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Dear Mrs. Moore,
Hello – we hope this finds you doing well.
We as female Bible teachers ourselves write this letter to you in hopes of receiving clarification of your views on an important issue: homosexuality.
In the last few years, particularly since 2016, you have been very vocal in your opposition to misogyny and racism. Anytime a story with so much of a whiff of these issues comes to the forefront you are very quick to speak out. The actions of the Covington kids, for example, you said "is so utterly antichrist it reeks of the vomit of hell" in a January 19, 2019 tweet; a tweet you deleted, without apology to the kids, once the full video was shown that portrayed a very different reality than what initial reporting suggested.
It is this Johnny-on-the-spot readiness to engage issues related to misogyny and racism that makes your virtual silence on the issue of homosexuality so puzzling.
To your credit, in your book To Live is Christ: The Life and Ministry of Paul, you wrote, "I met a young man who had experienced freedom from the bondage of homosexuality" (pg. 119). This book was first published in 1997 and then republished in 2008 but it seems since then you have said very little if anything publicly about this issue.
Another factor prompting our open letter to you is the very public mutual affection and admiration between you, Jen Hatmaker and Jonathan Merritt.
Jen Hatmaker and you regularly exchange affirming posts of one another on social media. In just one recent example, Hatmaker on September 17, 2018 wrote "Beth Moore will enjoy my respect and devotion forever. She is worthy of being a mentor to an entire generation. And friends, I wish you knew how deeply and profoundly she has loved me these last two years" (Source). In an interview two years before this post, October of 2016, Jen Hatmaker said she was a "left-leaning moderate," came out as fully supportive of homosexual marriage (saying it can be "holy") and said practicing homosexuals can be part of the regenerate body of Christ (Source). It was then that LifeWay decided to pull all of her books from its shelves.
More recently, on April 9, 2019, Jonathan Merritt tweeted, "I no longer believe @BethMooreLPM is a human. I think she is an angelic being having a human experience.” (Source). Jonathan Merritt has admitted to having at least one homosexual encounter about a decade ago (Source). Today, by his own admission he rejects biblical inerrancy, says a "liberal Protestant" would be an accurate description of him, and says his sexual orientation he no longer views as "broken" (Source). In a crass response to Dr. Owen Strachan tweeting, rightly so, that there should never be an occasion in which men "cuddle" with one another, Merritt on May 1, 2019 tweeted in response, "C'mon, Owen. You can be my little spoon" (Source). Merritt also openly affirms that "queer" and LGBTQ people are included in God’s Kingdom and it is a "carrot of false promises" that the Gospel can make such people straight (Source, Source). He supports "Drag Queen Story Time" in which drag queens read stories to young children in public libraries (Source 27:40 mark- NOTE, the video has already been deleted. Try this one.). He even appears to doubt the exclusivity of Christ (Source).
Both Jen Hatmaker and Jonathan Merritt are known for their belief that practicing homosexuals can be Christians. Given that this is such a deeply held conviction that both share and this conviction (wrong though it is) has cost them both in their standing amongst theologically conservative evangelicals, and that they both praise you so highly, it raises the natural question as to where you stand on this issue.
Given his beliefs, Merritt publicly saying that he believes you to be "an angelic being having a human experience" strongly suggests that his high praise of you is, at least partially, rooted in your views on this issue that you have shared with him privately. It seems most unlikely that he would be praising you so highly if you had told him that as a homosexual man he will perish for all of eternity unless he repents. It likewise seems unlikely that Hatmaker (a married, straight woman) would praise you so highly if you told her that her affirmation of homosexuality and homosexual marriage is sinful and that she must repent.
When all of this is coupled with your total silence on homosexuality (in stark contrast to your very vocal stance on gender/racial/abuse issues) it naturally raises the question as to what your beliefs on it truly are.
With these factors in mind, and knowing that millions of people follow your teachings, we would like to ask you:
As you know, homosexuality is widely discussed and debated amongst evangelicals and society at large.
Many families are affected by this issue. The most loving thing obedient Christians can do for them is to clearly communicate God’s truth. We look forward to your clarification on these pressing issues.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Susan Heck
http://www.withthemaster.com/
Debbie Lynne Kespert
http://www.headstickdeb.com/
Michelle Lesley
http://www.michellelesley.com/
Martha Peace
http://marthapeacetew.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth Prata
http://www.the-end-time.org/
Amy Spreeman
https://bereanresearch.org/
https://naomistable.com/
Hello – we hope this finds you doing well.
We as female Bible teachers ourselves write this letter to you in hopes of receiving clarification of your views on an important issue: homosexuality.
In the last few years, particularly since 2016, you have been very vocal in your opposition to misogyny and racism. Anytime a story with so much of a whiff of these issues comes to the forefront you are very quick to speak out. The actions of the Covington kids, for example, you said "is so utterly antichrist it reeks of the vomit of hell" in a January 19, 2019 tweet; a tweet you deleted, without apology to the kids, once the full video was shown that portrayed a very different reality than what initial reporting suggested.
It is this Johnny-on-the-spot readiness to engage issues related to misogyny and racism that makes your virtual silence on the issue of homosexuality so puzzling.
To your credit, in your book To Live is Christ: The Life and Ministry of Paul, you wrote, "I met a young man who had experienced freedom from the bondage of homosexuality" (pg. 119). This book was first published in 1997 and then republished in 2008 but it seems since then you have said very little if anything publicly about this issue.
Another factor prompting our open letter to you is the very public mutual affection and admiration between you, Jen Hatmaker and Jonathan Merritt.
Jen Hatmaker and you regularly exchange affirming posts of one another on social media. In just one recent example, Hatmaker on September 17, 2018 wrote "Beth Moore will enjoy my respect and devotion forever. She is worthy of being a mentor to an entire generation. And friends, I wish you knew how deeply and profoundly she has loved me these last two years" (Source). In an interview two years before this post, October of 2016, Jen Hatmaker said she was a "left-leaning moderate," came out as fully supportive of homosexual marriage (saying it can be "holy") and said practicing homosexuals can be part of the regenerate body of Christ (Source). It was then that LifeWay decided to pull all of her books from its shelves.
More recently, on April 9, 2019, Jonathan Merritt tweeted, "I no longer believe @BethMooreLPM is a human. I think she is an angelic being having a human experience.” (Source). Jonathan Merritt has admitted to having at least one homosexual encounter about a decade ago (Source). Today, by his own admission he rejects biblical inerrancy, says a "liberal Protestant" would be an accurate description of him, and says his sexual orientation he no longer views as "broken" (Source). In a crass response to Dr. Owen Strachan tweeting, rightly so, that there should never be an occasion in which men "cuddle" with one another, Merritt on May 1, 2019 tweeted in response, "C'mon, Owen. You can be my little spoon" (Source). Merritt also openly affirms that "queer" and LGBTQ people are included in God’s Kingdom and it is a "carrot of false promises" that the Gospel can make such people straight (Source, Source). He supports "Drag Queen Story Time" in which drag queens read stories to young children in public libraries (
Both Jen Hatmaker and Jonathan Merritt are known for their belief that practicing homosexuals can be Christians. Given that this is such a deeply held conviction that both share and this conviction (wrong though it is) has cost them both in their standing amongst theologically conservative evangelicals, and that they both praise you so highly, it raises the natural question as to where you stand on this issue.
Given his beliefs, Merritt publicly saying that he believes you to be "an angelic being having a human experience" strongly suggests that his high praise of you is, at least partially, rooted in your views on this issue that you have shared with him privately. It seems most unlikely that he would be praising you so highly if you had told him that as a homosexual man he will perish for all of eternity unless he repents. It likewise seems unlikely that Hatmaker (a married, straight woman) would praise you so highly if you told her that her affirmation of homosexuality and homosexual marriage is sinful and that she must repent.
When all of this is coupled with your total silence on homosexuality (in stark contrast to your very vocal stance on gender/racial/abuse issues) it naturally raises the question as to what your beliefs on it truly are.
With these factors in mind, and knowing that millions of people follow your teachings, we would like to ask you:
- Do you believe homosexuality is inherently sinful?
- Do you believe that the practice of the homosexual lifestyle is compatible with holy Christian living?
- Do you believe a person who dies as a practicing homosexual but professes to be a Christian will inherit eternal life?
- Do you believe same sex attraction is, in and of itself, an inherently sinful, unnatural, and disordered desire that must be mortified?
- Why have you been so silent on this subject in light of your desire to "teach the word of God?"
As you know, homosexuality is widely discussed and debated amongst evangelicals and society at large.
Many families are affected by this issue. The most loving thing obedient Christians can do for them is to clearly communicate God’s truth. We look forward to your clarification on these pressing issues.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
Susan Heck
http://www.withthemaster.com/
Debbie Lynne Kespert
http://www.headstickdeb.com/
Michelle Lesley
http://www.michellelesley.com/
Martha Peace
http://marthapeacetew.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth Prata
http://www.the-end-time.org/
Amy Spreeman
https://bereanresearch.org/
https://naomistable.com/
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteSincere question: do the five of you see Beth Moore as a believing sister, who is in need of repentance, or do you see her as a false teacher? She's one or she's the other.
Why do I ask? Your letter reads as if you believe she is saved and you are just sincerely wanting to know where she stands on the issue, perhaps to correct her if you see she's out of alignment with God's Word.
Yet I know from reading some of your blogs (I am not familiar with Heck or Peace, so I can't comment on them), that you have clearly denounced BM repeatedly (and rightfully so) for a plethora of false teaching and polity (her teaching of men being one of her worst offenses). I believe at least a couple of you have actually labeled Beth Moore as a false teacher, which would mean you feel she is not a Christian at all. Why not just come out in your open letter and tell her you feel she is a false teacher?
If she's read any of your blogs or twitter feeds, and has seen how you have spoken *about* her, vs how you have spoken *to* her in this open letter, she may not answer you simply for that reason...
For the record, I have nothing to do with Beth Moore, never followed her, never will. I do not believe she is a trustworthy teacher of God's Word, and so I have nothing to do with what she says/does/teaches, and I tell people not to follow her.
My answers to your first four questions:
Yes, no, no, yes. I am not a Bible teacher. I am just a believing sister.
-Carolyn
Carolyn,
DeleteThank you for your sincere question, here is my sincere answer: We simply want to know where Beth Moore stands on the issue of homosexuality. It wasn't to denounce, it was to ask the question and hope for a reply.
As to your comment: what is the point of you asking her anything like that?
DeleteShe teaches men, is ecumenical, and believes in direct revelations from 'god'. Three major, major problems, for which she can never be recommended as a faithful teacher, regardless of any or all other issues.
So if she has a biblical view of homosexuality, does it matter? No, she still cannot be recommended, due to the above mentioned problems. It would just be one thing she "got right", aka, something for which she couldn't be criticized. But it would in no way change or affect the other issues with her, nor would it exonerate her from those issues.
If she does not have a biblical view, would it surprise you? Given what you've already discerned about her, I would have to say, no, it would not. Then why are you asking her? What new thing would you learn? That a woman with massively wrong teaching has... more wrong teaching?
Hence why the open letter puzzles me.
And given how you have spoken of her (if she's image conscious/media savvy, she likely would be aware of her most vocal critics), why would you think she'd even reply to you?
-Carolyn
It mattered enough to us to write a letter about it. :)
DeleteAsking her isn't to "prove" if she is false or not, it is to ask a direct question on an important topic and see what her answer may or may not be.
DeleteElizabeth,
DeleteI guess we will have to disagree on the worth of this letter. She's already been well-established as a false teacher. Therefore, we don't need to know her stance on any Biblical issue anymore, regardless of the issue's importance. As I said, by learning her answer, we gain *nothing new* and *nothing useful*. Her response - or lack thereof - is therefore immaterial.
Scripture says: once you know someone is false, mark and avoid. There's no example of Paul or any other apostle writing open letters to false teachers, or querying them on their beliefs of various Biblical topics. Scripture says we should not greet false teachers or wish them well (2 John vs 10-11), we should just rebuke and avoid them (Romans 16:17, 2 John 1:10). We're also told to reject a factious person after 2 warnings (Titus 3:10)... we don't need to continue on after that.
(As I am sure you know) Michelle Lesley had a signatory list growing for this open letter. I read through the comments. All they did was reaffirm my stance that this open letter is really unnecessary. One signatory said, "She has been an unsound teacher for quite a while and it needs to be exposed." ... as if she hasn't been exposed?! BM has already been exposed. Repeatedly. For years.
Some indicated they are waiting (even anxiously) to hear her response. But ladies (and a few gents), why? Think about it. Why do you care what a false teacher thinks? If she affirms the Biblical view, then what? What does that matter? Are we to commend her then? Accept her? Shrug and go "well at least she got one thing right..."? A broken clock is correct twice a day, right?
However, if she responds and rejects the Biblical view, then what? Have we gained anything new? Other than everyone lighting up blogs and twitter feeds with the "news" that a false teacher has yet another false belief? Which goes without saying, is not news at all.
Most importantly: if she doesn't respond, that means nothing, because we, unlike Christ, cannot read the heart.
Sorry, ladies, I see no value in this. Those with a willing heart already have more than enough information to reject her. Those who won't listen, nothing will convince them... not even her potential response to this (if she happens to respond rejecting the Biblical view).
The true root problem: the believing leaders who still partner with her, because they keep giving her undue credibility. At this point, that is what needs correcting.
-Carolyn
We do disagree on this one, Carolyn.
DeleteBeth Moore’s tacit approval of homosexuality must be confronted. Her evil works of pushing egalitarianism, now her seeming homosexuality acceptance (by her behavior), has consequences. Any denomination in the past that has accepted egalitarianism has within 20 years also accepted homosexuality. Not to mention the negative impact her acceptance of her ‘Christian’ palswho accept gay marriage and homosexual activity is having on the denomination and the global church in general right now.
You mention leaders. LifeWay pulled all Jen Hatmaker's books from the shelves when Hatmaker refused to recant her stance on homosexual marriage. Moore's partnerships with Hatmaker and Merritt and others on the "Christian homosexual" side is a concern and whether she answers or not, it may hopefully push those leaders into making decisions of their own, including Lifeway. At the least, it will expose Lifeway for hypocrisy.
I'm sad to see your stance that you believe since you know Moore is false then no one else should confront her, because it's pointless. She has a 2 million strong following on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram. That does not count Youtube nor the live events, nor the impacts her best-selling books have on buyers. She is massively influential. Not everyone knows as much as you do. We confront these things for the weak and immature and clueless in hopes that some of those millions may come to see the light.
It is a question of will Beth Moore will define sin, a sin that is not one of her pet sins? I DO hope she responds, and she will. Will she be clear and say yes? Or no? The yes, the no, and the silence are all answers. They are all responses. Whatever she says or doesn’t say, it’s not “immaterial.” It is a defining moment in her career that no matter how she answers, other leaders who are working to the good within the SBC can use, eyes would be opened, and in addition, the manner in which she has handled this & other recent criticism is helping some women see that Beth Moore is not all that mature or humble. I’ve already seen evidence of this.
I encourage you to listen to both James White on The Dividing Line as to the letter’s importance and value, and also the podcast Striving for Eternity with Andre Rappaport with guest Justin Peters also discussing why it is useful. (on Youtube). They are solid men, global evangelists with a resulting larger view.
Though you seem pretty certain that your view is correct. That’s OK, thanks for sharing. We believe in what we did and we believe The Open Letter to Beth Moore has both kingdom AND temporal value.