Beyond Resonable Doubt

A friend of mine recently posted on his Facebook page the following quote from Plato:

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."

I am, from what I can gather, now the official "black sheep" of the family.  To some in my family I must be unredeemable.  I have left the IFB (Independent Fundamental Baptist) fold, and I make no attempts to hide my displeasure with my former life and the influences therein.  There are some in my family who will quietly agree with much of why I am opposed to the IFB, but they also believe that I have gone to the extreme and judge the whole based a "few" isolated bad experiences. 

Well, if you read my earlier posts, I must admit to making quite a defense to distinguish between good IFB churches and bad IFB churches.  However, I have come to believe that there are far fewer good ones then there are bad ones.  Yes, the laws of statistics say that there must be some that are good.  I will grant that.  But I believe the whole system is rotten.  I will now attempt to explain why I stand against the entire system.

Rational Numbers

Fundamentalism began as a movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s as a means to counter Liberal theology, to whit the denial of miracles, the denial of the inerrancy of the Bible, the denial of the virgin birth, attacks on the deity of Christ, and attacks on the blood atonement.  Classical fundamentalism, as I call it, is comprised of the following tenets:

1. The deity and virgin birth of Jesus Christ
2. The substitutionary blood atonement for sin on the cross by Jesus Christ
3. The physical death, physical burial, and physical resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day
4. The physical and imminent return of Jesus Christ
5. The inerrancy of the Word of God, the Bible

However,  classical fundamentalism was to be short-lived.  The 1920s saw a rise of a new kind of fundamentalist - the Social Crusader.  Men like Billy Sunday and others used their crusades to preach against things and champion causes rather than proclaim the Grace of God.  They mistakenly believed that targeting perceived societal ills was the best way to further the Kingdom.  Unfortunately, they effectively, and perhaps unwittingly, brought about an overthrow of the core principles on which classical fundamentalism was built, the greatest pillar being purity of doctrine.  Such crusading replaced the pure Word of God with the teachings of men. 

Since the time when such men hijacked fundamentalism, fundamentalism began to deteriorate.  Schools like BJC (Bob Jones College, later to become Bob Jones University) sprang up in the '30s. BJC was not the first, nor would it be the last. The landscape of the USA is dotted with such institutions, both large and small.  Such schools were started as places to teach the Truth because it was believed that there were few schools left to provide an alternative to schools which would attempt to lead young men and women away from the paths of righteousness.  But by the '50s, classical fundamentalism was long dead, and what began as institutions to counter liberalism and train men to proclaim the whole counsel of God had finished morphing into institutions which taught the counsel of man as the counsel of God.  Law replaced Grace, and independent baptist fundamentalism was already long on the road in straying from the heart of God while claiming to do otherwise.

So, for the sake of argument, let me assume that, from 1950 to 2010, 1000 people per year graduated from all of the various fundamentalist colleges and universities and entered the ministry.  That would mean that there are 60,000 men, trained in varying degrees of error, which occupy pulpits domestically and abroad, past and present, teaching the same doctrines of men they themselves learned.  Let us also not forget the hundreds of thousands of non-ministerial graduates during this time who also learned the same, who also attend these churches, as well as multipled hundreds of thousands of souls added to these churches through proselytizing.  These graduates and proselytes married, had children, and raised these children in the same environment and sent them to the same schools where these children learned the same error or a more intensified version of that error. This cycle has continued without breaking, entrapping successive generations into greater error.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics, or the Law of Entropy, states that everything deteriorates over time.  The same is true in theology. Theology will deteriorate in direct proportion to the level at which man has removed his eyes from Truth.  As man begins to interject more and more of his own ideas and flawed interpretations into what he calls truth, the less room there is for God, through the Holy Spirit, to guide men into His Truth.  Their minds are made up, and no one, even God Himself, can tell them differently.  The IFB have truly embraced homo mensura.

Compelling Testimony

Second, since THE 20/20 episode, I am not sure if two weeks haven't gone by without my seeing another story from some local paper or credible news center about an IFB pastor, youth pastor, children's home worker, deacon, or whatever being arrested for sexual assault, sexual exploitation of a minor, physical abuse, or other criminal acts.  The problem is not among just a few churches.  There are countless hundreds who have spoken out about the abuse they suffered, from many, many different churches.  Click the link to see some stats on rape from www.rainn.org. 

I will not call the abused victims.  They are targets.  The connotation of being a victim can imply that what happened to the abused had no way of being prevented, such as the victims of a tornado or earthquake. It can also run the painful risk of attributing unavoidable chance, rather than choice, to the abuser, as often seems the case.  Rather, referring to the abused as targets much more cleanly assigns the blame on to the human refuse who deliberately chose to abuse the innocent. 

I have read many testimonials from women and men who were sexually abused, physically abused, emotionally and psychologically abused, at these churches and church schools and other IFB parachurch organizations by men and leaders in these places, and those that found the courage to speak up were often blamed for causing it, then the matter got covered up and NEVER reported to the police.  And these are not just oddball churches in the backwoods of Kentucky or the backwater swamps of Louisiana.  These are often good-sized, outwardly respectable ministries with decent sized congregations and with preachers well known in their circles. 

There are many churches and church schools that have an internal investigation policy to "test" the veracity of any abuse claims to protect against fraudulent claims and needless damage to the reputation of the accused and/or of the ministry, many times in contraveyance of the law which often requires immediate reporting to the authorities.  My understanding is that this reporting is often required by the person who learned of the abuse.  But some of these polices have an internal reporting structure which may illegally prevent the matter from reaching the police and/or child protective services because the internal "findings" side with the abuser and not the target. The target's testimony is often dismissed. The testimony of an adult is almost always taken over that of child or young person, and the target is then further punished, even abused, for "lying."  There is very seldom any justice for targets while they remain in the system.

Most of the targets who finally came forward to speak about the horrors they suffered at the hands of someone who was considered to be an "upstanding" member of the church have done so out of a desire to help those who are still trapped inside those hellish institutions.  They gain very little in any legal sense because they often keep silent for years, even decades, and finally get the courage to speak out after the statute of limitations has run out.  But they are coming forward to try to encourage those who may still be suffering, that there are those who understand, who walked in their shoes, and that there is help.  For those who are still recent targets, justice may yet still be served.  Those responsible for inflicting such harm on the innocent may yet be brought to justice.  Even if the human debris cannot be brought to justice, the survivors can at least raise awareness and name names, and civil pressure and penalties can yet be exacted even if criminal ones cannot.  

The Sins of Sodom

How does Sodom and Gomorrah come into play when talking about the IFB and reasons that I oppose them? I realize that it is relatively clear that homosexuality is something that is usually NOT attributed to the IFB.  Bear with me, and all will be made clear, or at least as clear as I can make it.

Let me start off by saying that I am not a homophobe.  I've been around a fair number.  I met one that made me sick to my stomach, but that may have been more me than him.  I have met others, and know a few more, that are perfectly lovely people.  I am sure I have met many, many that I never even knew what their sexual orientation was.  And you know what? I really don't care.

There are obvious reasons why people automatically think of homosexuality when discussing Sodom and Gomorrah.  I will attempt to dispel them right now.


The real sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were not homosexuality.  Oh, there were certainly practitioners of it, but they were not destroyed because of it.  There are greater sins than homosexuality.  Ezekiel 16:49-50 states, "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. 50 Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it. (NASB)"

Isaiah 1:17, in the context of God condemning Israel by comparing them to Sodom and Gomorrah, states "Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. (NASB)" This verse seems to implicate that Sodom and Gomorrah perverted justice, reveled in the ruthless, oppressed the orphan, and despised the widow.

Their gross immorality, which did included their homosexuality, was a symptom of far greater sins - pride, and the lack of love and compassion, which translates to the rejection of the sanctity of life.  In Proverbs 6:16-19, the writer says "There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, 19 A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers. (NASB)"  I don't see homosexuality in that list, unless it can be included in the wicked plans and rapid feet.  I do see deceit, the intentional causation of discord, murder, excessive pride, and a ready willingness to plan and execute wickedness and evil.  All of these I see as sins against a fellow bearer of the image of God, as a violation of the sanctity of life.

However, all of this I do see within the greater ranks of the IFB churches and their parachurch organizations.  I see those who should be protected being abused and trodden under foot.  I see those in need of help being rejected.  I see those in leadership protecting evildoers.  I see the innocent lied about.  I see rampant and malicious gossip used as a weapon of retaliation against someone who speaks up about evil in the church.  I see the wicked threats of harm and horrid diatribes against those who would stand and see the church reformed.  I see self-righteousness which rivals that of the Pharisees.  I see the promotion of the worship of human leaders.  I see the promotion of the worship of a book rather than the God who caused the writing of that book.  I see incredible pride. 

It was pride and the utterly self-absorbed nature of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah that drew God's wrath. 

So, for whom will it go better on Judgment Day - Sodom and Gomorrah who did not have the Truth to tell them right from wrong, or for the leadership of the IFB, who have the Truth but refuse to abide by it, choosing rather to serve there own selves over the needs of others, all in the name of Truth?

* * *

I will not go so far as to say that those who are caught in the system are all inherently evil, pastors and parishioners alike.  No, I am not speaking in terms of soteriology and hamartiology.  I know what the Bible says about man's natural state.  I speak in terms of human-human interaction.  Yes, there are many evil persons within the IFB, but are they evil because they are what they are, such as sociopathic, or are they evil because they are products of a corrupt system? 

Perhaps a combination.  The strong independent nature of the IFB, rejecting any notion of any kind of oversight and accountability, is a natural draw and breeding ground for predators.  It is a safe environment for them, and since the IFB often demand absolute loyalty, unquestioned, it is easy to manipulate and coverup predatory behavior.

Even though I believe there to be many sociopaths within the IFB, I believe there are far more that are merely products of a system which has been corrupted for generations. They are only behaving and acting according to the logical conclusions of what they have been taught.  There are a lot of otherwise good people who say and do and believe monstrous things because they have been deceived into believing that those things are right and proper.  They do not question what they have been taught because they have been taught not to question.

I am not angry at people.  I am angry at the system that enslaves them and holds them in spiritual bondage.  I am angry at the system which seems to allow for abuse to go unchecked and unpunished.  I am angry at the system which seems to breed abusers and abuse.  I am angry at the blasphemy of God's wonderful name by those who claim to love and follow Him.