A coalition of 630 influential Christian leaders, mostly evangelicals, spearheaded by Kelly Monroe Kullberg and Dr. Alveda King, has called on “progressive” Christians to “repent.” It asks them to atone for “work that often advances a destructive liberal political agenda.” That agenda, the appeal’s writers suggest, is allied with and partly funded by billionaire secular leftist George Soros, who uses the profits of his past currency speculation to promote radical causes around the world.

The authors note:

As recent leaked documents confirm, and as Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners eventually admitted, wealthy, anti-Christian foundations, following the lead of billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundation, fund and “rent” Christian ministers as “mascots” serving as surprising validators for their causes. The consequent realities include injury to countless people, the Church, the family, nation and the global Church including many martyrs.

When it comes to progressive Christians who were willing to take Soros’ money, the authors are willing to name names:

At a time when many Christian ministries are struggling, a few of the Soros network “faith” and “interfaith” grantees are Jim Wallis of Sojourners, Richard Cizik’s New Evangelical Partnership, Telos, J Street to malign Israel, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, Faithful America and Gamaliel. Faith in Public Life has worked to “counter” Christians and the Tea Party in the media and, with PICO, advocate for amnesty, mass Islamic migration, even seeking to influence the visit and priorities of Pope Francis himself. Billions of additional dollars to “Christian VOLAGs” for large scale “refugee” and migrant resettlement comes from the Obama administration.

Joining “faith” fronts, Soros also funds thousands of other collaborators and projects that suggest his goal is to demoralize America (and Europe). The list includes: film studios and hundreds of media outlets; attempts to control the internet; racial and gender agitation; euthanasia; drug legalization and “injection zones;” abortion and the “sex worker” industry; Al Gore’s Climate campaign; pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel projects; the rights of jihadists and Sharia advocates.

In the ironic rhetoric of compassion, Soros and friends also fund mass immigration followed by voting “rights” and redistricting schemes, while financing the campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. (Soros is a major donor to the Democratic Party and co-chairman of Ready for Hillary PAC.)

The authors of the statement cited Martin Luther King, Jr. as an alternative model for Christian social engagement:

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught, “In contrast to ethical relativism, Christianity sets forth a system of absolute moral values.”  He wrote, “We need to recapture the gospel glow of the early Christians who were non-conformists. … Their powerful gospel put an end to such barbaric evils as infanticide. … Finally, they captured the Roman Empire for Jesus Christ.”

The authors lay out a stark catalog of the consequences for America and the church of eight years of progressive-dominated government under Barack Obama:

1. A growth industry trafficking in human baby organs and body parts — funded and defended by the Democratic Party.
2. The abandonment of a biblical view of marriage that protected and liberated children and adults from centuries of pagan slavery, poverty, polygamy and non-life-giving sexuality.
3. The transgender agenda imposed by Obama-government edict, including gender re-education to be forced on our citizens, businesses, schools, military and churches.
4. Doubling of our national debt, economic stagnation and increased welfare dependency.
5. Increased minority unemployment, poverty and violent inner city lawlessness, with an accompanying loss of opportunity, self-determination and family stability.
6. Heightened racial division and tension, and the growing phenomenon of paid demonstrators being recruited and dispatched to instigate protests that often become riots.
7. Open borders and ‘sanctuary’ cities increasing drugs, disease, crime, gangs and terrorism.
8. Forced refugee resettlement in hundreds of American cities without citizen consent, mandated by the federal government in collusion with the United Nations. “Refugees” are primarily non-assimilating Muslims, while authorities reject persecuted Christians.
9. Hostility towards Judeo-Christian religious liberty in our courts, media and universities including the suppression of conservative speakers, free thought and moral education.
10. The widespread, political use of the IRS to intimidate conservative, patriotic and Christian groups that disagree with the current political establishment.
11. The statement also cites Hillary Clinton’s now-infamous 2015 speech at the Women in the World Summit, where she averred that religious beliefs “have to be changed” to accept abortion on demand. With that statement, the signers say, Clinton “was openly declaring war on Christian believers and the Church.”

The evangelical appeal urged fellow Christians “to question the true intentions of persons or organizations that receive money from Soros and other billionaire globalists,” noting that the “hostility of the Progressive political agenda to biblical faith is foreign to the Spirit of Jesus.”

Instead, the statement suggests:

Let us return to the whole counsel of Scripture, not the political abuse of Scripture.  Together, we can commit to healing, wisdom and renewal of our faith and culture. Let’s stimulate humility and gratitude, not pride and entitlement. Let’s see the image of God in people and enable the virtuous cycle of creativity, opportunity, work, productivity, wealth and thus greater voluntary generosity.

Signers of the appeal include Eric Metaxas, Lt. Gen. Wm. “Jerry” Boykin, Bishop Harry R Jackson, Jr., Mat Staver, Fr. Frank Pavone (of Priests for Life), Tim Wildmon, Dr. Ted Baehr, radio host Sam Sorbo, Jason and David Benham, Archbishop Wm. Paul Mikler, Rick Scarborough, and The Stream’s Jay Richards and John Zmirak.

To read the statement in its entirety and view its list of signatories go here.

Why Such an Appeal? Why Now?

The Stream asked the lead author of the appeal, Kelly Monroe Kullberg (author of Finding God At Harvard), for the background on this letter. She said, “After a few years of failed attempts to engage Progressive ministers, we wrote the letter because we’re deeply concerned for the Church and nation. Millions are heartbroken to see what has happened to the Church and nation in the past decade or two.”

Pointing to the long list of bad spiritual and temporal results of leftist policies, Kullberg asked, “Why would religious leaders keep pushing such damaging ideas and policies on the nation?  We think there are answers and we’d like them to join us all in national repentance and renewal.”

This isn’t an attempt to impose a right-wing agenda, Kullberg said. “Christians and conservatives don’t think of accruing power. We’re just trying to do our best work and be good to our families and neighbors.” She continued:

The danger is that the Christian faith, evangelical and Catholic, is being used, manipulated, weakened and redefined.  It would be good to de-politicize the Church and get back to the gospel, the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection that charges life with meaning, and all things with hope. The gospel is actual social renewal.

I hope citizens will dive deeper into, and speak louder of, the life-giving nature of the Bible, the U.S. Declaration, Constitution and Bill of Rights. Because other forces are endangering the American experiment and human beings.

To the Religious Left or anyone else attempting to redefine the gospel, I’d say that Biblical and Constitutional wisdom yield the highest love for human beings.  Not globalist, secular social engineering forced upon people whom God loves.

For a deeper understanding of the correct relationship between Christian faith and politics, Kullberg recommended “Francis Schaeffer’s classic, A Christian Manifesto, a timely reminder of the beauty of servant-leadership, God’s wisdom, and the dangers of authoritarianism.”