Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

‘Overwhelmingly Missing the Mark’ – Prominent Theologian Reacts to Media Coverage of Evangelicals, Trump

"There's a principle ... in the Old Testament..."
Share Tweet
By Billy Hallowell
Editor

December 20, 2016

As the media continue to focus on the divisiveness surrounding the ever-contentious 2016 presidential election, a prominent theologian says he believes journalists are overwhelmingly missing the mark on what’s most important.

Rather than focusing on the intense political divide, Dr. Darrell Bock, a professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas, said the media should be tuning into the country’s deep need for reconciliation.

“This is part of a long conversation that is needed. This has been a very interesting cycle,” Bock told Faithwire on Tuesday. “The conversation the country needs is, ‘How do we talk to each other in the midst of this divide?’ … as opposed to simply digging into each side.”

He continued, “I think that’s a pretty important angle in this whole thing.”

Bock’s comments came during a week in which the media have intensely focused on furor and debate surrounding the Electoral College and Donald Trump’s victory, as well as on deeper and more complex conundrums, such as the evangelical debate surrounding support for — and critique of — the president-elect.

As NPR reported on Tuesday, Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptists’ Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the political arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, has been under fire for his anti-Trump stance, as well as the warnings he sent throughout the 2016 campaign about evangelicals who openly supported the brash businessman.

While some have essentially called for Moore to step down from his post as a result of his claims, Bock — who, for his own part, publicly encouraged people to support neither Trump nor Democratic contender Hillary Clinton — took a different stance, urging his fellow evangelicals to be open to critique from within.

“The Russell Moore debate … shows whether there’s a willingness, again, to be self-reflective in the midst of what is a highly contentious (situation),” he told Faithwire.

Bock said he believes there’s essentially a “tribalism at work” that is causing “people who are self-critical of their own group to be viewed more as defectors.” But the theologian pushed back against such sentiments, pointing back to the Bible in an effort to encourage evangelicals to be introspective when it comes to critique from within.

“There’s a principle … in the Old Testament, when you think about the prophets, they were definitely pro-Israel, but they recognized that Israel was better being self-critical than simply turning a blind eye,” Bock said, comparing that dynamic to the ways in which he believes people in evangelical circles should be responding to Moore.

It was no secret throughout the 2016 cycle that Moore wasn’t a Trump fan, as he called the businessman an “awful candidate” and criticized some in the religious right for supporting him — proclamations that riled critics, as NPR reported.

But while some didn’t appreciate Moore’s comments about Trump, Bock said he believes the Christian leader was simply trying to “point out the inconsistencies in the way in which Trump was being supported,” specifically when it comes to stances espoused by Christians more generally.

And Moore himself tackled these issues as well on his blog this week and offered an apology, writing:

I remember one situation where I witnessed a handful of Christian political operatives excusing immorality and confusing the definition of the gospel. I was pointed in my criticisms, and felt like I ought to have been. But there were also pastors and friends who told me when they read my comments they thought I was criticizing anyone who voted for Donald Trump. I told them then, and I would tell anyone now: if that’s what you heard me say, that was not at all my intention, and I apologize. There’s a massive difference between someone who enthusiastically excused immorality and someone who felt conflicted, weighed the options based on biblical convictions, and voted their conscience. In a heated campaign season focused on sound bites, this distinction can get lost in the headlines, so it bears repeating.

Speaking more generally about evangelical support for Trump, Bock said it generally fell into three categories: those who simply disliked Clinton, those who agreed with some of what Trump represented — and those who were all in for the businessman.

In the end, Bock said he’s hoping Moore doesn’t get pushed out of his position over his views on Trump.

“If that were to happen that would be a huge defeat for the church, because what it means is that we’re not willing to be self-critical and we’re not willing to reflect on why we give the support that we do,” he said. “That’s never a good place to be.”

Read more about the debate here.

This story has been updated to include three categories surrounding reasons people voted for Trump, not two as previously reported.

—

Other Must-Read Stories:

– Writer Hits Back Against ‘Fixer Upper’ Gay Marriage Controversy With ‘Dear Cosmo’ Response: ‘Being Christian Is Not ‘Scandal”

– Singers’ A Cappella Version of This Classic Christmas Song Will Get You in the Holiday Spirit

– Do You Think the Electoral College Is a Bad Idea? Then You Don’t Understand the System

– The War Over ‘Merry Christmas’ vs. ‘Happy Holidays’ — Plus, Is Christmas Still a ‘Strongly Religious’ Holiday?

Latest

  • News

    ‘I Am Beyond Grateful’: Liberty University Names New President in Wake of Jerry Falwell Scandal

  • Faith

    EXCLUSIVE: Famous Activist Prays For Mass ‘Exodus’ of Clinic Workers With Launch of Powerful Good Friday Campaign

  • News

    Actor Mark Wahlberg Reveals Why He Moved Family Out of Hollywood: ‘It’s Really Giving the Kids a Chance to Thrive’

  • News

    Good Samaritan Spots Smoke Coming From Home, Immediately Jumps Into Action to Save Woman and Her Dog

  • News

    Formerly Gay Man Could Go to Jail After Sharing Testimony of Finding God, Embracing Bible: ‘I Don’t Have to Wear That Label Anymore’


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • ‘I Am Beyond Grateful’: Liberty University Names New President in Wake of Jerry Falwell Scandal
  • EXCLUSIVE: Famous Activist Prays For Mass ‘Exodus’ of Clinic Workers With Launch of Powerful Good Friday Campaign
  • Actor Mark Wahlberg Reveals Why He Moved Family Out of Hollywood: ‘It’s Really Giving the Kids a Chance to Thrive’
  • Good Samaritan Spots Smoke Coming From Home, Immediately Jumps Into Action to Save Woman and Her Dog
  • Formerly Gay Man Could Go to Jail After Sharing Testimony of Finding God, Embracing Bible: ‘I Don’t Have to Wear That Label Anymore’

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • culture
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?