Paul's Passing Thoughts

Real men can’t think for themselves? Real men can’t interpret the Bible themselves? Real men are willing to be….and I absolutely adore this one, “accountable.” When a church requires full disclosure of the family’s finances as a prerequisite for membership, no red flags are waving in daddy’s little brain? Daddies are really allowing their families to attend “membership classes” in which “mentors” and elders are assigned to the family, and “covenants” are signed agreeing to the church’s full authority over their home?

Yes, and this has become more prevalent in the church since the new emergence of Reformed theology in America. This ministry has received its share of letters from in-laws who are concerned that their son/son-in-law has relinquished his role in the home to “church authority” under the auspices of, and this is my favorite one….”humbleness.” Each family has an elder, and the husband and the wife each have assigned “mentors.” Can we say, “c-o-n-t-r-o-l”?

As will be covered in The Reformation Myth, Reformed philosophy (not doctrine) has the exact same tenets that drive cults, but Reformed churches get a pass on the label because of the Reformed historical narrative (little more than an urban myth) that has been skillfully propagated throughout history. The doctrine is different according to their own “orthodoxy” (sanctified propaganda), but the doctrine still has the same fundamental goal as any cult, control. But why control? Well, the control goal is somewhat honorable because of the fundamental philosophy that drives the whole enchilada. This fundamental pre-supposition can be traced all the way back to the cradle of civilization, and I look forward to documenting it in the book Lord willing.

So, when in-laws ask me if I think said church is a cult, I usually say, “Not exactly, it’s Reformed doctrine which is really reformed cultism.” Again, the spiritual cast system that drives Reformed theology can be traced all the way back to the beginning of civilization. In fact, apostolic doctrine is saturated with anti-tenets to Reformed theology. A careful examination of the Westminster Confession reveals its share of this reality.

Protestant husbands in many Reformed homes have therefore become the epitome of weakness. They are Plato’s “producers” in the church. Keep your mouth shut, tithe 10% (or we will bring you up on church discipline) while the philosopher kings (elders) run the show. Those who serve the church as Plato’s soldiers have always been a shadow office in the Reformed church. Many Reformed churches have formal security details, and in some cases are barely less than in-house police stations. Cases where these security offices are used to intimidate doctrinal detractors are myriad.

“But Reformed teachers, including Calvin himself, have always emphasized the idea that husbands should ‘shepherd’ their families.” Right. This is another aspect of the grand Reformed deception. As in Voddie Baucham’s, Family Shepherds, it is suggested that husbands lead their family devotions with, CREEDS and CATECHISMS.  What are those? They are the mantras taken from the CONFESSIONS and COUNSELS that are interpretations of Scripture by the Reformed “Divines.” So, what is the difference between Reformed Divines and Popes? Answer: absolutely nothing. Said another way: “goose egg.” While Baucham’s book appears to endorse the husband as shepherd of the home, it is really a formula for making the husband a puppet dictator, complete with annual in-home inspections by elders—directly from Calvin’s Geneva theocracy playbook.

According to my research, many of these Reformed churches become like city-states with their own welfare systems. The men of the church, and for that matter the women also, are encouraged to aggressively tithe (with blessings following) without fear of financial collapse because they have the church as a safety net. I have personally heard Reformed pastors state that specifically (while they criticize health and wealth pastors who also promise blessings for aggressive tithing). The citizens of these states have all of their finances as well as their emotional wellbeing invested in these churches via friendships and many other avenues of life. This, I believe, is a primary reason why a blind eye is turned to abuse and tyranny within the church. It is also why many husbands seek the council of elders in almost every area of life including what kind of sex they have with their wives.

And unfortunately, this is a cozy arrangement for husbands who really don’t want to lead their families, but can get credit for doing so regardless under the auspices of “humbleness.” Other faithless brutes trust the city-state for their “safety net” rather than God Himself. To me, this goes a long way in explaining tolerance for spiritual abuse in the church. Cowards rarely bite the hand that protects them for any moral reason whatsoever.

A third category of pathetic Reformed husbands are those who pander to Reformed elders in order to control their wives. Being obedient to the elders and gaining their approval is paramount to getting one’s wife brought up on church discipline if she doesn’t obey. If she doesn’t fall in line, the discipline can lead to excommunication, and once she is declared an unbeliever—he is free to divorce her.

Also, there are known cases where this has been played like a violin to confirm suspicions by those who knew their departure was inevitable. Asking questions in a way that seemed to indicate openness to their doctrine resulted in the wife being put on the hot seat. But if questions were framed contentiously, the former was reversed. It became abundantly clear that whoever played by the rules was going to be the plaintiff, and whoever didn’t was going to be the defendant.

“What saith the Scriptures” about all of this? Ephesians 5:22-33 makes it very plain who husbands and wives are accountable to, and elders/pastors are conspicuously missing. Even if they were mentioned, the apostle Paul stated that the believers of that day were to only follow him as he followed Christ.

Elders have no authority beyond Scripture, and even then, it’s not their authority. And it’s every husband’s God-given responsibility to lead his family according to his own convictions. And he answers to Christ—not elders. Pastors are to lead by example and not lord it over the flock. It is time that husbands who name the name of Christ start fearing Him more than pompous stuffed shirts. It is time they loved their wives more than the praises of elders.

paul