Crown College, Politics

Seventh Day Adventists (As Long As They Hate Obamacare)

161 Comments


(photo by Gage Skidmore)

If there is one word that sums up fundamentalism that word would be “separation.”

They separate over music and over britches on women. They write Ichabod over the door frame of those who would serve real wine with communion and only serve communion to those who come from churches exactly like theirs. They refuse fellowship or even kind words to Methodists, Presbyterians, Anglicans, and all other Apostates.

Apparently, however, there is a special exception clause for Seventh Day Adventists who have made public speeches against liberal ideals. Because Crown College has not only invited Dr. Benjamin Carson, renowned physician, speaker, and political conservative to be the headline speaker at their Faithful Men Banquet but sources close to the college inform me that they have also paid him $20,000 for his appearance. That’s quite an investment to bring a man who belongs to a sect that most fundamental Baptists consider to be a cult to speak on “Christian manhood.”

faithfulmen

Has Crown College truly begun to throw open the doors and embrace diversity of thought? Or is this simply more evidence that fundamental politics trumps fundamentalist religion? I’ll leave it to you to decide.

Update 1:Dr. Carson’s information has now been removed from the Faithful Men conference website.

Update 2:So the story is now that the “Men’s Banquet” at the college is a COMPLETELY UNRELATED event to the Faithful Men’s Meetings at the church. (even though they happen at the same time and were advertised together). Therefore, one assumes that it’s fine for Dr. Carson to speak at it.

161 thoughts on “Seventh Day Adventists (As Long As They Hate Obamacare)”

      1. Thank you for using Darrell’s bandwidth by posting not once, but twice, on that point. We all truly appreciate your valuable contribution.

        2. Bitching isn’t an ideal response to any posts. You’ll have to accept and adjust to the firsters .

        7. “It is clear you have never experienced the thrill of being first.”

          As a proper gentleman who is duly concerned about the needs of his partner, I strive to avoid this whenever possible.

  3. My Baptist grandpa was raised 7th Day Adventist before he was “saved”. He always referred to the 7th Day Adventist as being bad and cult like.

    I loath men’s ministry stuff like this. Our Methodist men’s group at church brought some pastor in to talk about the importance of man cave time. Guess you sit around and scratch yourself, belch and burn your men scent Yankee Candle.

    1. I know what you’re getting at. It seems like quietly going about the business of trying to be a decent husband and father isn’t manly enough anymore. 🙄 Maybe I need to go grunt, or something.

      (drowning in the testosterone just looking at that ad…)

    2. Now I’m wondering what fragrance a man-scent Yankee Candle would have?

      Gym Shorts?
      Leather Chaps?
      Arc-welder Eau de Singe?

    3. I’ve been told that I’d make someone a good wife someday… 😳

      Seriously, though, I despise the idea that we have to take 1950’s American manhood ideals and dress them up in a “Biblical” veneer, and then make guys feel guilty if they don’t conform. Of course, this disease has spread far beyond fundamentalism; it has also infected much of conservative evangelicalism.

      1. *sigh*

        This whole idea of REAL [Christian] Men™ & REAL [Christian] Women™ needs to go back to hell where it originated.

        Anyone who doesn’t fit perfectly into those molds is made to feel either less-than or incomplete. I had a male friend from high school laugh hysterically when I mentioned I do a lot of meal prep completely from scratch & (at the time) used cloth diapers & made my own laundry detergent. When asked what was so funny, he responded, “I just can’t picture YOU doing the whole Suzy Homemaker thing.” Gee, thanks. Just because my high school nicknames were “Motorcycle Mama” & included a variation on “Kneivel” doesn’t mean I’m incapable of learning other skills, dude.

        And Josh, couldn’t that person have said, “You’re a real catch!” and left it at that? Good grief!

        1. Oh, I wasn’t at all offended by the comment – it was prompted when someone observed that I tend to be tidier than the stereotypical guy. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I prefer to have fun with stereotypes rather than be offended when I fit one (I also enjoy musical theatre, fruity beverages, and interior decorating, so I might as well play up the deficiencies in my “man card”). :mrgreen:

        2. “I just can’t picture YOU doing the whole Suzy Homemaker thing.” Gee, thanks. Just because my high school nicknames were “Motorcycle Mama” & included a variation on “Kneivel” doesn’t mean I’m incapable of learning other skills, dude.

          “…if the chain don’t break.”

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH7IqnxheTs

    4. I think part of all this “masculine” stuff is reactionary to things that tend to be testosterone driven being portrayed as bad for so long (aggression, competition, drive, etc.)

      1. No, I think the artificially exaggerated gender role distinctions, including the deification of jockhood, go back to at least the 1950’s.

        1. And this Godly Golden Age isn’t even the REAL 1950s. It’s a MYTHIC Fifties according to Ozzie, Harriet, and Donna Reed.

    5. I agree that much of this “biblical manhood” theme seems to taken more from 1950’s American culture than the bible, and I cringe inside when I hear people boast about recovering biblical manhood. It really seems like a thinly veiled quest for power or domination.

      For what it’s worth, in the past few weeks I’ve read some things from Camille Paglia regarding the relationship between men and women that have been very refreshing. Admittedly she is not your typical feminist and even though she is a lesbian, I wouldn’t be surprised if IFB’s agreed with much of what she says.

      http://ideas.time.com/2013/12/16/its-a-mans-world-and-it-always-will-be/

    6. Now you will have to excuse me while I smoke my pipe and read the evening paper

  4. According to what I learned about separation at Crown College I must now separate from Crown College. 🙄

  5. This seems like a win-win for the Dr., (wait, a real Dr!?) he gets $20,000 to speak on an entirely arbitrary topic.
    Perhaps if he throws in enough Obama criticism he might even get a love-offering. ‘merica!

    2. Real doctor? Oh, yeah–practically a legend in medical circles in Maryland. He is a recently-retired Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon who has always been conservative, but kept it mostly to himself until his retirement. What his qualifications might be to speak in Christian manhood, I don’t know.

      1. That should be an awkward conversation for “Dr” Sexton when subjects like dissertations and residency come up. 😆
        “…Ummmm….. well you see my doctorate is more ‘honorary’…” 🙄

        1. Bwah-ha-ha-ha!

          Yeah, being caught sporting a fake doctorate should be embarrassing.

        2. Welcome to the world of Menagawd and Honorary Doctorates:

          Larry awards Moe an Honorary Doctorate.
          Moe awards Curly an Honorary Doctorate.
          Curly awards Larry an Honorary Doctorate.
          NYUK! NYUK! NYUK!

  6. Something that bothers me about this that goes beyond fundamentalism to what can be described as “hardcore evangelicals”, is that with just a few of the “right” comments this man(and others) are automatically declared good presidential candidates. Even when little is actually known about them.

    1. It happens on both sides of the aisle not just the right. I agree that let’s see his bonafides before declaring him presidential worthy! I am still fairly conservative politically, but I have friends in my current church who are Democrats. We don’t argue we agree to disagree and remain brothers and sisters in Christ like we all should. IMHO

  7. Well, I guess after past performances included waxing eloquent for multiple minutes about the “Christ-like spirit” of Jack Schaap and praying that “every dream he has will be fulfilled,” maybe a minor controversy like this one is just a hobby for Clarence…

  8. I am sure the official line is “we have always felt this way. There has been no change”.

    They were deadset against accreditation, then got it and claimed they wanted it all along. Chapel speakers warned of the dangers of accreditation. I guess they learned that they could get more money with accreditation. What’s more fun than student loan debt? Student loan debt and a worthless degree!

    FYI the University of Phoenix won’t accept Crown credits.

    1. FYI the University of Phoenix won’t accept Crown credits.

      Now that is saying something!

  9. {snicker} And I’m sure the choice of building on the front was no accident.
    😈 (sorry, my mind’s deep in the gutter this morning)

    1. Isn’t that the Sunsphere in Knoxville? Don’t they know that thing is full of old wigs?

      I agree that it is a strange choice. I can see that on the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce web site or something, but not as the main picture promoting a church meeting that happens to be in the general vicinity.

      1. Who cares about wigs — Jason and the Scorchers played atop the Sunsphere. That makes it holy ground!

    1. 😆 Dr. Carson may not be a Baptist fundy, but his little blurb says that he had “a horrible temper.” I think this alone qualifies him to speak on Christian Manhood.

  11. Half of me wants to shake my head.

    Half of me thinks: at this rate, will Mark Driscoll be the guest speaker for their next manhood conference?

    And half of me just says, what gender binary? 😳 😆

  12. When you can let political candidates and the CLA come to things it’s not a stretch to think that Dr Ben fits in.

    1. My guess (opinion) is that, like any other religion, they have their extremists & some cult-like churches.

      The SDAs I’ve known didn’t sequester themselves from “the world” and didn’t share aspects of their beliefs unless asked. They seemed like sweet, reasonable people, but I have no idea what pressures they were under (if any) from their church.

      1. I knew a guy who was an SDA pastor. We shared a common interest, running. Very legalistic. We had many talks in the car going to and from races, etc…I told him how the new testament makes the old irrelevant in terms of the law. Oh no, he believed every word had to be fulfilled. No pork, shellfish, etc.
        We went to a sabbath dinner at his home once. The people were super nice, very gracious. Vegetarian fare-strictly. I believe they were all vegetarians. And that’s not necessarily all bad, either. But pretty legalistic. He was even against caffeine. It was a mood altering drug. Yes, it is. I still like it.
        He was a nice enough guy though.

        1. Yes, SDAs have their own interpretation of the Law (written Torah). They don’t follow the Talmudic traditions of the “oral Torah,” rather they have their own (the encouragement to vegetarianism is an example). Their theology and practice are certainly eccentric, but not outside the acceptable deviation from Orthodox doctrine on the (heh) fundamentals. So I concur with Walter Martin (I think) in not calling them a cult. The Adventists I’ve known have all been stable, well-balanced folks, with a good adherence to Scripture and a desire to follow Christ.

    2. Like most dichotomous questions, the answer is “it depends” and, “It’s complicated”.

    3. For some reason, my last 3 employers were SDA’s. And they were more legalistic than IFB’s by far. On several occasions I was told I had to keep the law to be saved.

      Fun Fact….many notable cults are SDA spin offs….i.e. Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Branch Davidians, and I believe the Worldwide COG.

      1. Oh, I agree SDAs are incredibly legalistic. The SDA family I am most familiar with thinks failing to tithe is inviting God’s wrath. They are very into old testament law. No shellfish, no pork, etc.

        They are not remotely grace-based, but completely fear based IMHO.

    5. While there is a spectrum in Adventism (including some pockets of so-called “liberals” who support women pastors and won’t freak out if someone is wearing earrings or the worship band has a drummer), the denomination as a whole is historically VERY fundamentalist. It has a bad reputation for breeding legalism, and because a lot of their lifestyle practices are kind of a pain to deal with in mainstream society they promote an insular culture. You can be born in an Adventist hospital, go to Adventist schools, work in Adventist businesses, and even die in an Adventist nursing home if you are so inclined.

      There are some backwater congregations and organizations within the SDA banner that I would not hesitate for one second to call “cultish”. Other fundies might cautiously accept them for the most part, but I guarantee you ALL conservative Adventists condemn Sunday keepers as worshipping the devil on the false Sabbath. They panic at any suggestion of ecumenicalism, because their prophecy states that one day all other churches will gang up with the Catholic church and persecute them for being the true religion.

      That’s one reason why it boggles my mind that Adventists don’t seem all that worried about Ben Carson getting pimped out by the religious right. I guess in this case, Adventists are just desperate to have someone famous who makes them look good. They don’t get a lot of media attention unless something bad happens (Branch Davidians being an offshoot of SDAs, the whole Lindsay Chamberlain thing, etc).

      Oh, and in case you had any doubts about their fundie pedigree, here’s a fun fact: their ‘prophet’ invented young earth creationism.

  15. Case in point, Glenn Beck. He shares the same political views, and has a national voice so he’s accepted, praised, promoted. But, if he was just an average Mormon that showed up on their doorstep, he’d be chastised, condemned, and rejected.

    2. “THERE IS NO GOD BUT AYN RAND, AND GLENN BECK IS HER PROPHET!”

      I knew a guy who (when he was drinking) used Glenn Beck as his unofficial financial adviser. Bad Craziness, always phoning me at dinnertime to rant about “GOLD! GOLD! GUNS! GOLD! GOLD! GAWD! GOLD! GOLD! GOLD!”

      And then the cold email from another guy begging me “FOR GOD’S SAKE LISTEN TO GLENN BECK!!!!!” More Bad Craziness.

  16. I know that the 7th Day Adventists worship on Saturday; they have special dietary teachings, and they believe in soul sleep. Other than that, they believe in the authority of Scripture, etc. The Latter Day Saints’ beliefs are another matter entirely.

    1. Many also believe in the authority of the plagiarized writings of Ellen G. White and that we are to show our faith by keeping certain parts of the law, lest we become a part of the annihilation of the wicked. Definitely not orthodox, IMHO.

    2. And they have a very unique take on the Book of Revelation and End Time Prophecy. Completely-different End Times Choreography (including the Mark of the Beast being a “National Sunday Law” where the Federal Gubmint forces everyone to go to church on SUNDAY), but using the exact same proof-texts.

      Discovering an SDA End Time Prophecy book was one of the things that broke Hal Lindsay’s hold on my brain. (The other was discovering Dungeons & Dragons.)

  17. Fundies, like most conservative evangelicals, put more trust in this particular kingdom of the world than they do God, despite what they proclaim.

    1. And, as a woman of great faith, I’ve just gotta say: The Tide will ROLL again!

  19. I pledge, as a faithful man, father and husband, to faithfully perform the following:

    Pipe…check (uncheck..not fundy)
    glass of brandy…check (uncheck…not fundy)
    slippers…check
    newspaper…check
    easy chair….check
    dinner on the stove(wife’s cooking of course)..check
    wife in check….check
    kids in check…check
    house clean (by wife and kids)…check
    Fox News on (unless the NFL is on)…check
    Man cave tidy…check

      2. Amen dr. jezebel.
        Fox News is de rigueur in the fundy mindset. It’s the only trustworthy news other than sky angel and that angry dr. whats-his-name…hagee…

    2. Whoo. This is an almost-perfect description of Clay Puppington, the alcoholic, wife-hating, closeted gay fundamentalist businessman father on the animated TV series “Moral Orel”. “Moral Orel” is shown periodically in reruns on Adult Swim (Cartoon Network). It’s a scathing parody of fundie Midwestern middle-class values — very funny, but also (at times) very deep and very poignant.

      http://video.adultswim.com/moral-orel/

  20. I was thinking in the last election how quickly many of my fundamentalist friends who use to spout how Mormonism was a cult and how Catholicism is the false prophet began to make concessions for Romney and Ryan.
    It seems that Jesus is not enough to unite over–we will call each other heretic over a differing view of the end times or how to baptize –but politics, now that is enough common ground to overlook the differences in doctrine.
    I don’t get it unless the USA has become an idol as well as the KJV…

    2. Oh, very well said! We’ve recently gotten involved in a local group of churches. Certainly I disagree with some of those churches on many issues, but we can agree about JESUS! And since we agree on HIM, I’m willing to overlook other things so we can work together to help the needy and be a witness to our community of Jesus’ love.

  21. Crown is not nearly as exclusively IFB as they used to be. They’ve slowly been introducing new “friends of our ministry”, usually in less publicized meetings. They had BJIII(methodist) preach in a wednesday night service, they’ve had plenty of southern baptist “friends” speaking in chapel services and in conferences, last summer they held an evangelism seminar for church/college/academy employees only, taught by Don Sunshine, non-denominational, non-kjv, non-“sacred” music, definitely non-Baptist, and if you check their website, they’ve changed a few of their banner logos from “a distinctive Baptist college” to “a distinctive Christian college” theyve fixed most of them due to some external griping. I think it’s all great, but its amusing to watch them adapt as their student body was decimated in 2007-2009

    1. This calls to mind a statement I heard Clarence Sexton make during a sermon a year or so ago at a pastors fellowship about being “sick of fundamentalism.” I think he tried an multi camp IFB love fest, while he was simultaneously flirting with Calvinists in England, and now SDAs can apparently speak on biblical manhood. Sounds like an identity crisis. He shall be banned soon.

      1. not a chance. Sexton could pull a schaap and get away with it. The whole church/college/academy has one brain, if you’re stupid enough to join the church, you’re definitely stupid enough to go along with whatever their MOG does or says like it was your idea all along

      2. Sexton definitely has been two-faced by flirting with numerous non-fundy entities for some time now. I am not sure how he hid his embrace of Calvinism across the pond while kicking Calvinist students out of his schools for years, but I am glad that the news of his flirtatious actions having been catching up with him. Politics aside, at least Carson and Sexton have one thing in common: bad tempers.

        1. Crown never “kicked out” calvinist students, just profiled them for other crimes, enforced ridiculous rules and falsely accused them to get rid of them while covering their butts. The story here is not so much that they invited Carson as much as they cancelled his appearance after the backlash.

        3. Sure it was, but adherence to calvinist doctrine was not grounds for being kicked out. It just meant if you were a known you had to calvinist keep your nose cleaner than anybody else

        5. DId you experience his wrath first hand? I’ve heard a few tales of Clarence’s temper, but not sure if they’re true…

      1. Nothing dramatic, just a hefty decline in student recruitment and especially retainment. A lot of students enrolled but quit after a semester or two, when they realized they would be flipping burgers with or without a “degree” from crown. Crown is a shell of what it once was, it’s pretty much where pastors send their daughters to find a man. Problem is there’s about 3 girls for every guy.

  22. Reminds me of the recent Duck Dynasty crisis (fiasco)? Robertson are Church of Christ which I’ve heard soundly denounced, called cults by IFB’s in the past. Most IFB’s didn’t have a problem with them at all until they started selling wine.

    1. I cannot tell you how many of my fundy friends littered my Facebook newsfeed with support of Duck Dynasty. It got really annoying. Same thing happened with the Chick-Fil-A fiasco.

    2. I could hardly disagree more with Mr. Robertson’s views about black people, gay people, and probably most other people, but I still don’t quite see why it’s “shocking” when he says those things.

      As far as I can tell, the whole point of the “Duck Dynasty” show is that this family gets paid to act like backwoods rednecks for the amusement of TV viewers. So everybody in pundit land is shocked, shocked when one of them expresses opinions typical of backwoods rednecks?

  23. I find it hilarious, but the present day, primarily Baptist-led KJVonly movement was started by Seventh Day Adventist leader Benjamin G. Wilkinson with the publication of his book “Our Authorized Bible Vindicated” published in 1930.

    2. Also important was IFB J.J. Ray’s plagiarism of Wilkinson in “God Wrote Only One Bible,” which apparently converted Fuller and Ruckman to KJV-Onlyism in the first place:

      https://web.archive.org/web/20021005081917/http://www.kjvonly.org/gary/eye_opener.htm

      http://kjvonly.org/doug/kutilek_unlearned_men.htm

      But if not for Wilkinson, the IFB probably still would have found their way to KJV-Onlyism one way or another. Similar sentiments can be found among fundamentalists even prior to Wilkinson’s time.

    3. Another influential SDA was George McCready Price, who is the father of “flood geology” and “young earth creationism”, his work was heavily depended on in John Whitcomb and Henry Morris’ hugely influential The Genesis Flood, but they didn’t cite Price and highligh his impact on their thinking until years later.

  24. Get a load of this one:

    http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/15/pat-buchanan-upset-by-pope-francis-he-is-losing-the-culture-war/

    It never ceases to amaze me that Republican Catholics excoriate–and rightly so I might add–pro choice Catholic politicians for holding political positions that are at odds with Church teaching. Yet when 125 year old Church teaching doesn’t line up with current Republican economic theory cafeteria Catholicism is suddenly all the rage.

    Believe me, Fundamentalists have no monopoly on hypocrisy.

    Peace,

    1. IFB’s don’t have the monopoly on fundamentalism.

      I’ve dealt with fundamentalist Catholics. The uniform is even the same – denim/khaki skirts on women paired with oversize blouses or sweaters. Suits and short hair on men. The only difference was the type of head covering in use.

  25. The hypocrisy is not limited to Sexton’s church, although they seem to be limiting Carson to the banquet – he is probably not speaking behind the “sacred desk”.

    My former Fundy church in Lancaster actually had Presby Former VP Dan Quayle come speak from the pulpit during the grand opening of their first new sanctuary. To raise money to pay his hefty honorarium, they also held a separate luncheon with Quayle and charged $100 a plate. The church service itself was free, of course.

    Another time they brought in Republican Congressman J.C. Watts to speak. The original plan was for Watts to speak and the pastor would follow up with a sermon – but Watts (allegedly unilaterally, but I have my doubts about that) decided to PREACH the entire morning service…and boy did he preach! And used a modern version too! It was really great, so great in fact the mouths of leadership were shut and no one would say anything against Watts or the “perversion” he clearly used to preach from.

    The memory of it makes me smile. An example of what can happen when the speaker is more powerful than the tyrant pastor.

    In the future the pastor went right along condemning non-IFBxers and modern versions.

    Then there was the time then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger cursed from the pulpit while speaking at a police officer funeral. Some sacred desk that was…

    1. It’s all about power and control, isn’t it? The pastors control all the little sheep but if someone even more important than the pastor is around he turns into one of us. Unfortunate that some men are given the power and control that is to be had in the IFB pulpit. And I know Chappell. He’s all about power.

    2. JC Watts! Boomer Sooner! I would have loved to hear him, he is a good and godly man! Have admired him for a long time, and I’m glad he was who he is and didn’t hide it for the sake of making the fundy pastor happy.

  26. I hope he is ready to be the only black man in the house. Unless Kenny Baldwin shows up.

    2. I lost a lot of respect for Kenny Baldwin when I heard him preach. He used too much self deprecating humor about being black and acted like such a ghetto stereotype just to get a laugh out of the room full of white people.

  27. I wanna go! I’ve been really hoping that someone would show me how to exercise my Christian Manhood. I mean, some things I already have down, such as standing while pissing (though I’m still having trouble with the Standing While Number Twoing), making sure my wife does not cross the threshold of our home, exuberant leading in prayer in restaurants, never wearing pink or letting my male offspring wear pink or play with sissy toys, and making sure my vehicles have plenty of bible-quoting/right-winging/queer-hating/NRA-supporting bumper stickers.

    But, bless God, I know I have plenty of work to do. This Christian Manhood thing is hard (haha, see what I did there?).

    3. never wearing pink or letting my male offspring wear pink or play with sissy toys, and making sure my vehicles have plenty of bible-quoting/right-winging/queer-hating/NRA-supporting bumper stickers.

      Don’t forget (in the words of that one Managawd) “beating the Fag out of your male offspring”.

  28. Oh how I hate and despise the biblical manhood bandwagon that has become so popular. I’m looking at you, Courageous, and those Resolution-signing ceremonies that my church (a non-denom evangelical one) and I suspect many others had.

    1. Some years ago I was invited to a Promise Keepers meeting. I went. I did not enjoy myself. I had the impression that most of them would have rather been sitting at home, drinking a beer and watching the ballgame. So, in their honor, that’s what I’ve done ever since.

  29. I think that if more people would act on what they really wanted to do rather than just attending something because it’s the “godly” thing to do, we’d have far less people at prophecy conferences, “revival” meetings, women’s conferences, etc. So often you can tell that most people are there to make an appearance. A long time ago I said screw that, people can think I’m a heathen if they want. Enjoy the beer. 🙂

  30. Oh boy… this post is more spot on that you would think… I knew at least one major IFB church that sold books by Dr. Samuele Bacchiochi, a late SDA scholar, in their bookstore… books against drinking and modern clothing… modern KJVOism itself is SDA in origin (Wilkinson) and even YEC is SDA in origin.

  31. On another note, this is just continued evidence of a withering fundamentalism making more connections within conservative evangelicalism…

      1. Doctor,

        Catholicism and Protestantism can be separated by doctrines such as “Sola Scriptura, Scriptura Sola,” and, “By grace alone through faith alone.” On the other hand, Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism, as near as I can tell, seem to be a continuum where the one merges seamlessly into the other. For example, a conservative Evangelical is almost indistinguishable from a liberal Fundamentalist. A mean conservative Evangelical is pretty much completely indistinguishable.

  32. Dear SFL Reader:

    Is it just me, or am I the only one to notice how perfectly this parallels the secular ‘rags-to-riches’ success story needed by serious Presidential candidates?

    Christian Socialist

  33. This is more proof of Darrell’s basic thesis that American Fundamentalism is more political than spiritual. Compromises can be made on the spiritual side for sake of the political, but no political compromises are permitted. And this from a political conservative…

  35. “This is more proof of Darrell’s basic thesis that American Fundamentalism is more political than spiritual”

    Fundamentalism and evangelicalism are both deeply embroiled in politics. Without admitting it, many Christians have bought into dominion theology and hope to bring the kingdom of God through political power.

    Maybe God’s kingdom is not demonstrated in political power, but in small acts of kindness–feeding the poor, caring for widows and orphans.

    1. I believe the two (political conservatism and religious fundamentalism) are wed. Check out the book “Stealing Jesus.” Fundamentalism and political conservatives were married in the late 70s and early 80s.

      Almost every single fundamentalist that I know all espouses extreme right wing political views, right down the line. It is one of the reasons I left my church (wasn’t IFB, but was pretty conservative.)

  36. I have a younger brother that went to Crown. What is interesting is that they have a ban on interracial dating (like Bob Jones University did). Does Mr. Carson care about racist rules or maybe the $20,000 makes up for that?

    1. Dr. Ben Carson really should be made aware of that racist rule. Crown is not the only Fundy school with such a ban.

  38. We would do well to remember Isaiah 2:22: “Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?” In other words, why are we so scared of mere people. God ultimately is judge.

  41. Actually, the last part of my response to Dr. Fundystan was excessive and unfair. I knew a lot of good, decent people when I was in Fundamentalism.

  42. Something missing from Dr. Ben Carson’s biography: he had a bit part playing himself in the Farrelly Brothers’ (There’s Something About Mary) 2003 movie Stuck on You, where he attempted to separate conjoined twins played by Greg Kinnear and Matt Damon.

    I had to rewind the movie to make sure it was actually him, and it was.

    http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0990442/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t37

  43. Dr. Sexton has a video posted at http://www.faithforthefamily.com inviting men to come to the conference. He talks about how exciting it will be…gospel preaching, sound doctrine. THEN he adds, “We have a banquet on Saturday – that’s a WHOLE DIFFERENT THING – it’s about America…” yadda yadda. He even gestures when he says “whole different thing” with such disgust! It’s like he’s trying to distance the banquet from the conference and from himself.

    1. Wow…That was not obvious at all.

      I am amused that Sexton had to react so swiftly to a SFL post.

  44. They have so over-used and abused the term “Dr” that when they have a real doctor speak they have to label him as “Medical Doctor”. 🙄

    1. At least Ben Carson earned his doctorate.
      I respect his medical opinions, but he’d be better advised to stay out of politics.

  45. Back when I attended Crown (early 90’s), they had fund-raising dinners with Dan Quayle and Oliver North as the speakers. College students got to stand around the edges of the ballroom, watch everyone else eat, and take turns singing and/or giving our testimonies. Yeah, that was fun 🙄

      1. Was this during the heyday of “Ollie North For President”? I used to get some great reactions showing around bootleg “Ollie for President” campaign buttons.

        I remember a “Ballad of Ollie North” on Dr Demento (a filk of Sadler’s “Ballad of the Green Berets”) whose last verse went something like:

        “Nineteen Eighty-Eight, November Eighth;
        Send Ollie North to the White House gate;
        (dum dum dummm, dumm dumm dumm dent);
        Ollie North for President!”

        That was some Bad Craziness.

    2. I honestly don’t remember what either one of them said. I just knew they were only there to raise money. I did find it odd that Oliver North (a criminal to many) was invited. We could get a picture with him after everyone else left. I did not because I didn’t think I’d get away with asking him to hold up a number placard 😉

  46. Well, the Mormons made the switch from CULT CULT CULT to Real True Christians when Romney won the GOP nomination in 2012. (After several months of God’s Anointed Choice for POTUS of the Week, all to a baby dinosaur chorus of “NOT THE MORMON! NOT THE MORMON! NOT THE MORMON!”)

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