Christian Elizabeth Marbach tweeted a message sharing the gospel.
QUICK FACTS:
- Elizabeth Marbach has been dismissed from her job as a communications director and Ohio Right to Life after two Ohio Congressmen accused her of sharing a “bigoted” tweet.
- Marbach told The Sentinel that she does not regret making the comment because “now millions have read the gospel message.”
- Marbach had tweeted that “there’s no hope for any of us outside of having faith in Jesus Christ alone.”
- Republican Ohio Congressman Max Miller called for Marbach to delete the tweet, claiming that “God says that Jewish people are the chosen ones, but yet you say we have no hope.”
- There is ongoing debate among theologians as to whether the Bible affirms that Jews alone are God’s “chosen” people—known as Dispensationalism—or that all true believers-in-God are his chosen people—Covenant Theology.
- For example, Deuteronomy 7:6 says that Israel “are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (ESV). But Romans 9:6-7 says that “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” and that “not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring,” drawing a distinction between those who are “Israel” in the sense that they are merely physical descendants of Abraham, and those who are “Israel” in another sense, signifying those who are indwelt by God’s Spirit through faith. The Bible utilizes both of these senses at different times, hence the debate as to what Israel means and who are the “chosen” people of God. “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter,” the apostle Paul writes in Romans 2:28-29. A subscriber of Covenant Theology would affirm that even Christians are “Jews” in the sense Paul meant in the aforementioned passage, or in Galatians 6:16, where Paul refers to the “Israel of God.”
- Democratic Ohio Congressman Casy Weinstein supported Miller’s assertion.
- Max Miller’s wife, Emily, who serves on the board of Ohio Right to Life, tweeted that it was wrong of her husband to “ask someone to stand down from her religious views.”
- “But asking us to back down from our Jewish faith is also wrong,” Emily Miller’s tweet added. “And we never will.”
- Emily is the daughter of politician Bernie Moreno, who is running for Ohio senate.
- The incident follows a situation where Marbach called an abortion activist a “murderous liar,” prompting a colleague to raise concerns about Marbach’s tone.
- “Ohio Right to Life can confirm that Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Marbach is no longer employed at Ohio Right to Life,” said CEO of Ohio Right to Life Peter Range. “This decision was not based on any single event as some on social media claim. We appreciate Lizzie’s service and wish her the best in future endeavors.”
ORIGINAL APOLOGY:
- The incident initially appeared to be resolved when state representative Max Miller issued a follow-up tweet reading, “I posted something earlier that conveyed a message I did not intend.”
- “I will not try to hide my mistake or run from it. I sincerely apologize to Lizzie and to everyone who read my post,” his tweet added.
- Marbach accepted Miller’s apology, saying, “Max, I accept your apology 100%. However the truth is that it is not me from whom you need forgiveness, but God himself. I genuinely pray you seek Him and find salvation!” and included the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant from Matthew 18:21-35.
BACKGROUND:
- American Faith reported that a theologian was fired from a Bible college for posting a tweet against homosexuality.
- Dr. Aaron Edwards, a professor at Cliff College in Derbyshire, England, was fired after tweeting “Homosexuality is invading the church” on February 19.
- “Evangelicals no longer see the severity of this [because] they’re busy apologizing for their apparently barbaric homophobia, whether or not it’s true,” Edwards continued.
- Edwards was suspended from the school pending an investigation after his tweets reportedly caused “distress” among members of the Methodist Church in England.
Jon Fleetwood contributed to this report.
