Posted on 11/20/2015 8:23:15 AM PST by SeekAndFind
A leading voice on the religious right sharply criticized the "dangerous" anti-refugee sentiment that has permeated the recent political debate in the United States -- and warned that some Republican presidential candidates may turn off Christian voters with their lack of compassion.
Russell Moore, the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, told BuzzFeed News on Thursday that he was shocked by the "overheated" rhetoric being employed by high-profile politicians in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris. "Donald Trump is saber-rattling about shutting down mosques in this country, which, as somebody who works every day on religious liberty, I'm astounded that we could have a presidential candidate of either party speaking in such a way," Moore said. "Evangelicals should recognize that any president who would call for shutting down houses of worship ... is the sort of political power that can ultimately shut down evangelical churches."
Moore was also critical of candidates like Ted Cruz who are now arguing that the U.S. should only accept Christian refugees from Syria, not Muslims.
"I don't think we ought to have a religious test for our refugee policy," Moore said, adding that a rigorous vetting process could still make room for innocent Muslims. "We really don't want to penalize innocent women and children who are fleeing from murderous barbarians simply because they're not Christians," he said, though he added that persecuted Christians in the region haven't received enough attention from the U.S.
Moore is an influential figure in the evangelical community, and frequently goes to bat for religious social conservatives in the national media. His comments come as many Republicans are studding their campaign stump speeches with calls for a crackdown on Syrian refugees and arguing that the Paris attacks revealed how ISIS will take advantage of Western countries' generosity.
But while conservative voters generally agree that national security must come at the cost of aiding Syrian refugees, polls suggest evangelicals are split on the issue.
Moore suggests the divergent attitudes come from Christ-like compassion -- and an evangelistic spirit. "Our Muslim neighbors are not people we want to scream and rail at -- we don't want to demonize our mission field," Moore said. "I think that the evangelistic missionary impulse of Christianity that sometimes seculars present as nefarious actually is what grounds evangelicals to see individuals not as issues but as persons."
"Every person may well be our future brother, sister in Christ."
“A leading voice on the religious right sharply criticized the “dangerous” anti-refugee sentiment that has permeated the recent political debate in the United States — ... Russell Moore, the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.”
Another useful idiot.
I bet most of these believers want to focus on a relationship with Jesus Christ. They are tired of the in-fighting, focus on "social" programs, and "joining the conversation" by SBC "leadership."
Hey SBC, how about setting the example instead of trying to reflect the world?
Well, both of them are married to members of the opposite sex, and have children. (But, then again, those things can be said about Hilllary too...)
You are correct. The headline was supposed an emotional response. My emotions kicked in before I read your post. Thanks.
Prior to entering the ministry, Moore was an aide to U. S. Congressman Gene Taylor (D-Miss), serving in various roles including as campaign communications director and press spokesman in Taylor's 1992 campaign against Republican Paul Harvey.
Slander. Either present your evidence or withdraw your statement.
Thanks for letting us know more about this Russell Moore character...the supposed *conservative* Christian *leader*.
I’ve never heard of this clown, until now.
Oh honey. There are plenty of gay men who are married to women and have kids.
They just get their happies on the side. er, maybe not on the side.
Thanks for the information. Now the article makes more sense. He is, as they say, a false prophet. A/k/a, an agent of Satan.
Russell Moore is NOT a conservative. And this is well known.
Prior to entering the ministry, Moore was an aide to U. S. Congressman Gene Taylor (D-Miss), serving in various roles including as campaign communications director and press spokesman in Taylor's 1992 campaign against Republican Paul Harvey.
He has also called on evangelicals, especially Southern Baptist Christians, to repudiate their racist legacy by working for churches that are multiracial venues of reconciliation as a witness to the coming kingdom.
Russell Moore â€@drmoore 19h19 hours ago
Washington Post: Stop pitting security and compassion against each other in the Syrian refugee crisis http://wapo.st/1XciiJe?tid=ss_tw
https://twitter.com/drmoore?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Evidently not ;-) Unfortunately, evangelical “leaders” tend to espouse a “gospel” of “niceness” so that they will be accepted and not be called “bad” names. They don’t seem to notice that their heresies don’t buy peace from the left, just contempt for their weakness.
Then “he” is a bisexual, and his wife is lucky if she doesn’t contract loathsome diseases, honey.
Obviously he is just expressing incredulity that a “leader” for policy issues of a supposedly conservative convention could be so poorly informed and thoughtless. Moore tends to the left on every “social” issue and has even drawn criticism from Don Wildmon and the AFA over his stance on the sodomite lifestyle. The SBC leadership is betraying the grassroots.
That's a good straight summary --- I understand what you're saying.
I think you ought to have said that in the first place, and skipped the other stuff.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.