When I read this quote from Al Mohler,  President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,  I had to shake my head . (it STILL pains me to point out that he is President of this once diverse, academically and theologically respected place of theological education.  It became an ideologically tainted,  smug, judgmental place once this guy took the reigns)

The moment you say, we have to abandon this theology in order to have the respect of the world, you end up with neither biblical orthodoxy, nor the respect of the world

via Associated Baptist Press – SBC leader says much at stake in debate over Adam and Eve.

Mohler was bemoaning , again,  what he with his usual certainty and condescending smugness,  is constantly railing against.  He rages against the Emergent theological sensibilities that are gaining traction,  even as his own approach is in steep decline amongst the young educated.  First and foremost I think is Mohler’s spiritual smugness;  his “certainty”.  This is one of those characteristics that are often cited by young people in their rejection of Christianity.

What is interesting here is that Mohler is accusing Emergent theologians as “seeking the respect of the world”,  and yet the movement of which he is a part has adopted the platform of the right wing of our political system.  You have what amounts to the entire Southern Baptist leadership structure being called upon as the counterweight in debate to just about any matter in which the leadership of other churches are questioning the justice and morality of the actions of the US government.  It is Southern Baptist churches who put on the most lavish patriotic displays among all the major denominations*.  And we are to believe that the Southern Baptists don’t seek “the respect of the world”?   Where’s the “Biblical” narrative to justify that, Al?

*This is NOT to say that there aren’t mainline denominations that “do it up big” for national observance holiday weekends.  There certainly are.