ERLC VP pressured Tom Ascol, Josh Buice not to release Statement on Social Justice & the Gospel
SBTS administration discouraged faculty from signing statement
Southern Baptist Elites pressured initial signers of a statement against Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality in a failed attempt to stop the release of the now famous Dallas Statement on Social Justice & the Gospel. Other top Southern Baptist leaders including Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) administration pressured conservative faculty not to sign the statement.
Before release of the Dallas Statement against the analytical tools of Identity Politics, then Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) Executive Vice President Phillip Bethancourt called Dr. Tom Ascol and Dr. Josh Buice. Dr. Ascol related the conversation during a presentation at the Great Awokening Conference hosted by Sovereign Nations in Tampa, Florida, tonight. (See video of entire presentation embedded below.)
The phone conversation between Bethancourt of the ERLC, Ascol and Buice of the Dallas Statement took place “shortly before the statement’s release,” according to Dr. Ascol.
“He called us and tried to talk us out of releasing it,” Ascol said. “He suggested that if we did so that it would wind up being an embarrassment to us because, he said, this statement would never gain traction. No prominent person is backing it except John MacArthur and nobody listens to John MacArthur anymore. He said it would result in people dismissing us and our ministries.”
The ERLC has a history of pressuring Southern Baptists. It was revealed on the Eric Metaxas Show how the ERLC played a significant role in the firing of conservative Southern Baptist professor Robert Lopez. This was exposed only because Dr. Lopez recorded a conversation with Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Provost Randy Stinson. The recorded conversation proved Stinson lied in a PR release that remains on the SWBTS site.
SBTS Administration warned faculty not to sign Dallas Statement
This was not the only Southern Baptist pressure against the Statement.
“Faculty members at Southern Seminary have said they were strongly discouraged by the administration from signing that statement,” Dr. Ascol said.
This came after Dr. Mohler rejected the statement multiple times in public.
Mohler’s administration at Southern likewise forced out Dr. Russell Fuller over a range of issues including Dr. Fuller’s stand against the teaching of Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Fuller detailed the problems at Southern in a series of interviews with Jon Harris. These are worth watching as they expose the level of intimidation against conservatives at Al Mohler’s seminary.
Despite the pressure from Southern Baptist Elites, the Dallas Statement on Social Justice & the Gospel now has 14,484 signers.
Watch all of Dr. Ascol’s presentation below:
18 thoughts on “Southern Baptist Elites attempted to stop Statement against Critical Race Theory”
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What the heck is the ERLC?
Nowhere in this story about the ERLC are we told what it is.
Very poor writing on a basic level.
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). Second paragraph of the story. No history or background but what it is seem pretty obvious.
Apparently they edited it since. Good to know they pay attention to comments.
Clipped from the site Pulpit and Pen: [….The Democratic wing of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) regularly sends out its research fellows and employees to attack anything resembling political conservatism. Run by former Democratic staffer, Russell Moore, this entity drains approximately five million dollars a year from SBC church members and serves the purpose of getting Southern Baptists to not vote Republican. One of its most prominent fellows, Thomas Kidd, said on Twitter on October 11 that voting for Donald Trump is morally “unacceptable.”] …see : https://pulpitandpen.org/2019/10/15/erlc-trying-to-kick-out-conservative-sbc-pastors-because-they-endorsed-a-book/
ERLC, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, is the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The ELRC is named in full in the second paragrah:
” Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC)”
Very poor reading on a basic level?
In fairness, I updated that after he complained. It was originally intended to be in the first paragraph but in copy editing was cut and not inserted into the second paragraph as intended. That was my mistake and we updated.
Thank you. Nice of you.
Have you looked it up yet?
excellent point, they should have spelled it out…it’s the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC).
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, as identified in the article. Read it again.
Proverbs 1:13-15
King James Version
13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC)
Conservative Christians need to push back on this idea. It is false concept designed to divide people. We all know America is not a perfect nation; none are. But we are the best that has ever been created and done the most to help the most. Judeo-Christian principles allow a society to work together to make life better for everyone. If we could conform to those principles the world would be as good as it gets short of being in heaven. It is our fallen nature that continually gets in the way.
ERLC – Ethics & Religious Liberties Commission an entity of the SBC.
Why?