Beth Moore and double standards for Joe Biden?

By Laura Murphy, Op-ed Contributor Thursday, May 21, 2020

“Wake up, Sleepers, to what women have dealt with all along in environments of gross entitlement & power”

“Are we sickened? Yes. Surprised? NO.”

Popular speaker and author Beth Moore tells the 22,000 students at Passion 2011 that they need to control their mind and set their focus on God during her morning session on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011, in Atlanta, Georgia. | (Photo: Passion Conference)

Beth Moore, the bestselling Bible study teacher, author, and public speaker, tweeted to her 900,000 followers the above sentiments four years ago in her response to the Trump "Access Hollywood" tape. Over the last four years, Moore has made her feelings known about women alleging sexual abuse. She has also expressed disappointment in President Trump, and dissatisfaction in the evangelical culture.

After the 2016 election, Moore tweeted, “For days to come, I muttered aloud almost daze-like, ‘Our country just elected Donald Trump president.’” Two years later, she credited “Trump’s rise,” to a culture within the evangelical community that “promotes sexism” and “disregards” sexual abuse allegations. In her 2018 interview with The Atlantic, Moore was characterized as believing, “that an evangelical culture that demeans women, promotes sexism, and disregards accusations of sexual abuse enabled Trump’s rise.”

If Moore is consistent, and her allegations about the evangelical culture are true, will her apparent “disregard” of Biden’s accuser “enable” Biden’s rise? Moore admitted that “the target of her scorn is an evangelical culture that downplays the voices and experiences of women.” But is she not contributing to the very culture to which she speaks of with her own silence as to the allegation against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden?

While Moore’s Twitter account reveals disdain and contempt for this president, it is nothing but crickets when it comes to the Democratic presidential nominee.

During the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, Moore advocated for “women to be heard.” When responding to a tweet, she scolded, "Let me assure you, sir, I have not one whit of desire for anyone to be falsely accused. That is highly counterproductive and would only end up making it harder for victims. I'm advocating for women to be heard, taken seriously and not placed in harm's way for coming forward."

Unlike the days of Kavanaugh, many evangelicals, today, seemed to have given the Democratic nominee for president a providential pardon. The prolonged silence of some evangelical women might suggest that they agree with Democratic women, Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Stacey Abrams when they “believed her” during the Kavanaugh hearings, but now “believe him” during the Biden allegations. Or perhaps some evangelical women side with various liberal women’s groups such as Planned Parenthood, Emily's List, and NARAL that once “believed her” but now only want to “hear her.” To be clear, Biden is presumed innocent and should be afforded due process. Unfortunately, the selective outrage, duplicitous, and inconsistent treatment of women by some in the Democratic Party and the evangelical community is chilling.

In an effort to appear neutral, Moore agreed with Liberty University English professor Karen Swallow Prior, who explained that she would not be voting for either President Trump or former Vice President Biden in the upcoming 2020 presidential election. Moore and other “evangelical leaders” can’t tweet fast enough when it comes to their condemnations of this president or other Republicans, but their Twitter feeds are silent when it involves the Democratic nominee.

Let’s hope and pray there is a change of heart among Moore and other faith leaders before the 2020 presidential election. Moore’s love and support for King David, who incidentally committed adultery with Bathsheba and later arranged for her husband’s murder in light of the adulterous affair, did not stop Moore from compiling a comprehensive study on this revered biblical politician and leader. Moore gave King David a second chance, perhaps President Trump is worthy of one as well.

Laura Murphy introduced two parental notification bills to the Virginia General Assembly which passed both the House and Senate with bipartisan support but was vetoed by Governor McAuliffe. She also served on Fairfax County Public School Family Life Education Curriculum Advisory Committee where she co-authored a dissenting opinion advocating that sex be based on biology. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame Law School and practiced law briefly in Florida with the Liberty Counsel before moving to Virginia with her husband and four children.