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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Princess,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I am very glad that you are willing to argumentatively interact with
the point I made recently on Pooh’s Think and post it here. (My original
post can be found here: <a href="http://poohsthink.com/?p=602">http://poohsthink.com/?p=602</a>
) Perhaps a better way for the future is to submit your post to me
privately so that I can post it on Pooh’s Think directly, unless it has
direct relation to a current thread on Vision 2020. I’m also
impressed with the tone of your writing here, but for the fact that you would
place in the title “Mike Metzler’s Thick Skull.” This
suggests you are still too much in the habit of Kirk insult; this does not seem
to help your better efforts. As for your arguments (I left below), I agree with
them. There will always be many private pastoral issues that should
remain private, such as whatever emotional struggles the victims of Steven
Sitler are currently undergoing; I would think this is an area were you might
have some important admonishment for Doug Wilson. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>But all this says nothing to the argument in my post; in that post, I
linked to a particular post of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wilson</st1:place></st1:City>’s
and the discussion that followed on his blog. This is directly about the
R.C. Sproul Jr. scandal and the CREC’s recent involvement in it (as well
as <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Wilson</st1:City></st1:place>’s
original rhetorical tainting of the process on his own blog). This is an
issue that has gone on public record, and it is something to which a entire
denomination has made a judicial ruling, promulgated publicly. The CREC’s
involvement with this issue has been judicial in nature (despite their claims
to the contrary) and the CREC has presented its decisions and findings to the
public. All the simple questions being asked of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Wilson</st1:place></st1:City> are with respect to these public
documents and the clear questions the CREC’s public commentary has raised.
This is also about the extreme moral failings of an internationally famous
religious leader, which makes explanation all the more important. The
CREC’s decision is on the face of it ludicrous and the questions being
asked are with respect to the most basic public facts of the matter. Also,
numerous claims from the CREC have been clearly false when compared to the public
record. The many concerns people have about all this is entirely justified
and to be expected. I would recommend that you continue to follow all of
this very closely. <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wilson</st1:place></st1:City>’s
subterfuge and refusal to address simple questions has led to some spectacular
exchanges over the last couple weeks on his Blog, which I have been tracking on
Pooh’s Think. It has also caused him to threaten further censorship on
his blog and it has resulted in him kicking Kevin Johnson off his blog. The
injustice and the boy’s-club politics in the Kirk has now hit the
national scene.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Michael Metzler <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Mike Metzler approvingly
quotes the following comment at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Wilson</st1:City></st1:place>'s
blog: "The elder should be in the position because he is able to explain,
explain, explain, not hide, hide, hide."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Metzler's whole post
misrepresents what an elder's obligations are.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Actually, ideally, an elder
should be both good at explaining and also at hiding, because there are some
things that should be revealed and some things that should be hidden. Generally
the same person will be good at doing both. And not only are not all things to
be explained, what needs to be explained or hidden will vary depending on the
other party and the circumstances.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>To take a very extreme
example, but one which illustrates my point well, am I under any obligation to
explain to a would-be kidnapper that I have have hidden my children in the
closet, and that I have a concealed weapon with which I am about to kill him?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>A less extreme example: am I
under any obligation to explain to my neighbors how much money I earn? Am I
under any obligation to explain to a would-be suitor of my daughter why my
daughter and her mother and father do not welcome his romantic attentions?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>Even in my family not
everyone has a right to an explanation about everything that's going on. There
are plenty of things I am perfectly entitled to keep from my children if I so
choose.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>So how about in a church?
There are plenty of things that go on in a church that require confidentiality.
Not every church member has a right to know how the pastor is counseling other
church members. There are plenty of decisions that can be made by the church
leadership without explaining to the congregation why they did what they did.
And there are plenty more things about which the church leadership is obliged
to explain to the church members, but not to persons outside the church.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>So, simply because somebody
wants to receive an explanation from Doug Wilson about something does not mean
that they are entitled to an explanation. "It depends."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>If Doug Wilson was a supreme
court justice, he would have to explain about all his decisions. But he's not a
supreme court justice. He's a pastor of one church, and his obligation to
explain his decisions to persons outside that church are considerably more
limited than a lot of people would like to imagine.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>-- Princess Sushitushi<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>_________________________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>=====================================================<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
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<a href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>====================================================<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><font size=2 face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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