Posted in theology

Beth Moore’s latest study: critique and review

By Elizabeth Prata

Beth Moore is a self-identifying Bible teacher, who writes and publishes material based on the Bible. She also is President of her corporation Living Proof Ministries, in which Moore goes from city to city teaching material she says is related to the Bible. In addition, she has a TV show on TBN, Youtube, and other outlets. She has written a novel and recently published her autobiography.

She is 67 years old and has been teaching woman AND men – and eventually preaching – since about 1983.

She has always been false. She did not start well and go off the rails. Nor did she recently turn soft or errant. She has been false since the beginning. There are sheep and there are goats, one marked for blessing and eternal life and one marked for condemnation. Moore is the latter. I discussed that fact here:

and here-

I’ve been tracking Moore since 2011 when I was taken to a Live Living Proof event, and later a simulcast retreat weekend. I’ve written many critiques about both Moore’s doctrine, her teaching style, and her lifestyle. Last week, I checked in to see how Beth Moore’s teaching is going, with viewing her latest Bible series, “When is He Present?”, a study looking at what it means to truly seek the Lord’s presence. Key Scriptures: 1 Samuel 2:12-18, Jeremiah 7:12-15, Jeremiah 2:1-8, 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Proverbs 3:5-6.

Conclusion: Beth is still false.

Let’s take a look at why. This isn’t just about marking a teacher, it’s about leading the reader through WHY Beth Moore is false, so the reader can develop her own discernment and be on the alert for true and false teachers. That act alone glorifies the Lord. Rightly dividing the truth glorifies Him. Submitting to and learning about the actual God as revealed in scripture glorifies Him. Alternately, following a false teacher or believing wrong doctrine does not glorify God. This is why we critique teachers- to glorify God and to aid sisters in developing discernment.

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14)

Moore began part 1 of her new series with a focus on 1 Samuel. We read at Grace To You the predominant themes of 1 & 2 Samuel:

-The first is the Davidic Covenant,
-A second theme is the sovereignty of God,
-Third, the work of the Holy Spirit in empowering men for divinely appointed tasks is evident,
-Fourth, the books of Samuel demonstrate the personal and national effects of sin
.

Ligonier’s overview of 1 Samuel teaches three truths, that God always intended for Israel to have a king; God selected David to be king and promised him an eternal dynasty, God selected Jerusalem to be the place where He would provide a substitute for His people.

Knowing now the devastation of Israel’s national and personal sin, and how they were at a low and weak point because of persistent sin, how does Beth Moore introduce the theme and background of 1 Samuel? Let’s take a look.

Moore opens the lesson thus:

A paradox of being completely self-absorbed is that the more we fold into ourselves the more we try to just give ourselves to every craving every yearning anything we want regardless of what it does to anybody else that the more we do that the more and more Barren we become. ~Moore

Moore uses the word barren 9X in this lesson but the word sin only once. It seems that Moore is inserting her gynocentric focus here, in making these chapters be about women, barrenness, and birth. She opens with a focus on women- not sin, not kings, not Israel. Women and their child-birthing capabilities, or lack thereof. Moore knows her audience likely knows about barren Hannah, so Moore seems to have latched onto the birthing issue and barrenness and extrapolated it into the theme.

First, she uses the word barren when saying that when we give in to cravings, (carefully avoiding the word sin) it makes us “barren”. If that was all she said, one might surmise from the scant context, that Moore meant spiritually dry. But then she confuses things in the next moment by using the word barren to mean Hannah’s physical inability to have children.

screenshot from the video lesson

Moore conflated the word barren and then goes on in the ‘lesson’ to overuse the word without clarifying. Moore matches the spiritual dryness of disobedience to one woman’s inability to have children.

This lack of clarity and the cobbling together of cherry-picked words is the usual MO of how Moore has publicly said she crafts her lessons. She prays and waits to hear a literal word from the Spirit, then she goes through books of the Bible and picks out that word and makes a lesson out of it. Here, she seems to have ‘heard’ the Spirit say “barren”. You notice above how many books of the Bible and how many verses she intends to teach through. She is always all over the place.

I’m just a few minutes into Moore’s lesson and it is incorrect and confusing already.

In fact, the next statement Moore gives is that Moore claims the entire theme of the book of 1 Samuel is about barrenness. She said,

So the book unfolds 1st Samuel chapter 1 and goes into to chapter 2 and then we see it in chapter 3 the book unfolds with a whole theme of barrenness. It’s showing us the idea of barrenness in the woman by the name of Hannah

This is incorrect. The theme of 1 Samuel is the installation of a King over the people, the beginning of the monarchy. Not barrenness.

screenshot from the video lesson

She goes on to say,

it puts us on the page of Hannah’s barrenness but that is not where it stops. Because what it immediately shows us is that this particular people of God has become Barren. That spiritually they are completely Barren.

So are the people unable to have children? Or are they barren spiritually? Because Moore has used the word in both senses in rapid order by now. And what exactly IS spiritual barrenness? How can an entire people be ‘barren’? The men too? She never defines it.

This is a tactic politicians use, when they use words that are commonly understood but that each person can attach their own individual interpretation to what it exactly means. Words like peace, liberty, freedom. Politicians do this so they can appeal to the widest possible audience (voters).

In faith-based organizations like Living Proof that twist the word, the speakers first rip out the context, then they use words that make sense on the surface but are in fact nebulous, so they can appeal to the widest audience possible (consumers).

Barrenness makes sense, but what IS it, really? The people at this juncture were SINNING. They were DISOBEDIENT. Moore doesn’t use the more specific and appropriate words of sin and disobedience. Only ‘barrenness’.

there’s nothing like barrenness to make God want to birth something… ~Moore

What?! Sometimes barrenness, if we interpret it as disobedience, causes God to punish, not birth something. See: Sodom, The Disapora, Intertestamental 400 years of silence…

Moore goes on to reference Sarah who was barren and in the NT Elizabeth who was past child bearing years. Moore again cobbling together a false doctrine out of her cherry picked word. Now it is true that God used barren women for His plan. In fact, He was the One who MADE the women barren in the first place. He didn’t look down on these poor women who could not give birth and decide out of compassion to give them a child. It is the Lord who opens and closes wombs and decides whether or not he gives a woman a child. He uses them as part of His plan.

Next, Moore says,

Elizabeth a woman past the years of childbearing there’s just nothing like a time of barrenness …

What does that mean??

Anna wasn’t mentioned as having children, and her life was rich a teaching ministry in the Temple. Lydia is not mentioned as having children yet her ministry of hospitality was thriving. What does that mean, “there’s nothing like a time of barrenness”?

so I want to say to you if you come here this weekend in your life your soul your heart just feels Barren you may be in exactly the right place because it may be that God is just about to birth something brand new in you.

Or it might mean you’ve been disobedient and need to repent.

The above sounds like Joel Osteen doesn’t it? Moore uses nebulous words in order to emotionally connect with her audience, rather than teach the plain meaning of scripture and allow the Spirit to connect in transforming their mind.

Beth, just stoppppp with the ping-ponging back and forth between the spiritual barrenness and gestational barrenness!

Moore refers to Hannah’s promise to dedicate the child to the LORD when he is old enough, and for laughs, Moore says she’d renege on that promise to YAHWEH:

I’m going to tell you something, if it were me, He just never would get old enough, isn’t that the truth…[laughter]

I’ve often remarked that Beth Moore lacks gravitas. Not that we moon about and wear a long face, but her frequent quips and pause for laughter moments chip away at the foundation of the seriousness of the topic on which she is speaking, and eats away at the due seriousness of the Bible itself. Should we joke about abandoning a promise to God?

Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT [ab]MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’ (Matthew 5:33)

Moore admits a bit further on that she changes translations frequently and when she does she reads the verse a bit differently and it “captures my fresh attention.

This is rather a sad confession, but one that to my mind confirms once again that Moore is an unsaved person and looking for ways to liven her Bible reading (which is always dry as dust to a pagan). The Holy Spirit livens the reading of God’s word to us as He uses it as the mechanism to transform our mind and melt our heart and grow our soul. But not for a heathen. Heathens need tricks to make the Bible interesting and keep one’s attention. So Moore changes translations often.

Moore continues with reading a passage from Jeremiah where God is speaking to the people about their lack of awareness and failure even to ask “where is the Lord?” never noticing that He is not present among them. Moore extrapolates that to a lamentation for our day, that,

we should really be seeing the Lord move in our midst and moving some obstacles and making some ways in the wilderness and this is a God that does wonders for his people and where where is the Lord?

Is she saying that we should be expecting visible proof that the Lord is moving? Miracles and wonders? Seems so. If the Lord feels far from you, what are you called to do? REPENT. That word does not appear at all in the transcript of Moore’s 30-minute teaching. We seek the Lord’s presence through seeking His forgiveness for our sin through our repentance. This is not a mention in the transcript nor is it the theme in this lesson.

Moore went on like that for a while. Her teaching was not 100% devoid of truth. False teachers always include some truth which they mix with a heaping cup of confusion and a dollop of emotion. But her teaching was human centered, not God-centered.

What descriptions are used for false teachers? Spies, masquerade, creep in, secretly… If you could immediately detect their falsity then we would not need so many warnings in the Bible about training in discernment so we cold detect them.

Moore’s error in identifying the theme of 1 Samuel, her incorrect use of barrenness, and her ripping out of context the story of Sarah and other childless women are clues that her teaching that is not healthy.

Further Resources

Beware of False Teachers

Hannah’s perseverance

Why we still warn against Beth Moore

Posted in theology

Do these preaching ladies not know…? The Beth Moores vs. the Mary ‘Polly’ Careys

By Elizabeth Prata

I’m reading William Carey’s biography, written by his great grandson S. Pearce Carey. It’s a wonderful book for many reasons. Full of nuggets. Like this one:

Carey’s sister Mary, nicknamed Polly, became an invalid at a young age. Her spine started to go. By age 25 she was a paralytic.

Carey had already evangelized his family, and blessedly, Mary was a believer when her infirmity struck. Mary was confined to her sick room for the next 50 years. She had been the one to accompany her brother tramping on their field forays, examining nature and admiring God’s handiwork. Thus, Mary’s confinement was a grief to her, as she too, loved to roam. Worse, for eleven years after her final paralysis, she could not speak. She contracted smallpox, and after recovering, whispered a sentence or two with great pain and difficulty. Then she was mute again for another 20 years.

Mary only had the use of her right arm and hand, and could write, but only in pain. However, she led a Bible study, using a slate to converse. She wrote copiously to William when he was abroad on mission. Some of these folios have been saved, Mary poured out her heart to William, and she wrote every bit of family news. She was a huge encouragement to William.

She was a prayer warrior unparalleled, S. Pearce Carey calling her one of Carey’s ‘chief priests’, saying, “the incense of whose ceaseless intercession was fragrant to God.’ She prayed every single day for William’s needs and his mission, for 52 years.

Mary had drawn her sister’s many children to Christ. Mary was so loved, “to part with her would tear us asunder” wrote Mary’s niece in 1828. In the end, Mary was just skin and bone, barely able to sit up in a chair while her bed was being made, yet her face shone with the love of Christ. She was known by all as a sweet tempered Christian lady, empathizing more for others than herself. Yet finally, in 1842 at the age of 75, Mary was brought home to her Lord, where she was finally free from all pain and standing upright to see His face.

Her ministry of evangelizing, letter writing, encouraging, praying, and teaching is known to us 182 years later as remarkable and a grace upon grace.

So it is with grief when I read of egotistical cretins like Beth Moore who complained an interview that she was “in a tradition where there were just very limited things that a woman could do” as Beth has said, so, that is why she chose to step out of God’s role for her and satisfied her venal ambition to preach. Her God-given role was “limiting.”

Limiting. As in, not big enough.

Gladys Aylward

A woman like Moore, with full body capabilities, given the blessing of two children, having a home and wealth (not evicted as Carey’s sister’s family was), considered her role limiting. Mary, bedridden in the 1700s-1800s, mute, one useful arm only and that in pain, lovingly cared for as she engaged in not one, not two, not three, not four, but five ministries, having global impact and heaven only knows the eternal impact.

Does Moore and her ilk not know of this? Do these strutting spiritual strumpets not know of lowly Cockney, uneducated, impoverished maid Gladys Aylward, denied support to go on mission in China, but went anyway? Pouring out her life to minister to and evangelize orphans? Working tirelessly for the pagan Chinese from 1930 to 1970, when she died in Taiwan?

Do they not know of Selina Hastings, the Countess of Huntingdon, who was born into lordly British privilege, and used her means to become an ardent supporter of ministers who preach the truth? Inviting others to her home and founding dozens of chapels for the area’s preachers to do their godly ministrations? In 1783 she founded “The Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion”, a society of English preachers and churches that continues to this day.

Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon – Portrait – National Portrait Gallery, London

Do they not know of the blessing of motherhood, helpmeet, teacher of children, godly role and support of the household? Beth Moore and rebels of her ilk consider motherhood limiting. Praying: limiting. Letter writing: limiting. Philanthropy: limiting. Parenting: limiting. They consider all the roles and opportunities to serve God too limiting. They want to preach. They want to be in front. Well, ladies, the first shall be last and the last shall be first.

I am sure, SURE, on THAT DAY, women like Gladys, Selina, Mary will be standing in front, receiving due praise from the KING for their obedience and positive impact for the Kingdom. I am sure, SURE women like Beth Moore and Christine Caine and Jen Wilkin and Aimee Byrd etc. who rebel and whine, and ‘step into the classic leadership role’, as Caine has said, will be told “DEPART FROM ME” because of their rebellion and their negative damage to the kingdom. These disguised servants of righteousness will be unmasked, seen as they are- ministers of wickedness. As 2 Corinthians 11:15 says, their end will be as they deserve.

Meanwhile, dear sister, nothing is too limiting with God. Wherever you are and with whatever means He has given you, you can make an impact for His kingdom and for lost souls. Mary, Martha, Susannah, Dorcas, Lydia, Priscilla, Lois, Eunice…Gladys, Selina, Mary-Polly; whatever amount of education, whatever amount of finances, whatever the family situation, look to the excellent examples of our sisters in the faith. One day, we will meet them all. What a day that will be.

Posted in theology

Five years ago today we released the Open Letter to Beth Moore. Here’s what happened & here’s why Beth HAS to be vague

By Elizabeth Prata

1. What happened

Five years ago today (L-R top row) Michelle Lesley, Amy Spreeman, Susan Heck, (L-R bottom row) Martha Peace, DebbieLynne Kespert, and myself here at The End Time, in tandem on our individual platforms, released an Open Letter to Beth Moore asking her 5 simple questions about her stance on homosexuality. Though Beth constantly remarks on cultural and social issues on her various platforms, to our knowledge we had never seen her take a stance on the sin of homosexuality. We felt it was important to get clarity on this from her, especially since she had (and still has) an enormous global platform with millions of followers.

Michelle Lesley posted a retrospective on her page today, saying,

As you’ll read below, the letter asked Moore to respond to five questions about homosexuality. To this day, as far as I know, she has obfuscated, finessed, straw-manned, slandered, and played the victim, but the one thing she has not done is to clearly and directly answer them. The ensuing brouhaha over the letter, however, spoke much louder than simply answering the questions. I’m re-posting this today to remind and warn all of us that this is how false teachers operate, and that we need to keep our eyes open and be good Bereans.

At Michelle’s site she kept a timeline of events and screen shots of Beth’s vague reactions. Check it out, it says a lot about a false teacher who would not answer a simple question about a sin that God abhors.

Here are the five questions. In the original letter, there was a preamble and a closing, but here is the main point of our letter to Beth Moore:

1. Do you believe homosexuality is inherently sinful?
2. Do you believe that the practice of the homosexual lifestyle is compatible with holy Christian living?
3. Do you believe a person who dies as a practicing homosexual but professes to be a Christian will inherit eternal life?
4. Do you believe same sex attraction is, in and of itself, an inherently sinful, unnatural, and disordered desire that must be mortified?
5. Why have you been so silent on this subject in light of your desire to “teach the word of God?”

Seems simple enough to answer, right? But not for a false teacher. She can’t be pinned down. I am going to explain one reason why the event was instructive. Beth Moore (as a false teacher) is highly skilled in equivocating. Her use of non-specific language is masterful.


2. Why couldn’t she just answer?!

Outside of the faith, there are situations where specific language is a must. Science, Maths, technology, and judicial situations are four that I can think of. When a lawyer asks a question he poses it in a certain way in order to elicit a specific and clear response from a witness. You can’t be unclear in court. Judges issue decrees that must be clear. He wouldn’t issue a finding without naming the crime. Unthinkable.

But criminals, politicians, and false teachers speak in non-specifics all the time. How often have you seen a Mafia movie where the Boss says something like ,”Take care of that problem” and it really means, ‘Whack that guy and bury him in cement shoes’? Vague language serves some people very well.

Firstly, … people typically equivocate when posed a question to which all possible replies have potentially negative consequences, but where nonetheless a reply is still expected.” The International Encyclopedia of Language and Social Interaction.

Back to faith situations using vague language- In the 1400s medieval Crusader and autobiographer Margery Kempe was sufficiently vague and slippery, using masterful unclarity to get out of her heresy trial when confronted by the Archbishop of York. And this was court, where specific language is a must! But Kempe never was pinned down.

Kempe’s sophisticated use of evasive, vague, hedged, and recontextualized speech and situational pragmatics proved more than a match for the Archbishop and his clerks.” From “Margery Kempe’s Strategic Vague Language” in the book The Medieval Life of Language by Mark Amsler.”

We saw it again, recorded in trial documents when in the 1600s Anne Hutchinson was at trial before the Puritan Divines. Hutchinson’s skill at verbal slipperyness even caused the Governor prosecuting her for heresy to say, “Yes, you are a woman of most note, and of best abilities.” She would not be pinned down.

Vague language is most useful to a heretic.

So the problem trying to pin down a skilled equivocator like Beth Moore is not new. When Beth Moore refused to answer, she issued cryptic, vague tweets and messages on her platforms, designed to cover her in a smokescreen where she could disappear like a magician on stage.

But in the end she couldn’t.

Eventually, she had to answer, because this time, the situation wasn’t going away. When she did reply, it was a non-answer that said nothing. Yes, ‘she is a woman of most note, and of best abilities.’

As GK Chesterton has said of neo-paganism, they express “incomparable exercises in the English language“. (From “Heretics”).

Vagueness is important to the politician, false teacher, or any other person needing not to be clear. Here’s why. Let’s use a politician for an example. In speeches, the politician will choose high-emotion words, commonly understood by the hearer, who attaches his or her own personal meaning to it.

Like, ‘liberty’. Now, we all understand the word liberty. But do we? Liberty means something different to a person in jail or to the battered wife, which is different to an unhappy housewife who has career ambitions, which is different to a patriotic citizen in Middle America. We know the word, but we attach different meanings to it. The more vague one can be while seeming to be specific, the more the speaker can connect with more people, and importantly, not alienate a diverse base. The quote below about using pragmatic language can apply to false teachers because they are also like politicians: [insertion is mine, underline is mine]

Another aspect of this issue is the diversity of the audience in the case of televised politics. In their public performances politicians [and false teachers] do not want to address only one target group but as many as possible. But this means that they have to convey different messages to different people at the same time. Producing coherent statements in such situations is only possible by using various forms of indirect vagueness because different groups of the audience may have dissimilar (and even contradictory) wants.” (Source- International Pragmatics Association, Political Language and Textual Vagueness by Helmut Gruber).

Our faith has words that possess certain meanings. It’s important to protect them and important to use them properly

False teachers have a diverse base and have to work to keep the base united, unlike Christians who have one base- Christ. We want the brilliance and clarity of God’s word to shine. Vagueness is why Beth Moore says all the time in her lessons, things like “Is everybody with me? Everybody know what I’m talkin’ about?” She isn’t checking for understanding, which can’t be done with a virtual audience in a video or in a massive auditorium of thousands of listeners. What she’s doing is forcing a unity among diversity.

The true teacher and the false teacher thus have different goals and use different language to achieve those goals. Read Chesterton’s quote below with the faith in mind. Can we construct a faith with unreliable instruments?

And this kind of vagueness … is an absolutely final blow to anything in the nature of a science. Men can construct a science with very few instruments, or with very plain instruments; but no one on earth could construct a science with unreliable instruments. A man might work out the whole of mathematics with a handful of pebbles, but not with a handful of clay which was always falling apart into new fragments, and falling together into new combinations. A man might measure heaven and earth with a reed, but not with a growing reed.” GK Chesterton

3. What does the Bible say?

I’ve covered the fact of the false teachers’ use of vague language, and the necessity of their use of vagueness, but now let’s turn to see what the Bible has to say.

The one who has ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 11:15. And Matthew 13:9, 43; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22; Revelation 13:9. We see that phrase in God’s word so often. We all have ears, physically. We don’t all have the ability to hear through them if we’re deaf. Spiritually, those who are not in Christ do not have the ability to spiritually hear His word.

Chesterton, “A man cannot pay that kind of reverence to truth solid as marble; they can only be reverent towards a beautiful lie.” 

If you are in Christ, we DO have ears to hear- Him. But we need to listen carefully to one and all who claim to be speaking God’s words from God’s Bible. Are we listening carefully to not only the words with our ears, but with our souls, by the Spirit?

Jesus’ simple request is that we use our God-given faculties (eyes to see, ears to hear) to tune in to His words (John 10:27 –28Mark 4:24Revelation 3:20). “For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open” (Mark 4:22).” (Source GotQuestions)

Whenever you hear a teacher professing Christianity equivocate, evade, or use vague language, especially when a specific question has been asked, your ears should hear what is being said and what is not being said.

We are ambassadors for Jesus and we have a duty to convey the King’s message as carefully as we can. So we use precise language in our teaching, evangelizing, writing, and preaching. When teachers or preachers don’t, then you know there is a problem. When they use cryptic, evasive, non-specific language, let him who has an ear, hear.

If we train ourselves in discernment we will hear and thus detect the source. (Hebrews 5:14).


Posted in theology

Two birthdays, two ministries, two trajectories

By Elizabeth Prata

The Bible is disgusted by false teaching and is strong on pure doctrine. Why? The consequences of error are dire.

Scottish Divine James Durham said, “Error destroys the soul (2 Peter 2:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:12). In fact, it brings on swift damnation ( 2 Peter 2:1). It overthrows the faith of many (2 Timothy 2:18), perverts Scripture to people’s destruction (2 Peter 3:16), and deceives many (Matthew 24:11). For this reason, it is also called damnable and pernicious (2 Peter 2:1-2).”

Further, Durham wrote, “No titles carry greater indignation and abomination than the titles given to such people. They are generally called dogs and evil workers (Philippians 3:2); wolves, or rather grievous wolves (Matthew 7:15; Acts 20:29), deceitful workers; ministers of satan, as if they were expressly commissioned by him (2 Corinthians 11″13); deceivers and liars (Revelation 2:2); evil men and seducers, who wax worse and worse (2 Timothy 3:13).

False teaching is not to be overlooked, dismissed, watered down, or ignored. It is serious, serious business. There is correct doctrine and there is incorrect doctrine. One pleases the Lord. The other provokes His wrath.

The problem is ancient, it began in time immemorial past in heaven when satan, puffed with pride and ambition to unseat God, lied and enticed many holy angels to quit following God and to follow him. They took the swap and thus they fell and became demons. Satan brought the problem to earth in the Garden where he tempted our first parents and they fell, bringing the future entirety of humankind with them. Satan’s deceptions have continued, with warnings and prohibitions to us from God, through the Old Testament to the New, and into this very day.

Photo by Jens Lelie on Unsplash

That’s one path, the wide one. One side of the light vs. dark saga.

Alternately there are those on the narrow path. God raises up ministers for His name in every generation who are stalwart, true, persevering, and edifying. After Jesus came the Apostles, then the church fathers, the medieval men like Wycliffe and Hus, the Reformation men like Luther and to the Puritans and post-Puritans like Edwards, and the mid twentieth century men like Gerstner, Sproul, Lloyd-Jones. Today we have the new men like Riccardi, Pickowitz, Buice, James Coates…

The Lord always raises up good men, and aside from the ones mentioned, there are thousands and millions more He raised up that we never heard of but who labored faithfully to their end, and were brought to the bosom of their Priestly Shepherd to enjoy rest from ministering and to the bliss of being with the leader of the true Church.

This dichotomy of false teaching vs. true was brought to mind this week as I noticed two famous people are having birthdays a few days apart.

John MacArthur and Beth Moore. I have been involved at a distance with both these folks for a long time. I’ve seen the trajectories. I’ve read and listened to their works. And the starkness could not be more clear. Beth Moore’s output has damaged the faith and in many cases brought it into disrepute, while MacArthur’s has strengthened it and honored the Lord’s name.

John MacArthur will turn 85 years old on June 19. He has been ministering as pastor-teacher at Grace Community Church for 56 years. He was ministering 5 years before that as an associate pastor. He has been actively serving the Lord for 61 years. The Lord is gracious to give us all these decades with him, and surely his impact has been great.

He has never wavered on the authority of scripture, cessationism, young earth creationism, complementarianism, dispensationalism, the Lordship of Christ, proper Christology, and gender and sexuality. He has preached through every book of the New Testament verse by verse, which took 45 years to accomplish. He has written over 150 books which have been translated into myriad languages, faithfully shepherded his congregation week after week, withstood the covid closures, led a solid seminary, and has been acknowledged by Christianity Today as one of the most influential preachers of his time. His MacArthur Study Bible has sold more than one million copies, receiving a Gold Medallion Book Award. That Study Bible has been in the hands of pastors from the icy Faroes in the Arctic Circle to dusty back roads in Africa, to the jungles of Peru.

Certainly there are many other private ministrations in Jesus’ name that only MacArthur and the Lord know about between them. He is in a long line of blood-bought pastors who have risen to public knowledge and have edified many who learn from him and watch his godly life as one to imitate. Paul said “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ”. (1 Corinthians 11:1). This means, “he was instructing us as believers to carefully examine our Savior’s life and the lives of His faithful servants. He gave a similar command earlier in 1 Corinthians 4:16: “Therefore I urge you to imitate me.” In the original Greek, the verb translated as “imitate” in 1 Corinthians 11:1 and 1 Corinthians 4:16 is mimētai and means “become a person who copies the words and behaviors of another.” (Source GotQuestions).

Perhaps the Lord has left MacArthur on earth so long in order to demonstrate His sustaining power in a faithful life that started and so far is ending well. The Lord is good to us.


For 45 years Beth Moore has been speaking here, there, and everywhere she possibly could. Regrettably, her speaking engagements have been laced with error and deception. She began, by her own words, in her early 20s as a “Christian Motivational Speaker”. She never left that profession, really. Then when she was 27 she began teaching a Sunday School class, but she said she was also “learning the scriptures” at that time. It’s a tragedy that they put her into a position where she was simultaneously learning the Bible AND teaching. She wasn’t ready.

Again by her own words, her class was “packed” and they all “had a blast” but “we weren’t really studying the scriptures”. Why? Because Beth said she “just thought up things to talk about and then I got panicked on Saturday because I think where is a scripture to go with it.” She never grew out of that improper hermeneutic even with “the doctrine class” she took. It was still motivational speaking but with with a thin Christian overlay of out of context sprinkled verses.

Did you know that Beth briefly attended seminary but dropped out? Why? She was “reading the environment and coming to the realization of what my opportunities would and would not be.” She chafed against the biblical hierarchy of male led faith, she has been clear about that. She obviously wasn’t in seminary to learn about Jesus and to parse the scriptures correctly. She wanted “opportunities” for herself and quit when she saw she couldn’t go rogue.

Yet she was teaching a packed Sunday School class of 2000, including men. She was preaching Sunday Night at the request of her then-pastor. She’d started teaching ‘Bible classes’ outside of her church interdenominationally. Her first ‘Study’ was published by Lifeway. What other “opportunities” was she looking for? What other “opportunities” remain? I leave it to you to surmise the answer.

Beth Moore will celebrate her 67th birthday on June 16, which at this writing is tomorrow. She has been actively ‘ministering’ for about 44 years. The Lord has His reasons for allowing false teachers to persist, and one of them is in order to see who is approved, and by contrast who is not. (1 Corinthians 11:19). Another reason perhaps is also to demonstrate His grace and mercy and patience in allowing such people to exist on His earth, in order to give opportunity to repent.

Jesus considers false female prophetesses an abomination. See His threatened condemnation to the false prophetess of Thyatira, but consider His grace, as He said He gave her time to repent. (Revelation 2:21). But she did not want to repent. Here, Matthew Henry is commenting on Revelation 2:21, the false prophetess of Thyatira-

They made use of the name of God to oppose the truth of his doctrine and worship; this very much aggravated their sin. They abused the patience of God to harden themselves in their wickedness. God gave them space for repentance, but they repented not. Observe, Repentance is necessary to prevent a sinner’s ruin. Where God gives space for repentance, he expects fruits meet for repentance. Where the space for repentance is lost, the sinner perishes with a double destruction. Source Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible (commenting on Revelation 2:21).

The problem with false teachers is that spreading error teaches others to lie. (Matthew 5:19). This is evil because error has its origins in the devil.

Please do not let Beth’s Christianish veneer and firehose gushing about Jesus distract you from the greed and ambition that lies underneath. Just as the Pharisees made a show of prayers on the street corners and attended banquets (so they could be honored for the chief seats), at Beth Moore’s core is a career minded, Jesus-using deceiver on a fast trajectory to hell. (2 Peter 2:1).

Wheat and tares grow together – for a while. Then comes the reaping.

The Lord is good to give us faithful pastors, He is also good to give us faithless wolves. He s always good. We learn who to imitate and who not to. We learn true doctrine and practice discernment by seeing what is false.

Psalm 100:5
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Posted in theology

Cut To The Chase: The entire discernment series (David Platt, Beth Moore, Joyce Meyer, Jackie Hill Perry, Lori Alexander, Jen Wilkin, Priscilla Shirer, Ann Voskamp, Experiencing God)

By Elizabeth Prata

Last week I wrote a series on discernment in 6 essays. They are below. I called it “Wolf Week” because false teachers are called wolves in scripture. My own version of Shark Week, lol.

Wolf Week Intro: or, We DO know the heart
Wolf Week # 1: My two “starter false teachers”
Wolf Week # 2: Why Wolves?
Wolf Week # 3: Types of false teachers and their different methods
Wolf Week # 4: Has that false teacher REALLY ‘helped’ you?
Wolf Week # 5: Why does God allow false teachers?

A short follow-up series I am publishing contains 5 more essays in short form focusing on 4 influential ‘Bible’ teachers. I have written discernment essays on these four previously in years past, but those essays were longer. Nowadays however, people like to read less lengthy material. So I cut to the chase and made shorter essays showing why these folks are false.

Here they all are in one place:

Cut to the Chase: Priscilla Shirer

Cut to the Chase: Jen Wilkin

Cut to the chase: Six Reasons why Joyce Meyer is a false teacher

Cut to the chase: Five reasons to avoid Jackie Hill Perry

Cut to the chase: Four reasons to avoid Lori Alexander of godlywomanhood

Cut to the chase: Six reasons why you should avoid Beth Moore

Cut to the Chase: Three (probably four) Reasons to Avoid David Platt

Cut To The Chase: Discerning Ann Voskamp

Cut to the Chase: “Experiencing God by Blackaby & King

Posted in theology

Cut to the chase: Six reasons why you should avoid Beth Moore

By Elizabeth Prata

Last week I wrote a series on discernment in 6 essays. They are below. I called it “Wolf Week” because false teachers are called wolves in scripture. My own version of Shark Week, lol.

Wolf Week Intro: or, We DO know the heart
Wolf Week # 1: My two “starter false teachers”
Wolf Week # 2: Why Wolves?
Wolf Week # 3: Types of false teachers and their different methods
Wolf Week # 4: Has that false teacher REALLY ‘helped’ you?
Wolf Week # 5: Why does God allow false teachers?

A short follow-up series I am publishing beginning today contains 4 more essays in short form focusing on 4 influential ‘Bible’ teachers. I have written discernment essays on these four previously in years past, but those essays were longer. In articles like that, I include sources, explain the teacher’s errors thoroughly, and provide examples. All this make the essays longer. Nowadays however, people like to read less lengthy material. So I cut to the chase and made shorter essays showing why these folks are false.

Today I look at 6 reasons not to follow Beth Moore.

Continue reading “Cut to the chase: Six reasons why you should avoid Beth Moore”
Posted in theology

Pirate Christian vs Beth Moore

By Elizabeth Prata

I love Chris Rosebrough of Fighting for the Faith. He has been “Fighting for the Faith” for a long time. Fighting for the Faith is a discernment ministry that compares what popular pastors, preachers, teachers, conference speakers, self-proclaimed prophets and prophetesses and self-appointed apostles and apostlets say to the word of God. He is known by the moniker “Pirate Christian.”

He is also a Lutheran pastor with a congregation in Minnesota.

If you need a discernment person, Chris Rosebrough would be a safe discerner. (Along with Justin Peters and Steve Kozar). Rosebrough has been discerning for a long time. I remember looking (and looking and looking) for material discerning Beth Moore back in 2011 and there was very little that wasn’t 100% approving of her. One of the three pieces that I found back then was a review Rosebrough did on her Hebrews speech published in 2006. So, a long time.

As he says in his tagline above, he compares what self-professed Christians say to what the Bible says. Last week he reviewed a speech Beth Moore made on her Youtube channel, where she allegedly explained the David & Goliath event in 1 Samuel 17.

What Rosebrough does in this video is…well…a lot! He announced at the outset of the video that Beth Moore is not a sound teacher. But he does more than just announce. He then turns to the Bible and reads the entire passage from the Bible that the teacher is presenting. He reads before and after, for context. Rosebrough explains the passage as he reads; the context, the history, the background, the meaning of certain words. Full explanation. By the time he is finished the listener has a solid grasp on the passage.

Then, and only then, near the end of this video, Rosebrough turns to the Beth Moore speech. The reader has by now been given such a solid grounding, he or she can immediately see why Moore’s explanation of the verse is not only ridiculous, but nearly blasphemy.

His discernment technique is more than pointing a finger and saying “don’t listen to her!” He teaches (pastorally), he models discernment (spiritual gift usage), and he is clear (“able to teach”).

A few points from the video:

narcigesis: this is a combination of two terms, narcissism and eisegesis. Narcissism because Moore inserts herself and the reader into the text and makes US the point, and eisegesis because that is an interpretive method where the interpreter inserts a preconceived meaning INTO the text instead of exegeting it (drawing meaning FROM the text.

If you are listening to a teacher explain a passage and you realize they have made it all about you, or made it where we are the hero of the story and not Jesus, it’s narcigesis. You might think, “Well DUH!” but satan is subtle and often times you do not realize the passage has been twisted. But listening to Chris Rosebrough, you will learn how to spot it.

Screen shot from Moore’s speech. The tall figure is supposed to represent Goliath, which Moore says represents our problems.

Rosebrough ends the video this way:

Beth Moore is not a sound biblical teacher … She took a text that’s so obviously about Christ and makes it about you and about me shows that she’s not skilled at all in rightly handling God’s word and and pointing you to yourself as your own savior.

Please listen to the video to see not only why Moore is not a solid teacher, but how to approach a biblical text and how to approach discernment.

Links to Pastor Chris Rosebrough’s work:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Fighting4theFaith/featured

FaceBook facebook.com/piratechristian

Twitter twitter.com/piratechristian

Instagram instagram.com/piratechristian

Fighting for the Faith Podcast fightingforthefaith.com

Pirate Christian Radio piratechristianradio.com

Patreon patreon.com/PirateChristian

Join Our Crew piratechristian.com/join-our-crew

Posted in theology

They’re not even hiding it anymore: Beth Moore, preaching, and how to get women into the pulpit. Bonus: Moore’s teaching on 1Tim2:12

By Elizabeth Prata

Beth Moore is preaching at Duke University chapel today. She is named as a preacher, welcomed as a preacher, and her sycophants are trumpeting their (seeming) victory of women as preacher, preaching.

The Baptists and the Anglicans are hosting the Sinning Jezebel after she finishes, sinning er, preaching.

Do they not know how Romans 1 ends? —>

and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. underline mine.

Obviously, the women do not think they are sinning by preaching in church. They do not think they are sinning by applauding women who preach. They are also experts at twisting God’s word. The very first words from satan in the Bible were an undermining of what God had said, by asking: ‘was that really what God said?’ and the second words were a flat contradiction of what God had said. (Genesis 3:1-4)

I remember waaaay back on, oh, lemme see, it was the Spring of ’19 when Beth Moore let slip that she was preaching er, speaking er, doing Mother’s day at a church. Things were more coy then. Now they just say the sinning part out loud.

Just four years ago word manipulation was necessary. Moore used to say she was “speaking” at a pulpit.

How to subvert God’s word: 4 steps to female preachers

1. First, ask if God really said what He said. Did God really say that women may not preach?

To install a woman at the pulpit, one must subvert traditional interpretations of what God hath said. To wit: when the serpent asked Eve if God really said what He said, Eve answered the serpent correctly, mostly, but he no doubt noticed Eve had added a Law to what God had said. She repeated God’s command not to eat the fruit, but added to it- “nor touch it.” Since the interpretation varied from Adam to Eve, the serpent took that crack in the wall and ran with it.

Next, simply ignore thousands of years of settled interpretation with a snap of the fingers, by mirroring satan’s contradiction of the plain command. This implies that interpretations are never settled. No, God didn’t say THAT, did he? No you will not die. Yes you can preach.

They say they will review the verse to understand the interpretation. They look at word studies, (and cherry pick their preferred definition), and review previous interpreters (cherry picked, of course). They do this with an agenda, not looking for exegesis, drawing meaning out of what is there, but for ways around it. Here’s how-

The people who harp on women belonging in the pulpit say that the phrase in 1 Timothy 2:12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet, doesn’t mean what it appears to mean.

The word at issue with the ‘let’s all interpret this differently’ crowd is authentein.

This ‘reverend’ below is in the comments where it was announced Moore’s preaching at Duke, and applauding it. He says to study authentein.

This ‘word study’ involves re-interpreting the verse to say that as long as a woman doesn’t become a tyrant at the pulpit, it is OK to preach. They say that since the word in one of its usages means domineering, if a woman preaches humbly, it’s OK.

I’m not kidding. This “teaching” is what Beth herself taught in her 1995 book “To Live is Christ: Joining Paul’s Journey of Faith“. It’s an overview of Paul’s life and teaching. Here is how Beth Moore interpreted authentein, what follows are Beth Moore’s words, with a discernment mini-lesson for each paragraph from me:


“If you glance through the Book of 1 Timothy, you will notice a continuing exhortation for order in the churches. Paul wrote about servants (deacons), overseers, widows, elders, and slaves. In stressing order in the church, he made some statements about women that raise controversy. Although these statements are not my focus, I do not want to be charged with cowardice by omitting any mention of them. We are wise to view Paul’s exhortations in context. He used far more ink to address deacons and overseers.” ~Beth Moore

[My note: the verse wasn’t “controversial” for 2000 years. By her dubbing the verse “controversial” it slyly insinuates there is something wrong with it.]

“In 1 Timothy 2:11–12, Paul wrote, “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.” When he said, “A woman should learn in quietness” and “be silent,” he did not use a Greek word that meant “complete silence or no talking. [He used a word] used elsewhere to mean settled down, undisturbed, not unruly.” Remember, Paul’s primary ministry was geared toward Gentiles who had never been trained to have respect and reverence in worship. Paul encouraged women to observe traditional customs lest the young churches suffer a bad reputation.” ~Beth Moore

[My note: It was cultural, Beth Moore says. Nope, it was a command.]

“Consider a traditional Jewish worship service. Men sat on the lower floor of the synagogue while women sat in the balcony or at the back of the room. Women were not allowed to utter a word; they merely listened. Contrast this picture with a Christian worship service in the New Testament world. The men and women were together in a private home. The worship centered around praising God, singing, fellowshipping, eating together, sharing testimonies, and receiving instruction in their new faith. Women were included as never before. Talk about a radical idea!” ~Beth Moore

[My note: This is true. Truth is often mixed in with false teachers’ lessons, in order to confuse the undiscerning.]

“The Christian movement was new and fragile. Any taint of adverse publicity could greatly hinder the mission of the church and mean persecution for believers. Women had to restrain their new freedom in Christ (Gal. 3:28) so as not to impede the progress of the gospel. Paul’s “weaker brother” principle (1 Cor. 8:9) applies. He said, “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” Thus, women were to learn quietly, without calling attention to themselves.” ~Beth Moore

[My note: The faith was never “fragile”. We don’t need to delicately walk on eggshells lest it all collapse. Women didn’t have to ‘restrain their freedom.’ In the paragraph above, Moore lauds their new freedom! Now suddenly women are unhappily restricted. Genesis 3:5, ‘God’s holding out on you!’]

“In regard to instructing women not to teach men, you must understand that most women in Paul’s day were illiterate. They were not taught in synagogue schools or trained by a rabbi. Paul goes on to say in verse 12 that women should not usurp authority over men. The Greek word authenteo, “one who claims authority,” is used only this one time in the Greek translation of the Bible. This word refers to an autocrat or dictator. Paul says women were not to come in and take over!” ~Beth Moore

[My note: Lydia, Priscilla, Lois, Eunice and other women were lauded as teachers and disciples of the word. Moore is stretching things now. But yes, women were not allowed to come in and take over… THE PULPIT. Why? God doesn’t want them preaching there.]

“We cannot regard verses 11 and 12 as a prohibition against women opening their mouths in church or men learning anything biblical from women. Paul gave instructions for how women are to pray and prophesy (1 Cor. 11:5). He was fully aware of Priscilla’s role in teaching Apollos in Ephesus (Acts 18:26). Paul issued differing instructions for churches based on their cultural settings and his desire for order in the church.” ~Beth Moore.

[My Note: Priscilla’s “role” was not a role, as in, an office of teacher in the church. She didn’t teach in church. The verse explicitly says she and her husband took Apollos aside. Priscilla is mentioned 6X in scripture and every time, with her husband.]


But a careful study of that word [authentein] means, leads us to understand that it means to take authority, period. It has nothing to do with abusive authority. In fact, if he was talking about abusive authority he wouldn’t be just talking about women; he’d also be talking about what? Men, because it would be just as much a sin for them as for women.

John MacArthur, “God’s High Calling for Women”

Remember, the false teachers like Beth Moore are wordsmiths. They know what to write to create doubt, they make allusive remarks, and they reinterpret traditionally interpreted verses to match their own agenda. Usurp means usurp. Take authority over means to take authority over.

3.After causing one to doubt that God actually said, then reinterpreting the verse, the next step is to designate the unwanted verses as Clobber Verses. In this, one must diminish the verse’s importance by saying it’s numerically insignificant compared to ‘the rest of the Bible’ or, by its nuance etc. AKA, it’s a “Clobber Verse”. Here’s Beth again on 1 Timothy 2:12 from the same book, this time, the introduction:

“Having admired the apostle Paul for years, I was somewhat surprised by a few comments made by people who learned I was writing a Bible study on his life. I received questions like, “How can you, a woman, write a Bible study about a man who obviously had no tolerance for women in ministry?” Sadly, the controversy surrounding small bits of the apostle’s teaching has often kept students from delving into the heart and liberating theology of the whole man.”

Wordsmithing: Moore said “no tolerance for women in ministry“. No, Paul (via the Spirit) had no tolerance for women in preaching. He welcomed Prisca, Phoebe, Susannah, Lydia and many other women in their ministries. Just not preaching.
Clobber verse: Moore said, “small bits of the apostle’s teaching“. Small bits? Like those verses don’t matter? No, all scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; (2 Timothy 3:16). How many times does God have to say it before it isn’t a “small bit” any more?

4.Next on the agenda for feminists to get women behind the pulpit is to pretend there’s “tension” between what ‘Paul has said’ and ‘what Christ has said’. Drive a wedge between them, like satan did with Eve and Adam. Once Eve ate the fruit and handed it to Adam, he had a choice to make. We know what he chose.

4a.Include other verses that SEEM to affirm your position (but don’t really.) This is another masquerade at seeming pious and theological. Currently Psalm 68:11 is being used to support women preaching. Duke Chapel did in the photo screen shot at top, and many others did in Moore’s Twitter comment stream.

The Lord gives the command; The women who proclaim good news are a great army: (Ps 68:11)

No tension exists. That would be saying that there is tension between the Holy Spirit in one book and the Holy Spirit in another book. But the idea is to appear pious, eagerly and sincerely delving into the word of God so as to rightly divide it. Appearances are everything to a false teacher.

No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

Tim Bates at Things Above Us parsed Moore’s statement of alleged ‘tension’ in his article –

DON’T MENTION THE TENSION: STTA! by Tim Bates

Beth Moore, a teacher who is tossed about by every wind of doctrine, recently cited “tension” between the books of the New Testament that—through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—recorded Jesus’ earthly ministry (Matthew-John) and the epistles that were also inspired by the Holy Spirit. In the context in which she jumped headlong into inevitable heresy (i.e. Jesus and Paul disagree or, better stated, the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit disagree) it was appropriate to call out her use of the word tension. There are not irreconcilable tensions about gender roles anywhere in the New Testament. The Bible has no contradictions because God cannot lie.

LOL, that was just the first paragraph. I love it.

Armin J. Panning, a Lutheran professor and Seminary president (passed on now) published a well-written, clear, 4 page word study of the word authentein, here, if you are interested. He rebuts the modern interpretation soundly and theologically.

Conclusion

Steps to get women preaching:

1.Hath God said? Pious doubt.
2.Contradict God’s word.
3.Declare your hated verse a ‘clobber verse’ and dilute its importance by burying it in a numerical pile under other verses.
4.Mourn an alleged ‘tension’ in God’s word between the hated verse and more preferred verses, driving a wedge between them.
4a.Misuse other verses to continue to appear pious and theological.
5.Emerge with a new interpretation, and stick to it.

Beth Moore ended her introduction to her book on Paul’s life this way:

Our focus today is on Paul’s personal exhortations to Timothy, his son in the faith. Midway through my preparation for this study, I began to realize that one of God’s priority goals is to raise up and encourage passionate, persevering servants who are completely abandoned to His will. Paul’s exhortations to Timothy stand as timeless words of advice to every servant of the living God, regardless of generation or gender.

“Regardless of gender”. There you have it.

Posted in theology

Beth Moore’s divorced daughter Melissa was married this weekend

By Elizabeth Prata

There are 3 or 4 blogs I’ve written over the years, which remain in the top 5 searched and read. The one I did about two divorces, Summer White and Melissa Moore is one of those that continues to generate high interest, for some reason. I wrote it seven years ago in 2016 but here in 2023 the essay still remains highly read.

Both women compared in my essay are daughters of a more famous Christian teacher, Summer being the daughter of Dr. James White, and Melissa being the daughter of Beth Moore. Both women say they are believers. Both women went through a divorce at close to the same time. Only one did it biblically, the other did it unbliblically.

Divorce is a serious event in a believer’s life. There are few biblical reasons one may be unsinfully divorced, and a myriad of reasons one would be sinfully separated from a husband. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 7:10,

But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife is not to leave her husband

In my research for the 2016 essay, I obtained first hand statements, primary documents, and court documents. None of it was gossip. It was all from the women’s own mouth (or pen) or from unimpeachable sources like the court, which are public documents. All of it was public.

Summer divorced well, praying, being patient, attempting reconciliation, counseling, submitting to her elders and finally separating for biblical reasons with support from her overseers.

Melissa did not appear to divorce well. Her basis for her divorce was stated in court and sworn to, was “discord or conflict of personalities” with no hope of reconciliation due to irreconcilable differences. Here is the snippet from the court document: click for larger

Of course there is always more to any person’s story, but the sworn basis for her divorce was personality conflict and that is what we go forward on. Melissa was the initiator, by the way, contradicting the command in 1 Corinthians 7:10. Unlike Summer, who was also initiator but her reasons were biblical. Melissa’s public basis for her divorce, weren’t.

Resource: Divorce and Remarriage

Resource: Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage

The danger with an unbiblical divorce is displeasing God and sinning. Another danger is the woman’s remarrying. There are only two ‘allowable’ causes for divorce, sexual sin or desertion. A woman who divorced unbiblically and remarries is now considered an adulteress, since the original marriage’s dissolution was not sanctioned biblically by God. (Luke 16:18)

Melissa Moore seems now to be in just such a state. Her own words follow:

July 2013:

February 2023:

August 2023:

November 2023:

Beth Moore exulted in her daughter’s joy. I am glad for their joy, and glad they seem to have a close and loving relationship. In fact, Melissa is an employee at her mother’s organization Living Proof (Salary $146,350). Melissa writes curricula and Bible studies with her mother. I am glad they are happy.

However, this happiness is not in the Lord, which makes all the difference. It’s one thing to unbiblically divorce, but compounding nd complicating the sin is remarriage. Melissa is now considered an adulteress according to Mark 10:11-12 and will have severe consequences on Judgment Day, as all unrepentant sin will be addressed. (If her former husband has passed away then it makes a difference to the scenario…)

“The Bible also gives a word of caution to anyone who is considering marriage to a divorcee. If the divorce was not on biblical grounds and there is still a responsibility to reconcile, the person who marries the divorcee is considered an adulterer.” (Mark 10:12)”. Source

One would hope that Melissa had repented of her appearing to divorce unbiblically. Such repentance should be public, since she is a public figure and has written about this publicly. But I have not seen such a statement.

So, why am I writing this?

1. If a ‘Bible’ teacher does not submit to the scriptures, then does she have the credibility to teach the scriptures? No. On the other hand, if a Bible teacher or theologian does submit to scripture, and continues to do so even when it is hardest or most embarrassing, it enhances their credibility as a teacher.
2. Divorce is a serious event in a believer’s life, though in today’s world both secular and Christian, it is made light of (i.e. How many church disciplines have you heard of for unbiblical divorce?),
3. Living Proof is a huge and continually influential ministry, yet the lifestyle of both women who run it are unbiblical. This will permeate their “studies” and material like gangrene (2 Timothy 2:17-18, 1 Timothy 4:16). See #1.
4. Marriage is supposed to be a picture of the union of Christ with the Church- “The relationship of Christ and the church, the gospel, is all about the marriage of a bride and groom; we, Christians, are the bride and Christ is the groom. This union of Christ and the church is the real marriage and our marriages are to serve as that portrait, that image of the ultimate reality.Challies. Abandoning one’s spouse for unbiblical reasons or for a better prospect destroys this picture. When one is a celebrity Bible teacher in the public eye, it magnifies- and normalizes- the destruction.

If you, dear reader, are considering a divorce or even a separation from your husband, please slow down and seek counsel from trusted overseers. Casting away what God has ordained is a serious business. I’ve had women say to me that their divorce was OK because they were “unhappy and God wants me to be happy”. I’ve had women come to me for advice on separation and when I quote 1 Corinthians 7:10 and say a woman may not separate from her husband, become angry at me for bringing it up. I’ve seen biblical divorces and unbiblical divorces, even a case of church discipline over an unbiblical one. The pastor cried when he reported his unfortunate turn of events. It’s serious, women!

Please take marriage and potential divorce biblically, avoid Beth Moore’s ministry because it’s laced with unbiblical lives which taint the biblical ‘teachings’. If you are in a good marriage, rejoice that the Lord has united one man and one woman into one flesh forever!