Category Archives: Doctrine

Doctrine

Moral Confusion

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If every petty offense is counted as a great abomination and terrible wickedness…then how can you tell when real evil shows up?

If wearing a pair of jeans makes a woman the moral equivalent of a whore and listening to rock music is the same as fornication and questioning the pastor is as the sin of witchcraft then who among us shall recognize and withstand against real whoredoms and lust and idolatry?

Who among us shall say a word against the sneakier sins of avarice, pride, and deception when distracted by constant warnings about the supposed sins of those without the camp?

A man may beat his wife but at least he uses the right Bible verses when finding proof texts to defends his behavior.

A woman may lie and viciously manipulate those around her but so long as she wears modest skirts, her other faults seem hardly worth mentioning.

And who really has the time to ponder genocide and rape and injustice of all kinds when the looming threat of a PG-13 movie at the local cinema is so very present with us?

When a person’s moral conscience is bombarded with inanity, they lose their ability to discern when truly gross sin is in their midst.

Doctrine

Contradiction

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I love you, and that’s why I hate you.

I’m totally separated from the world so I can reach the world.

I’m have a mind that is so chaste and pure that I constantly obsess about sin and impurity

I’m humble and I’m so proud of that fact.

I have total freedom in these chains.

I need only the treasure laid up in heaven for me so give me your tithes and offerings here and now.

I am at peace in Jesus so I fight endlessly with those in Church.

I study to show myself approved through honorary doctorates and fake degrees.

I have the joy of the Lord which is why I’m so angry.

I’m am your servant leader which is what makes you my slave.

I am a fundamentalist who can’t remember the last time I actually cared about, talked about, or preached about the real fundamentals.

Doctrine, Sermons

A Study in Racism

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Meet Stinnet Ballew, author, preacher, and racist. Ballew is the host of the Harvest Time Broadcast which is replayed on fundy radio stations all over the country. He’s also a speaker at various churches and conferences.

In the audio clip below you can hear him attempt to use Scripture to prove that interracial marriage is a sin against God. And lest you be tempted to dismiss this man’s racist rantings as an anomaly in fundamentalism, this kind of teaching was embraced widely through fundyland until recent years by men like Bob Jones Sr., J. Frank Norris and others.

It’s worth noting that clip was discovered on Twitter via @IFBJoshOwens who was using it to defend this statement that he had made previously:

My wife & I were lookin’ on the web a little while ago & found a picture of a young, single, Missionary-friend, who’s a Missionary to a part of the world with folk of another color/race. Jess made the observation that “he’ll probably get him a black wife” & she’s probably right. When a young, single, Missionary s to a field of another culture/color/race, more than likely, they’ll get ’em a wife of that culture/color/race. How sad/wicked. That’s why it’s not a good idea, to say the least, to be a young, single Missionary.

I can only hope that @IFBJoshOwens is a parody account which is using some really strange attempts at humor. But reading through Twitter and listening to his online podcast, I get no real indication that this is anything but legit.

Now here’s Stinnet Ballew to bless our hearts with more racist drivel in the same vein:

Doctrine

Diversion Tactics: The Confrontation Initiation

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Diversion: “Why are you criticizing what [insert big name pastor here] said in his sermon last week or wrote in his book or did with that stripper in Vegas? Have you gone to him and talked to him personally about what he said/wrote/snorted?”

Origin: Eisegesis.

Usage: Whenever someone is pointing out really horrible logic or unbiblical thinking coming from a person that I admire.

Strength: Sounds really spiritual.

Translation: “Since I know you’ll never be able to talk to the guy personally, I’ll use this as a clever way to shut you down and make you look bad in the process.”

Biblical Support: Allegedly Matthew 18:15-17

Fallacy: Misreading of the passage. The context is talking about a brother or sister within ones own congregation to which one has access and over whom the local elders have authority. The public statements of the president of a fundamentalist college or a pastor who lives 1000 miles away and who does not attend your church or even belong to your denomination hardly fit into this passage.

Biblical Counter: Luke 13:32. Did Jesus have a face-to-face sit-down with Herod before calling him a fox?