Evangelicals Are Now Rejecting 'Liberal' Teachings of Jesus

An evangelical leader is warning that conservative Christians are now rejecting the teachings of Jesus as "liberal talking points."

Russell Moore, former top official for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) who is now the editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, said during an interview aired on NPR's All Things Considered this week that Christianity is in a "crisis" due to the current state of right-wing politics.

Moore has found himself at odds with other evangelical leaders due to his frequent criticism of former President Donald Trump. He resigned his position with the SBC in 2021 following friction over his views on Trump and a sex abuse crisis among Southern Baptist clergy.

In his NPR interview, Moore suggested that Trump had transformed the political landscape in the U.S. to the point where some Christian conservatives are openly denouncing a central doctrine of their religion as being too "weak" and "liberal" for their liking.

A man carries a large wooden cross during a concert by evangelical musician Sean Feucht on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on October 25, 2020. Evangelical leader Russell Moore suggested this week that Christianity is in a "crisis" due to the influence of conservative politics. Samuel Corum/Getty

"Multiple pastors tell me, essentially, the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount, parenthetically, in their preaching—'turn the other cheek'—[and] to have someone come up after to say, 'Where did you get those liberal talking points?'" Moore said.

"When the pastor would say, 'I'm literally quoting Jesus Christ' ... The response would be, 'Yes, but that doesn't work anymore. That's weak," he added. "When we get to the point where the teachings of Jesus himself are seen as subversive to us, then we're in a crisis."

Moore went to to say that he did not think it would be possible to "fix" Christianity by "fighting a war for the soul of evangelicalism," urging his concerned brethren to instead fight "small and local" battles like refusing to go along with the current "church culture."

Newsweek reached out for comment to the SBC via online press contact form on Wednesday evening.

During an interview with Semafor last month, Moore warned that Trump posed "a unique threat, both to American institutions and to the church's witness." He added that he had provided political and spiritual advice to candidates running against Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.

Evangelicals are a key voting block for Republicans. Exit polls of the 2020 presidential election indicated that up to 81 percent of white evangelical Protestant voters cast ballots for Trump over then-future President Joe Biden, according to Gallup.

During an interview on conservative network Real America's Voice in January, Trump lashed out at certain evangelical leaders that he said displayed a "great disloyalty" by being reluctant to back his 2024 presidential run.

"That's a sign of disloyalty," Trump complained. "There's nobody that did more for the movement than I have. And that includes the movement of evangelicals and Christians and the movement very much of 'right to life.'"