Sermongate enters new phase as Evangelical Leaders hold Ed Litton up as a bad example
Carl Trueman said Ed Litton’s Sermongate made the newly elected President of the Southern Baptist Convention into a laughingstock. Trueman made the comments about Ed Litton on Mortification of Spin. Trueman’s cohost Todd Pruitt also criticized the new SBC President over the plagiarism scandal.
“The newly appointed president of the convention, Pastor Ed Litton, has been engulfed in a plagiarism scandal that—you know, to put it politely—has made him a laughingstock, I think,” Trueman said. “There have been a series of videos that have come out online where his sermons have been interspliced among, I think the foremost one has been the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention J.D. Greear, where repeated section of sermons have been taken virtually word-for-word from the sermons of Greear.”
Trueman went on to explain that pastors depend on the “wisdom of others” in sermon preparation to make sure they are handling the text appropriately; however, here it was different.
“There is a difference between competent and appropriate sermon preparation to make sure what you present to your people is worth hearing and straightforward, to use the English vernacular, knocking off somebody else’s sermon to save you some prep time.
Trueman is a professor at Grove City College and a pastor in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC).
Trueman’s cohost on Mortification of Spin made a critical point about Litton. He should be embarrassed by this. Yet, Litton has not resigned.
“This thing with the recently elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention is embarrassing,” Pastor Todd Pruitt said. “He ought to be deeply humiliated. I am sure he is humiliated. I am sure he is embarrassed. Although, he is not stepping down. As you mentioned, this was not one unattributed quote to one sermon. These are entire sermons—entire sermon series that were just lifted from another preacher. That is entirely different from the normal work of sermon preparation.”
While Litton may or may not be embarrassed, Litton is not repentant. He repeatedly lies about it and refuses to resign—the hallmarks of a penitent Christian. His actions are not contrite. His actions are like Bill Clinton. This means Litton’s every action as SBC President is illegitimate. He is, like an anti-pope, an anti-president. He has no authority and should be ignored by Southern Baptists.
This marks another important point in the Sermongate Scandal plaguing Ed Litton as prominent evangelical leaders condemn Litton for the obvious plagiarism. Last week, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) President Al Mohler condemned plagiarism in brave remarks focused on the Southern Baptist Convention and President Ed Litton.
It is shameful what has become of the Southern Baptist Convention. SBC Elites are determined to keep Ed Litton in power—and that shows they really do not care about the Bible, nor the teachings of Jesus, nor do they fear God.