Discernment, False Doctrine, False Teachers, Mailbag

The Mailbag: What did you think of Beth Moore’s “A Letter to My Brothers”?

Michelle Lesley

Readers- Before commenting on this article, please familiarize yourself with my comments/e-mail/social media policies and my responses to objections about warning against false teachers. I will not be publishing any comments or responding to any e-mails that are covered by said policies or article.

 

Did you see Beth Moore’s recent blog post “A Letter to My Brothers“? What do you think about what she said?

The first thing you need to know about Beth Moore, if you don’t already, is that she is a false teacher who is living in current, unrepentant sin. She teaches false doctrine and twists Scripture to scratch the itching ears of her followers. She sinfully and rebelliously preaches to men, and she yokes in “ministry” with false teachers. These are not my personal opinions, these are verifiable facts. (See my article Five Reasons It’s Time to Exercise Moore Discernment for the evidence. You don’t have to take my word for it. Compare the things she says and does with Scripture (rightly handled and in context) and it will quickly become crystal clear.)

For years, I have repeatedly heard people try to brush these things aside as “everybody makes mistakes” or “no big deal.” These are not mistakes. These are sins that she not only has not repented of and stopped, she actually tries to justify. Sin is a big deal. It’s such a big deal to God that He sent His Son to be tortured to death for it.

Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
Isaiah 5:20

We would not say, “It’s no big deal,” if we knew a pastor who was proudly open about his serial adultery or joyfully endorsed homosexuality. Beth Moore’s open, proud, and unrepentant sin is just as inherently sinful. Why Christians continue to support her is both grievous and a mystery to me.

The reason it’s important you understand, for the purposes of this article, that Beth is a false teacher, is that you should view any theological statements she makes with a high degree of suspicion and discernment. Whatever theology Beth espouses is a house built on a foundation of sand because she is not hearing and obeying the (written) Word of Christ. Yes, she may, at times, say things that are perfectly biblical. That is by design. But you cannot have a sound structure when your foundation is faulty.

It brings me absolutely no joy to have to say such things. I would much rather joyfully point my readers to Beth as a doctrinally sound resource as I have done on many other occasions with many other doctrinally sound teachers. But in order to be obedient to Scripture, these things must be said in loving warning to Beth herself and to her followers.

Now, on to her article…

First, I’d like to give my overall impressions, and then move on to a few particular statements.

If I had to sum up this article in one word, it would be “vague.” I have more questions than answers after reading it. How, exactly, does Beth Moore define misogyny? Who is this large swath of men committing this misogyny? What, precisely, are they doing that constitutes misogyny? What sector of women are they performing these misogynistic acts against? What does she want these men to do instead of whatever it is they are doing? What, specifically, is the church supposed to do in response to this nebulous accusation of misogyny?

How is anyone supposed to agree with or refute the facts of what Beth is saying unless she gives clear explanations and details? What Beth has done in her blog post is to throw out unsubstantiated, generalized accusations against a wide swath of nameless Christian men and churches and she expects us to take her word for it that there’s some epidemic of misogyny across the board in the church.

There’s no there there. And I think there are several reasons for that.

Certainly, there are individual Christian men, even pastors, of every theological stripe who have had moments, like the ones Beth cites from her personal experience, in which they’ve acted like pigs toward women, or might even have a chauvinistic attitude toward women in general. Let me be clear- that’s sin, and they absolutely need to be rebuked individually for those sins and repent.

But among Bible believing, doctrinally sound churches and genuinely regenerated Christian men, there isn’t this widespread, large scale, general attitude of condescension toward and disdain for Christian women (that’s my guess as to what she means by “misogyny”, since she didn’t define it) who are obedient to the roles God lays out for us in Scripture and who don’t teach false doctrine. There just isn’t. (This general attitude might be more pervasive among men who claim to be Christians and/or subscribe to false doctrine, but Beth Moore herself has helped build that category of “Christians” with her false doctrine and unbiblical behavior. You can’t build a shoddy wall and then complain when it falls on you.)

Get LifeWay on the phone and commission them to survey a thousand genuinely regenerated, doctrinally sound women who aren’t preaching to men or partnering with false teachers, and who attend generally doctrinally sound churches, and ask them if they normally feel oppressed, patronized, or diminished by their churches or Christian men as a whole. I can practically guarantee that the answer will be a resounding “no.”

I believe that’s one of the reasons Beth’s article is so vague. She thinks her personal experience is common to all Christian women. But it’s not, because she and her poor theology and behavior don’t represent all Christian women, or even most of us.

I think another reason her article is so vague is that she can’t clearly state what she really means because she knows it’s unbiblical. Over the last few years, more and more people – high profile pastors, “regular Joe” pastors, average Christian men and women – have begun to realize and to speak out about the fact that Beth is a false teacher, preaches to men, and yokes with other false teachers. And though some small segment of those folks might qualify as “hyper-fundamentalists” (whatever that means – another vague, undefined, and, this time, intentionally pejorative term), all the ones I’m familiar with who have warned against Beth are reasonable, humble, credible, doctrinally sound Christians, not a tiny bunch of wild-eyed crazies with pitchforks at a Beth Moore book burning.

And, interestingly, while the rebukes that have actually reached Beth’s ears have probably come mostly from men (because men are pastors and have larger platforms and a louder voice), at the grassroots, non-celebrity, average person in the pew level, the vast majority of people warning against Beth are women. Generally speaking, most pastors and Christian husbands have no clue about the problems with Beth Moore. They assume that because she claims to be a Christian and a Southern Baptist, and because LifeWay endorses her and has helped build her empire, she must be doctrinally sound. I know because I hear from women all the time asking how to approach their pastors about the fact that their church is using Beth Moore “Bible” studies. Does Beth consider the discerning women who warn against her to be misogynistic?

I would suggest that the majority of any “misogyny” Beth has received or thinks is pervasive in evangelicalism is largely the result of Christians who know their Bibles speaking and acting upon that knowledge. Men ignored her in elevators and at “team meetings”? She’s “the elephant in the room with a skirt on”? The Bible says:

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works. 2 John 9-11

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. Romans 16:17-18

As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. Titus 3:10-11

I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 1 Timothy 2:12

And in this day when the “Pence rule” is ridiculed and men’s lives are being destroyed with accusations of sexual harassment right and left for the most minor of real or imagined infractions, is it any wonder that any Christian man might keep his distance from any woman who’s not his wife?

I suspect Beth has been feeling the pressure – both in her “ministry” and financially – as more people become aware of the theological problems with her, and the sentiment behind her veiled accusations of misogyny is along the lines of, “I don’t like discerning Christians speaking out about my false doctrine, preaching to men, and yoking with false teachers. It hurts my feelings and is detrimental to my career. I want them to be quiet and let me continue to do these things in peace.” But she can’t come right out and say those things clearly because she knows what she’s doing is unbiblical, she’d be publicly admitting to it, and she’d lose even more followers and support.

Finally, I think a significant factor at play in the posting of her article is the popularity factor. Beth is riding the ebbing wave of the #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements and using that platform to gain more supporters to replace the ones she’s lost. Over the last few weeks, I’ve watched her do the same thing with the issue of racism on Twitter and by being a last minute addition to the MLK50 Conference. Racism and abuse/misogyny are both hot-topic, trending issues right now. Getting on board that train as a celebrity is a cheap and easy way to get your name in the headlines, your face in the spotlight, boost your social media analytics, gain more followers, and, thus, more customers to buy your materials and attend your conferences.

Want to know how I know this? Because even someone with as small a platform as I have has experienced it. I know what topics to write about that will get me the most clicks and re-tweets (and I usually avoid those topics for that very reason – it’s too tempting). I know the kinds of things you have to do to market yourself and your books successfully to Christian women (which is why I don’t have any books on the market or a larger following – I’m not willing to do some of those things). Beth Moore is a savvy businesswoman with plenty of smart people to advise her. She knows about these things, too. With Christians waking up in droves to the fact that she’s a false teacher, and with the fact that Beth is getting older and a fresh new generation of young female “Bible” teachers is gaining traction and a share of her audience, she’s got to do something to build her following. Everybody with even the smallest parachurch ministry knows how the game is played.

In closing I’d like to interact with a few particular statements Beth made.

I had no personal aspirations to preach nor was it my aim to teach men. If men showed up in my class, I did not throw them out. I taught.

I had no personal aspirations, nor was it my aim to snap at my husband the other day or tell a lie last month. That doesn’t change the fact that I did those things and that they are sins Christ calls me to repent of and stop. Beth acts like teaching men is something that was thrust upon her and that she had no control over so it wasn’t her fault. She also suggests that the only way to handle men showing up in a women’s class is to rudely “throw them out”, implying that if a female teacher restricts her class to women, she must be acting horribly rudely to any man who shows up. Baloney. I’ve explained in this article (#10) how women can kindly and graciously prevent men from coming to their women’s class in the first place and keep them from staying if they do show up. If men rebelliously decide to show up and stay in a women’s class or at a women’s conference, Beth or any other woman can certainly sit down and refuse to teach until they leave. That’s not even resisting sin to the point of shedding blood, it’s just calmly refusing to participate in it. Frankly, doing so would teach both the men and women in the room an extremely important lesson.

The fact of the matter is that Beth is just fine with preaching to men in defiance of Scripture. If she were really trying to obey Scripture she wouldn’t attempt to justify her sin, accept numerous speaking engagements to preach at conferences and churches whose audiences she knows ahead of time will contain men, or preach to pastors.

male leaders/fellow leaders…serve alongside them 

Once again, these are very vague terms. What does Beth mean by “serve alongside” these male “leaders”? Is she talking about preaching alongside them at a conference or that she ought to be able to “serve” in the same capacities men can biblically serve in? Does she consider pastors to be “fellow” leaders because she views herself as equal to pastors?

Anyone out in the public eye gets pelted with criticism.

Anyone who becomes a Christian preacher or teacher gets biblically judged – by God and by people – with a stricter judgment, and Christians are called to reject false doctrine.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. James 3:1

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1

He can put us out there and pull us back as He pleases.

Yes, He can, and the fact that He “puts Beth out there” and has allowed her to have a large following in no way indicates that He approves of her behavior or her doctrine. The size of a person’s platform or the number of followers she has doesn’t mean God is blessing her because she’s biblical. In fact, it can mean exactly the opposite.

Ours is to keep our heads down and seek Him earnestly and serve Him humbly

If Beth Moore were keeping her head down and seeking God earnestly and serving Him humbly, she would almost certainly not be the celebrity she is, just like the myriad of Christian women who are doing those things and aren’t celebrities. Her article is indicative of the fact that she’s not “keeping her head down” – she’s making a big splashy statement and reprimanding good churches and Christian men and women to elevate herself. She’s doing what she can to keep the wheels of her celebrity turning. And if she were “earnestly” and “humbly” seeking and serving God, the very first thing she would do is repent of her sin and stop it.

opposition and difficulties are norms for servants of Christ

Especially when you’re not serving Christ because you’re intentionally disobeying Him. Of course people who stand on the truth of God’s Word will oppose you. You should expect that. And if you’re truly a servant of Christ, you should also expect God to discipline you when you sin. These are basic biblical principles a Bible teacher should know.

An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
2 Timothy 2:5

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then
you are illegitimate children and not sons. Hebrews 12:7-8

Even criticism, as much as we all hate it, is used by God to bring correction, endurance and humility and to curb our deadly addictions to the approval of man.

This is true! So may I suggest, Beth, that you humble yourself, and be corrected from your addictions to the approval of man? Step down, repent, take a seat under some good biblical instruction from a doctrinally sound pastor, and learn and obey the truth of God’s Word.

Scripture was not the reason for the colossal disregard and disrespect of women among many of these [key Christian leaders]. It was only the excuse. Sin was the reason. Ungodliness.

Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 1 Timothy 5:19

What leaders? Where are your witnesses? What, specifically, were their sins? How were they being ungodly? This is just one more example of vagueness and unsubstantiated accusations.

The dignity with which Christ treated women in the Gospels is fiercely beautiful and it was not conditional upon their understanding their place.

This is a fallacious argument that, as a Bible teacher, Beth should know is fallacious, because we don’t see Christ interacting in the gospels with any women who “don’t understand their place.” Every woman we see that Christ interacts with in the gospels is either already living in obedience to God’s Word, or is at the point of repentance, or Christ instructs her to “go and sin no more.” We never see Him interacting with a woman who is in-your-face defiantly, continually, and unrepentantly persisting in disobedience to Scripture. If we had seen Him interact with a woman like that, I’m sure He would have treated her with the same “dignity” He treated the “brood of vipers, blind guides, whitewashed tombs” false teaching Pharisees who acted like that.

Furthermore, this sounds uncomfortably close to the popular erroneous argument, “Jesus never said anything about homosexuality, so it must have been OK with Him.” All Scripture is breathed out by God. That means when 1 Timothy 2:12 explains and commands women’s “place” in the church, that’s just as much the words of Jesus as the ones He speaks in the gospels.

I am…deeply committed to the authority of the Word of God and to the imitation of Christ.

Then imitate Him by obeying His written Word. Be under the authority of the Word of God by humbling yourself and submitting to it.

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 1 John 5:3

Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. 1 John 2:4-6

 

Beth Moore may have experienced some terrible personal treatment at the hands of individual men. I hope all of them were rebuked for their sin and repented of it. But the truth of the matter is that any generalized opposition or difficulty Beth is experiencing is not because she’s a woman, or because Christian men and complementarian churches are misogynistic, or because she doesn’t have a seminary degree. It’s because she’s in sin.

And I dearly wish she would repent. I spent quite a bit of time in prayer for Beth, weeping over her situation before writing this article. Beth is a beautiful, kind-hearted woman made in God’s image who is in angst because she’s persisting in sin and resisting the discipline of the Lord. My heart breaks to see her or any other professing Christian go through something like that. The answer to all her difficulties is so close, yet she pushes away the hands that lovingly hold it out to her, reaching instead for something that will never satisfy.

Beth, I love you and I long to see you truly flourish in Christ. Consider that the pressure and anxiety you’re calling “misogyny” might actually be the grace of God disciplining you, calling you lovingly to repentance. Today, if you hear His voice, please do not harden your heart. Won’t you repent and be reconciled to Him in obedience today?

If you have a question about: a Bible passage, an aspect of theology, a current issue in Christianity, or how to biblically handle a family, life, or church situation, comment below (I’ll hold all questions in queue {unpublished} for a future edition of The Mailbag) or send me an e-mail or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.

Before commenting, please familiarize yourself with my comments/e-mail/social media policies and my responses to objections about warning against false teachers. I will not be publishing any comments or responding to any e-mails that are covered by said policies or article.

45 thoughts on “The Mailbag: What did you think of Beth Moore’s “A Letter to My Brothers”?”

  2. This is excellent, Michelle. To God be the glory.
    I join you in praying for Beth, that her heart will soften and that she will embrace truth. I also pray for her many followers who have been dazzled and deceived by her.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

      1. I too appreciate what you have said here. This is something that keeps coming to my mind in all of this. Since I spent countless hours and the better part of two years, closely examining her teaching, though page by page analysis of her popular Breaking Free study, and listening to hours of her TV and conference talks, i saw patterns that I wouldn’t have otherwise picked up on. For one thing, she consistently preaches a false gospel, and the true gospel is not the foundation of her teaching. She speaks to her vast audiences generally as if all present are believers. For many reasons I came to see her as likely a universalist. I don’t see her as having great concern for the lostness and impending torment in hell of many of her listeners, or non-listeners. Her teaching is highly moralistic. The gospel of grace is not to be seen in the flow of her teaching.

        Interestingly, for how often she mentions Jesus, and even gushes over Jesus, she doesn’t teach of His person and work. She consistently avoids any discussion of the atonement, even when she’s in a text surrounding the crucifixion–I know, because I searched out all such talks. Instead, she claims that the atonement guarantees our healing (and she wasn’t referring to spiritual healing), as Word of Faith teachers do. In this same video, on the messianic texts of Isaiah, she also appeared very much to be teaching Oneness Pentecostal (nontrinitarian) doctrine. Just to be careful, I spent much time studying Oneness modalism from ‘our’ perspective (via James White and Rob Bowman) and from the Oneness perspective (Robert Sabin and others), so that I would be familiar with how they express these beliefs and what texts they use to support it and how. Sure enough, I saw her using their key texts as Oneness proponents do.

        Moore’s mentions of Christ, or Jesus, tend to be in prepositional phrases or adjective phrases, rather than actual teaching about Jesus Himself. I also noticed that often, when Jesus is on scene in a text she’s using, she sort of talks around Him and is more interested in the people involved. Case in point: her Mary and Martha talk. Wow! It is a perfect display of what’s deeply sinful about her teaching. Lots of psychology, no interest in the creator/Savior who is present and what He says.

        There is also a tremendous neglect of the person and work of the Spirit. Not surprisingly, when one is a moralist, you won’t find much, if anything, about the Spirit’s work within a believer to sanctify them. This concept clearly would have been at odds with her entire Breaking Free study, which she called a “formula” and often referred to as the “freedom trail” that God had given her. She emphasizes working hard to attend to each step she lays out that is guaranteed to bring about one’s freedom from bondage/captivity/slavery. She assures that it will work because, “it worked for me”.
        While going through the study I started wondering what she infuses the word *freedom* with. She clearly wasn’t using the word the way scripture uses it. In fact, one of her key proof texts is Gal 5:1 “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery”. Not surprisingly she ignores the context and twists the verse to support her paradigm. In fact, I came to see that she often employs the concordance word-search method of putting together a talk or an entire theological doctrine. A couple of times I tried her method with key words she used abundantly in the study. When I did a search on the word ‘freedom’ it was clear that some of the verses that came up would refute her entire premise for the study, so obviously she is very selective. This is NOT the picture of a Spirit-indwelt believer who desires to faithfully handle God’s Word!

        Near the end of the study Moore claimed that Satan has to give us *plunder* when we are finally free of captivity (because it is he who hold us in bondage), just as the Egyptians gave plunder to the Israelites when they departed. The Breaking Free study, which has been a boon for Beth Moore financially, is what she claims as her “plunder” from the enemy. Think about that one…

        Once I realized that Oneness doctrine was being advanced in the second video of the Breaking Free study, it made sense of things she taught in other parts of the study that were off, and unusual, but I couldn’t put my finger on what she was doing with certain texts. I read one theologian’s explanation of why Oneness proponents don’t teach the atonement, which made the light click for me. At the cross the wrath of God for our sin was poured out on the Son. So it is a clear place where we see that the Son and the Father are distinct persons, whereas Oneness proponents don’t believe that both are distinct persons who can interact with each other, but that God just appears in different modes at different times–sometimes as the Father, then as Jesus, and then the Spirit. Texts that show interaction between the persons of the trinity are difficult for them.

        This rather clear Oneness teaching by Moore is tucked conveniently away in a women’s Bible study video that few, if any, theologically trained men will ever watch. In fact, I finally noticed in small print that the video could be watched by going to Lifeway and searching for the download. I had to pay $4.00 to download it, but the price to download her study talks has continued to climb—to $6.00, and last I checked, $8.00!

        I have asked Theologically trained men to read my evaluation of this talk. They have asked me to send the talk to them, but I can’t. And, they either don’t want to pay to download it, or say that they will but never get around to it. There are several videos in the Breaking Free study, and other studies, that have horribly false teaching in them, but they are hidden away and not easily accessible. This functions to ensure Moore makes money from them, and it keeps the discernment ministries and pastors away from them.

        I would so appreciate it if you and Amy would read my evaluation, and/or, listen to the Lesson 2 video of the Breaking Free study. I have felt a burden for these things to be known about Beth Moore’s teaching. If Beth Moore does not believe in the triune God, then she is truly a heretic. In listening to her tell her testimony in several vines, it struck me that what she described about the event, and her life that followed, was NOT evidencing a true conversion. She said that when she went forward in church as a child that day she had no idea what she was doing, but that all of the adults where congratulating and affirming her. She livened in extreme sin after that for quite awhile, “spiraling deeper and deeper” as she put it. One of the times she spoke of this was her second appearance on Joyce Meyer’s program, as I recall.

        Oh, and to complete a thought from above, I finally realized that the meaning Moore was pouring into the word *freedom* was ‘righteousness’. So, essentially, what Jesus did on the cross did not secure our freedom from bondage (contrary to what scripture teaches) but by following through with Beth Moore’s “freedom trail” one can be free/righteous. The study is essentially a formula for reaching one’s own righteousness. And that’s what you get when the gospel is not the foundation of one’s teaching! It is not about acknowledging one’s sinfulness before a holy God and repenting, and believing on the one true Savior to forgive and free us from the kingdom of darkness and declare us justified because of what Christ did. There were SO many places in the study where she logically would have brought that up if she were a Spirit-indwelt true teacher of God’s Word, but it was glaringly absent.

        In the second to last video she instructed every woman in the audience to pray a ‘pray-with-me-prayer’ for salvation….”even if you’ve already done it”. She didn’t preface this with any discussion of our sinful condition, nor of God’s impending punishment.
        This was a perfect set-up for false conversion, when everyone out-loud parrots Beth Moore’s words and then they are given assurance of eternal life, or whatever. This is exactly what Satan wants! The more false converts in the church to do his dirty work..and later end up in the lake of fire, the better!

        And then there was all of her talk about romance with Jesus in another talk, and SO much more that made me sick. She misuses scripture about 75% of the time. Ugh!

        I so appreciate what you two wise and discerning sisters are doing!

        Liked by 7 people

      2. Susan- thank you so much for your time and effort in writing that comment and sharing the information with us. It sounds like you went above and beyond the call of duty to vet Beth’s materials.

        For others who may not have read Susan’s whole comment, I’d like to point out something. In her blog post Beth said:

        “…I got publically maligned for being a false teacher by a segment of hyper-fundamentalists based on snippets taken out of context and tied together, I inquired whether or not they’d researched any of my Bible studies to reach those conclusions over my doctrine…”

        I would just ask you if Susan sounds like some “hyper-fundamentalist” (again, whatever that means) who has “taken snippets out of context and tied them together”? She doesn’t sound like that to me. It sounds like she did exactly what Beth asked and “researched her Bible studies” and still came to the conclusion that Beth is a false teacher.

        Liked by 6 people

      3. Your quote about BM complaining that she was maligned by someone ” based on snippets taken out of context and tied together” is stunning in light of the fact that that’s PRECISELY what she does with GOD’S words, ubiquitously! There was a place in the Breaking Free workbook where she wanted women to read a few verses, skip a few, read one or two more and skip a couple more–all in one portion of a text. I think it was John 15, about the vine and the branches. Moore instructed that readers look up those select verses and then one more from a different text-then put them together to see what it said. It was as if she was telling participants to form a new scripture while leaving out the verses that she didn’t favor. The result was a moralistic statement. If that isn’t the ultimate in maligning scripture intentionally I don’t know what is. She was effectually instructing women to edit Jesus’s words…a favorite of all false teachers! I saw how she would tell readers to look up a list of verses from all over scripture, then ask a leading question…leading to the conclusion she had in mind. When I went back through the study carefully I could see that I had fallen for this manipulative method, but that the conclusion she was leading women to was false! That is dangerously subtle. It makes it appear that scripture is saying what she is teaching, when it isn’t. That’s often what I saw with the constant single-verse look-ups she’d tie together. It was also tedious and annoying to look up so many verses scattered throughout scripture.

        Also, she would often have nobel-sounding titles for her weeks-worth of workbook lessons, such as Glorifying God, but as I would do the lesson I would see that even there she was turning everything on it’s head. Her focus and conclusion was all about us, and that people would see God’s glory in US, rather than focusing on God and praising Him. Her teaching is incessantly man-centered.

        I could see how these biblical-sounding lesson titles would fool the average pastor giving the study a cursory look.

        All to say that she is the ultimate hypocrite for whining about her words being taken out of context (which I heard her say to Priscilla Shirer in an interview too)!

        Liked by 4 people

  3. Michelle, this is an excellent, fair and just response to Beth’s letter. I pray ears will be opened and hearts changed. She is leading so very many astray and it’s heart breaking. My mother in law teaches her studies ( I guess you call them that😑) and won’t hear the truth about Beth and it truly breaks my heart.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

      1. I used to treasure Beth Moore’s studies as energizing and enlightening. Then, to my shock, she publicly “flogged” President Trump for his past to the delight of her “Me too followers, withholding from him the grace she lavishes on herself. I’ve confronted her on Twitter; although she ignores me, her followers respond vehemently. Not one of them has understanding. They have a snarky “in the club” attitude. I asked, “Before the Road to Damascus, Saul (later Paul) tormented Christians mercilessly. How then did he write much of the New Testament, if not by grace? Who decides who is worthy of grace, Beth? What about your own past?” I also asked why she never spoke up when Obama forced perversity upon us, targeting Christians — jailed and fined for not complying. Draping the White House in rainbow colors. Selling us out to our enemies. Pushing racism .. “white guilt” — distain for law and order — favoring criminals .. abortion .. open borders. Instead, Beth parrots his ideology, preaching against “nationalism” — because now it’s fashionable to be anti-American. “Misogyny” is her pet accusation also, claiming “Jesus was not a misognist” — using Him to back up her meritless platform. Whatever happened in her past she’s still angry about, coupled with the pat-on-the-back from the left — who likewise hate men –under the guise of being a champion for the rights of women. Worse is — she pretends to represent the heart of the Lord. She does this while gushing girly-girl flattery to her in-crowd with snippets of scripture .. like spinning a web — her own cocoon. Her followers are incredibly brainwashed to her way of thinking. They’re not thriving on the “gospel that was first delivered to the saints.” Beth is their “Lord.” And that’s tragic.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Bingo! I was writing on this a bit yesterday and all the word “vague” was ringing in my ears. The secular way of dealing with injustice is not Gods way, and to paint with such a broad brush only gives an accusatory tone which is not seeking to repair anything, but like you said, only rides the wave of popular opinion. This has taken actual sin and repentance and tossed it aside for a cheaper version that will only make things worse. Thanks for the wise words!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  5. Michelle, I so appreciate the way you clearly identified and articulated the true issues behind Beth’s letter. My assessment was the same when I read it. Sadly, she is misinterpreting the male leaders’ response to her as misogynistic when it is more likely that they are exercising restraint and gentleness by not rebuking her for participating in events where women do not belong. Another sad reality is that Beth’s husband and the pastors / elders of her church have encouraged her to disobey clear scriptural teaching by not observing it themselves. It may have begun innocently enough in the beginning (I am speculating here) when they first observed her ability to speak to women about biblical topics. If they had placed scriptural boundaries around her and limited her to speaking to women only, and if they had taken care to ensure that her teaching was doctrinally sound, she would have been spared reaping the consequences of shame and embarrassment. Observing scriptural boundaries protects us from harm but they did not protect her. At its root, this whole sad mess is a result of sinful feminist theology infiltrating the church like a virus (Trojan horse) over the last sixty or so years. Interestingly, two of the biggest and most confusing issues of our day, feminism and homosexuality, are related to our sexual identity, which determines how we relate to God and one another. It is the same conflict that began in the garden between Eve, the serpent, and Adam being played out today. Like you, Michelle, I say this with grief and tears because of the sorrow this has brought to all of humanity. I am not immune from falling into the same deception. Thankfully, Christ has defeated this enemy and his message brings salvation and hope.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  6. Great post and so necessary in this day of apostasy. I pray that all believers can see that, standing in the place ordained by God, is the safest place to be…giving us assurance to go boldly to His throne.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  7. Well stated Michelle. Your articulation of the content in the letter is excellent. I was so glad to read something from a sister-in-Christ and fellow heir in response to this “open letter”. I have been surprised by the response from men in leadership who are either shallow in doctrine or fearful of men, who have reposted the “letter” and / or personally apologized for something they may, or may not have done. When did calling out someone on their false doctrine become a confrontation of abuse instead of a confrontation in love? Our pastor stated yesterday morning, as he was expositing 1 John 5 and the testimony of God concerning Jesus, be watchful, you will see many whom you have admired, read, and listened to start to come out from among us. Not in 5 years, but very, very soon.
    Thank you again.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  8. Thank you for writing this! It just amazes (and saddens) me how many women really believe they are studying the Bible under her. I did my first Moore study (in my church at that time) about 18 years ago, surrounded by at least 30 women. Every week they kept saying how great the study was and how much they were getting out of it – while I just kept asking myself: “What’s wrong with me??? I hate this. Must be a spiritual problem – with me!” I really thought that at the time
    Thank you for writing this. I pray there are many other women out there who will finally realize how many other excellent, doctrinally sound Bible studies there are for women if they will just look for them!
    Keep on keeping on, Michelle!

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement. I had practically an identical experience in a former church in which the women’s ministry used Beth’s studies exclusively.

      There are indeed many doctrinally sound Bible studies and teachers (male and female) out there, but I would encourage all of us to use those sparingly and for leisure time reading. When it’s time for your personal Bible study time, simply pick up the Bible and study it for yourselves, ladies! :0)

      Liked by 5 people

      Reply

  9. Hello, I am still reading your article, but had to stop and share this thought….you said “to throw out unsubstantiated, generalized accusations against a wide swath of nameless Christian men and churches and she expects us to take her word for it”. This seems to be a new trend in SBC… David Platt did same manuver at the Together for the Gospel speech he gave regarding racism. I turned him off half way through his message, it was offensive on so many levels. There seems to be a writing trend of throwing out accusations. Very sad. Now back to reading.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  11. Beth Moore definitely needs our prayers that she will come to repentance. Most of us who critique her bear her no malice. Rather, we fear for her on Judgment Day.

    Let’s also humble ourselves (as you have) by making sure that we teach properly and within Scriptural boundaries. This situation causes me to fear offending the Lord merely to build my own platform. Perhaps God allows her high profile and visible deterioration as a warning to the rest of us.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  12. Primary problem with the article? The entire premise upon which it is built in the opening sentence is not verified by the evidence provided. None of the 5 points you raise in the linked article make someone a false teacher. You may disagree with her on each of those matters but none of them are gospel essential doctrines.

    When you start with the premise that someone is a false teacher living in unrepentant sin because you differ from that person on 2nd or 3rd tier issues, then the rest of your article can’t stand.

    Can you please provide an example of where Beth Moore has taught something contrary to the essentials of the Christian faith? Once that information is provided, we can discuss whether she qualifies as a false teacher.

    Until then…

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Luke, please click on the link to my article “Five Reasons It’s Time to Exercise Moore Discernment” in the very first paragraph. I did not provide all of the evidence about her being a false teacher in this article precisely because it is contained in that article and I linked to it. There is plenty of evidence there including in the “Additional Resources” section at the end of that article. You’ll also find Susan Stribich’s two long comments above yours to be very instructive.

      Furthermore, this is not “differing on 2nd and 3rd tier issues” like credo baptism vs. paedo baptism. This is blatant sin and false doctrine. If you’ve read the New Testament, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how strongly Jesus, Paul, John, Jude, Peter, and others condemned false teachers. Please do your biblical and evidentiary research very carefully before deciding to defend Beth Moore or any other false teacher.

      Liked by 5 people

      Reply

  13. This was a very good post as I was wondering your thoughts on her letter. I found her to be “whiny” and full of blame. It was interesting to me that she said she only wanted to teach women but was upset because men weren’t acknowledging her in elevators, in leadership conferences, etc. It seemed a bit hypocritical. You were spot on about her desire for approval. And Susan S. did a great job explaining some of the issues with Breaking Free. Thanks for what you do!

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

  14. I wondered about this quote from Moore, “Then early October 2016 surfaced attitudes among some key Christian leaders that smacked of misogyny, objectification and astonishing disesteem of women and it spread like wildfire.” What happened Oct 2016? Is she talking about the support of some Christian leaders for Trump? Is that what brought this on?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I honestly don’t have any idea as, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is another example of her being vague. I didn’t get the impression that’s what she was alluding to, but at this point, who knows?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. This is when the Access Hollywood tape was released. Beth did make some derogatory comments at that time alluding to Trump and those who supported him. I believe this is what’s she’s referring to.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I just remember subtle things mentioned in blog posts and tweets. See tweets from 10/9/16, 3/29/18, 4/29/18 and associated comments. The two from 2018, along with mention in this article, seem to link to timing of the election.

        Liked by 1 person

  15. THANK YOU, Michelle for this excellent post. I am also among the camp of those who have been ridiculed for questioning and warning against Beth Moore’s teachings and influence.
    Thank you also to the many informative commenters.
    Affirmations like this post and the ensuing comments have been beneficial in my “HealingInHim”.
    Blessings to all. ❤

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply
  16. Pingback: All Beth Moore critiques here in one place (Newest) | The End Time

  17. I was so disappointed when I read it. I always want to see the best in everyone, pray that things aren’t as bad as they seem. Just pretty much justified her actions and said that women need to fight to ‘level the playing field’ as opposed to embracing their Biblically appointed roles. It pains me to know that women that are unable to discern are reading it and accepting it as truth.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. Thank you, Michelle and many others, for the diligent examining of Moore’s output in light of Scripture. You’re modeling good discernment for us, and that takes time and effort.
    I attended my first Living Proof Live conference in 2006 with my church group, and subsequently participated in several Moore studies. I am NOT one of the ones who had an instinct that “something was off” (just being honest.) I took everything in without question. But a few years later, I had a moment of real doubt about something Beth said, and finally started to examine her as best I could (at that time, only a few people were ringing alarm bells). I spent many hours reading and asking questions and wasn’t supported by the women in my local study group (far from it). Fast-forward, and I’m in a solid, Bible-based church now with male teachers and leaders.
    I learned from this and would do it again in a heartbeat, but regret the wasted years when I could have been sitting under much better instructors.
    Please keep up the good work! As an aside, I believe that Beth is cracking a bit under scrutiny in recent years. She seems confused and melodramatic. She used to be straightforward; now she “writes around” what she wants to say. I, also, wondered what events she referred to in the beginning of her letter. We’ll pray for her, and for those who follow her.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  20. Excellent article. I’ve had it with BM and also with the guilt trip being laid on the church for “past wrongs” and current perceived wrongs. That whole MLK conference was one giant guilt trip of condemnation against the body of Christ as a whole. And my thinking is that if you condemn the body, you condemn the Head, correct? Doesn’t sound like a good idea.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I think you’re right, Celeste.

      I’ve edited out the rest of your comment (your question about the Bible study) because I thought it would make a great question for a future edition of The Mailbag. Keep an eye out on Mondays! :0)

      Like

      Reply

  21. Susan, you can actually see her B F videos on Youtube, so the issue of cost is not a factor. I did the study many years ago, and thought something was not right, but couldn’t quite articulate it. In the intervening years, God has helped me learn discernment. I praise Him for that. Also, thanks so much for your ministry, Michelle.

    Like

    Reply
  22. Pingback: Saturday Sampler: May 6 — May 12 | The Outspoken TULIP

  23. Michelle,.

    I appreciate your comments and may I say, I believe you are correct. This is a repentance issue and Beth Moore needs to come to that place. I can understand where she is coming from, I was a Charismatic/Word of Faith woman preacher. I was deceived until I opened up the Word one day and did nothing but study without the aid of the Charismatic/Word of Faith crowd. My husband and I actually did this together and one day we wrote our letter of resignation and walked away from all we had known for 20 years. Tears of repentance flowed for weeks as I realized that I had wrong the Lord. It has been over 10 years and we have never looked back.

    I watch the Christian community and I see the deception in both the men and the women. Many good women have awakened to see truth but so many pastors are not taking the time to research false teachers like Beth, and in ignorance, support them. I sometimes feel alone, having walked this journey but I will never go back. I speak up when I get a chance but many times feel like what I share falls on hard unrepentent soil.

    In the Charismatic/Word of Faith World, women are accepted as equals. Perhaps she wishes that our brothers who are doctrinally sound would embrace her like the other crowd. It can’t happen, it shouldn’t happen. We need strong pastors to hold to God’s standard and the Truth to keep wolves out of the sheepfold. I do agree that comments about her looks and sizing her up are wrong. I hope she went directly to that man and confronted her brother. If he is a godly man, he would have made it right and the whole thing would be over.

    Sharing the platform with known false teachers is also a serious blunder. To link up with Christine Caine or any of the others, sends a message to women who are weak in their knowledge of the Word that these teachers are ok. God will hold her responsible for leading the weak to another pasture.

    We are living in serious times that demand a understanding of God’s Word. Thanks for the blog post. You are not alone.

    Karen Johnson

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Karen-
      Thank you so much for that encouraging word. I’m so happy for you for the work God has done in your life and your husband’s life.

      If you would ever be interested in writing up your testimony of how God brought you out of false doctrine and into repentance and sound doctrine, I would love to run it in my “Testimony Tuesday” feature. I have honestly never heard of a female “pastor” repenting and stepping down, and I think your story would be very encouraging to my readers as well. Feel free to touch base with me about it at michellelesley1@yahoo.com if you’d like.

      Blessings!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    2. Karen – We need your testimony. If at all possible follow-up on Michelle’s invitation to provide it.
      I am surrounded by women who feel I take the Bible too literally. They have believed the deception of twisting certain Scriptures in order to condone that women may preach/teach from the pulpit to men. 😦

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I will write up my story. In the meantime, hold to the Truth. There are many of us who will not bend or bow. Only the Holy Spirit can bring conviction to hearts. I believe all we can do is speak the truth in love and leave the results to Him. It took years for the seeds to sprout. When I finally awoke, I couldn’t believe how far I traveled away from His Word. I am glad to find this blog. I feel like I have been alone in this battle. Nice to find all of you.

        Liked by 2 people

    3. Your story is so uplifting. It is wonderful to hear of believers who turn from the false to search for the truth…and you were open the the Lord’s call on your liege. Inspiring !

      Like

      Reply
  25. Pingback: Beth Moore doesn’t speak for the church
  26. Pingback: Beth Moore doesn’t speak for the church by Elizabeth Prata | Crossmap Blogs

Before commenting please see the "Welcome" tab in the blue menu bar at the top of this page. Comments are handled manually, so there will be a delay before approved comments are posted. I do not publish comments which promote false doctrine.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.