Glenn Beck the Evangelist: His Divine Destiny & Influence on Southern Baptists

In recent days and weeks, more than a few commentators, bloggers and journalists have observed that Fox News personality Glenn Beck – a Mormon – seems to be morphing from Mr. Tea Party leader to some sort of conspiracy-theory peddling religious leader.  With pseudo-historian and chief myth-maker/revisionist David Barton at his side, Beck’s political discussions are increasingly couched in distinctly religious terminology.

Tonight (8/27), the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington D.C. will play host to Glenn Beck’s Divine Destiny.  What is Glenn Beck’s Divine Destiny?  Here’s how Beck’s own website describes the event:

Glenn Beck’s Divine Destiny is an eye-opening evening at the historic Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C that will help heal your soul. Guided by uplifting music, nationally-known religious figures from all faiths will unite to deliver messages reminiscent to those given during the struggles of America’s earliest days. The event will leave you with a renewed determination to look past the partisan differences and petty problems that fill our airwaves and instead focus our shared values, principles and strong belief that faith can play an essential role in reuniting the country.

On Saturday, Glenn Beck is holding an event at the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. where Dr. King gave his historic I Have A Dream speech.  Saturday is also the 47th anniversary of Dr. King’s 1963 speech.  Beck sees his Restoring Honor rally as a Revival.  He clearly sees himself as an Evangelist in the mold of George Whitefield.  Here’s how Glenn Beck and his side-kick David Barton view the rally:

Beck: I think this is an opportunity to gather God’s people together and wake people up. And I just have this feeling that this is the beginning of something gigantic in this country, that it is spiritual awakening….This is Divine Providence. This is the Lord’s hand at work. This is a miracle.

Barton: And it really is. It’s an intervention of God. And a lot of times when he shows up, it’s not the way you thought he was going to show up, but man the results are always his and it’s really good the way it works out.

Beck is also promoting a “Daily Spiritual Thought” on his website and a live weekday online prayer time.

Some lesser-known evangelical leaders have raised concerns about the religious message that Beck is pushing.  Here’s Brannon Howse of Worldview Weekend:

Glenn has now moved into an area where we must draw a clear line theologically and doctrinally. While Christians can join Glenn in opposing tyranny, socialism, cultural Marxism, and the like but we cannot join him spiritually….Why must we respectfully and lovingly tell Glenn we cannot agree with him nor find common ground in the area of Biblical doctrine and theology?

Is Glenn now using his TV program to push his Mormon faith? Glenn has the right to push his Mormon faith on TV but Glenn needs to be upfront about it ….Christians need to be wise and not fall into the trap of compromising on the Gospel of Jesus Christ in an effort to be politically correct, tolerant and find religious unity with anti-Biblical beliefs and religions. We appreciate the strong and courageous stands that Glenn has taken but Christians understand that Glenn is now, by his own choice, promoting something that is not compatible with Biblical Christian doctrines. We can be co-belligerents on many moral issues with non-Christians but we cannot find common ground theologically and doctrinally. Christians must understand that the Jesus of the cults is not the Jesus of the Bible.

Such criticism from the Evangelical Right has led David Barton to defend Beck as being a better Christian than evangelicals like Jim Wallis and Joel Hunter.  Just this week Beck declared that Obama is not a Christian.  He described the President’s faith as “a perversion of the gospel of Jesus Christ as most Christians know it.”

Ironically, most evangelicals would accuse people of the Mormon faith (like Beck) of perverting the Gospel.  Indeed, it is fascinating that such a large percentage of Beck’s constituency are individuals who belong to denominations and support organizations which have made hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not millions) over the years fearmongering about the dangers of the “cult of Mormonism” and describing Joseph Smith with the same adjectives that are used to depict Muhammad.

Back in the Spring, Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University bestowed Glenn Beck with an honorary Doctorate of Humanities.  Beck has clearly influenced Southern Baptists beyond those in Lynchburg, Virginia.  This should come as no surprise as David Barton is regularly cited by Southern Baptists especially in the blogosphere.  In some instances, Southern Baptists have taken Barton’s historical revisionism to the media as with the case of Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas.

Also in Texas, Ken Coffee – former longtime denominational missions director with the moderate Baptist General Convention of Texas – clearly drinks from the Beck/Barton well.  In a blog posted today, Coffee writes about “How Preachers Can Save America.” Anyone who has seen Beck’s show a handful of times will quickly recognize Coffee’s post as a rehash of Beck’s talking points, particularly with regard to his bit about the influence of preachers in American religious history being ignored.  The “Save America” theme should be a give-away as well.

In the upcoming weeks and months, it will be interesting to see if any well-known evangelical leaders choose to distance themselves from Glenn Beck and his Divine Destiny.  Or will the lesser-known Independent Fundamentalist types like Brannon Howse be the only ones on the theological right to exhibit integrity and consistency?