Welcome to The Gospel™ Corp’s “Blocked” Party: The Gospel Coalition Loses This Round

"When I was in charge of the Christian Coalition I was available to mobilize grass roots support for somebody." Pat Robertson link

http://rowdiejones.com/about/

There are a bunch of clever parodies on Twitter these days. Our current favorite is The Gospel™ Corp link. The Deebs may, or may not, know the principal behind this wonderful example of gospel™ parody. Some parodies are written by supportive individuals to poke fun at causes they themselves support. Others are written by those who are not fans of certain groups or individuals and use humor to bring focus to the underlying issues. We leave it for you to determine which best describes The Gospel™ Corp.

 The Gospel™ Corp: Coalitionizing for the sovereign delight of the young, restless & reformed-ish. Curating incarnational missional City™ Stuff™

The Gospel™ Corp tweets are starting to get play in rather interesting places. Take, for example, the Pyromaniacs post Some here, Some there. This post incorporated three tweets. Here is one.

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Back around the time of the shocking Grant Layman testimony in the Nate Morales trial, a number of people were tweeting @TGC and asking them if they were going to walk back their statement of support for CJ Mahaney. Many of these Tweeters used the #IStandWithSGMVictims. The boys at TGC were not amused and began blocking what appeared to be a significant number of folks.

In case you do not think that TGC had an agenda, let me disabuse you of that notion immediately. Dee was challenged on Twitter by Joe Carter and our exchange drew the attention of the Christian Post. I was accused, by Joe Carter, of slander, smearing, etc. due to my unwavering support of those who filed the lawsuit against Mahaney and SGM, alleging cover-up of child sex abuse. From the TGC website:

Joe Carter is an editor for The Gospel Coalition and the co-author of How to Argue Like Jesus: Learning Persuasion from History’s Greatest Communicator.

Soon, it became a thing of honor, across a wide swath of individuals, to be blocked by TGC. And, of course, your adorable blogger was amongst those to be blocked. (Are we on trend or what?)  

Screen Shot 2014-09-15 at 11.26.04 AM

This past weekend, The Gospel™Corp held a "Blocked" Party.

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So, thanks to @rowdie_jones, we now have a badge of honor for those with a good sense of gospel™ activism who have confronted issues like child sex abuse, authoritarian leadership, and self-serving gospel™ interpretation. We are going to put it on our home page. Please feel free to use this badge if you, too, have become a member of the #TGCBlockedParty or #BlockedbyTGC.

If you have not yet had the honor of being blocked, it's really not so hard. They are rather thin-skinned over at TGC. Tweet them about one of their officially coalitionized BFFs, add the #IStandWithSGMVictims, and you, too, will become a member of this elite gospel-ish coalition. Wait about a day, go on over to @TGC and hit the follow button. It will likely inform you that you have been blocked unless they see this post and realize that they are embarrassing themselves.

To make matters even funnier, here is a comment by one guy who was blocked and claims he never followed them! So, the coalitionizing boys are now doing prophylaxis™ blocking. This guy must be real trouble! (He has been known to visit TWW!)

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Please let us know, either in this comment section, or others, if you, too, can proudly wear the "Proudly Blocked by TGC" badge!

Note to TGC: When some parody accounts start, especially one as funny as this, it is worth paying attention. 

Note to The Gospel™ Corp: long may you reign! Well done!

Lydia's Corner: Zechariah 10:1-11:17 Revelation 18:1-24 Psalm 146:1-10 Proverbs 30:33

Comments

Welcome to The Gospel™ Corp’s “Blocked” Party: The Gospel Coalition Loses This Round — 104 Comments

  1. As usual, these guys (TGC) are funnier^H^H^H^H^H more ridiculaous than any parody can ever try to be.

    an First?

  2. In other news, tonight’s breaded chicken with roast parsnips and sweet potatoes were very good indeed, thanks for asking. The white chocolate and vanilla layer sponge wasn’t too bad either…

    Did I mention we’re just awa’ tae the gym? Guilt has nu’hun tae dae wi’it, I assure you.

    burp

  3. Would someone care (dare!) to venture over to SBCVoices, read the article about “how much to pay the preacher”, read the comments, and get back to me with your take?

    I admit right out of the gate I found it bone/soul chilling for SBC preachers to be discussing and lamenting that they haven’t closed the gate of ordination to those not jumping through the right educational hoops, thus lowering the pay scale. Talk of how that ought to be under pastoral control, as in we who want the job decide how few can apply for the job thus running up the price.

    Who’d a thunk it! Here I thought local SBC churches were autonomous and thus could set the requirements for their pastor themselves.

  4. There is also a fake John Piper account as well. Hmmmmm…I wonder who it can be, but the Fake John Piper account hasn’t been active. The Fake John Piper was about to issue an edict calling for the death of that infamous heretic Greg Boyd. :-p

  5. senecagriggs yahoo wrote:

    Oh, I’ve been blocked; TWW and a couple of other “discernment blogs.”
    *
    Do I get a badge? No?
    *
    A little hypocrisy on your part Dee?

    Oh look, your comment has been approved.

    Seneca,

    You and our regular commenters know full well that there have been numerous occasions when you did not abide by the rules for commenting here at TWW. And that is why you were temporarily banned.

    But you keep coming back, and we keep allowing your comments. Wonder if that ever happens on the Calvinista blogs that you love.

  6. @ linda:

    That is a very pastor-centric blog. Blogging has let us pew sitters in on some thinking we would have never guessed was in the pulpits.

  7. Deb wrote:

    senecagriggs yahoo wrote:
    Oh, I’ve been blocked; TWW and a couple of other “discernment blogs.”
    *
    Do I get a badge? No?
    *
    A little hypocrisy on your part Dee?
    Oh look, your comment has been approved.
    Seneca,
    You and our regular commenters know full well that there have been numerous occasions when you did not abide by the rules for commenting here at TWW.

    That’s actually a crock Dee. Whenever I have made a comment you don’t like you simply dream up a new rule to block me.
    *

  8. Lydia–amen to that!

    We’ve been pretty much out of the pastor system for about a year now. Occasionally we do pop in and visit for special occasions–communion once in a while, or Christmas or Easter.

    Amazing how healthy and strong the church is once you eliminate the power trip, and the whole career thing.

    Still investigating some forms of Anabaptist with some friends in that, and Christ centered Quaker practices. The latter is unaffiliated with any meeting.

  9. Julie Anne

    Of course you are blocked. I wouldn’t dream thay such a brave, thoughtful, truthful woman like yourself would ever be accepted by TGC. 

  10. senecagriggs yahoo wrote:

    That’s actually a crock Dee. Whenever I have made a comment you don’t like you simply dream up a new rule to block me.

    Oh Jimmy, as far as I recall almost everything that has ever had you temporarily banned has broken the prime directive. It’s hardly a hidden agenda. Remember that one do you? PUT THE VICTIMS FIRST. Not to your taste, I know, but it’s hardly a secret or a new rule here.

    Talk about a crock.

  11. I feel I could make an educated guess as to the identity of the most marvellous TheGospel(TM) Corp twitterati…I feel like I have come across that flavour of intelligent satire before but will mention no names.

  12. Seneca, judging by some of the comments of yours that have been posted, I would hate to see the ones that were withheld. The criterion cannot possibly be whether or not Dee and Deb like them.

  13. Beakerj wrote:

    I feel I could make an educated guess as to the identity of the most marvellous TheGospel(TM) Corp twitterati…I feel like I have come across that flavour of intelligent satire before but will mention no names.

    You’re very kind, Beaks, but no – it isn’t me.

  14. Nick Bulbeck wrote:

    Beakerj wrote:
    I feel I could make an educated guess as to the identity of the most marvellous TheGospel(TM) Corp twitterati…I feel like I have come across that flavour of intelligent satire before but will mention no names.
    You’re very kind, Beaks, but no – it isn’t me.

    I laughed when I wrote this…I knew it wasn’t you & I knew you’d know that, but comment anyway. You haz a slightly different flavour 🙂 P.S. Depending on how Thursday goes, it was nice knowing you.

  15. heads up on the current SBCvoices article on spanking children . . . some of the article is shocking, and when I tried to clarify with question its meaning, I was sent an e-mail telling me to ‘read the article’ . . .

    the difficult part to understand? this: “I also realized that there was an enemy dwelling in them that would destroy them if I did not do battle against it.”

    a re-reading of the article just increased the confusion . . .

  16. TGC blocking those who disgree and refusing to engage the issues is the Twitter equivalent of covering your ears and saying “Na, na, na, na, na, na…..”

  17. senecagriggs yahoo wrote:

    Oh, I’ve been blocked; TWW and a couple of other “discernment blogs.”
    *
    Do I get a badge? No?
    *
    A little hypocrisy on your part Dee?

    Not really, I think their point is not that certain individuals ought not be blocked, it’s that they’re being blocked for the cause of doing the right thing. That’s just not hypocrisy.

  18. I have not honor of being blocked, but TGC did delete a comment of mine. The first time I thought it didn’t go through so I reposted it. Nope, it was truly deleted. Oh well, I was just trying to advance the conversation. Perhaps they considered me trollish, though.

  19. Thanks for alerting us to the new SBC Voices article, Christiane. I strongly disagree with the article but then I am doubly damned; I am one of those awful sociologists and I was raised with reasoning and withdrawal of privileges for misbehavior. Like most children, I loved my parents and I wanted to please them. Feeling that I had disappointed them was all the punishment I needed.

  20. Seneca
    2 comments not approved. It is just more of Seneca whining that he doesn’t get his comments approved. This post is about a subject-not about Seneca who’s presence is an example of the long-suffering and hopeful nature of Dee. Seneca-either discuss the subject at hand or get lost. This blog is not about you.

  21. senecagriggs yahoo wrote:

    That’s actually a crock Dee. Whenever I have made a comment you don’t like you simply dream up a new rule to block me.

    I might actually feel a little bit sorry for you sometimes, buddy, but you do such a GREAT job of feeling sorry for yourself! 🙂

  22. Christiane wrote:

    heads up on the current SBCvoices article on spanking children . . . some of the article is shocking, and when I tried to clarify with question its meaning, I was sent an e-mail telling me to ‘read the article’ . . .
    the difficult part to understand? this: “I also realized that there was an enemy dwelling in them that would destroy them if I did not do battle against it.”
    a re-reading of the article just increased the confusion . . .

    One of my lawyer buddies wondered how quickly the religious pro-spanking group would come out with both barrels. I guess we know.

    I’ve seen too many people over the past few days who excused the whipping Adrian Peterson’s son got with a “Well, I was whipped” or “Spare the rod and spoil the child.” I was whipped when I was a kid and it did not improve my moral condition. All it did was turn me into a better liar.

    This is the deal–if you did to an adult what Adrian Peterson did to his child, criminal charges could be filed for assault and battery. But a child is somehow different, a child can be beaten (as long as you don’t leave marks or the marks can’t be seen) and it’s not a crime.

    I am flatly opposed to whipping or beating children. I think parents should not just have the right to haul out the rod or the switch or the 1/4 inch plumbing line when Johnny or Janie disobeys. There’s something terribly wrong about a society that not only has no problem with whipping, but encourages it and teaches people how to do it without attracting the attention of law enforcement. (I’m looking at you, Pearls.)

    Sorry to rant, but I feel very strongly about this.

  23. dee wrote:

    What are you thought?

    I’m not Jenny, but I’ll tell you my thoughts. MacDonald is a first class creep. This is a guy with who knows what salary, with a well-known high-stakes gambling habit, lives in a multi-million dollar mansion, and tells his congregants to go on food stamps so they can give more. “Sacrificial giving”, he calls it. Have you ever listened to “Walk in the Word”?

    I’ve said it time and again, and I’ll say it one more time. Why to people enable this blatant self-aggandizement? It is so weird…

  24. @ dee:

    From the CT article:

    “Although the remaining elders of Harvest agreed to the need for such discipline, we almost immediately realized that we erred in the manner in which it was done and in what it implied,” said MacDonald.

    Isn’t that like Wyle E. Coyote saying he and his buddies agreed that the Road Runners needed killing, but the 5000 lb. anvil they used for the job was, in hindsight, a little too heavy?

  25. @ mirele:

    I think they must just take letters written by the organization explaining that their finances are good to go as their standard of compliance. It seems a sad joke to me.

  26. senecagriggs yahoo wrote:

    senecagriggs yahoo wrote:

    That’s actually a crock Dee. Whenever I have made a comment you don’t like you simply dream up a new rule to block me.
    *

    Jimmy, you are soooo full of yourself that you completely missed the fact you were replying to DEB. Not DEE.

    Also, I have the pleasure and privilege to be among those invited to the #TGCBockedParty. Now, what’s our platform? (Stand with the victims? That would be a good one!)

  27. There is no excuse for Peterson. Last year his two year old son (by yet another woman) was murdered by his mother’s new boyfriend who was supposedly only trying to ‘discipline’ him. How many sons need to die or be injured before Peterson rethinks his position on violent ‘discipline?’

  28. Tikatu wrote:

    Jimmy, you are soooo full of yourself that you completely missed the fact you were replying to DEB. Not DEE.

    Thanks for noticing. I caught it as well and just let it slide because Seneca is one of the most self-centered commenters I have ever come across. He represents his 'tribe' well. 😉

  29.   __

    “A New Frontier?”

    hmmm…

      These are the voyages of the Wartburg Watch. Its mission: to explore strange abusive religious 501(C)3 worlds, to seek out the  victims of these abusive religious systems, and offer them new life and a bright new awareness, to boldly go where few churches have gone before!

  30. I haven’t been blocked by these clowns, since I’m not on Twitter. But I did have one of my comments deleted by them. I just posted the details on the “deleted comment” thread. No real surprises there.

    Do I still get a consolation prize? 😉

  31. senecagriggs yahoo wrote:

    Oh, I’ve been blocked; TWW and a couple of other “discernment blogs.”
    *
    Do I get a badge? No?

    Jimmy, you don’t get a badge, and you don’t get our sympathy. You just get more and more obnoxious.

    Still, if you’re feeling so left out, I’ve got an idea for you: Make your own badge! 🙂

    There’s nothing stopping you; after all, you’ve got your own blog. Just design your own little graphic saying how you’ve been blocked by the Deebs, and display it on your website with pride. Who knows? You might even start your own trend. Meet other folks that have been given the boot for their callousness. Mind you, I can’t promise that you’ll enjoy their company…

  32. roebuck wrote:

    MacDonald is a first class creep….tells his congregants to go on food stamps so they can give more. “Sacrificial giving”, he calls it.

    Ugh. Shades of Scientology’s “registrars”, whose job it is to hit up their fellow Scientologists for “donations”. And to never take “no” for an answer. “Increase your credit rating! Sign up for more credit cards! Take out a third mortgage! Hand over the kids’ education trust!! How dare you say ‘no’!? It’s for the greatest good!”

  33. roebuck wrote:

    dee wrote:
    What are you thought?
    I’m not Jenny, but I’ll tell you my thoughts. MacDonald is a first class creep. This is a guy with who knows what salary, with a well-known high-stakes gambling habit, lives in a multi-million dollar mansion, and tells his congregants to go on food stamps so they can give more. “Sacrificial giving”, he calls it. Have you ever listened to “Walk in the Word”?
    I’ve said it time and again, and I’ll say it one more time. Why to people enable this blatant self-aggandizement? It is so weird…

    Not weird, just the psychology of a cult member. Three types I’ve noted:

    1). The Wounded: People who feel like broken glass inside because of abuse they’ve suffered, often in formative years, so they can’t very easily take kindness, gentleness, self-control, etc. from others, especially their church leaders; in some way they need the abuse, it’s easier to deal with that when people exhibit fruits of the Spirit. My wife has a very close friend who has been in and out of abusive churches for years, who fits this profile precisely–she feels like junk, therefore she wants to be treated like junk, is only now after several years able to accept unconditional kindness from my wife. If she were in Mac’s church, she’d be all over the “sacrificial giving” concept.

    2). The Abuser-Apprentices: Those who are willing to put up with it so that they can attain a goal. They want to become Big Things themselves, head up a megachurch and score a megamansion, they’re learning at the feet of the master and are willing to endure anything towards that end. Included generally in this category I’d throw in the greedy who think if they catch the coat tails of the right prosperity king, they can become prosperous themselves.

    3). The Confused: I used to be in this category. You get into a church impressed with the passion and all the nice people and you buy into the love bombs and then you spend the next year or so more and more confused by the abuse you see. “Wha? I don’t get it…” Eventually category 3 moves on, either quietly or with a confrontational bang.

  34. Law Prof wrote:

    2). The Abuser-Apprentices: Those who are willing to put up with it so that they can attain a goal. They want to become Big Things themselves, head up a megachurch and score a megamansion, they’re learning at the feet of the master and are willing to endure anything towards that end. Included generally in this category I’d throw in the greedy who think if they catch the coat tails of the right prosperity king, they can become prosperous themselves.

    There is a subgroup on this one. I saw them all the time in megas. They want to be near the power throne because it gives them credibility in other places.

    Another variation on this is why you often see business leaders, sports figures, local media people join megas. Why would they need that? it becomes a club of sorts. They give money and PR and they in return get some sort of spiritual street cred covering. It is like a spiritual/business success club of sorts.

    A lot of people out there are impressed with “success” so this works. And mega churches project “success”. Rick Warren was often fond of making sure people knew that nothing succeeds like success in his hey day. He viewed the bigness of Saddleback with God’s blessing it. It never occured to him he was packaging a product and selling it?

    McDonald likely dined out on the success bit for a long time. People tend to view it as “from God”. Amazing how much that thinking permeates Christendom. God gets blamed for a lot of bad stuff!

  35. linda wrote:

    Amazing how healthy and strong the church is once you eliminate the power trip, and the whole career thing.

    Exactly!

  36. Senenca Griggs has had one more comment not approved. He complains about us not letting him whine about how he is treated here. He has taught me much about the spiriatual gift of long-suffering.

  37. @ dee:
    Dee:

    Any thoughts as to why he even comments here? He seems to me to be like a needy child who wants attention.

  38. I haven’t been to the The Gospel (TM) Coalition website in a while, as the level of scripture-twisting disguised as scholarship accompanied by high-fives of commenters were both maddening and academically sickening. I have made comments in the past that disappeared but after reading this post yesterday I really wanted to earn that coveted seal! So I checked in there, and the most recent post was this:

    http://thegospelcoalition.org/article/a-little-greek-can-be-a-big-distraction

    That’s right! Don’t attempt actual word studies unless you’re seminary (TM) trained! Only then can you be trusted with God’s word! Just use your ESV and listen to us! And then the author refers the reader to DA Carson’s commentary, as the ultimate study tool.

    Just when I thought they couldn’t sink lower, the bar just fell to the ground.

  39. Janet Varin wrote:

    That’s right! Don’t attempt actual word studies unless you’re seminary (TM) trained! Only then can you be trusted with God’s word! Just use your ESV and listen to us!

    These the same guys who denounce Romanist Priestcraft and Romish Priests lording it over the laity?

  40. dee wrote:

    Senenca Griggs has had one more comment not approved. He complains about us not letting him whine about how he is treated here.

    Seneca Griggs is red, round, and puckery.

  41. mirele wrote:

    One of my lawyer buddies wondered how quickly the religious pro-spanking group would come out with both barrels. I guess we know.

    Don’t forget “Christian Domestic Discipline(TM)”…

  42. Christiane wrote:

    the difficult part to understand? this: “I also realized that there was an enemy dwelling in them that would destroy them if I did not do battle against it.”

    Not that difficult to understand.
    In one word: “SATAN(TM)!”
    Just beating the DEEEEEMONs out of them like any good little Witchfinder-General.

  43. Jenny wrote:

    Isn’t that like Wyle E. Coyote saying he and his buddies agreed that the Road Runners needed killing, but the 5000 lb. anvil they used for the job was, in hindsight, a little too heavy?

    You of course remember Wile E’s only speaking role, when “Wile E Coyote, SUPER GENIUS(TM)” went after Bugs Bunny with predictible results:

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

  44. Christiane wrote:

    “I also realized that there was an enemy dwelling in them that would destroy them if I did not do battle against it.”

    Regardless of the rights and wrongs of spanking (personally, I don’t) – that’s errant theology right there.

  45. @ Headless Unicorn Guy:
    By all means break the will of these children so they will always obey what they are told to do. I am a strong willed person and I think it drove my mom mad. I think she tried to beat the strong will out of me but was not successful.

    But remember they use the Bible to support these spankings and the scriptures are clear about using that rod–sarcasm alert.

  46. Janet Varin wrote:

    Just use your ESV and listen to us! And then the author refers the reader to DA Carson’s commentary, as the ultimate study tool.

    It’s a ridiculous little article, not least because the ESV is a shoddy, second-rate, Reformed-leaning translation – and ironically even Don Carson prefers the NIV.

    Note that the author in his bio ‘wants nothing more than to help people know Jesus through vibrant study of Scripture’. Sure, as long as you don’t have the audacity to engage in ‘vibrant study of Scripture’ independently.

  47. If no one here appreciates my triple “First!”-achievement, I’ll block you all and suck up to TGC. 😉

    OTOH, the mere thought of that gives me indigestion.

  48. linda wrote:

    Would someone care (dare!) to venture over to SBCVoices, read the article about “how much to pay the preacher”, read the comments, and get back to me with your take?

    Google states that the “SBCVoices” site may be hacked and recommends that the site not be visited. Pages on the site may have been modified.

  49. May wrote:

    Note that the author in his bio ‘wants nothing more than to help people know Jesus through vibrant study of Scripture’.

    I haven’t read the article, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he means that
     He understands that a vibrant study of Scripture (as good a phrase as any) is one necessary ingredient in a strong walk with God, and
     There are other ingredients, perhaps better taught by others, but he has a knack when it comes to urging people to engage for themselves in a vibrant study of scripture

  50. Nick Bulbeck wrote:

    he has a knack when it comes to urging people to engage for themselves in a vibrant study of scripture

    Yet the aim of the whole article is to discourage ‘the dumb sheep’ from consulting Greek dictionaries and trying to work things out using their own little brains, diddums. No folk, just trust us Big Guys to deal with the heavyweight Greek stuff – we’ll explain it all to you. You just stick to your ESV and a D.A. Carson study guide.

  51. For a slightly different look at an interesting question, let me say that I do think that “a little greek” could well be a distraction or worse. Just like a little medical knowledge sometimes leads to delays in diagnosis and treatment while the patient self-diagnoses and lets the condition get worse.

    I never found that “a little” anything was too good an idea. However, I do think that everybody can access plenty of scholarship (even online) to get the opinions of experts in the field and then compare opinions and this way get a much bigger picture of the question at issue than just listening to the local pastor or the “approved” literature. In fact, I think that “thinking people” would be obligated to pursue their questions and research and should not settle for easy answers from the local pulpit. I am not saying anything against those of us who are not seminary trained, but I am wary of “a little” knowledge wherever it is found.

  52. @ mot:
    Perhaps negative attention is better than no attention? As many can attest, I allow Seneca back, time after time, year after year. I would venture to guess we are the only blog that does so. He’ll go off in a snit but then he will return after a cooling off period.

  53. @ May:

    Well, I still haven’t read the article, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he means that people shouldn’t allow a knowledge of Greek to distract them from the leading of the Holy Spirit.

    (your turn…)

  54.   __

    Wartburg Reader,

      The men who give Reverend C.J. Mahaney a vote of confidence, have been placed into a ‘Jezebel Bed with him, by the Almighty.

    huh?

      A ‘Jezebel  Bed’ can ‘generally’ be described as one of spiritual fornication and idol worship.

    What?

      Since it is the Almighty Himself, who has placed them into this ‘Bed’ for His own purposes, it is doubtful that these men, so divinely determined, will extricate themselves until the price that put them there, is paid in full. 

    Please pray that God’s mercy is shown.

    Heaven help them.

    (sadface)

    Sopy

  55. Nick Bulbeck wrote:

    @ Nick Bulbeck:
    Just to dispel any unclarity, I should say that I’m being less than entirely serious here…
    Anyone else out there I can give the benefit of the doubt to while I’m at it?

    I’ll take some, please! I always need benefit of the doubt . . .

  56. I assume I’ll get banned. I just saw this tweet from TGC and replied:

    “@TGC: What if the sinners in hell were allowed to take a bus ride to heaven?” I assume the M Driscoll bus would run them over first @TWW

  57. Nancy wrote:

    I am not saying anything against those of us who are not seminary trained, but I am wary of “a little” knowledge wherever it is found.

    I actually agree with you. And the problem with most bible colleges is that graduates come out with just that – a little Greek. I know several who did the obligatory first year then dropped it as soon as they could.

  58. pk47tech wrote:

    “@TGC: What if the sinners in hell were allowed to take a bus ride to heaven?”

    Been done. C.S.Lewis, The Great Divorce.

  59. dee wrote:

    @ Tim:
    They are itching to block you. Let us know when it happens.

    I might be too small a fish to gain their notice. Oh well.

  60. Gus wrote:

    If no one here appreciates my triple “First!”-achievement, I’ll block you all and suck up to TGC. 😉

    Ah, but the rules have changed. You’ve got to rack up a few firsts in successive posts before you get back slapped and head patted. And traditionally, it’s all about appearing humble while you do it, naturalment (tongue is firmly embedded in cheek).

  61. May wrote:

    the problem with most bible colleges is that graduates come out with just that – a little Greek.

    Good point.

  62. I see the Girltalkers are writing a new book. On emotions.

    I suppose they can rely on plenty of plugs from the good old faithful Calvinista gang to drum up sales. True Beauty seems to have done well.

    It would appear that God’s prescribed gender roles have been reversed here and that the female members of the Mahaney clan are actually doing the bread-winning now.

  63. senecagriggs yahoo wrote:

    Whenever I have made a comment you don’t like you simply dream up a new rule to block me.

    Because you’re all about the rules and legalism Mr Jimmy Seneca #gettheetotheSanhedrin

  64. Nick Bulbeck wrote:

    a knowledge of Greek

    Well, I did read the article, and I think the guy missed an important point.

    The media reported that during a relatively recent trip to Israel the pope and Netanyahu had a difference of opinion as to what language Jesus spoke. So somebody got an Israeli linguist (historian?) of renown who is reported to have said that he spoke Aramaic, and noted that his mission was largely to the poorer classes in Galilee and that was the native tongue with that class of people at that time.

    Now, I know that somebody has said that he could read Hebrew since he read the scriptures in the synagogue, and he could speak Greek since he talked to Pilate and understood Pilate (and Pilate would have been speaking Greek) so that sounds reasonable to say also. ( There has been criticism of Mel Gibson for putting Latin in the wrong place in The Passion… but we are not talking about that right now.)

    However, what is the probability that Jesus and Peter, both from Galilee and both from a class which spoke Aramaic as a mother tongue, and having an intensely personal moment would be speaking which language? I am thinking Aramaic.

    The scripture passage in question was written in Greek many years later by whoever actually wrote it down, after being passed along in oral tradition of course. I am thinking that the place to start in thinking about this passage would be in asking the question as to what the author was trying to say when he wrote it down, not in trying to say why Jesus and Peter were using two different Greek words during the conversation. Maybe they weren’t speaking Greek at all. That is a bit of a different question.

  65. Has anyone else seen those “you’re doing it right” faux motivational posters online?

    Wartburg Watch … You’re doing it right.

    I hope that made sense!

  66. JB wrote:

    Has anyone else seen those “you’re doing it right” faux motivational posters online?
    Wartburg Watch … You’re doing it right.
    I hope that made sense!
    </blockquote

    "It" referring to your great blog posts and getting yourself "blocked" from TGC. Cause that means you are doing things right!

    Do avoid a Google search for the "you're doing it right" images, though. A number are not necessarily family friendly.

  67. Haitch wrote:

    And traditionally, it’s all about appearing humble while you do it.

    Will it count at least 50% towards the reqired level of humility if I shave my head, talk about Mohler’s stack a lot and chuckle after every other sentence?

  68. @ Nancy:

    Indeed. Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani was Aramaic and the famous “amen” (normally translated “truly” or, in the KJV, “verily unto thereof”) was apparently Chaldean! If I were a heresy-spotter, I’d call Jesus out for using a cultic language from Babylon, thus proving him a heretic bringing satanic deception through the satanic power of satan. And that, of course, would be an excellent example of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing.

  69. Gus wrote:

    Will it count at least 50% towards the reqired level of humility if I shave my head, talk about Mohler’s stack a lot and chuckle after every other sentence?

    Not unless you have liveried Armorbearers(TM) blowing long trumpets before you to announce how HUMBLE(TM) you are, That You May Be Seen by Men.

  70. Nancy wrote:

    Maybe they weren’t speaking Greek at all. That is a bit of a different question.

    Excellent point! You demonstrate a clarity of thinking that even ‘dumb sheep’ like us Wartburg Watchers can achieve when we put our dull little minds to it! 😉

  71. Christiane wrote:

    the difficult part to understand? this: “I also realized that there was an enemy dwelling in them that would destroy them if I did not do battle against it.”

    That is just bizarre. Sometime Christians sound more like LARPers to me than, you know, “regular” people (no disrespect to LARPers :-).

  72. Dr. Fundystan, Proctologist wrote:

    That is just bizarre. Sometime Christians sound more like LARPers to me than, you know, “regular” people (no disrespect to LARPers :-).

    Long ago I realized that a lot of Spiritual Warfare Types were FRP gamers who wouldn’t admit to it. LARPing along as high-level Clerics and Mages, casting all the rest of us as Orcs and Red Shirts in their never-ending LARP.

    No wonder they targeted D&D during the Satanic Panic of the Eighties. Unwanted competition to their own original RPG.