Danny Akin Responds to my Open Letter

As my reader’s know, I recently sent an open letter to Danny Akin.  In this letter I asked Akin to clarify his stance on Doug Wilson and his commitment to white Southern Nationalism.  The following is an email correspondence Akin and I exchanges regarding this letter.  This correspondence has been published with Danny Akin’s knowledge and consent.  

Further, in keeping with the reasonable expectation of privacy in personal correspondence, comments which were requested to be “off the record” do not appear below.  These edits were few, minor, and do not change the meaning of the text below.

On July 29, 2016, at 11:58 PM, I sent Danny Akin the following email:

Dr. Akin,

I have tried to reach you before to no avail.  I’m hoping this time we can establish contact.

I was encouraged by your condemnation of Doug Wilson’s despicable views on race.  I commend you, as it takes a certain chutzpah to decry Wilson given his tendency to retaliate by having his followers troll a person relentlessly.

However, if I may be so bold, I’d like to suggest making an even more daring follow-up statement.

I have outlined my case for why your Twitter statement isn’t enough.  I hope we can agree on the necessity of this.

https://natesparks130.com/2016/07/29/repudiate-an-open-letter-to-danny-akin/
Peace to you,

Nate Sparks

On August 1, 2016, at 8:49 AM, Danny Akin responded this:

Nate,

thank you for writing. This is the first time I have received anything from you as far as I can tell. Nevertheless, I appreciate you writing.

I have made my position clear numerous times concerning the evils of racism, bigotry and slavery. No one should be in doubt concerning my views. I do not feel the need to make a “more daring follow-up statement.” I will let my record stand for itself as it presently is.

I pray God’s blessings on all that you do for His glory and making famous the Name of King Jesus.

Danny Akin

I responded at 9:04 AM:

I respect that position.  One question,  then I will leave you alone.

Would you consider giving Doug Wilson a platform complicity in his views on race?

I worry that, even if your views are clear, the fact that others with influence give him a platform seems to suggest:

1. They don’t care about the racial views of the men they associate with.

2. They endorse Wilson’s ministry, which as you personally have stated is a deeply problematic thing.

Thank you for your time and for the response. I have emailed you previously, but it was an email to several persons on TGC council in February.  I didn’t use the contact form on your site, so perhaps I mistyped the address.

Peace to you,

Nate

Akin responsed at 9:38 AM:

Nate,

I do not support censorship so I would defend Wilson’s right to hold and teach his views, as wrong as I think they are. However, I would never, under any circumstances, give him a platform to propagate his views. When I cited him in my book I knew nothing of him other than he said something on marriage I thought helpful. Since then, I have not cited him nor would I as far as I know. I will also be diligent as I can to see he is given no platform.  Hope this answers your question. God bless.

Danny Akin

Concluding thoughts:

While Danny Akin and I certainly disagree as to the necessity of making a more public statement on Doug Wilson and race, I want to recognize that he did respond to my letter with respect and was willing to engage in a civil conversation regarding the manner.

For further reference on Akin and his connections within the New Calvinist movement, see here.