Paul's Passing Thoughts

I received the emails. Apparently, philosopher kings from every camp and denomination have had enough with discernment bloggers. It prompted Pastor Marc Monte (a graduate of Bob Jones University which is dealing with a run of the mill sexual abuse cover-up) to give those pesky rape victims a piece of his mind. He recently tweeted the following:

Went to BJU from ’85-’89. Never heard one word about abuse. Only psychos feel “abused”. The rest of us had fun in a protected place

Too many “victims” use the internet as a platform for whining. If laws were broken, involve the police—not the internet.

People who see themselves as perpetual victims can not succeed in life. Christians are overcomers in Christ.

I sat fuming. Unfortunately, Christianity has lost sense of its biblical duty to rebuke such men publically. But after a little research, I found out that Monte pastors a church that is part of the IFB network. That’s KJV only Independent Fundamental Baptists. My immediate response was: “Uh, well, that explains that.” IFB is commonly recognized as a cult. One of their most notable leaders was the late Dr. Jack Hyles. In the chapter entitled, “When Too Much Gospel is Bad News” of The Truth About New Calvinism, I wrote the following:

Ministries, even conservative ones that turn grace into a license to sin are everywhere. Our church culture is saturated with a phrase never used by any biblical writer—referring to Christians as “sinners saved by grace.” What’s that saying? A “sinner” is someone who sins as a lifestyle. Jude didn’t get the memo, he called Christians “holy ones.” If the Proverbs say a man is what he thinks in his heart—why would we want Christians to think they are sinners?

What better example than pastor Jack Hyles who remained in the pulpit till his death in 2001. Hyles pastored the largest Baptist church in the US, boasting a membership of 100,000 and Sunday attendance approaching 20,000. Till this day, the Sunday School operates 250 school buses. Hyles was the personification of the first gospel wave that emphasized getting people saved and had very little emphases on life changing discipleship. And then there is this:

Hyles had also become known for his alleged immorality, specifically his behavior with his secretary (the wife of a deacon in the church)…. Besides Hyles’ own church and schools being scandalized with immorality and pedophilic activity (numerous FBCH men have been charged or  convicted of child molestation), Hyles spawned a number of “ministries” (there are approximately 200 independent Baptist churches nationwide that hold Hyles and his teachings in high regard) that have been scandalized in the same manner. For example, seven Hyles-affiliated churches from 1984-1993 were rocked by child molestation scandals.

David Hyles, Jack Hyles’ son, had affairs with at least 19 different women at Miller Road Baptist Church in Garland, Texas, during the time he pastored there. (He was dismissed when a janitor found photos of Hyles having sex with a deacon’s daughter.) Back in the Chicago area (Bolingbrook, IL), and after David’s divorce from his wife, David was cohabitating with a woman by the name of Brenda Stevens. Brenda posed for pornographic pictures in Adam and Chicago Swingers magazines (in an advertisement for group sex) during the time she and David were living together. After David married Brenda, Brenda’s 17-month-old son by a previous marriage was found battered and dead at the Hyles’ home. The police still consider the case a murder and continue to view David and Brenda as prime suspects [94].

(Paul Dohse: The Truth About New Calvinism; pp. 127-129).

The Hyles cartel was nothing less than the Mob in priestly cloths. They wreaked havoc on Christianity and the total body count is not fully known and probably never will be. Hyles’ son-in-law replaced him as Don and received the just punishment that Hyles avoided. Jack Schaap was taken down by discernment bloggers who tipped the FBI that Schaap had taken a minor across state lines. That may be one reason that Monte is fed up with discernment bloggers.

Discernment blogging also led to the demise of Monte associate Chuck Phelps who was recently forced to resign from the BJU board of trustees. Phelps, while pastoring an IFB church, covered up instances of known forcible rape of a minor. The story was on 20/20. The fact that he was on the board of BJU speaks for itself. It’s beyond outrageous.

So, why does the church look so much like the world? (Except for the justice part, the world actually excels over the church in that category). Well, the answer to that question is: Protestantism. Luther and Calvin rejected the new birth and the idea that people change. Protestantism is predicated on zero sanctification, and improvement over the years has only yielded weak sanctification with a lot of talk and little application. Hence, the emphasis on getting people saved coupled with daily absolution in four easy steps:

1. Tithe at least 10%.

2.  Show up whenever the doors are open.

3. Always agree with the leadership and obey them.

4. Invite people to church.

These four merely replaced the Roman system of absolution. You can rape pillage and steal, that’s ok, just do the Big 4. And since we are all just sinners saved by grace, if you are a Big 4 guy, and you get your butt in a sling, you can get some cover. Especially if you rape someone from a family that isn’t a Big 4 family; ie., single mother families.

Read Monte’s tweets. Those who don’t overcome for the sake of the group are not “overcomers” and are mentally unstable. Justice isn’t the issue—we all deserve hell anyway. Calvin called the notion of justice, “mere iniquity” (CI 3.12.4). Luther and Calvin also believed that our ability to grasp reality coincided with self-disdain. This should shed some light on why Monte put victim and abused in quotations. It also sheds light on why he would refer to them as “psychos.”

So, that’s the problem, but what’s the answer? Think about it. They can do nothing without our money. Regardless of what’s going on, people continue to give their money, time, and loyalty to these organizations. Why? Because they have been brainwashed into thinking that these organizations are a preordained channel to heaven. It’s absolutely no different from the Catholicism that we came from.

Nothing against Christian organizations, but they won’t police themselves—bloggers have to do it. Let me repeat that: THEY WILL NOT POLICE THEMSELVES. That’s why they don’t like bloggers. It begs the question: We have the word of God. We have the Spirit. We have the money. You don’t have to go to seminary to get any gift—including that of leadership. We live in the Information Age. We already have permission to love anybody we want to. We have a Chief Shepherd. So….

what do we need them for?

paul