Republishing these articles from 2017 /2018 by request. First published in SBC Today, these revelations of infiltration ,subversion, false vision casting and dirty money shook the Evangelical Deep State and began it’s exposure. See of how Faith Based Partnerships and Social Justice driven “Economics” for the “Common Good ” and “Human Flourishing ” came straight out of Frankfurt School inspired and Vatican led think tanks STRAIGHT into conservative evangelical seminaries and pulpits. Thankfully this long hidden compromise has and continues to be exposed and is faltering.

By. Rev. Thomas Littleton

Part One of this article was published on December 18, 2017. Over a month later, interest in the issues raised in the article remains high, and the questions over associations of evangelical leaders like Al Mohler, Tim Keller, Russell Moore, and Marvin Olasky continue to linger. Efforts to dismiss the well documented findings as the “ramblings of a crazed conspiracy theorist” by Ed Stetzer and others have failed to deflect attention on the facts. There are serious problems with the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission and The Gospel Coalition’s rhetoric and common source of communications with Libertarian think tank, The Acton Institute. SBC and PCA pastors and ministers who have followed the Reformed theological leaders in these circles have little if any clue that they were actually following Jesuit / Catholic Liberation Theology and social policy wrapped in historic Reformed Protestant teaching.

Acton in Evangelical Seminaries

Acton Institute, mentioned in Part One of this research, is headed by Father Robert Sirico, who has a history as a radical “homosexual faith activist.” Acton Institute is celebrated by Philanthropy  Roundtable as a key player since the 1990s in synthesizing religion and democratic capitalism. Acton’s blog boasts such bold goals as rethinking Liberation Theology and Marxism from updated and fresh approaches of application, while oddly accusing Trump supporters of folk Marxism. The ironies run much deeper.

According to the “The New Evangelical Social Engagement” by Brian Steensland and Philip Goff, Acton Institute founder Father Sirico, “’combining free market approaches with Catholic social thought,’ argues that ‘there is no social justice without economic freedom …Instead of a vast welfare state,  social justice is about people fulfilling their responsibilities in justice to their neighbor.’ Therefore, with the support of the Kern Family Foundation, Acton has sponsored curriculum initiatives at thirteen evangelical seminaries.” (p. 63)

These seminaries include Dr. Albert Mohler’s Southern Seminary which sponsors The Commonweal Project.  Note the “Social Gospel” with a strong emphasis on “Social Justice” in this initiative in the videos by Mohler and Os Guinness.  With the help of Acton Institute and over a dozen partners of the same persuasions, Dr. Mohler appears to be endorsing a Rethink of Marxist social policy, while partners like “Poverty Cure .org” – an Acton offshoot – are marketing a RETHINK of Missions to a ”Social Justice” mandate.

Other Reformed seminaries, including the PCA’s Reformed Theological Seminary and Beeson Seminary (now on its third Kern grant since 2015), are also using the Acton-inspired, Kern-funded Social Justice curriculum programs which are designed around the “Faith and Work” ideology famously touted by Tim Keller. Some seminary partners have possibly jumped on board with the popular ideology and trendy nature of the Social Justice mantra; however, “rethinking Liberation Theology” and a fresh approach to “Marxist-inspired ideology” on the part of Sirico / Acton and Mohler / Commonweal Project is a bridge too far to simply dismiss as poorly thought out eagerness for cultural engagement on their part.  

The Kern Family Foundation

The Kern Family Foundation which is very active in funding education at every level is considered to be a well-anchored Christian funding source. However, the Kern website shows that their partners in K-12 “Bright Minds Good Hearts“ program funding include organizations like Teach for America, whose work in K-12 public education includes a well-defined  focus on pro-LGBTQ policy with radical LGBTQ organizations  like Human Rights Campaign, Campus Pride, The Trevor Network and the most radical Gay and Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN). Teach for America also promotes Gay Pride Month with GLSEN in public schools each June, even celebrating the notorious “Dear Colleague Letter” – the pro- transgender bathroom directive from the Obama Whitehouse in May 2016. The current focus of all such pro-LGBTQ efforts in public schools is on showcasing LGBTQ History.

Kern also shows its partnership with liberal education giant Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and the Frankfurt School inspired “Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture,” which is a major influence on Tim Keller and others in the Civilitas Group and Cultural Engagement camp. When asked about the funding in an email exchange on January 15th, the Kern Family Foundation denied the funding in the thirteen evangelical seminaries though it is widely touted in the news, press releases and on the websites (of Southern Seminary’s “Commonweal Project” for example) but Kern contacts did link us to Acton University’s site and confirmed the Acton / Kern Curriculum is in five evangelical universities as well.

Acton Institute and the Confusing Messages of Albert Mohler

Acton Institute’s and Father Sirico’s attachment to the conservative political and religious community is disturbing to Liberals as well. According to a defender of Classical Liberalism, Sirico’s Acton Institute was and is heavily supported by Atlas Foundation, which had been a trusted ally of the Left until it began taking Conservative money.  Sirico’s work with Atlas was not a problem because of his homosexual faith activist history which is recounted in detail in the research. The concern for the Liberal researcher is the recent drift of both Atlas and Acton toward the Right from their historic  “Libertarian values”—which pose no threat to the social agenda of the Left. Sirico had gained the confidence of the Left:

“By 1977 Sirico was listed by the LA Times as the ‘organizer of Libertarians for Gay Rights. When it was later revealed that the ACLU once cooperated with the FBI in building files on radicals Sirico told the Times: ‘We turn out to be to the left of the ACLU.’” 

Incidentally, the Liberal article exposes Father Sirico as being “back in the closet”:

“Acton officials got heavily involved in the debate on gay marriage. With Sirico back in the closet the position they have been taking has been to pander to bigots on the Religious Right.”

“When or if Sirico tried to go back into the closet is hard to determine. But certainly by the time he was taking money from the anti-gay Templeton network it would have been prudent for him to be closeted. Certainly by 1997 Sirico was criticizing another priest for telling his congregation that he was gay. Sirico told the Grand Rapids Press that honesty about the matter was ‘irresponsible’ and that the priest should have kept it a secret between him and a few close friends.”

“Father Sirico is a perfect example. He went from a hard-core libertarian to promoting just the economic agenda. He then started covering up his past and went so far as to try to go back into the closet in regards to his own homosexuality. From pioneering gay marriage, to being silent on it, he now heads an organization with notorious antigay bigots who openly attack gay equality in the name of his organization.” Father Sirico is not the only one who appears to be living in contradiction to himself.

Father Sirico is a Catholic priest who views his Jesuit-inspired Catholic social policy as being “theological” and NOT political. Dr. Mohler says the Catholic Church teaches a false gospel: “During a 2000 television interview on Larry King Live, Mohler said of the Holy See and the Pope: ‘As an evangelical, I believe that the Roman Catholic Church is a false church. It teaches a false gospel. And the Pope himself holds a false and unbiblical office.’”

And during a March 13, 2014 podcast of The Briefing: “Evangelical Christians simply cannot accept the legitimacy of the papacy and must resist and reject claims of papal authority. To do otherwise would be to compromise biblical truth and reverse the Reformation.”

Dr. Mohler has either changed his views on core Catholic teaching or is contradicting himself to the spiritual detriment of the students at Southern Seminary and of the Southern Baptist Convention. These statements are from 2013 which was the same year that the Acton Institute / Kern Family Foundation launched the Catholic Social Justice Curriculum in Southern and 12 other evangelical seminaries.

Moreover, Dr. Mohler “has denounced Pope Francis for moving the Catholic Church to the left and failing, during his address to Congress last autumn, to denounce abortion and gay marriage with the necessary zeal.” Pope Francis being the First Jesuit Pope would certainly support the curriculum of Acton and, true to long-term Jesuit efforts to undermine the Reformation, would be proud to see it in Southern and other Reformed seminaries. Pope Francis also shares the political leanings of a Marxist history with Rev. Sirico.

What does Dr. Mohler think of Marxism?  From his blog, “No, Marxism has been as wrong as it is possible for a theory to be wrong. Addicted to ‘the self-deification of mankind,’ it continually bears witness to what Kolakowski calls ‘the farcical aspect of human bondage.’ Why then was Marxism like moral catnip–not so much among its proposed beneficiaries, the working classes, but among the educated elite? ‘One of the causes of the popularity of Marxism among educated people,’ Kolakowski notes, ‘was the fact that in its simple form it was very easy.’ Marxism–like Freudianism, like Darwinism, like Hegelianism–is a ‘one key fits all locks’ philosophy. All aspects of human experience can be referred to the operation of a single all-governing process which thereby offers the illusion of universal explanation.” Dr. Mohler’s partner Father Sirico describes his journey as “I went to seminary in the early 1980s, when a baptized form of Marxism was next to godliness. When you take all of that into account, my sojourn on the left has about it almost the inevitability of Marxist dialectic.”

Even if Father Sirico and Acton Institute are now truly Libertarian, does this make them compatible partners with the conservative Reformed Christian SBC, ERLC, TGC or Southern and other Seminaries? Mohler has argued that”  libertarianism is idolatrous and as a comprehensive world view or fundamental guiding principle for human life is inconsistent with Christian ideals. He is a proponent of personal liberty, but believes such liberties can run into problems when applied in the political sphere. The more limited economic libertarianism, on the other hand, Mohler says can be consistent with the “comprehensive world view that Christianity puts forward.” (Moody Radio, 3/5/2016). Again to Sirico, his and Acton’s social policy is theological not political or solely economic.

Given the end all be all assertions of the Social Justice mantra to answer human need and provide “Human Flourishing” by Mohler and Sirico, Russell Moore and Tim Keller, Ed Stetzer and every published messenger boy of The Gospel Coalition, are they not all offering the “illusion of universal explanation” in utter contradiction to the Gospel they espouse to be at its center? For all the shaming TGC, ERLC, Keller, Carter and others have done to evangelicals for supporting President Trump and Judge Roy Moore (the Alabama Senate race), it may be fairer to ask if the truly conservative evangelicals and reformed individuals in the SBC and PCA can survive the influence of ERLC, TGC, and the Acton influence in Reformed seminaries? In the case of the Alabama Senate race, Tim Keller, Russell Moore, and Joe Carter have once again aided and abetted the LGBTQ Human Rights Campaign to empower Leftists like Senator Doug Jones who beat Roy Moore the Alabama Senate election.

Father Sirico and Acton Institute have also had a very strong connection to the U.S. State Department, the Intelligence Community and the Vatican. On the Acton Institute Advisory Board was Jesuit Cardinal Avery Dulles, who was “the son of a prominent New York Presbyterian family whose father was John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State under President Eisenhower and whose uncle was Allen Dulles, director of the CIA. “…he had been a convert to Catholicism during his years at Harvard University after having declared himself an agnostic in his first year there….In 2001…Fr. Dulles was elevated by Pope John Paul II to being a Prince of the Church, Avery Cardinal Dulles. He was the first American theologian to be given that title without being made a bishop first.” This history as well make some nervous.

What Color is the Money; Any Green in The Rainbow?

Some would say that, as Christians eagerly seek to engage the world around us, it is easy in today’s culture to inadvertently partner with or fund organizations whose mission may be antithetical to our own. It may fairly be asserted that the motives of some of those involved are only to seek and avail themselves of any open door to inject Christian influence in important areas like education. However, organizations like the ERLC and The Gospel Coalition in partnership with Acton Institute, urge Christians to “disengage the culture” from historic Christian views on moral issues like gay marriage, LGBTQ inclusion, immigration reform, drug legalization, etc., while they are instead expected to “Seek Social Justice”* as the new approach to the all important mission of the Church.  (*example of Acton influence on the same partners in 2010)

IRONICALLY, today’s young pastors in The Gospel Coalition and believers who follow them are trying to escape being viewed as Christian Right Wingers, and choosing to be Social Justice Warriors instead. As they strive to “love well” while “doing community,” they are actually falling for far Left Wing social policy which, in this case, is written by the right wing Heritage Foundation and Libertarian Jesuit / Catholic Acton Institute. It can really give one vertigo to watch the convergence of these political operatives on the unsuspecting Evangelical community.

Considering Libertarian Acton and its founder – Catholic priest, Father Sirico (who refuses to discuss his homosexuality when interviewed) – and millions in funding from the Kern Family Foundation for radical pro-LGBTQ partner, Teach for America, can we simply take their inclusive curriculum in 13 Evangelical seminaries, like RTS, Southern Seminary, Beeson and others, at conservative face value?

Are the commandments and warnings in both Old and New Testaments – “be not unequally yoked with believers” for “two cannot walk together except they are agreed” – null and void for today? Can we walk with God on mission when we and our partners in the quest have so little we agree upon?

More on Why Richard Florida so WRONG? Must the Church Create Bohemia to Succeed?

Among Dr. Mohler’s devout fan base there is a common thread of justifying his every action. In Deep State Part One, the most commonly disputed issue among the many respondents concerned Mohler’s promotion of the books and theories of the pro-LGBTQ Urban Planner, Richard Florida.  

“Florida’s work is not without its critics, but the basic argument he presents is difficult to refute. For the intelligent Christian reader, the book raises several issues. The clustering of creative populations seems to correlate with areas evangelical churches have found difficult to reach.” In Richard Florida’s books, Rise of the Creative Class and Who is Your City, “Creative Class” is a euphemism for “LGBTQ” community. Florida’s theory is that economically disadvantaged cities such as Detroit would experience revival if they were injected with the “creativity” of the LGBTQ community.

The following additional information should put an end to any justification of Florida’s failed ideology of “the Creative Class.” Here are the facts of Florida’s radical pro-LGBTQ concepts.

The main inspiration and mentor for Richard Florida is Marxist urban activist, Jane Jacobs, who was instrumental in the gay rights movement in both New York City and Toronto. Jacobs is a central figure celebrated in LGBTQ urban history. Today LGBTQ history walks are done in her name in cities internationally.

As Senior Editor of The Atlantic Monthly and a co-founder and editor at large of “CityLab,” Richard Florida tracks “Homophobia” by “Mapping” the places it is most prevalent globally. This information is then used to strong-arm cities and regions into taking a more affirming stance on LGBTQ inclusion with grant and economic development funds.

Census number Crunching is done by Richard Florida protégé, Gary Gates of the Williams Institute for LGBTQ Inclusion and Advancement.  Gates submitted a brief in the Obergefell same-sex marriage decision which was cited in Justice Kennedy’s pivotal vote and opinion which made gay marriage legal in the United States, in spite of its complete lack of Constitutional Standing. Gates and Williams take Florida’s Creative Gay Class assertions to major places of influence, including census data gathering. The 2020 U.S. Census is a major focus for this work with Florida’s inclusive goals.

LGBTQ activists remain loyal to Richard Florida’s ideology for obvious reasons. However, Evangelicals who endorse the LGBTQ agenda are essentially asserting that the Church could thrive in Sodom and Gomorrah today if we would only apply the “wisdom of Richard Florida.” Dr. Mohler, Tim Keller, Ed Stetzer and others in The Gospel Coalition need to explain why they encourage our church planters and ministers and Christians in general toward these ideas in any way!  

Acton and the Road to Serfdom: A Closer Look

Valid concerns exist about Acton Institute and the Reformed camp of Evangelicals now guiding the ERLC and The Gospel Coalition, the most obvious of which is the Catholic theology behind Acton’s Social Policy. According to the 2017 Acton conference in Rome, the social justice and economic policies Father Sirico is introducing to Reformed seminaries is a Jesuit contribution and Catholic historians openly assert that the mission of the Jesuits is to undermine the Reformation. Do TGC and ERLC leadership need to be reminded why the Reformation took place and that 2017 marks its 500th anniversary? Did the Reformation not involve theological differences and a divide that is even more profound today than it was 500 years ago?

Acton also has the issue of its being a Libertarian, not a Conservative, political think tank. Do TGC and ERLC claim to promote Conservative theology? If we live out the Gospel should not our social and political engagement involve sharing the Gospel at the core? Why do TGC and the ERLC consistently land on the progressive (left of center) on every single social issue of concern to biblically faithful Christians? This is a very fair question that many in the ranks of the SBC and PCA are asking.  

Acton is a political organization and TGC and ERLC leaders are also acting politically while they shame every believer in their realm for their conservative political engagement. Why is the ERLC located in Washington, DC if not to be engaged politically?Why do Russell Moore and Albert Mohler shame Christians in the Washington Post and other political media? Why is TGC so focused on church planting in and around the Beltway? Are Christians only allowed to engage the culture if we are moving left of center? Is it not political for the Kern funded Curriculum used in Reformed seminaries to be training students in Libertarian, Catholic, Jesuit, recycled Liberation Theology and Social Justice provided by a Political Think Tank like Action Institute? How is this not deceitful? How is it serving the Gospel or preserving and fulfilling the Great Commission?

Acton boasts its inspiration from Friedrich Von Hayek, author of “The Road to Serfdom.” Though the book is often referenced as a source exposing the tyranny of centralized planning and advocating for a free market economy, Hayek’s Fabian Society has a history raising many of the same questions raised by Father Sirico’s liberal history.  According to many historians, Hayek’s book “moved American Conservatives in a more libertarian direction.” The Mont Pelerin Society appeared “when classic liberalism appeared dead” and “Hayek’s movement marked a decisive moment in liberalism resurgence, becoming the Fabian Society of renewed classical liberalism.” (Ayn Rand Cult, Jeff Walker, p. 292). It was the homosexual founder of the socialist Fabian Society, Edward Carpenter, whose book, The Intermediate Sex: A Study of Some Transitional Types of Men and Women, became a foundational text of the LGBT movement of the 20th century. (Socialism and LGBT Rights)

Centralized Planning or Not?

Consider the open collectivism being espoused by Tim Keller in the name of individual faith in action. How is the collective push of the Acton / Kern Curriculum toward a Faith and Work, Doctrine of Vocation and Halftime (the give back ideology of Bob Buford which is a continuation of LBJ / John Gardener’s Great Society), in fact, not centralized planning being done covertly inside the reformed seminary and eventually within the church walls?  

Marvin Olasky, a Senior Fellow of the Acton Institute, is considered the father of Compassionate Conservatism who helped birth the Bush W. era Faith Based Partnership programs. Rev. Sirico seems to be calling for an end to these programs while espousing deeper involvement in Social Justice by evangelicals and Catholics. So whose funding (besides the massive corporate and private foundations) will pay for its expansion? Who gets to hold the purse strings if the funding is to be persuaded out of the churches and believers as they are sold wealth redistribution as a gospel mandate? And where does all of this circular and ideological, economic, theological, sociology, public relations, rebranding, blending of Reformation and Jesuit doctrine of Social Justice end – if not on an evangelical road to serfdom?

And who thinks it is intellectually honest to have taken the approach of a low flying stealth bomber upon trusting and unsuspecting evangelical borders in order to achieve these goals? If these are Gospel-centered mandates, there is no need for sleight of hand or radar masking technology. No shaming of Evangelicals out of even the use of the name “evangelical” or any other classic self-identification Christians may choose to actually identify as being part of the broader body of Christ. There is no need for the use of the same tired talking points to counter vintage Christianity in America and replace it with something devised by Acton or any other think tank in the Western Hemisphere. How is it that this new underground movement is now the historic Christian faith? They continue to tell us we must “rethink” our historic position on every major issue of the day. Which is it? How important is doctrine and theology to those at the ERLC and TGC if they have no caution or discernment about yoking with Acton (Sirico ) and Kern (who funds radical LGBTQ groups through Teach for America) and many other questionable partners? How much does Father Sirico’s reported closet homosexuality influence Acton’s Communications Officer, Joe Carter, who is simultaneously employed by the ERLC and the TGC?

And how do the ERLC and TGC assume we should respond to their efforts to redefine the faith for our families, our churches, our children and our grandchildren? Are we willing to sell the mission of the Church for liberal social justice? Are we blind to the realities Europe is facing with immigration and Islam while our evangelical leaders push for open borders with organizations funded by George Soros and Open Society Foundation? Do partners like Acton, Sirico, or the Kern Family Foundation share any of our biblically (as opposed to culturally relevant) views on human sexuality? Or are we failing to recognize the “beast” we are loosening with sexual liberation in the name of “loving our gay and lesbian neighbors,” Dr. Moore? Can you chart this path for us and for the Body of Christ and be guiltless before man and the Son of Man whose eyes are as a flame of fire and whose Word divides joint and marrow and discerns both the thoughts and intents of the heart?

It seems a moot-point to ask how we got here given all we see the ERLC, TGC, Mohler, Keller and a host of others doing – acting like a rum-soaked Jack Sparrow with a broken compass, attempting to tell us where to find True North. There has never been a set of policies on the part of church leaders and its allies in government, think tanks, Institutes and halls of learning in the US that has so impacted both the mission and doctrine of the church and posed a more clear and present danger to collective religious freedom and living out personal deeply held Christian convictions. The question that remains is how do we, the Body of Christ, recover ourselves from the bondage of this misguided leadership?

THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN IN 2016 FROM RESEARCH IN 2014/2015 AND EXPOSED IN DETAIL THE ROOTS OF CORRUPTION AND MONEY AND EVIL WHICH BROUGH THE CHURCH IN AMERICAN TO THE BRINK OF DESTRUCTION. TRUTH IS STILL THE MOST POWERFUL REALITY AND GOD’S TRUTH STILL SETS HIS PEOPLE FREE.

THIS SET OF ARTICLES IS REPRISED HERE BY REQUEST AND ,UNLIKE MANY SO CALLED DISCERNMENT EFFORTS, IT HOLDS NOTHING BACK AND GIVES THE SAD DOCUMENTED TRUTH. LET IT BE A FRESH CALL TO PRAYER FOR GOD TO ARISE AND SCATTER HIS ENEMIES WHO HAVE CREPT INTO HIS HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH TO TAKE CAPTIVE THE FLOCK OF GOD. EVEN SO ARISE O LORD.

1/23/2022

Is This the Evangelical Deep State?

December 18, 2017

By: Rev. Thomas Littleton

Editor SBC TODAY Note: This article’s length is a departure from our typical standard, but we believed it was important for it to appear in its entirety.

By now most of us have heard of former President Barack Obama’s covert operation “Organizing For Action.”  OFA is a shadow government leading the resistance to President Trump’s voter mandated efforts to reverse many if not most of the Obama administration policies.  Such well coordinated efforts by a “Shadow Government” are referred to as “The Deep State.”  Wikipedia defines this type of electorate subversive manipulation thus:  “In the United States, the deep state is an alleged entity that coordinates efforts by government employees and others to influence state policy without regard for democratically elected leadership.”  

The Hand That Rocks the Evangelical Cradle

It shocks no one that the administration which has done more to undermine Constitutional Freedoms in the U.S. would wage a covert war to protect the radical policies it fought to put in place.  What is shocking to many Christians are the radical renovations in and by evangelical leadership touted as a conservative response to Obama era challenges.  In most cases the evangelical responses have proven to aid Obama’s dangerous polices rather than bolster defenses against them.  The talking points in America have suddenly changed.  Clarity over marriage and sexuality has been lost and language obscured in the face of Obergefell and nationwide attempts to open public school bathrooms to the sexually deviant at our children’s expense.

These Obama era policies have also impacted the doctrine of the Christian Church.  The mission of the Church to preach the gospel of eternal salvation has given way to social justice /liberation theology and the Church itself is all but renamed as a “Faith Based Organization.”  But who made these decisions for the Church?  Who has written this new language and why?  Whose unseen hand has orchestrated this overhaul of Christianity?

The Brazenly Contradicted Souls

As a Southern Baptist I will try to fairly assess a few of the players who, in fact, may be more “missional marionettes” than guiding hands.  We will look later at the money and the actual hands in the proverbial Evangelical “Shadow Government.”  The following paragraph may seem absurd at first but should prove to be quite accurate and disturbing.  

Among Southern Baptist and conservative Reformed believers there is no name more trusted than Dr. Albert Mohler.  Dr. Mohler is the long-time head of Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY.  Due to his high office and reputation in the Southern Baptist Convention, Christians may find it hard to believe that Dr. Mohler would promote the pro homosexual ideology of the Obama era.  However, in his promotion of urban ministry, Dr. Mohler also promotes a key player in the radical Human Rights Campaign’s LGBTQ “Equality and Inclusion” movement.  “Absurd!” you may say.  Yet facts do not lie; they are stubborn and inconvenient truths which often show the accepted wisdom to be false.

In 2008 Dr. Mohler (echoing a host of evangelical underlings) began to promote a key Urban Planning strategist, Richard Florida.  Author of Rise of the Creative Class and Who is Your City, Florida is among the Human Rights Campaign’s favorite players in the pro homosexual Municipal Equality Index (MEI).  Dr. Mohler offered this hearty endorsement of Richard Florida’s openly pro homosexual /inclusion of the LGBTQ “Creative Class” as necessary for success in Urban Planning and Community Development:

“Florida’s work is not without its critics, but the basic argument he presents is difficult to refute.  For the intelligent Christian reader, the book raises several issues.  The clustering of creative populations seems to correlate with areas evangelical churches have found difficult to reach.  The creatives are clustered in more secular regions of the nation.  All this should underline one major aspect of our Great Commission challenge in America and around the world.”

Now place this passionate endorsement of Richard Florida by Dr. Mohler alongside the assertions of Richard Florida himself in the 2017 HRC Municipal Equality Index.

“In short, LGBTQ equality is a moral imperative that pays—one that’s even more important than ever given the recent unprecedented rollback of hard won LGBTQ federal protections.  The Municipal Equality Index highlights laws and policies that cities can use to make their community more LGBTQ-inclusive.  It assesses cities on their non-discrimination laws, LGBTQ-inclusive employee practices, inclusiveness in city services and law enforcement; and their leadership’s outspoken commitment to equality.  Taking these steps can help cities not only do the right thing, but create fairer economic opportunity for all.”

Either Dr. Mohler has failed to read the books he is reviewing here or he is endorsing Richard Florida’s pro homosexual assertions.  Mohler’s admission that Florida’s pro LGBTQ concepts are “not without critics” would indicate he is aware of enough of them to know they are controversial and yet he concludes “the basic argument is hard to refute.”  I have mentioned Richard Florida in a previous writing but other evangelical leaders have failed to match the Mohler infatuation with Florida’s LGBTQ Equality and Inclusion CULT.   

The argument will be made that Dr. Mohler was not endorsing Florida’s pro-homosexual ideology but rather is exhorting the Church to fulfill the Great Commission via ‘city reaching.’  However, why then did Mohler outright abandon Reparative Therapy or so called “ex gay therapy” at the ERLC 2014 conference on “Homosexuality and the Future of Marriage” at the very time municipalities are working hard to pass local laws prohibiting and criminalizing such counseling with the broadest definition, including any NON AFFIRMING counsel on the part of PASTORS, Church counselors , Christian school counselors and EVEN PARENTS?  These city and county efforts to please, appease, and make the grade for the Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index are an LGBTQ shakedown.

Personal commentary:  Dr. Mohler, in your sweeping rejection of conversion therapy and withdrawal of support for ministers and ministries working with those who wish to find help from the church to leave homosexual desires behind them, you have given GREAT occasion to the enemies of the Gospel to deny those “strugglers” the help THEY need and often seek as these laws would turn a pastor or a parent into a criminal in the eyes of local courts for offering Biblical Counseling to a /their child.  A classic case of throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater by an evangelical leader who spends more time doing book reviews and cultural posturing than in the life trenches under live fire from fallout.  Can you admit the LGBTQ agenda is taking you and us farther than you anticipated and that you have failed to offer the conservative leadership Christians look to YOU for?  By endorsing Richard Florida, abandoning Reparative Therapy and offering the rhetoric of appeasement have you played into the hands of the Gay Lobby, sir?

Strange, Dare I Say It …”BEDFELLOWS”

Mohler protégé Dr Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist ERLC has been on the hot seat for some time among evangelicals who are paying attention to ERLC doublespeak and guilt projection on all issues related to Christian ethics and cultural engagement.  The recent Nashville Statement offered great face saving opportunity on the LGBTQ issue for Moore, but his recent speech at the Acton Institute’s Acton University sheds unsettling light on the SBC leaders’ hidden ties and may point to the powers behind the Moore / Mohler enigma.  

The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty has long been at the forefront of cultural concern in the realm of religion.  Its mission statement boasts “The Acton Institute is a think tank whose mission is to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles.”

Admittedly, Religious Principles is a broad term so it is only fair to ask which religion and whose principles are referred to.  The best clue would be to look at Acton’s leadership.  Its President is Catholic priest, Robert Sirico, and here is where some shocking revelations come into view.  Rev. Sirico being a Catholic is reason enough for concern by some about the Acton/ Moore association but this ecumenical partnership pales in comparison to Rev. Sirico’s seldom mentioned past career.

Russell Moore and The Acton Institute’s “Gay Activist” Leader

According to Wikipedia  and the gay pride historic book “Gay Seattle Stories of Exile and Belonging” by Gary L. Atkins, (page 161 and over a dozen mentions of Sirico in the second half of the book), in the 1970s, Robert Sirico was at the forefront of the gay activist movement in several cities on the West Coast.  According to Atkins, Sirico was a major force in the “Pulpits of Healing” (chapter 9) movement to bring the homosexual community into acceptance in the Christian Community and in the churches. Sirico was raised on Coney Island but found his home among the radical West Coast homosexual rights movement on the cutting edge of its push for acceptance in the faith community.  Only after Sirico left the area and a new Bishop came into power did this effort begin to payoff in the Catholic Diocese.  By this time, Sirico was planting gay churches as part of the first homosexual denomination, Metropolitan Community Church.  Sirico went from Pentecostal faith healer to homosexual activist pastor after admitting his homosexual desires since 13 years of age.  In today’s culture he would be considered an LGBTQ Faith Activist which is a well paid career for thousands given the hundreds of millions annually funding the LGBTQ Equality organizations.  

“Sirico was ordained a Pentecostal minister and established a healing ministry in Seattle around 1970/71.  He became very popular and gained the support of several charismatic churches in the area.  A foundation was established for the financial support of his ministry.  During this time, according to Sirico, he believed that homosexuality was condemned by the Bible as a perversion.  However, he soon found it ‘impossible’ to heal a person from being gay.  He eventually made a public announcement that he was gay himself and intended to form a church for gays.  This led to him losing the support of his healing ministry’s backers.

“In 1972, Sirico founded Seattle’s Metropolitan Community Church, which primarily ministered to gays. The church became a member of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC).[7]  MCC had been founded in 1968 as ‘the world’s first church group with a primary, positive ministry to gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender persons.’

“In April 1973, Sirico and the MCC picketed the Seattle Police Department, claiming there was a ‘vendetta’ by the Seattle Police Department against homosexuals.  In October 1973, Sirico was arrested in Seattle for ‘walking in the roadway’ after crossing the street to come to the aid of a gay man he saw was being arrested.  In jail, Sirico was reportedly singing ‘We Shall Overcome’ until he was bailed out by a parishioner.  The citation was later struck down at trial and Sirico was let off with a warning by the judge.

“In July 1973, Sirico went to lead the newly founded Metropolitan Church of Cincinnati.

“Sirico was a proponent of gay marriage and performed same-sex marriages as a Protestant minister. In 1975, Sirico performed the first gay marriage in the history of Colorado at the First Unitarian Church in Denver.

“Sirico left Seattle for Los Angeles, where he became the director of the Los Angeles Gay Community Center.  In 1976, police conducted a raid at one of the center’s events, a ‘male slave auction.’  Sirico stated the event was merely a fundraiser for the center and that the police raided it in order to ‘discredit the image of gay people in this community for legislative gains.’”

Most important to note that after a time Robert Sirico made a return to the Catholic Church of his youth.  He speaks in many places of a political and ideological conversion but makes NO MENTION of a change in his bold self-identifying as a homosexual or his radical faith activist role in the embryonic days of the gay rights movement.  In a 2010 interview, Father Sirico was asked by a conservative Catholic writer about his homosexual /activist/ gay clergy history.  His response was suspiciously evasive:

“An agreement with a professional journalist to whom I have been giving a series of interviews about the details of this journey prevents me from cooperating in any kind of profile of my life with you.  I can,

however, respond to a number of your questions for the article you are writing which do not compromise this agreement.”

Sirico’s move across the ideological and political landscape is significant because, as we will see, he moved from ultra-liberal to Libertarian, whose policies mostly ignore moral and social issues like homosexuality and abortion, instead focusing on economic policy and smaller government.  There’s no need to even speak to the issue of his radical past in the Libertarian camp.  It is a non-issue.  What IS an ISSUE is the role which we will soon see that Sirico’s organization plays in the CONSERVATIVE camp of the Southern Baptist and Presbyterians and among Reformed evangelicals.

It may seem unfair from an evangelical perspective to “judge” Rev. Sirico by his youthful past but the present mood among Catholic researchers considers this activist’s past serious enough to look longer and harder at his organization, Action Institute, and his ordination as a Catholic Priest in 1987.  There have been numerous and persistent voices of concern over Sirico’s ordination to the Priesthood given his admitted homosexuality and radical past. His defiant statements like “two men in bed together is a holy experience… to hold one another close and confess together, Isn’t God Wonderful?” (Gay Seattle, page 162)  The author goes on to say “Sirico refused to beg for understanding.”

Given that the ERLC Russell Moore is a speaker at Acton Institutes and his has even deeper (as we shall see) associations  with Father Sirico, it would appear to be more than fair to ask if this has ANY INFLUENCE on Moore’s message for the ERLC on homosexuality?  What is the ERLC/ Moore’s position on the radical history of Rev Sirico?  He does not answer?  Will our Southern Baptist spokesperson ANSWER?  

Sirico’s past causes great concern among conservative Catholics. Here are several examples of their research.

Catholics Concerned About Father Robert Sirico

Randy Engels has written extensively on concerns over the Catholic Church welcoming and ordination of homosexuals to the priesthood.  Her 5 volume series on this subject is titled The Rite of Sodomy: Homosexuality and the Roman Catholic Church.

Further research specific to Father Robert Sirico can be found here and here and another writer Thomas Herron here.  In “Robert Sirico and the Sins that Cry to Heaven for Vengeance” are found more recent activities including efforts to alter / protect the history of Russell Moore’s ally, Rev Sirico.

There are several “accounts of Rev Sirico’s conversion” according to Engel but most speak to his political conversion, such as, “In the early part of the decade, Sirico held Left-leaning political and economic views, even becoming involved with Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden and their campaign for economic democracy.  However, after reading Friedrich von Hayek’s The Road to Serfdom and Milton Friedman’s  Capitalism and Freedom, he became a libertarian.”

Sirico wrote about his journey from leftist politics to free-market economics: “I suppose the fact that I spent time on the left of the political spectrum isn’t the surprising thing.  I mean, I’m a New Yorker; I’m a child of the ’60s; I went to seminary in the early 1980s, when a baptized form of Marxism was next to godliness.  When you take all of that into account, my sojourn on the left has about it almost the inevitability of Marxist dialectic.”

Do Roman Catholics Speak for The ERLC and The Gospel Coalition When Communication is KEY?

You may say that Catholics and Evangelicals have long and helpful history partnering on social issues like abortion and marriage but these are conservative – not Libertarian – shared values. The common ground would then appear to be the issue of “social Justice” and NOT theological partnerships. However, Father Sirico is not a conservative socially or politically and, according to his 2002 booklet “Catholicism’s Developing Social Teaching” (page 19), Sirico boasted that Catholic social policy IS THEOLOGY, not political policy” So is Russell Moore’s partnering the ERLC with Acton Institute also an adoption of or endorsement for Catholic Theology on Social Policy?  Fair Question?  According to Father Sirico, Moore IS doing so.

To look closer and better understand the ties between the SBC’s Russell Moore, Al Mohler and other Evangelicals with Father Sirico and his Acton Institute, one need look no further than Joe Carter.  A former military guy, Joe is a prolific writer and Senior Editor for the Acton Institute and Rev Sirico. Where it becomes strange and unsettling is that Carter is also an editor for The Gospel Coalition, according to the Acton bio, as well as Editor and Communications Specialist “go to guy” for the Russell  Moore-led Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberties Commission.

THINKING THIS THROUGH together for a moment… Joe Carter came to the ERLC soon after Russell Moore’s ascent and radical altering of the standard conservative Southern Baptist messaging on key topics, especially LGBTQ issues.  Carter serves as ERLC “Communications Specialist” while he still holds his Senior Editor job with Rev. Robert Sirico – the once radical left wing, Marxist gay activist Pentecostal (later) gay church pastor and founder of Metropolitan Community Churches (the world’s first gay denomination), who conducted some of the nations first gay marriages and boasted he would perform exorcisms to rebuke the heterosexual spirits from his opposition – who is now a Catholic Libertarian priest.  If that is not disturbing we are simply NOT paying attention!  Carter has also worked in high level editing positions with at least two other Catholic publications according to his biography.

The Gospel Coalition – Is This an Evangelical Progressive Movement Cloaked in Conservative Theology?

Currently there is immeasurable fallout over what appears to be a theological divide among Southern Baptists.  Joe Carter is an Editor for The Gospel Coalition as mentioned above.  This movement encompasses the Reformed camp of the SBC which has grown in number at least among young pastors under the leadership of Dr. Mohler and includes much of the heretofore conservative Presbyterian breakaway group – the PCA.  The TGC movement also includes smaller reformed denominations and groups along with independents like John Macarthur and his vast network of affiliated churches.  Formed around 2005, TGC is headed by then PCA rising star Tim Keller and D.A. Carson.

While The Gospel Coalition’s opening statement of its founding documents sounds great, a sobering consideration of its connections with Acton Institute and often progressive stance on conservative issues makes it reasonable to question why TGC is promoting a Liberation Theology of social justice and a biblically baseless “Theology of Place.”  Add to this Joe Carter’s prolific messaging (TGC blog currently has 336 entries by Carter and at one point earlier this year was over 650 items by Carter) and it is a very honest assessment to say that Acton Institute and the radical Father Sirico have a huge reach into the Reformed camp of evangelicals, including the SBC and PCA.

Can we Biblically Judge the Tree by its Fruit?

Plainly put, a Libertarian, Catholic, political Institute founded by a controversial priest who helped birth the modern extreme radical West Coast homosexual rights movement and its invasion of the Christian faith community while working as a Pentecostal “Faith Healer” with Marxist leanings, a record of arrest and an “in your face” homosexual, founding gay churches and conducting some of the nation’s first gay marriages, is helping if not outright scripting the message of Reformed SBC (ERLC) /PCA / TGC Evangelicalism.  If this is not a problem in our thinking then we do not understand that the battle for the soul of our culture is not waged with the liberal social justice mantra that TGC and these intoxicated talking heads like Russell Moore are regurgitating while espousing its loss.  Rather, that battle for the “collective soul” of the church and our culture is a battle of words and ideas, to be waged with the eternal Word of God and the inspired message rooted firmly in God’s WORD.

Isn’t wrapping your progressive transformational strategies in conservative theological positions while promoting the message of a Libertarian, Catholic, former (?) radical homosexual activist akin to being a confidence man or a street hustler for TGC and ERLC?  How is it NOT?  These organizations have captivated a generation of young preachers and, with the advent of social media and a hearty web presence, the contorted message of the new evangelicalism has spread like wildfire.  Who has vetted this message or its source or the strange affiliations in this transformational dance club? What toxic stew comes from brewing these ideologies together for a bowl of which the evangelical leaders in the reformed camp appear to willing to sell not only their birthright but also that of our denominations and our children’s future church?  How is this considered kosher to a Holy God with a long history of rejecting mingled offerings?

Given that 2017 is the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, the tangible irony here is almost suffocating.  If Catholic conservatives are concerned about Father Sirico and his corrupt influence in the Catholic Church then Evangelicals ought to take note of the DEEP STATE inroads made by a VATICAN policy, US-based Think Tank among SBC and PCA leaders!

What Other Bonds Abound?

The key to understanding the tie that binds these bedfellows is the work of Acton Institute in the area Social Justice.  According to the November 29th 2017 Acton Institute Conference in Rome, Globalization and Social Justice are movements the Jesuits to which have long contributed and inspired the church toward addressing.  Today’s Social Justice mantra, whether chanted by liberal humanist “Christians,“ conservative Reformed, Catholic or interfaith participants, is INSEPARABLY LINKED  with “the City Reaching movement,” cultural narrative realignments (a kinder/ gentler Christian “civility”), urban growth , “church planting,” and White House Faith-Based Partnerships.  In short, Social Justice is the new gospel and, if your leadership complies, it is becoming Big Business for the church.

Olasky’s Rules for Compassion

Marvin Olasky is a powerful influence on evangelicals as editor-in-chief of World Magazine.  He is also a Senior Fellow at the Acton Institute.  Olasky’s history intersects with virtually all of the major ideologies corrupting the evangelical church.  The biography of Olasky at NNDB states that he was born of a Jewish family, was an avowed atheist (at 14), a Marxist in High School and a “card carrying communist” as they used to say, in college.  Like Sirico, Olasky’s political views changed mid life but in the case of Olasky, a spiritual conversion is professed.  However, his Marxist ideologies may not have changed on his spiritual journey, given his role with Sirico and the Faith-Based ideology.  It is said that Olasky’s book  on “The Tragedy of American Compassion” inspired  George W Bush’s compassionate conservatism branding and the Faith Based Partnerships first  in Texas under then Gov Bush.

“In January 2001, [Olasky] saw the policies outlined in this book put into law with the creation of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.  George W. Bush has called him ‘compassionate conservatism’s leading thinker’; in 1999, Olasky had chaired an advisory subcommittee on religion and public policy for the then-governor.’”

Acton and Sirico have played a major role as well in the hard sell of Faith-Based Partnerships, especially during the formation of the Obama administration under whose directives the LGBTQ compromises were hard wired into the programs and these directives have not changed under the Trump administration.

Although Olasky is credited with having inspired Compassionate Conservatism, the concept goes back to the mid 19th century with Fredrick Stahl‘s “Living Conservatism.”  Stahl successfully persuaded Austrian and European Protestants to abandon their conservative convictions on the basis of a proposed softer approach to social issues while European Socialism took root.  History appears to be repeating itself aided by the familiar talking points.  Stahl, like Olasky was another person born into a Jewish family who converted to Christianity and, in Stahl’s case, history now bears out that he used his influence to weaken Christians in the evangelical churches in Prussia.  The jury is out for now regarding Olasky’s influence, however, his work with Sirico/ Acton and Faith Based Partnerships does not bode well for the Evangelicals over whom he exerts tremendous influence.  One of those under the influence is Tim Keller.  A closer look will help you decide for yourself.

Civil City Utopian Prophets and The Funding Machine

The following collaborations outlined as bullet points show the depths of Faith-Based involvement of Tim Keller and other evangelicals and institutions.  Several have been mentioned in previous articles without mention of the role Acton played in them.

• Leading up to the 2009 infusion of untold billions of tax dollars by the Obama administration into the Faith Based Partnership overhaul – Tim Keller (page 80) and Friends, including the Acton Institute, worked with a Faith Based Partnership model in Orlando called “Seeking the Welfare of the City” (STWOTC) which resulted in the Polis Institute.  Richard Florida’s pro homosexual ideology was promoted by the Human Rights Campaign and Albert Mohler played a key role (page 76) as has the Acton Institute.  Acton still heavily promotes the “Welfare of the City” concept which centers around Faith Based Partnerships.  If participants like churches and ministries want to find funding to “save their cities” through Community Development grants, they must be inclusive and welcoming of one of the more destructive influences within the communities they are asserting they wish to help.  The erosion of the family and sexual liberation are two of the most compelling issues urban centers face.  

Even more broad reason for concern is that the Presbyterian Church of America’s (Tim Keller’s denomination) Reformed Theological Seminary was at the forefront of this STWOTC program development while both students and graduates helped in the implementation and the operation of Polis Institute.  It now serves as an Urban laboratory of sorts for training future generation church leaders.

• As discussed in previous articles, the new mantra for evangelicals is “Civility.” Tim Keller, Rick Warren, three Christian universities, and a host of Faith Based Partnership players have convened and covenanted to “change the tone in the church toward homosexuals” and other minority groups.  Given the inclusion of pro-gay urban planning in the new wave missional strategies and the agreement to change the conversation among church folk as they are “mobilized” for faith based partnerships, it is little wonder that The Gospel Coalition and denominational groups like the ERLC want someone like Father Sirico and Acton Institute to provide the talking points for the flock.  Whether current or simply historical, Sirico would have great insight into how to make inroads into faith communities having done so in the 1970s.  Inclusive inroads are requisite if the hopes of obtaining Faith-Based Partnership grants are to be realized.  

Are Money Changers Funding Acton and an Evangelical Deep State?

• Another major player in what appears as an Evangelical Deep State is the National Christian Foundation of Alpharetta GA.  According to its history with Conservative Transparency and a 2016 990 forms /report, the NCF has brought about $6 Billion into its Christian philanthropy circles since 2011 (page 15 of the 990 shows $1,396,381,203 in 2016 alone.)  On requesting NCF to provide its donor and recipient list and history, the organization refused to supply any information whatsoever.  Various philanthropic sites do track some of the money and its sources, but given that NCF is a “Donor ADVISED fund,” the agreement upon giving is the intention of the donor is to be recognized but not required in the distribution.  What the Conservative Transparency tracking shows is that NCF giving in large part goes to political organizations like Acton Institute, Heritage Foundation, and a variety of organizations, many being Libertarian like Acton instead of conservative Christian organizations or ministries.  NCF helps coordinate giving for the Frankfurt School / Marxist-inspired Civilitas Group in which Tim Keller and Rick Warren serve as Board Members.  

Several left-wing exposés have been done of NCF, one by Mother Jones and another, ironically, by an LGBT activist group Two Care Center Against Religious Extremism.  These researched articles show NFC again funding more politically focused organizations than ministries.  (Acton is not on the LGBT investigation list perhaps by design.)   AGAIN many of these organizations share the Libertarian views of Acton and are NOT Biblical, conservative groups.  According to these reports, a great deal of the funding moves back and forth from NCF State Chapters and the national offices of NCF and lands back in the hands of local State Policy Institutes which are sister organizations of Acton.  

A major common thread is the political Libertarian ideology and shared goals of encouraging Faith Based Partnership participation and engagement in the “Gospel of Generosity” and “philanthropic giving movement” touted by Tim Keller and other TGC partners as one of the arenas needing cultural redemption.  A similar organization with shared influence from NCF founders admit to their inspiration from Charles Sheldon’s novel “In His Steps “ and it’s Social Justice mantra.  Admission that the concept needed a Theology to maintain it begs the classic question which came first… the theology or the ideology that it supports?  As with Acton and Rev. Sirico the answer is clear.  To sell the ideology, the two must be presented as one.  Is this an honest approach for objective Biblical teaching for fundraising?

A local NCF chapter in the Midwest has as its head a pastor who (according to his ordaining denomination, The Assemblies of God) has an “unusual ministry” as he pastors a church with five different addresses, one of which is an empty lot and no congregation or regular weekly service. This pastor was brought to our region to speak at a pastoral conference last year about Faith-Based Partnerships AND Philanthropy / NFC giving.  Again he has no certain address/ often no weekly service / and from social media indicators – little or no congregation.  Who is vetting these people?

Who Cares? You Should!

Should the church be concerned that conservative denominations like the Southern Baptist Convention and the PCA have shared Public Relations/Editing and message coordination (Joe Carter) with Acton Institute?  Should conservative Christians not be made aware that our public policy spokesmen like Russell Moore of the ERLC and influential movements like The Gospel Coalition have these strong ties to Acton?  Is this influence of a Libertarian /Catholic political policy organization founded by a priest, Father Robert Sirico, who has a long undisclosed history of LGBTQ radical activism, a concern for evangelicals? It still causes concern among informed conservative Catholics!

Since 2012 a marked departure from classic Evangelical conservative stance has taken place and Russell Moore, Tim Keller and others have been peddling the new, more civil, culturally relevant tone on social issues.  Given that their partners, like Acton and Sirico, all share the goals of harnessing Christian giving while  promoting a  Social Gospel and Faith Based Partnerships (FBP) it is fair to ask, “WHY?”

Marvin Olasky, crowned the father of the Bush FBP agenda, later heavily funded and loaded with LGBTQ activism in the Obama years, provides conservative Christians with unquestioned news “from a Christian world view” in World Magazine.  Perhaps he should answer for his Fellowship with Acton Institute and Father Sirico knowing the LGBTQ infiltration of these circles and the programs he (Olasky) promotes.  

Would Albert Mohler, the highly regarded head of Southern Seminary and SBC/ TGC/ evangelical leader clarify exactly what part of Richard Florida and HRC’s pro gay urban planning he believes is so vital for the church that he endorses it along with other strategies of the homosexual agenda.  There is little else in the Florida rhetoric except a heavy dose of Cultural Marxism. So what is the Appeal and what part of the ideology are we as the church to follow if NOT its push for LGBTQ “inclusion”?

Tim Keller, please tell us what is Biblical about the Marxist Frankfurt School or the socialist Vienna Circle under whose influence you have fallen?  How far does “human flourishing, redeeming culture, and thriving cities” go in the churches before the Gospel is lost in the process of promoting human wisdom and compromise for the common good?   

If possible it would help all conservative believers if any or all of you would step up and explain to those struggling to raise families, be faithful (even if not “relevant”) in their faith in and to the culture and the workplace in the MOST CHALLENGING TIMES Christians have ever faced in our nation. The doublespeak which would appear scripted by Acton Institute IS NOT HELPING!

Why Action, Sirico, Carter?  Why Faith Based Tax Funds?  Why would you knowingly or ignorantly partner to offer this pagan brew and strange fire on Evangelical altars?  Is this an Evangelical Deep State – operating behind the scenes?  Please simply respond to the “Christian on the street” whose churches and families and futures your influence directly impacts!   Those who mislead the Church ought to heed the warning of James while there is yet time to repent.  ”My brethren, be not many teachers, knowing that we shall receive the severer judgement” James 3:1.  Voices asking for accountability may seem faint and obscure while drowned out by the massive load of finely tuned and edited Rhetoric of Acton evangelical affiliates like ERLC/TGC …. BUT given time and the fact that God’s flock have a better handle on Biblical truth than some suppose, those voices may not seem so faint for very long.

THE ERLC SANK TO MANY NEW LOWS UNDER FORMER ACTIVIST PRESIDENT RUSSELL MOORE INCLUDING ITS CLOSE ASSOCIATIONS AND ENDORSEMENT OF THE PRO LGBTQ MOVEMENT REVOICE AND PARTICIPATION IN THE SOROS FUNDED NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM. NOW ERLC ENDORSES ISLAMIC OBAMA ERA ENVOY.

Rev. Thomas Littleton

1-3-2022

The Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission has once again decided that U S Islamic interest either outweigh or are compatible with their own job working to protect the religious freedoms of Christians . Former ERLC head Russell Moore had a keen interest in assuring the rights of Mosque to be built in communities like Mufreesboro TN in 2016.

Moore also spent a great deal of time and effort working with people Luke Goodrich and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty looking out for and promoting the notion that ensuring religious liberty for the expanse of Islam in the West was the best way to ensure the same for Christians.

Goodrich book “Free To Believe” which subjects constitutional guarantees of religious liberty in the United States to the interest of both Islam and the LGBTQ lobby (both of which are fundamentally antithetical to Christian faith and Christians religious freedom was voted “book of the year ” in 2018 by both the now progressive World Magazine and Moore’s partners in The Gospel Coalition.

Moore endorsed Goodrich and his book .

“Luke Goodrich is one of the nation’s most respected thought leaders in the arena of liberty of conscience.” –RUSSELL MOORE, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.”

ERLC ENDORSEMENT OF ISLAMIC AMBASSADOR FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

The current ERLC leadership continues on the same misguided trajectory of its former President as it endorsed Rashad Hussain the Biden administrations newly approved Ambassador.

RNS reported Hussain’s confirmation on December 16th 2021.

(RNS) — “Rashad Hussain has been confirmed as the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, making him the first Muslim American in the role.”

“Hussain was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday (Dec. 16) by an overwhelming vote of 85 to 5.”

“The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom hailed the decision on Hussain, who has been director for partnerships and global engagement at the National Security Council.”

“Hussain, 42, previously served as a White House counsel during the Obama administration, as special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and as U.S. special envoy for the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications.”

“When President Joe Biden announced his nomination of Hussain in July, the White House noted his work on countering antisemitism and defending religious minorities in countries with Muslim majorities. Hussain, who has served as a judicial clerk in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and as the editor of the Yale Law Journal, speaks Spanish, Arabic and Urdu. He also is a hafiz, or someone who has memorized the entire Quran in Arabic.”

The ambassador-at-large serves as the primary adviser to the secretary of state regarding global religious liberty and also advises the president. He supervises the State Department’s office of international religious freedom.

ERLC ENDORSEMENT

“Hussain has enormous credibility across a broad range of faith groups, built on years of leadership in efforts for religious freedom,” they wrote. “His nomination has brought enthusiastic praise from groups ranging from the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and the Baptist World Alliance to the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League and the Union for Reform Judaism, as well as widespread commendations from the Muslim community.”

(From Church Leaders.com)

“First Muslim International Religious Freedom Ambassador Rashad Hussain Receives Promise of Prayer From SBC Leader.”

“In congratulating Hussain, Brent Leatherwood, acting president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), said, “We are praying for his success and we are eager to work with him. Religious freedom is under assault around the globe and his position is vital to confronting those who would undermine this fundamental right.”

(Brent Leatherwood acting ERLC President and Russell Moore disciple)

LEATHERWOOD IN AUGUST HAD HIGH PRAISE FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN OVER THE NOMINATION OF HUSSAIN

“Brent Leatherwood, vice president of external affairs and chief of Staff for SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said in a statement that he has “long called for America to be a bold voice for liberty against these oppressive regimes.”

“Similarly, naming a U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom helps us to consistently use that voice,” stated Leatherwood, as reported by Baptist Press on Tuesday.”

“We appreciate the Biden administration prioritizing this appointment, and we stand ready to work with Mr. Hussain upon his confirmation to advance the fundamental human right of religious freedom internationally.”

RUSSELL MOORE PAL ERLC THOUGHT LEADER CATHOLIC ROBERT GEORGE ALSO ENDORSED HUSSAIN.

“An earlier religious freedom ambassador, Rabbi David Saperstein, joined Princeton University professor Robert P. George in supporting Hussain at the time of his confirmation hearing. The two men, who noted in a Religion News Service commentary that they have vastly different political perspectives, said Hussain was committed to protecting Christian rights and had garnered deep respect in the Muslim community.”

CONCLUSION

The Southern Baptist continue to seem unable to understand the activist culture of their own entity leaders. While using the SBC missions organizations the North American Missions Board (NAMB) and International Missions Board (IMB) to resettle first Syrian and now Afghan Muslim “REFUGEES” into America, Baptist are being told such actions are part of Christian world missions. Yet evangelization is prohibited in such government partnerships.

Baptist and Christians in general are also being told by Christian organizations and leaders like Goodrich , Moore and Leatherwood that Religious Freedoms are best being protected by promoting and protecting the rights of one of it’s most historic and fiercest persecutors. Meanwhile the entire operation is being inspired by obtaining more tax dollars. And Religious Freedom for Baptist is being overseen by a Russell Moore disciple who already carries a less than stellar reputation from his time at the TN GOP and from his actions at the 2018 Dallas Southern Baptist Convention .