Southern Baptist Convention President defends Democrats in our churches

Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear claims ‘Politics matter, but they are not an issue of first importance.’

Greear: ‘If all you do is talk about the wickedness of abortion and you never really talk about empowering the poor or how deflating, dehumanizing discrimination is, then chances are you are more influenced by Fox News than you are the Bible.’

In a podcast and blog post, Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) President J.D. Greear claimed how Christians vote is not a test of fellowship in the church. Really? So, organized murder is not an issue of first importance? Because that is what abortion is—state-sanction murder of babies.

Of course, Greear does the usual disclaimer that politics matter and that there are clearly sacred Christian convictions that must influence politics. However, he won’t judge someone’s “political calculus.”

“I have my own convictions,” Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear said. “But I’m not going to make that a matter of fellowship and faith. If there is somebody because of their perspective or perception of what is going on in the world chooses to have a different political calculus than me, I don’t believe the church should be defined by anyone of those.”

This is nonsense. If there are Christian positions on issues, then why are Christians excused from applying them?

Greear then goes on to assert that Christians who focus on abortion are probably more influenced by conservative outlets rather than the Bible.

Greear said, “If you are a really a follower of Jesus, boldly speaking out against injustice, you’ll find that you are not neatly fitting into one category or the other. Your proclamations about justice won’t all be right-leaning concerns nor will they be left-leaning. For example, if all you do is talk about the wickedness of abortion and you never really talk about empowering the poor or how deflating, dehumanizing discrimination is, then chances are you are more influenced by Fox News than you are the Bible.”

Or, you realize abortion is a holocaust. The murder of unborn babies is the greatest sin that falls under the power of the state. So, you might want to prioritize ending the murder of millions before adjusting tax policy or welfare benefits.

To construct his Christian approach to politics, Greear wants Christians to apply Empathy, Charity & Unity.

In the Podcast, Greear praises David Platt’s new book on politics—a book that is a disaster for orthodox Christian political theology.  

Greear said, “My friend David Platt in his book 7 Questions before You Vote has a great angle on this: Challenge yourself to come up with one or two positive things about the other Party. What is it they are concerned about that I can affirm?”

Good luck finding something to affirm in the anti-family, pro-abortion, anti-Christian Democrat Party. And even when you do, that won’t change the fact that abortion and attacks on religious liberty are far more important than issues championed by Social Justice Leftists.

Greear claims, “We can and should insist on alignment around biblical values–the sanctity of life and the evil of abortion; the wickedness of racism and all forms of discrimination, the preciousness of religious liberty, the importance of caring for the poor–while allowing disagreement on the political calculus used to pursue those things. And by ‘political calculus’ I mean which candidate will best get the job done and even which issues to prioritize in this election.”

Simply, no.

We must apply God’s political calculus. We must apply God’s standard. The attempt by Platt and Greear to move a vote or our political involvement into an issue of Christian liberty makes a mockery of their respective claims that abortion is an issue of morality.

Greear’s blog claims, “These are questions we can disagree on and still stand united–not because these political questions are not that important, but because our identity in Christ and our mission to preach the gospel is that much more important.”

Can one vote for baby murdering politicians and still be a Christian?

Is it a mark of a disciple to vote for those who insist on attacking the family and the church?

Or, is voting for abortion and persecution of Christians a sign of a poorly developed Christian worldview and theology?