[Vision2020] HIS VIEW: What Christians should repent of (and why)

Tue Apr 10 13:26:20 PDT 2007

I, too, applaud Kurt Queller for his essay in the Daily News.  Kurt and I are friends, and I'm proud to know someone as insightful and reasonable as he is.  Kudos to him for his article . . . and I'm eager to read what the Kirk has to say.  But of course none of them will reply on Vision, and I doubt anyone will write a letter to the editor of the DN.  Nonetheless, Kurt reveals himself to be a scholar and a gentleman in pointing out the twisted theology of those who pretend to have great wisdom but instead have patched together a theology that makes it necessary that straight white men remain at the center of every debate.My dear friend Rose Huskey calls it "wanting to be the bride at every wedding."  I call it pseudo-intellectual posturing, and I think Kurt called it absolutely as it is.keelyFrom: deco at moscow.comTo: vision2020 at moscow.comDate: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 08:35:27 -0700Subject: Re: [Vision2020] HIS VIEW: What Christians should repent of (and	why)

Those curious:

The article by Kurt Keller passed on to V 2020 by Ms. Lund illustrates how 
easily crackpotism* can be birthed and accepted.  This comment is in 
reference to the crackpotism of Cultmaster Douglas Wilson and his 
ghostwriter/enforcer/snoop Douglas Jones.

Keller references an article in Credenda/Agenda (aka 
Crudinto/Adumpster) entitled "Owning the Curse: Rethinking Same-Sex 
Marriage." {http://www.credenda.org/issues/16-2memorandum.php}

In this prime example of crackpotism Wilson and Jones assert among other 
things:

"Homosexuality is a judgment from God."

"Homosexuality is primarily a judgment against the 
Church."

"Christian fathers are a primary cause of the curse of 
homosexuality."

"Homosexuality will only pass when Christian fatherhood 
is pleasing to God."

"The destruction of our civil order: 

In true 
repentance, we should invert as many contemporary categories as we can—own the 
curse of homosexuality upon our parenting, grant the science, and explicitly 
embrace God's transformation of our civil order. True repentance in the Church, 
not trust in civil coercion, will either restore that order or establish a 
different order. So we openly accept homosexual marriage in the civil realm as 
God's means of undermining that civil realm, and we accept that He has done this 
in judgment for wicked fathering within the Church."

What makes this and thousands of other biblical views of homophobia, 
etc crackpotism is its lack of any kind of verifiable evidence, and what is 
especially clear from the article reference above, Jones and Wilson's support of 
their view with a mishmash and exaggerated interpretation of select, 
contextually unrelated biblical passages.  Almost crackpot with the 
motivation can take a few scattered biblical passages and build an argument 
supporting almost any nonsensical thesis.

Such tactics are used by the bereft preachers on the corners of urban 
tenderloins and other screechers and dividers.  That's why such are called 
crackpots.  Take away the wealth that Wilson and Jones have amassed from 
their credulous followers and take away their fancy robes and clothes, it would 
be hard to distinguish them from the half dozen sky pilots found at the corner 
of 3rd and Main Streets in Los Angeles at almost any hour of the day.

Although I am a nonbeliever, it is clear that Jones, Wilson, and others of 
their ilk have thoroughly perverted the urgings of Christ and have derailed 
their ovine, caught-in-a-cult followers from the central message of Christ found 
in Matthew 25:36 et seq.

31 "When the Son 
of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his 
glory.
32 All the 
nations will be gathered before him, and he 
will separate people one from another as a 
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 
33 and he will 
put the sheep at his right hand and the 
goats at the left. 
34 Then the king 
will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, 
you that are blessed by my Father, inherit 
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 
35 for I was 
hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you 
welcomed
me, 
36 I was naked 
and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' 

37 Then the righteous 
will 
answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 

38 And when 
was it that we saw you a stranger and 
welcomed you, or naked and gave you 
clothing? 
39 And when was 
it that we saw you sick or in prison and 
visited you?' 
40 And the king 
will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as 
you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' 
41 Then he will 
say to those at his left hand, 'You that are 
accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 
42 for I was 
hungry and you gave me no food, I was 
thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 
43 I was a 
stranger and you did not welcome me, naked 
and you did not give me clothing, sick and 
in prison and you did not visit me.' 
44 Then they also 
will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw 
you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked 
or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' 
45 Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you 
did not do it to one of the least of these, 
you did not do it to me.' 
46 And these will 
go away into eternal punishment, but the 
righteous into eternal life."
The above words of Christ are simple and direct.  Upon hearing and/or 
reading them one cannot be struck by how far the dribble from Cultmaster Wilson 
is not only at variance with them, but totally inconsistent with them.  If 
by some remote chance the words of Christ are true, then Wilson's followers have 
bought expensive tickets for the most unpleasant destination on their afterlife 
voyage as a result of their folly.

One can only hope that the congregants of the Christless Church Cult 
will grow tired of depriving themselves and families by financing Wilson's 
vanity enterprise, Canon Press.

If that Happens, do not worry about Jones and Wilson being out of 
jobs.  Jones would be a perfect fit for the editorship of American 
Rodent Monthly and Wilson a prime fit for Expediting Trailer Court 
Evictions Journal.  And of course, their hack Ed Iverson could 
amass wealth by becoming a prolific contributor to Pulp Science Fiction 
magazine.

Wayne A. Fox1009 Karen LanePO Box 9421Moscow, ID  
83843

(208) 882-7975waf at moscow.com

*Previous post about crackpots and their followers:

Fantasy versus Reality

It is one thing for Cultmaster Douglas 
Wilson to write about what he interprets his alleged God has allegedly said or 
what his alleged God demands.

In these cases there is no way to 
verify or empirically falsify his claims.  
They can be falsified by finding internal contradictions and 
contradictions with his other writings.

His claims in these matters are 
like the claims of those insisting that unicorns exist.  No one can prove that they don't.  That is the so-called beauty of fantasy 
-- religious or otherwise.  
Wilson can blather on and on about what the 
Bible means and what God demands without fear of falsification, save 
inconsistency.  Any crackpot can; 
any crackpot can even partially convince him/herself that their blather is the 
"real truth."  Street corners in the 
tenderloins of large cities teem with such eccentrics, each shouting their own 
particular religious fantasies, some harmless, others toxic.

However, it is quite another thing for 
Wilson to make 
claims about ordinary reality, especially where there is massive, clear, cogent 
evidence that makes his claims highly improbable, if not delusional.  Such is the case with Wilson's writings on 
antebellum slavery.

The latest post from Juanita 
Flores aptly demonstrates that when the Cultmaster ventures into the realm where 
professional scholarship, knowledge, acumen, and methodology matter, his extreme 
egomaniacal arrogance and his abysmal ignorance really shine for all to 
see.  Wilson's views on antebellum slavery put him irretrievably 
into that "special" class that includes the Holocaust deniers and those that 
think flying saucers are going to land to rescue the "Chosen" at end times.

Not unsurprisingly, there are 
some that accept Wilson's highly unlikely views on antebellum 
slavery and his other equally or even more dubious claims and 
pronouncements.  That this belief in 
the wildly improbable has occurred in our community and other places despite 
Wilson's transpicuous egomania and megalomania is, among other things, a tribute 
to Wilson's personal charisma, which causes those enthralled to suspend the use 
of their critical judgment, his appalling but highly effective manipulative and 
planning skills, and his singular personal persistence in the face of 
consistently being shown up as a charlatan.

Whatever the case, Wilson's claims about the 
nature of antebellum slavery give further clear evidence that he is on the 
crackpot fringe of the crackpot fringe.

But why does the Christ Church Cult Flourish?

When evaluating the actions, 
utterances, and writings of Christ Church Cultmaster Douglas Wilson and its 
appeal to some, perhaps it might do well to consider the carefully and 
professionally referenced research and writings found in Feet of Clay:  A Study of Gurus [spiritual leaders] 
by Anthony Storr.

"Confidence tricksters [who are spiritual 
leaders] are successful at deception because they are 
more than halfway to believing in their own fictions." ... "[and] who have no hesitation in deceiving other people and 
extracting money from them..."

[With such individuals]… "We hover on the borderline between confidence trickery 
and psychosis."

"A 
contemporary described him [the Bhagwan] as 
being very bright, but also being a habitual liar."

Many people ask:  "If Wilson is really so far off, why does he have a following, 
especially in a community like Moscow, Idaho, 
where the intelligence and educational level of the populace is likely much 
higher than that of the average community?"

Information from Feet of Clay offers more than just a 
hint.  In the chapter on the 
Bhagwan, we read:

In 1985 the Bhagwan's 
north-central Oregon settlement had 2,500 permanent 
residents and another 2,000 long term visitors.  The educational profile of this 
group:

83% 
were college educated,
64% had 
college degrees,
36% had 
advanced degrees, and
12% had 
doctorates.

Storr refers to research into the 
people in the Bhagwan's commune that describes them as being "very 
needful."  Their strong needs seemed 
to be strivings for discovering some deeper "truth" of the universe and/or a way 
to escape the contingencies of worldly life, a life which they found 
insufficiently rewarding.  They 
believed that the Bhagwan could deliver them to the "truth" and the way to a 
"higher state of being."  Thus these 
needful people overlooked or forced themselves not to see the Bhagwan's many 
obvious failings and dishonesty, nor did they critically question the truth of 
his teachings, but swallowed them whole.  For example, they were induced to plan 
acts like poisoning the municipal water supply of The Dalles, the residents of which city the 
Bhagwan had declared their enemies.  
They even ran a successful test poisoning in one small area of The Dalles by infecting 
several salad bars with salmonella.

Clearly then, being intelligent or educated is not an 
effective prophylactic against being deceived and taken on an expensive ride 
into a toxic fantasy by a predatory, power and wealth-hungry confidence 
person.  [It is useful to 
realize that the Bhagwan at one point had accumulated 83 Rolls Royces.  His Oregon settlement was described as being run 
like a concentration camp.  It 
abounded with intrusive spying devices and agents to root out possible 
dissenters and doubters, alleged dissenters and doubters who were subsequently 
treated to very harsh measures should they not repent of their dissent and 
doubt.  The structure and operation 
of the Christ Church Cult ward system comes to mind in this regard.]

In his assessment of successful, 
but manipulative spiritual leaders Storr is in sync with a large body of 
research by psychologists and mental health professionals:

Short term, limited in scope 
fantasies are generally normal and mostly healthy coping mechanisms people use 
to deal with immediate problems of various kinds.

However, long term, large in 
scope fantasies, raise the question of pathology.  This is especially so of long term, 
large in scope fantasies which are not subject to verification or to 
falsification.

The question of pathology depends 
on the effects a particular long term, large in scope fantasy has on its 
believers' ability to function and on the effects that the believers' actions 
have on society.

Long term, large in scope 
fantasies which are merely palliative and/or inspirational and which inspire no 
or little harm, or which might even promote generally accepted secular good for 
society are not generally considered 
pathological by many professionals in the field.

However, other such fantasies 
which advocate or bring unjustifiable harm or depletion of assets to the 
believers, advocate or bring harm to selected targets of the believers, or 
advocate or bring harm, sometimes massive harm, to society, are rightly 
considered pathological.  Current newsworthy examples of believers 
in long term, large in scope pathological fantasies would include 
members of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

For the sake of saving words, 
henceforth such pathological, long 
term, large in scope fantasies will simply be called toxic fantasies for the purposes 
hereinafter.

The fantasy promulgated by 
Cultmaster Douglas Wilson includes plans for a instituting a theocracy to govern 
all of the world's inhabitants, and which theocracy would result in the 
execution of most of such inhabitants.
http://www.credenda.org//old/issues/vol3/magi3-11.htm
http://www.credenda.org/old/issues/vol3/magi3-9.htm

Wilson's long term, large in scale fantasy is 
certainly pathological as defined above, and thus is a toxic fantasy.  It is toxic in other well known 
ways.  For example, its toxicity 
shows in the justification of his and other cult members' otherwise 
unjustifiable, dishonest, sometimes illegal actions by the Doctrine of 
Covenantal Dishonesty.

Those falling prey to toxic 
fantasies promulgated by a manipulative leader suspend their critical evaluation 
tools with respect to these fantasies.  
They do this because they are in situations where such toxic fantasies 
may offer escape from pain and distress, were something deeply implanted into 
them in childhood, appeal to other deeply felt needs, may give satisfaction not 
easily found in other ways, and/or seem to offer the promise of realizing 
something "far better" than is afforded by ordinary, worldly life.

The needs of those captured by 
toxic fantasies are so strong that they make such needful, many times naïve, 
uncritical, and/or submissive people, easy prey for unscrupulous, exploiting 
flimflamers, some of whom may even partially believe their own hooks and lines 
of deception.

It is important to remember this 
about these toxic fantasies:  They 
are neither verifiable nor falsifiable, save for logical inconsistency.  If any were so, there would not be 
nearly so much room for disagreement, and hence, there would not be the great 
variety of such incompatible, competing toxic fantasies.

There are a minimum of tens of thousands of 
these toxic fantasies, each different from and inconsistent with the others, 
each with followers who "know" they have found the "truth," and who have made 
the "leap of faith" to one particular toxic fantasy.  This disconcerting, but telling fact 
apparently neither occurs to, bothers, nor mildly stirs the critical faculties 
of those committed to one of these particular toxic fantasies.  Such is the power of strong needs 
and the usefulness of knowing how to exploit these strong needs for gains of 
personal wealth and power by egocentric, megalomaniacal, sociopathic, and/or 
psychopathic spiritual leaders.

Occasionally, one of the 
followers of a particular toxic fantasy promulgated by an unscrupulous exploiter 
awakens from their acritical, submissive state and realizes the ignominy of the 
situation they find themselves in.  
When this happens, they become pariahs from the point of view of the 
remaining believers of that particular toxic fantasy.  The remaining believers often go to 
great lengths to discredit and to harm the apostate, often dishonestly with 
little or nor remorse, and whether such vengeful tactics are prohibited by 
beliefs found in their particular fantasy or not.

Sometimes, however, the escapees 
from a particular toxic fantasy are successful at opening the eyes of some of 
the still committed and still exploited, and thus an exodus occurs despite the 
security and control measures of the organization promulgating the toxic 
fantasy.

Will this happen in Moscow, Idaho?

Stay tuned.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Saundra Lund" <sslund at roadrunner.com>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2007 5:54 PM
Subject: [Vision2020] HIS VIEW: What Christians should repent of (and 
why)
> HIS VIEW: What Christians should repent of (and why)> 
> By Kurt Queller> > Monday, April 9, 2007 - Page Updated 
at 12:00:00 AM> > > A good deal has been printed on these 
pages of late, purporting to reflect a> bold countercultural witness to 
the truths of Christianity. The litany> includes screeds against 
homosexuality, complaints about perceived> persecution of Christians, and 
scornful dismissals of consensus scientific> views in biology and 
climatology as merely reflecting alternative> "religious" 
perspectives.> > Lost amidst all the contentious culture-war 
rhetoric is any clear testimony> to the saving power of Christ in a 
suffering world. Some find the continual> chest-thumping and 
finger-pointing entertaining; others find it repulsive.> Either way, the 
effects on Christian public witness are profoundly> destructive.> 
> As an evangelical myself, I have two simple pleas for my 
co-religionists.> First: can we stop whining? American Christians are not 
a persecuted> minority. Pretending that we are, while luridly invoking 
the Roman emperor> Nero's torture of Christians, might give us a 
delicious sense of vicarious> participation in the early martyrs' heroic 
witness. In the public square,> however, such self-indulgent foolishness 
can serve only as a tool for> counter-evangelism.> > Listen 
up, brothers and sisters: Christian witness isn't about you. Nor is> it 
about those mean, intolerant secularists who supposedly persecute you.> 
It's about bringing the good news that Jesus preached and embodied to 
people> who don't know it. This absurd rhetorical posturing, with its 
mingling of> delusional self-pity and complacent self-celebration, in no 
way serves that> purpose.> > Second: can we stop bashing 
gays? They aren't responsible for our family> values issues. Infidelity, 
child abuse, failure to be responsible parents -> all (as Douglas Wilson 
grants) are fundamentally heterosexual problems.> > But what are 
we to make of attempts to turn Paul's letter to the Romans into> an 
argument that gays reflect God's wrath against American Christians,> 
because of our heterosexual sins? Only by "owning the curse" of> 
homosexuality and repenting of our own heterosexual sins, Douglas Jones 
and> Wilson argue (Credenda/Agenda 16:2), can American Christians turn 
away> divine wrath. Tactically conceding a possible genetic basis 
for> non-heterosexual orientation - the Almighty may after all choose any 
means,> including genetics, to smite a nation - Jones and Wilson urge 
American> Christians to abjure gay-baiting and accept their own 
chastisement. Only so,> they argue, may the homosexual curse be averted, 
and America restored.> > In short, gays exist so that they may 
cease to exist. It's not about them;> it's all about us. Such 
self-absorption might be laughable - if it didn't> exact a real human 
toll. Can't we worry a bit less about our own exalted> role in God's 
plans to redeem America, and more about the effects of our> rhetoric on 
simple human persons? Suicide rates among our gay teenagers are> 
inordinately high. Grandiose theological arguments about a need to expiate 
a> homosexual "curse" are not entirely responsible. But they don't 
help.> > What about public witness? When Christians continually 
fulminate in the> public square over how the "deviant" among us might 
provoke - or reflect -> divine wrath against the community at large, it 
offers an image of> Christianity that non-Christians can only understand 
as profoundly> Pharisaical. What sort of evangelical witness is 
this?> > Paul's letter to the Romans indeed began with a 
condemnation of gentile> sexual depravity. Heterosexual men were 
routinely betraying their wives with> boy prostitutes and slaves. Such 
behavior was widely and justly condemned in> antiquity. But that wasn't 
Paul's real point.> > Like the prologue in Amos, Paul's prologue 
in Romans is a set-up. Having> played upon believers' righteous 
indignation over characteristic gentile> sins, Paul turns to address 
their own hypocrisy. In chapter two of Romans,> he scathingly critiques 
the covenant people's proclivity for> self-congratulation and 
judgmentalism. Our public witness, he says, causes> God's name to be 
blasphemed among non-believers. Why should they care to> know about the 
sort of God to which our rhetoric purports to bear witness?> > If 
we do concede that nonheterosexual orientation is for some persons> 
biologically given, we should also concede that Paul, who was unaware of> 
this phenomenon, probably never addressed it. But his primary point,> 
regarding the harm done by believers through self-righteous 
finger-pointing> and querulous self-absorption, addresses us 
unambiguously. This, says Paul's> prologue in Romans, is the 
characteristic sin of the faithful. Let's repent> of it now, before we do 
any further damage.> > Kurt Queller holds a doctorate in 
linguistics from Stanford University and> teaches in the English 
department at the University of Idaho. He is a member> of Emmanuel 
Lutheran in Moscow (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America).> > 
> > 
=======================================================> List 
services made available by First Step Internet, > serving the 
communities of the Palouse since 1994.   
>               
http://www.fsr.net                       
>          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com> 
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