Paul's Passing Thoughts

1. Total Depravity pertains to the unregenerate only. No, they mean the saints also.

2. Sola Fide (faith alone) only pertains to Justification. No, it pertains to sanctification also.

3. Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) means “alone” and not other “subordinate” truth that also has authority though “subordinate.” No, creeds and confessions also have authority; it is not Scripture “alone.” What does “alone” mean?

4. Solus Christus (Christ alone) only regards the way to the Father. Not so, Christ is the only way to understanding all of reality. This was the crux of Luther’s Theology of the Cross.

5. Progressive sanctification sanctifies us and is separate from justification. No, they say, “never separate” but “distinct.” Then why not call it “progressive justification”? Why not clearly say that we are sanctified by justification?

6. Election predetermines our eternity. No, the elect have to persevere. The perseverance of the saints is not a characteristic of the saved, it is something that the saints have to add to their faith to complete their justification. They call this, “already-but not yet.” The promises of God are “conditional.”

7. Proponents of synergistic sanctification are mistaken. No, Calvinists think they are lost and promote a false gospel.

8. Spiritual growth is about change. Absolutely not. Calvinists believe we experience manifestations of Christ as we live by faith alone.

9. The imputation of Christ’s righteousness is only imputed for our justification. No, they believe it is imputed to our sanctification as well.

10. We should learn what the Bible teaches and apply it to our lives. No, they believe we should look for the cross in every verse which results in Christ manifestations in the Spirit realm. They call this, “the imperative command is grounded in the indicative event.”

11. Calvinists don’t believe in absolution. Not so. Calvin believed Christians need a perpetual forgiveness of sins that can only be found in the church. Augustine and Luther propagated this as well.

12. Christ works within us. Only BY faith, and faith only exists in the object that it is placed in. Calvinists believe that when the work of Christ moves from outside of us to inside of us that it makes “sanctification the ground of our justification.” The contemporary doctrinal term for Calvinism is “the centrality of the objective gospel outside of us.”

Furries claim to be a mere fandom. That’s it, move on, nothing to see here. What is a fandom? A fandom makes a hobby out of something people are a fan of. It’s very much like a fan club. For example, people who like Ford Mustangs might join a Mustang club or some other kind of car club. I once knew a couple who owned two Huskies and were members of a Husky club. Fan clubs concerning sports figures and movie stars are myriad.

The Furry fandom is a fake fandom; it’s a cover, which is why “fake fandom” will be a major theme of the book I will be publishing on the Furry “fandom.” The introduction will preface the use of ” the Fandom” in the book with the author’s acknowledgment that it is a fake fandom.

Furries like to compare themselves to other fandoms that focus on animation characters and art. “Hey, we are no different than any other club that has a common interest in something; nothing here, get a life and move on.” In the Furries’ avid defense of their sect against my criticism, they are fond of bringing up the Bronies.

Who are the Bronies? Well, they are men who are big fans of the movie, My Little Pony. And, they are very weird. And, they are big into My Little Pony art and other things Pony, but they are not the only fan club that is weird. But, they are a legitimate fandom, and an excellent opportunity to further understand Furryism by comparison and contrast.

As you might suspect, anything that can make a connection of interest between adult men and little girls is bound to be exploited by some, but you have to look hard for actual cases. Most Bronies are young males of the Millennial generation age, which makes sense because the Millennial generation is opposed to what they call, “toxic masculinity.” Many in this fandom tout the benefits of finding their “inner feminine.” In this regard, to some degree, you could argue for Brony ideology, but it isn’t an ideology that drives adverse behavior to any significant degree.

In contrast, decadent, criminal, and adverse behavior by the Furry sect can be found everywhere you point a stick while blindfolded. Bronyism is all about the ponies, but Furyism is about many other things normally not discussed in open settings. Furyism has more baggage than an Amtrak train.

Also, Bronies may use internet handles, but hidden identities are rare. Furries, for the most part, hide their identities. The excuse for that follows: it’s a good idea to hide your identity on the internet because of identity theft. So, if something is a good idea, the motive for doing it is completely irrelevant, right? If the police catch you burglarizing a business in the middle of the night, they should forget the whole thing because you used a penlight to see what you were doing which is a good idea. Hardly. At the beginning of my journalistic journey provoked by a change of leadership at the church I attended years ago, their silly answers and lame excuses told me that there was much more going on than the eyes could see.  Once again, I find myself in the same situation.

Nether do Bronies believe they are ponies. In addition, Bronies don’t believe their true identities are found in ponies. As we will see in future posts in this series, Furism has been classified as a mental dissociative disorder by many psychologists.

Unlike church, which is the marriage of authority and faith, and before America the marriage of faith and force, the Furry fandom does not seem to mix authority with its ideology. There is a Furry hive that is discussed from time to time, and there seems to be a community shunning from time to time, but the jury is still out regarding my conclusions on the authority issue. This is the difference between a sect and a cult as explained in a previous post in this series. Apparently, in a community where anything goes and the only sin is criticism of one’s fetishes, there are some standards as one Furry was shunned for raping his dog and posting the event on YouTube.

Yet, all of the verbal defenses for this “community” are exactly the same ones used by cults. Regardless of the temperature determining the damnation of any given information, if the source is not a descendant of Mother Teresa, and later adopted by Albert Einstein, the information should be rejected out of hand. Like the narrative spun by all stripes of control-lust, online sources are dismissed as coming from a Cracker Jack box. Whether a cult, bad sect, or some sort of fascism, information is the primary enemy because information empowers the individual. Hence, the source of the information must be attacked. By invalidating the information or the ability to obtain information the individual is stripped of empowerment. This is where Expertism seeks to control: the only valid source of information is its approved certification process which guarantees that you will agree with the traditional narrative. This is why doctors don’t like to be questioned. They are perhaps the best example. However, regardless of the fact that many firsthand experiences and testimonies clearly illustrate that doctors can be wrong, the information should be rejected because the victim of malpractice doesn’t have a medical degree. And so it goes.

Likewise, Furry proponents try to invalidate any information that doesn’t come from their peer-approved sources. No, they don’t have seminaries; so, what is their source for valid information about the Fandom? Answer: experience as a Furry, and knowledge of “online communities.” Yet, they are fond of mocking Wikipedia as an information source when Wiki is based on a collective effort of those who have firsthand experience regarding any given subject. It reminds me of a well known Calvinist who wouldn’t debate me because I am not educated in Greek and Hebrew. But, neither was Calvin himself. And again, so it goes. Furthermore, the primary information for how to become a Furry is, well, online. And it is also an, “online community.” Yet, God forbid that you would get any information about Furryism online.

This brings me to a very popular religious argument for dissuading people from taking part in the present-day mass exodus from church: “Church hurt.” Yes indeed, the only reason this person is bringing attention to child rape in the church is because said person had a bad experience at some church. Therefore, the fact that children get raped in church is totally irrelevant because the whistleblower has experienced “church hurt” and wants to “destroy all the good that comes out of church over a bad experience.” And as we know, there is a bad apple in every bunch, right? Here is a whiner that fell victim to a rare occurrence at church, and now wants to paint the whole church with a “broad brush” blah, blah, blah.

Thank God for the internet. Yes, a whiner got on the internet and started exposing what happened to them at church, and this resulted in other people acknowledging that they had the same experience. This alone finally exposed life-destroying trends in the church. The internet also reveals worldwide trends as well. Let’s be clear: the concern isn’t a few bad apples; the concern is an ideology that leads to a trend within a cult or a sect. Take golf for example. That is truly a sport and a hobby. In that regard, there will be a few bad apples that partake in behavior unconnected with an ideology that drives golf—golf doesn’t have an ideology. This is what separates a hobby from politics, religion, movements, sects, cults, and statecraft: the ideology drives action. People know this, and people are leaving church because they have figured out that church is driven by a particular ideology that is unhealthy, not because of a few bad apples. Golf has a few bad apples, the aforementioned are trees that are known by there fruit. When Christ said a tree is known by its fruit he wasn’t talking about hobbies.

The arguments are all the same, and lo, I get an email insisting that I am only writing this series for purposes of publishing a book because I am a former Furry who was hurt by the movement. Presently, in regard to our longtime readers who know me, I hear the collective laughter.  If LOL is “laugh out loud” and ROFL is “rolling on the floor laughing,” this is ROFLOL.

So there you have it, “Furry hurt.”

paul

LIVE LINK: https://boxcast.tv/view/potters-house-sunday-galatians-study-10202019-869378