Religious Liberty  Press Release  Marriage

ERLC President Russell Moore Speaks on Marriage, Family at Vatican

WASHINGTON D.C., Nov. 18, 2014Russell Moore, president of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, joined Pope Francis and others in addressing a worldwide interreligious body at the “Vatican”:http://humanum.it/en/ on issues of marriage and family. Despite theological differences among attendees, Moore said there is a need to stand together on conserving the truth of marriage as a complementary union of man and woman.

Marriage is embedded in the creation order and is the means of human flourishing, said Moore. We recognize that marriage, and the sexual difference on which it is built, is grounded in a natural order bearing rights and responsibilities that was not crafted by any human state, and cannot thus be redefined by any human state.

On the subject of complementarity, Moore said marriage and family are “icons of God’s purpose for the universe” and there is a distinctively Christian urgency” for why Christians must bear witness to marriage.

Moore ended his address by insisting Christians must maintain their witness on the issue of marriage. We will not capitulate on these issues because we cannot, Moore commented. To jettison or to minimize a Christian sexual ethic is to abandon the message Jesus handed to us, and we have no authority to do this. Instead, We stand and speak not with clenched fists or with wringing hands, but with the open hearts of those who have a message and a mission… . We must do so with the confidence of those who know that on the other side of our culture wars, theres a sexual counter-revolution waiting to be born, again.

Moore was one of two evangelical Protestant leaders to speak at this event. Other speakers included Rick Warren, author and pastor of Saddleback Church; Jonathan Sacks, former Prime Rabbi of the UK and the Commonwealth; and Pope Francis, who opened the colloquium with an address on the good and beauty of complementarity in marriage.

A full transcript of Moore’s address can be found “here.”:https://erlc.com/ecommerce-files/Vatican-Address.pdf

The Southern Baptist Convention is Americas largest Protestant denomination with more than 15.8 million members in over 46,000 churches nationwide. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is the SBCs ethics, religious liberty and public policy agency with offices in Nashville, Tenn., and Washington, D.C.

– END –

To request an interview with Russell Moore

contact Elizabeth Bristow at (615) 782-8409

or by e-mail at [email protected]

Visit our Web site at www.erlc.com

Follow us on Twitter at @ERLCPressRoom



Related Content

Trump

ERLC President Committed to Advancing Southern Baptist Priorities with Donald Trump and New Congress 

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 6, 2024—ERLC President Brent Leatherwood comments on yesterday’s election results, including...

Read More
ERLC Logo

ERLC Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees Provides Update & Clarity on ERLC President Brent Leatherwood

NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 23, 2024 —The executive committee of the board of trustees for...

Read More

ERLC appoints Gregg R. Allison as Senior Fellow, joining lead Baptist scholars in Research Institute 

Nashville, Tenn., June 4, 2024 —The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern...

Read More
Nathan A. Finn

ERLC Appoints Nathan A. Finn to Serve as Senior Fellow with Religious Liberty Focus

Nashville, Tenn., April 9, 2024 —The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern...

Read More
Mike Pence

ERLC Announces Event ‘Serving in the Public Square: A Conversation with Vice President Mike Pence’ at SBC Annual Meeting

Nashville, Tenn., March 28, 2024 —The Ethics & Religious Liberty of the Southern Baptist...

Read More
guide to answering gender confusion

ERLC Publishes New Resource, ‘God’s Good Design: A Practical Guide for Answering Gender Confusion’

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 26, 2024—The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist...

Read More