I’ve had enough with the ERLC. I can’t stomach anymore. I’m not trying to be mean-spirited, I just
don’t know any other way to put it.
The straw that broke the camel’s back for me is
the “Every Living Thing” campaign. I watched
the video. I saw a vegetarian state that
being a disciple of Jesus means “giving up conveniences to make your life more
in alignment with God’s will” (obviously referring to eating meat).
I saw a young couple adopt a puppy with all the
sweet sappiness one would expect of bringing home an actual baby from the
hospital, rejoicing that they can take part in God’s “restorative work, taking
a life and making it meaningful and special.” Good for them for picking up a
stray dog but, I’m sorry, to frame it that way is an insult to those who have
made great sacrifice to bring a sweet child – an actual image bearer of God –
into their home to love, and raise, and pour their heart and soul into.
The video ends with a woman’s voice imploring us
to take part in this “redemptive work of God’s grace.” Gag.
Again, to refer to God’s “redemptive work” and His “grace” in reference
to animals is nauseating to me. This is a
cheapening of the cross and a practical denial of the Imago
Dei. Obviously there is a sense
in which all of creation (the natural order) will be restored in the new
Heavens and Earth. But to imply that
Jesus died on the cross to redeem individual animals – creatures with no soul – devalues
the precious sacrifice Christ made for His beloved elect, the chosen people of God.
And lest you think I’m exaggerating this whole
deal, I communicated with the Every Living Thing campaign via Twitter, and
asked them this question, “Do you believe that animals (pets) have souls and
will be in Heaven?” Their response, “Animals
cannot make eternal decisions (salvation) but Scripture is clear they will be
part of a restored creation.” Hmm. That answer seemed rather ambiguous to
me. I asked them one more time to
clarify their position. Their response? –
“We are excited to find out!”
Folks, I’m flabbergasted. I don’t even know what to do with that. That’s so far from where I come from, we’re
just on totally different planets.
I grew up with animals. I was taught to love and respect all of God’s
creation. I had two dogs – black labs –
that I loved dearly. They were faithful
companions on many fishing and camping trips.
But I was also taught this... Only man had the "breath of life" breathed directly into his nostrils by God Himself. Only man is invited into a covenant relationship with God. Humans have eternal souls; animals do not. Animals are gifts from God to be enjoyed
(some as pets, some as nature, some as food), but they must never be elevated to the place or
importance of a person. Put it this way,
if an F-5 tornado was coming and I had to choose between allowing five family
pets into my shelter, or one homeless man I had never met, there wouldn’t even
be a decision to make! The man has
infinitely more value than the animals!
Where I grew up, to blur that line between the
value of people and the value of animals was to fundamentally misunderstand the
rightful order of God’s creation. This
was a basic tenet, not only of my home, but the entire culture. (And I believe
rightfully so.) And these were people (farmers)
whose livelihoods were there animals.
“Every Living Thing” will point to the
explanation of their statement and say it clearly spells out they don’t elevate
animals to the place of people. Obviously,
they were smart enough to get a group of people in a room that understand
conservative evangelicals and come up with a sufficient number of disclaimers to placate
them. I’ll give them credit for
that. But watch the video. Feel the spirt of what they’re doing. For heaven’s sake, look at who they’re
aligning themselves with! (Humane Society) That tells you all you need to know.
__________
Even before Dr. Moore came on board at the ERLC,
I was convinced the SBC didn’t need the ERLC.
I am even more convinced now. And
the thing is, I like Dr. Moore. I agree
with a lot of what he says. He’s a
brilliant man. But I think it’s pretty
clear the ERLC has become a socially progressive, centrist institution
that does not represent the majority of Southern Baptists. I take issue with many of the ERLC's recent positions. For instance, I take issue with amnesty for
illegal aliens. I take issue with Christians
being encouraged to attend gay wedding showers.
I take issue with ecumenism. I
take issue with irresponsible allegations toward law enforcement. And I take issue with the animal rights
agenda. (I wonder how long before the
ERLC takes up gun control?)
Maybe you don’t take issue with any of those
things. That’s fine. They’re not issues of primary doctrine. I am glad to call you my brother or sister in
Christ. We can be friends. But I absolutely object to my CP dollars
being used to promote a social agenda that I believe is wrong-minded and, in
some cases, non-biblical.
For now, I am done with the ERLC. I will not attend their events or support
their causes. And quite frankly, I haven't been able to get anyone from the ERLC to respond to any of my correspondence over the past year, so I don't think they'll miss me too much.
I will lead our church to
continue to give our 10% to the CP, but I will hold my
nose at the small amount being passed on to support the ERLC. How I wish the SBC could return to the premise of cooperating together purely and simply for the spread of the gospel to the
ends of the earth.
Finally, we live in a time of crises: marriage is being redefined, we are facing the
greatest refugee crisis of our generation, we are pulling back 600-800
missionaries because we can’t afford to keep them on the field, we have babies
being butchered and sold for parts, and we are using our energy and resources to talk about animal rights... Sorry... "animal welfare"...
What is wrong with us? Have we
lost our minds?