBT-Religious Liberty Bill Good Policy?
No one in American life is more committed to religious liberty for all than the Latter-day Saints. We disagree strongly on crucial matters of faith—including the question of what the gospel is and what the church is, even over the question of who and what God is.