Jerry Falwell, Jr. Calls Russell Moore Out, Says He's Part of the 'SBC Deep State'

Kayla Koslosky | ChristianHeadlines.com Editor | Updated: May 14, 2019
Jerry Falwell, Jr. Calls Russell Moore Out, Says He's Part of the 'SBC Deep State'

Jerry Falwell, Jr. Calls Russell Moore Out, Says He's Part of the 'SBC Deep State'

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell, Jr. took to Twitter late Monday night to call Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission president Russell Moore to the carpet.

Falwell took to Twitter Monday night to respond to a tweet where two-time Southern Baptist Convention president, Pastor Jerry Vines endorsed the new Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president, Dr. Adam Greenway.

In Falwell’s response to Vines, he not only backed the former SBC president’s endorsement of Greenway, but he also took the opportunity to call Moore out.

The LU president wrote, “My good friend @jerryvines just told me Dr. Adam Greenway is a wonderful man and not part of the @drmoore SBC deep state regime trying to subvert the will of the church members! So glad to hear this news! @toddstarnes

Moore and Falwell have long had differing political opinions.

According to Relevant Magazine, during the 2016 election cycle, Moore loudly condemned President Donald Trump until having a meeting with higher-ups in the SBC. Reportedly, his outspoken condemnation of Trump almost cost Moore his job. 

Conversely, Falwell was one of the first evangelicals to speak out in favor of Trump during the 2016 election and is now reportedly close friends with the president.  

Falwell states in his tweet that he believes that Moore is a part of the “SBC deep state” regime. 

The ‘deep state’ is a conspiratorial term referring to a group of people embedded in a larger group who are believed to be involved in the secret manipulation or control of policy within that group, Relevant Magazine explains.

According to Falwell’s tweet, he believes Moore is a part of a secret group of influential people inside the SBC trying to undermine the authority of the church.

The SBC has long had divisive struggles for power within the organization. In 1979, the SBC had a complete overhaul when a movement coined the “Conservative Resurgence” by its supporters and “Fundamentalist Takeover” by its opponents removed people in positions of power throughout the SBC who held liberal beliefs. This move led to the departure of some 1900 churches from the SBC in 1990.

While Falwell does not explicitly state it, one might surmise that this is what the outspoken conservative is referring to in his tweet.

Moore has yet to respond.

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Alex Wong



Jerry Falwell, Jr. Calls Russell Moore Out, Says He's Part of the 'SBC Deep State'