The function of The Gospel Coalition was to unite fellow Reformed Pastors and Churches under a common goal of spreading the Gospel as far and wide as possible. Unfortunately they've lost sight of this purpose and now behave in a manner that's not only divisive but sinful. They have repeatedly published articles that has created unnecessary division within the Church body through their content that presents a false narrative on race, race relations, family, obedience to scripture, obedience to corporate worship, and more.
We, the Church can no longer stand by and watch as TGC continues down the path of destruction. Now is the time for us to stand up and to stand united in publicly rebuking them and to issue a call to repentance. Our first step towards this is to issue the follow petition.
On August 29th, 2020 an article was published on the The Gospel Coalition's website under the U.S. Current Events section entitled, Why I Hate August, by TGC Council Member, K. Edward Copeland. (Screenshot of article)
This article goes on to detail various sensitive events that Mr. Copeland feels a connection towards, and then proceeds to make a false correlation to the events in Kenosha WI involving Kyle Rittenhouse to those of Dylan Roof. Dylan Roof publicly espoused racist beliefs and knowingly targeted a black church and it's members to which we also denounce.
Despite Mr. Copeland's egregious and slanderous attempts, Mr. Rittenhouse was neither a "mass shooter" nor a "racist". In fact, no evidence was found or presented during his trial that Mr. Rittenhouse either espoused racist beliefs, or attempted to target minorities during the civil unrest in Kenosha WI. Furthermore, Mr. Rittenhouse has been found not guilty on all charges and was found by the justice system to have lawfully engaged in self defense to prevent his loss of life by violent rioters.
Both the TGC and Mr. Copeland have been called to repent for the false testimony against Mr. Rittenhouse numerous times both before and now after, the conclusion of the trial against Mr. Rittenhouse. As of the date of this post (Sept 23, 2021) and petition, the TGC and Mr. Copeland have ignored these calls.
We would like to note that Collin Hansen, editor in chief, The Gospel Coalition, did issue a slight correction/update (the day after we posted our petition) in regards to the aforementioned issues. While this was a step in the right direction by the TGC, the author Mr. Copeland has still refused to correct or apologize for his slanderous statements.
We pray that Mr. Copeland will be convicted of his sin and repent both before God and publicly before his peers.