“My childhood ended around the time of my ninth birthday, shamed into sex, obedience and fear.” ― Billy Childish, My Fault
When I was 22. I accepted a home health job in my home town. What I was not prepared for was child abuse and neglect followup. I dd not get any training in my nursing program that would prepare me for what I would encounter in terms of sexual and physical abuse of children and adults. However, it forced me to get educated in a hurry.
College students should be prepared for the world that they will face upon graduation. They have heard the stories of Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. They are no longer children and should be treated as blossoming adults. Many 18 year old adults become firefighters, EMTs or soldiers. If they are 19, they can become law enforcement officers. CU students will graduate and become involved in their communities and their jobs. They will encounter abuse.
College students need to study and hear about the difficult issues that they will face. Also, there are students today at Cedarville who were molested as children. Think about those who have been abused and are currently silent. Is the following response by Dr White apt to encourage them to seek help or discourage them from ever talking about their pain that Dr White might call *porn?*
Melissa Faulkner is a brave woman for telling this story. She left Cedarville University soon after this experience and is an Associate Professor of English at another university.
(Bold highlights were placed by Dee.)
This is the first time I have ever commented on a blog, and I have never spent much time reading them. As an academic, blogs’ lack of editorial or peer review make me nervous. However, an individual not affiliated with Cedarville University, made me aware of this post, (ed. note: She is referring to Are Some Christian Colleges Like Cedarville University Becoming Dumping Grounds for Fallen Pastors/Theologians Like Anthony Moore? A Guest Post by Todd Wilhelm.)
I feel compelled to reply because I am the professor who assigned the Latina woman’s story of abuse, and have therefore suffered great emotional distress at having caused (I know I didn’t actually cause it, but this is often how victims feel) her re-victimization. The fact that she was not present during her re-victimization brings little comfort to me. I have been locked in internal battle until now about whether or not I should speak up. Despite finding courage in the words of women like Beth Moore, Dannah Gresh, and Karen Swallow Prior,I remained afraid, which should speak to the amount of tyranny Cedarville administration has lorded over faculty and staff in recent years.
What I actually assigned was a several hundred page autobiography of a Puerto Rican woman who dedicated about three pages to a moment when she was sexually abused by an older cousin (on the day of the public shaming, Dr. White actually referenced another problematic scene in a later chapter, but his point was moot and misleading because I had told students to skip that chapter).
The abuse scene truly was difficult to read: the language was crass, with anatomical parts being called by nicknames. The most novice of readers would have recognized this was because she was writing through the POV of an 8-yr-old, the age she was when the abuse took place. Evidently, then AVP, Loren Reno, and President White are less than novice readers. The then AVP called it pornography on more than one occasion (problematic because that totally ignores author’s intent, which is pivotal to one’s ability to read a text through a Christian lens and embraces a postmodern ideology), but Dr. White did worse.
During faculty development days in 2017, Dr. White put this woman’s story of sexual abuse on the overhead screen. He called it profanity and told everyone present to look away from it.
Folks, we can take our most heart breaking stories of abuse to Jesus and spill out every detail and He will never tell us we are dirty and He must look away. Amen and Amen (Ed. note: Lots of Amens from me.) Dr. White clearly meant for this to be a dramatic moment. It was not. It was awkward and sad. Everyone present wondered what in the world Dr. White was trying to do. I was heartbroken, though, because this woman’s story of abuse was being mocked and called profane because of me, because I had assigned her story in an attempt to teach my students the Christian response of empathy. Dr. White clearly had none.
Incidentally, if you turned the page in this beautiful woman’s novel, her memoir, her mother beat her when she learned what happened. That is the most profane part of the story. Yet it was not profane enough to make Thomas White’s supposedly shocking PowerPoint slides. His only interest was the sexual content, not the horrific way sexual abuse is responded to.
I have cried endless tears over the re-victimization of this author. She does not even know it, but than matters not. The day Thomas White, President of Cedarville University, shamed her, many of the 300 or so of us present were also victims of sexual abuse, and we got the message loud and clear. Thankful Jesus does not view us as pornographic.
Today, Julie Roys published Cedarville U Fires Professor With History of Admitted Sexual Abuse, providing some specific information you might interesting….or do I mean infuriating? How could White hire a man that he knew had this paraphilia? More on that next week.
I plan to provide some information on Monday from some insiders at Cedarville University. There are more stories that need to be told.
How can the above story of that poor woman be bad when the Bible itself is full of stories like that .
Life is difficult .
That is such a good point. I just this morning finished reading the book of Judges where the concubine is cut up into twelve pieces and sent all over. It was graphic and sad. Thank you, WW, for continuing to bring these stories into the light.
I ran into the same problem when I was an evangelical, I worked with individuals with profound developmental disabilities. It broke my heart the horror stories that just flowed out of the records we were required to read just to try to understand the person. It has been decades, so I guess it’s alright to share I will be vague anyway out of respect. I will admit, to my eternal shame, that I did ask for prayer when I was an evangelical for the folks I worked with. This one lady I worked with would have episodes where she would hallucinate and at times, use profanity (this was a huge deal for the faith group I was in, it was a salvation issue and it was clear such use was directly from Satan himself, it was almost as bad as masturbation which would damn a soul to eternal hell instantly.)
As a child she was raped so bad her pelvis and back were broken, her hips and back were frozen, so she was in a constant prone/flat position. She would have flashbacks and would scream, and she might use the F word etc. I did not share specifics but mentioned that she would get upset and yell almost uncontrolled. The only response was she (the lady) needed to get saved and repent, she was not loving her neighbor by yelling obscenities and it was blasphemous to use the Lord’s name in vain, she sometimes said gd. She was the sweetest person always smiling etc but when these flashbacks would hit she would really try so hard to come back to reality. It would take hours sometimes to talk with her and calm her down.
Again to my eternal shame I begged God would grant her rest, those prayers were futile at best, again I lay that at my feet for my lack of faith, doubt, personal sin, not fasting long enough, not trusting God, having ulterior motives, wanting attention, asking to much for help, not holding to God’s sovereignty etc. Not understanding this was God’s wrath being poured out of vessels of wrath and so on. Those where the mild retorts. And being the stupid idiot I was I believed them and it terrified me for her and others I worked with. Me not so much God is going to burn me I reconciled myself to that fact decades ago.
Eventually through therapy and medication the episodes were greatly diminished. But therapy and psych meds are of Satan and sowing to the flesh so she was condemned already and the fact that she was Catholic, which gave her great peace during the mass she is on the express train to hell with utterly no hope.
I understand this is irrelevant but its not good news, it really is not.
Not a single elements of this account of Thomas White’s egregious and tone-deaf PowerPoint will come as a surprise to anyone who has worked with him. He is what my dear-departed Irish mother would have called “a banty rooster.” (Google it). It is perhaps all one needs to know that Thomas White’s rise to power was due in large part to his loyalty to Paige Patterson. How Thomas White came to be president of Cedarville University is nearly as much a wonder as the how he remains so.
Chuck,
Excellent thought!
White clearly has NO understanding of sexual abuse nor empathy for the abused.
Thank you for bravely sharing your story, Melissa. Dr. White and VPA Reno clearly were “novice” readers who not only approached a text in a thoughtless manner but also in a cold, insensitive way. As you note, they had no ability to empathize with the suffering of abuse victims. This story reminds us of how Paige Patterson mocked rape victims and sought only to silence them. Indeed, Dr. White re-victimized this author. He also shamed and silenced you–and by extension, any victim of abuse in the room that day. And of course, as we all know, Dr. White is a proud protege of Patterson’s. Such behavior has no place in higher education–or any education for that matter.
“How could White hire a man that he knew had this paraphilia?”
Because White is woefully uninformed on about these issues to the point that he thought Moore counseling with a pastor would be helpful.
Last night, Dever’s flunky Jonathan Leeman unwittingly reminded everyone just how much of a 9Marksist Thomas White is: he twittered that Thomas White has worked for 9Marks, is a 9Marks friend, is a 9Marks guy in every sense:
https://twitter.com/JonathanLeeman/status/1253506429274783744
I had the opportunity to sit in Dr. Faulkner’s Visual Rhetoric class while she was serving as the English Department Chair. She is a brilliant scholar, a bold believer, and a classy woman. Dr. Faulkner encouraged me to think deeply about difficult topics and approach a text with a mind open to diverse perspectives. Her wisdom has been missed in the English Department. I am heartbroken to hear of this remarkably callous presentation and disgraceful discussion. May justice be served swiftly.
Anthony Moore was also a 9 Marks intern under Mark Dever at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington DC.
Mark Dever and close colleagues at 9 Marks had to have known something about the reason Moore was fired from The Village Church (sexual abuse) and may have been complicit in his employment by Thomas White at Cedarville. If not directly complicit, then Mark Dever certainly didn’t raise the alarm (as he should have done) about Moore’s employment at Cedarville.
The authoritarian, male-centric, heavy shepherding, close mentoring methodology and culture of 9 Marks is particularly open to abuse by those who would have the unscrupulous proclivity to do so. Cover up comes naturally in such a culture, but I suspect that more will be revealed in due course.
This is highly disturbing. In fact, this made me even more upset than the original story. Perhaps that’s wrong of me, since Anthony Moore was obviously a risk to any young person he had around him, but the fact that White cannot even see the reality and horror of child sexual abuse that’s right in front of him means that he can never be trusted in a position of power. So many college kids do not even talk about their abuse until they’re at college. When they get away from home, they finally process it. This shows that Cedarville University is not a safe place at all. Thank you for sharing.
We talk a lot on TWW about acts which ‘should’ disqualify pastors from serving the Body of Christ. Likewise, this cold, cruel act by Dr. Thomas should disqualify him as leader of a Christian university. After a while, an organization takes on the personality of its leader. From all the recent press about others at Cedarville, this appears to be the case there.
Since the discourse is in regard to Leadership:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/25/why-do-female-leaders-seem-to-be-more-successful-at-managing-the-coronavirus-crisis
The examples are from secular arenas where gender in leadership is not an issue, like in patriarchal hierarchies such as churches – which is unfortunate for such churches. Nothing against male leadership, but female leadership (which lacks entitlement) overall fares better.
The Houston Chronicle study of improprieties has cameos of the predators, various races, but all of one gender, I believe.
Again, there are wonderful male leaders, but the male entitlement piece in our culture seems to be a path to poor performance or failure for many male leaders.
There’s no magic in being male, or female, or Greek or Jew, etc. NT.
Much of Christianity is marred by a culture of compliance. This is not unique to Christianity, many faiths have it and within the subsets of Christianity it varies.
I think this is because many of the world’s faiths predate modern liberal democracy. They came about in times where such thought was anathema to the people of those times
‘divine right to rule’ has been with us a long time. The 9 Marks gang subscribe to strict interpretation of the old testament. Ideas that stretch back to the dawn of civilization.
These guys (and they’re mostly guys) live a dichotomy. They abhor our current society but love the free speech they have and the tax breaks are pretty sweet too.
What’s a linear thinking priest/shepherd to do? They double down on their flocks citing the most repressive verses from our societal past. They long for a golden age that never was.
Most Christians I know make some sort of peace with the old testament. They don’t treat as a manual on how to live in today’s world.
But they are loath to criticize the church or its leaders.
Talking about it helps but true change will only come with breaking this culture of compliance.
Calvin attempted to have a Christian utopia in Geneva, even if it meant imprisoning, torturing and executing dissenters. His brand of reformation didn’t work out the way he had planned. Heavy-handed tactics by the new reformers won’t either.
Jerome,
Yeah and Moore was an intern at Dever’s church, learning how to be a 9 Marxist. Leeman has a lot of time on his hands since 9 Mrarx is anti having church during the corona virus. They consider doing it online ungodly since if is not what is I the Bible. SMH
“During faculty development days in 2017, Dr. White put this woman’s story of sexual abuse on the overhead screen. He called it profanity and told everyone present to look away from it.”
There must a specific term for this type of bizarre manipulation… something like gaslighting. Does anyone know?
Compliance with God – that’s Christian.
Compliance with others? Not so much.
To enter into communion with God and follow Jesus Christ, listening & responding to the Holy Spirit, is the Pilgrim’s path.
However, to confuse the God-thing with humans-as-gods-thing is a recipe for disaster and heartbreak.
Christians jumping on the bandwagon of a “pastor” when they experience God seems like when the Children of Israel left Egypt via deliverance from God & received the 10 Commandments via Moses, but then built a golden calf to worship. Clearly misguided.
God help us know the difference.
If that’s the criteria, there are probably more traditions & practices to question – that are also not what it’s like in the Bible. Just sayin’.
This comment in important. White’s ignorance prevented Moore from the serious counseling he needs. I still want to know what Chandler did or did not do.
Yet they use YouTube, which is also not in the Bible. Nor is chewing gum for that matter. Hubba Bubba, tool of the Antichrist
Former Student,
Thank you for your comment.t I told Melissa that I was anxious about writing this post, knowing that she’s a well regarded English Professor!
You have expressed the concerns that Todd and I have. I spoke with one well known pastor about this. he said “Isn’t this the 4th strike against Chandler? What’s going on.” I told him about a couple of other unpublished strikes. We are waiting for the witnesses to come forward with their names.
There is a real problem here. It appears that the gospel dudebors may be running a *restoration project.* If it was one of the pew sitters, they would have been roundly disciplined and kicked out of the fold.
chairman of the presidential search committee that brought in White was Cedarville trustee Rev. Randy Patten.
Rev. Patten was then leader of ‘nouthetic counseling’ outfit NANC! (Heath Lambert was his successor):
Lambert: “Randy Patten will remain the Executive Director until October 1, 2013. At that time I will assume leadership of NANC and Randy will become NANC’s Director of Training and Advancement. He is making a commitment to serve NANC in that post for at least two years”
https://www.biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/2012/10/22/the-nanc-leadership-transition-part-one-a-bcc-interview-with-heath-lambert/
pdf, p. 11 “Cedarville University Presidential Search Committee”:
https://www.cedarville.edu/-/media/Files/PDF/President/Thomas-White-Inauguration-Program.pdf
Chandler appears to be untouchable, since he is so important to the New Calvinist movement. Driscoll used to think that, too … and Mahaney … and MacDonald … etc. If the pew sitters don’t see through this by now, they all deserve each other.
The Christianese obsession with Pelvic Issues/Sexual Morality strikes again…
Public Shaming?
“Let Bubba Do It”?
brian,
Brian, your story (through all the comments you’ve done over the years) is a type example of how “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Worm Theology can really F you over.
If it’s any consolation, remember that Rabbi from Nasareth snubbed the Righteous God Squad to hang out with losers like us. (Sometimes that’s the only consolation I have.)
“Banty rooster” appears to be what’s also called “Short Man Syndroms”.
In two words:
BROWN-NOSE.
Another Tabaqui the Jackal, sucking up to Shere Khan for a scrap from the tiger’s kill.
As a recent Cedarville grad, this sickens and saddens me. Dr. Faulkner was such a solid presence at Cedarville and was widely regarded in my circles as the best prof to teach Composition (a general education course). I was in her class for about a week before switching to a different section which worked better with my schedule, but even within that short time she impressed me with her incisive mind and high standards of instruction. About a year later, I ran into her on campus and, to my surprise, she remembered me and spoke to me with such genuine kindness and care. Dr. Faulkner, if you’re reading this, thank you! You were a sweet aroma of Christ on campus.
At Cedarville, many professors are like Dr. Faulkner, incredibly generous and kind to students. Some of them have made indelible impressions on the course of my life. It is tragic how the university refuses to trust the absolute gems of faculty members at Cedarville.
As a student at the advent of the Philippians 4:8 policy, I had a hard time wrapping my head around it. On the one hand, this was my university and I trusted it. I knew firsthand the godliness of so many Cedarville employees (mostly faculty in my experience), past and present. The students in my circles had vibrant faith, and many also were in favor of the policy. And shouldn’t we be glad that we now have a university policy directly based on Scripture?
On the other hand, the narrow interpretation and sweeping application of only one verse out of the whole of Scripture disturbed me, as well as the level of authoritarian control on display. This policy shows a comprehensive lack of respect and trust toward the faculty members. It assumes that either professors intentionally plan to inject inappropriate and harmful material into their courses, or that they are so lacking in discernment that they don’t even notice detrimental content (not to mention the severe standard for what the university deems “inappropriate”). It boggled my mind, and still does, that the university would have such a dim view of their own selected faculty! Cedarville hired them; couldn’t Cedarville trust its own judgement about the quality and wisdom of their faculty members?
And yet, no one wants to object to a policy originally named after a Bible verse. Everyone wants to be godly, no one wants to be known as the worldly/secular one. And so it goes.
brotzman,
Thank you for this comment.I know Melissa will read it. Stay tuned form more information on Monday.
Max,
There appears to be a definite problem with Chandler. Maybe his steak business is his focus.
Jerome,
Thank you for this excellent info (as is usual!). This explains the weirdness around Anthony Moore’s “restoration.”
Steaks don’t tell stories, facts, or history. Don’t keep track.
AKA Bro-boys have each other’s back. Nothing new.
Stoning for women – or just toss/disregard because the boys’ theology mandates silence of women.
Circle the wagons for men – “leadership”, the boys’ club.
brotzman,
Your experience reminds me of fundamentalist, seventh grade through high school, that I attended over 40 years ago… Many of my teachers were genuine, sincere people, the leadership, very questionable. In fact, I now have proof ( court documents, and prison records) of my 7th grade teacher that was secretly fired, it was covered up, and then was moved to southern California where he proceeded to molest underaged boys, and for which I have the court records.
What is it that allows these corrupt people to get into leadership positions? We keep seeing it over and over…
brotzman,
“And shouldn’t we be glad that we now have a university policy directly based on Scripture?
On the other hand, the narrow interpretation and sweeping application of only one verse out of the whole of Scripture disturbed me, as well as the level of authoritarian control on display.
…And yet, no one wants to object to a policy originally named after a Bible verse. Everyone wants to be godly, no one wants to be known as the worldly/secular one. And so it goes.”
++++++++++++++++++
Thank you, Brotzman, for the thoughtful honesty here.
i tend to think it is virtually impossible to have policy directly based on scripture without the interpretation and application of it turning into weapons of control, wielded by the few in power.
it silences everyone. Forces them to lie. To live a lie. The threat level is huge.
there is no possibility for honest exchange of ideas. doing so can be used against you with charges of “you don’t believe scripture / liberal / you are not a christian”.
That’s enough to destroy one’s social life, their relationships, their reputation.
For the professors, it’s enough to destroy their career.
i’m stating the obvious, here. there is so much evil in this situation.
I felel the same way as you do.
When I read about White’s reaction, I wondered ……… I someone had committed a grotesque murder, would White have condemned the description of the murder, and let the murderer off the hook?????
A man like White has no business teaching moral values or how to be like Jesus.
I was an employee during the search and inauguration and there were issues even then. White had written a white paper regarding women which was VERY alarming but low and behold, it has since been scrubbed from the internet. I read it back then and unfortunately sat through this program.
If Melissa is reading this, wanted to say hi. We would go for coffee frequently when I was employed at CU.
Bill Palmer posted this on his website today regarding gaslighting and restoration and his psychologist/counselor friend:
“I have a psychologist friend who once told me that she will not treat a narcissist. Specifically, she will ‘refer out’ a patient suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). She gave me the clinical reason first. They are a waste of time. When the NPD enters therapy he or she does so, not with the intent of becoming a better person, but as a game, with the goal of beating the therapist and ‘proving they [the narcissist] are the smartest person in the room.’ For the narcissist, therapy isn’t a journey, it’s a zero sum game in which they must always be the winner.
“Then she gave the non-clinical reason: ‘I dislike them. If it can be said there is a kind of person I hate on sight then it’s the NPD. I have nothing to say to them except, ‘Goodbye.’’
“NPD may be how psychology defines evil. A principal feature of the NPD is that they do not consider themselves to have a mental health problem. In other words, they’re not the problem, you are. The NPD finds a way to blame others for their problems. A natural consequence of this point of view is a phenomenon known as ‘gaslighting.'”
All of these church predators floating around from institution to institution and even doing start-ups of their own institutions… never changing but always trying to beat the system – bringing their evil into a system of presumed integrity as a wolf in sheep’s attire. In other words, the Conga Dance Line, as referred to in another recent post by Dee.
Conga Line Christianity where the dance is predatory.
One imagines there is also Conga Line Marriage-ing where a NPD person goes from one trusting soul to another – preying as angelic in a cosplay.
Thank you Melissa for your brave words. As a student during the implementation of these policies it is so refreshing to finally hear a faculty member actually speak about it. I am hoping that more will speak out about the Anthony Moore issue. If the do not, something like this is bound to happen again at Cedarville and more people’s lives will be hurt.
Nuttshell,
“White had written a white paper regarding women which was VERY alarming but low and behold, it has since been scrubbed from the internet.”
+++++++++++++++++
what is it with White and his ideological peers?!
don’t they see how they are creating a smaller and smaller bunker for themselves promoting female subjugation more and more stringently?
A bunker where, yes, they can congratulate themselves on self-identifying as “the faithful remanant”; but a bunker that will be less and less relevant and with whom the rest of society and business world will not want to nor be able to associate.
and of course a bunker that will be totally dysfunctional, silencing and shackling half of them, without the benefit of the wisdom, knowledge, experience, and brilliance of the female half.
elastigirl,
“and of course a bunker that will be totally dysfunctional, silencing and shackling half of them, without the benefit of the wisdom, knowledge, experience, and brilliance of the female half.”
+++++++++++++++
the to mention the physical and mental toughness of the female half.
I have asked an artist to paint how I am feeling right now. I look forward to sharing it. And to my former students, I hear you, and you are why I am speaking up. Thank you for your support. Whistle blowing is scary. I’ve done it twice in my life now. It is hard, but the right thing to do. ~Melissa Faulkner
Melissa Faulkner,
We support you! There is nothing wrong with raising concerns, and exposing potential abuse! Finally, the big picture of the Old Testament AND the New Testament is supporting the “oppressed” ones, and take stands for righteousness. And, I am using the traditional, Hebrew definition of “Righteousness”….
No, IT NEVER EXISTED, COMRADES.
doubleplusungood ref doubleplusunpaper. memhole.
Nuttshell,
“White had written a white paper regarding women which was VERY alarming but low and behold, it has since been scrubbed from the internet.”
++++++++++++++
somehow i think it’s still lurking around somewhere in cyberworld. Jerome to the rescue?
The SWBTS-sponsored site is offline for some reason.
The WaybackMachine has it cached, though, from 2013:
https://web.archive.org/web/20131105022524/http://www.baptisttheology.org/white-papers
It has a number of Thomas White’s screeds, is this the one?:
“White Paper #24: Neanderthals Chasing Bigfoot? The State of the Gender Debate in the Southern Baptist Convention”
https://web.archive.org/web/20140327100431/http://www.baptisttheology.org/baptisttheology/assets/File/NeanderthalsChasingBigfoot.pdf
Driscoll, MacDonald, Tullian, etc. etc. … “restoration” was simply a game they played to get back in the pulpit.
Jerome,
amazing.
now can you find the closest Sasquatch is to my zip code?
brotzman,
CU does trust its faculty…just not the ones who were hired prior to the current administration.
Melissa, I miss working with you and for you. I’m sad for the opportunities that today’s students will miss out on because so many of us are no longer there.
How many passes is Matt Chandler going to get? Mishandling situations with Jordan Root (child porn), Karen Hinkley (overreach of church “discipline”), the firing of the five individuals who brought up concerns about Steve Timnis (extremely poor management skills, not to mention less-than-gracious behavior), then the lawsuit over mishandling a report of child molestation by a staff member they’re currently involved in…
When does he admit that he needs some serious training, at the very least, in recognizing and handling these kinds of situations?
And prove they were better than the folks with integrity because they beat the system – do whatever they want & get away with it… in the church. God’s pet kids, apparently. Or, so they would like everyone to think. Untouchable.
To me, this has the been the most puzzling element of the New Calvinist movement … that so many otherwise intelligent pew sitters would fall for this! But as I’ve said before, actors would have no stage if they didn’t have an audience willing to buy tickets to the show. New Calvinism depends on spiritual immaturity and lack of discernment in both pulpit and pew.
Jerome,
That may be it as it was written several years before TW arrived on campus. I can’t read it so I can’t be 100% sure that’s the one. I did read it (6 plus years ago) so yes, it did exist.
“I. WIN.” (smirk)
Max, look at the history and dynamics of any CULT.
New Calvinism is a CULT.
Pastor Spell just will not quit it appears: https://www.foxnews.com/us/louisiana-pastor-house-arrest-stay-at-home-order-coronavirus-tony-spell
In case you want to take a look at Thomas White:
https://julieroys.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Inauguration.jpg
Would you buy a used biblical interpretation from this man?
Sheila Wray Gregoire,
Brilliant point. Thank you.
Just that expression…
“Hello, Central Casting? I need a slimy Used Car Salesman, the phonier the better.”
Good analogy elastigirl, they (the great generic ‘they’) are like a certain leadership in a Berlin bunker (1945).
They know that they cannot hold unless they can come up with some new wonder weapon that will save their bacon.
And their leaders went to seminary!! Heck some of them are professors and presidents at seminaries!!
Sheila Wray Gregoire,
All of this “second chance stuff” is also a stretch. When someone is put in “leadership”, they should have already demonstrated responsible behavior. Clearly, Dr. Moore did not, nor did President White in appointing him to a VP position??
Muff Potter,
“They know that they cannot hold unless they can come up with some new wonder weapon that will save their bacon”
++++++++++++++++++
a weapon, such as yet another ‘Statement’? further clarifying the in-group from the out-groups, which people are effectively blackmailed to sign?
Muff Potter,
“They know that they cannot hold unless they can come up with some new wonder weapon that will save their bacon.”
+++++++++++++++++++++
sounds like CBMW and ESS. The Nashville Statement saved their bacon.
.
.
I remember the ETS (Evangelical Theological Society) conference in 2016 in San Antonio.
The prized Eternal Subordination of the Son (ESS) doctrine was roundly trounced in the debate between Bruce Ware/Wayne Grudem and Kevin Giles/Millard Erickson.
After that, there was silence from CBMW on the subject. No acknowledgement that their highly promoted basis for their male headship argument — the theological legs they had been standing on for years — had crumbled beneath them. no commentary, nothing.
——–
Several months later CBMW finally responded. With a very big announcement: The Nashville Statement.
They simply distracted everyone from their embarrassing theological defeat and rebranded themselves with a new focus and a new look.
Instead of women in their crosshairs, it was now people in the sexual minority.
They had invested too much over the years into their power base & revenue streams to lose it all. There was too much money, power, and reputation to lose.
And inciting a theological riot over homophobia is not hard to do on any given day.
So they reinvented themselves, kept themselves in the spotlight and with public support.
———-
The Nashville Statement is a weapon, indeed.
*an offensive weapon against an imagined enemy. it keeps people causey. makes them feel like they’re on the winning team.
*a defensive weapon for shoring up lost power and maintaining it.
*the weapon is wielded by promoting the Statement as such that anyone who has a career in evangeliworld who doesn’t sign it is viewed with suspicion and loses credibility.
————–
CBMW exploited human beings of minority sexuality to avoid having to confront their theological failures, to save face, and to keep their power and money.
(which directly and indirectly pumps up many careers and reputations).
Pretty much my only consolation. So many today concentrate on the Jesus of the vision in Revelation, returning as a conquering king, that they forget the guy who said “my kingdom is not of this world” and made a point of hanging out with the poor and downtrodden. Remember, Revelation was a *vision*.
I’m wondering how much authority he had in his VP position? The reason I mention it is because my evil too big to fail employer hands out VP positions like they’re candy. No raise, no increase in authority, but you can put Assistant Vice President in your signature line. Seriously, it’s kind of a joke.
Unfortunate that their win is bringing their evil to pollute what should be a safe environment. That’s their life challenge, it seems, infiltrate & destroy. Rather than seek change they spread evil.
Now if only the enablers would take off their blinders, screen, acknowledge, target, eliminate, & maintain what should be God’s set-apart redemption community.
1 Corinthians 5.7 points out that some who would bring their evil into the church shouldn’t be there at all.
“Don’t associate with nor even dine with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is promiscuous or predatory, or an idolater, or a con, or a substance abuser, or a swindler/cheat.”
Ava Aaronson,
You got me curious. Is that verse 11? What translation are you using?
More seriously, that passage does not seem to be about purging the pulpit. Rather, it calls for a congregation to live to a high moral standard. Unfortunately it invites congregations to shun and expel, and also to cherry pick which sins to overlook and which ones to imagine. At least that’s how things play out in abusive churches.
Correction of typo – yes – 1 Corinthians 5.11. Thx.
As you point out, it doesn’t differentiate between pulpit & pew. It does, in the chapter, differentiate between the communities of the world at large & church fellowship.
IMHO, (we may disagree on this), the 6 traits mentioned seem to point to abusive social behaviors – although what the 6 really are needs scholarly Greek interpretation – and I am no theologian.
Would that church become a socially safe place for those who seek safety instead of a hunting ground for predators seeking to dupe & plunder the vulnerable.
And may the enablers get their heads out of the sand. “The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.” – Dante
The New Calvinists LOVE titles … the young reformers at SBC church plants assign themselves “Lead Pastor” fresh out of seminary.
“Today, Julie Roys published Cedarville U Fires Professor With History of Admitted Sexual Abuse, providing some specific information you might interesting….or do I mean infuriating? How could White hire a man that he knew had this paraphilia? More on that next week.”
Familiar names, words and phrases surface: the Village Church, ‘restoration, Dever, Patterson, SWBTS…
In thinking about an answer to the above question, these parts of the story stood out:
“Until yesterday, Moore served at Cedarville University as Special Advisor to the President for Kingdom Diversity and assistant professor of theology. He also volunteered as an assistant basketball coach at the Baptist school. … White added that Moore initially came on staff as a multicultural recruiter under a five-year, “restoration” plan.”
A new cost of doing business for those in the SBC wing of the Christian Industrial Complex — I mean, heart-felt commitment to inclusion and radical love — is checking the diversity box in a visible and demonstrable manner. After the conferences’ focus on race and reconciliation in recent years, it figures to have been good business to boost the measurables on the staffing side — I mean, prayerfully welcome in servants from lo these many nations and peoples.
We’ve seen the prioritie$ of many in church and educational positions of power, including of the above, not exactly showcasing commitments to vetting people and holding them to professional and legal, let alone Biblical, standards of conduct. It’s easier for those they employ to serve their designated purpose rather than be proactive about accountability, which apparently even extends to those with known issues.
Also not surprised that it seems likely that nobody but those at the top may have known about the issues and the evidently-secretive “restoration” scheme. (A five-year one is quite remarkable; also sounds quite Soviet, which fits in some aspects.)
Another example of stealth and deception in New Calvinist ranks. When will this madness end?!!
It’s an over correction. These individuals are responding to decades of popular and evangelical teaching that says Jesus is merely your best bud and doesn’t really care all that much about sin.
We need to affirm both. The Jesus who dines with sinners and the Jesus who comes as judge and king.
What was the point of White’s presentation? To say that the assigned reading was inappropriate? How does he expect abuse to be described? What a tone deaf individual.
To slut-shame the woman involved, of course.
Make an Example of one and a hundred will fall quietly into line.
Funny. The “popular and evangelical teaching” when I was in-country decades ago was all “Jesus is Coming Soon AND BOY IS HE MAD AT YOU!”
AKA “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by way of Jack Chick’s “This Was Your Life” J-Day scene. No Mercy, only SIN! SIN! SIN! WRATH! WRATH! WRATH! SMITE! SMITE! SMITE! DON’T BE LEFT BEHIND(TM)!
I’m just waiting for “Commander of Great Feathers” from that “Airplane Game” New Age Pyramid Scheme.
Like Reichsmarshall Goering creating new military decorations so he could award them to himself.
Eight Words: THE BOOK OF GENESIS, ILLUSTRATED BY R CRUMB.
In which an underground comix artist does the whole book, AS WRITTEN:
https://internetmonk.com/archive/r-crumbs-book-of-genesis-reviewed
True! This section isn’t sexually related, but I remember my kids’ (when really young) children’s Bibles which said that Goliath falls down (when David hits him in the head with a rock), but no mention of chopping off his head!
But college students need to be exposed to real life, not just be in a protected and artificial bubble.
Otherwise you get Speshul Widdle Snowfwake Syndrome, arrested-development infants squalling for their Safe Space so their Pwecious Feewings Never Ever Get Hurt.
I’m sure those college students are out there, but I’m around them all the time and don’t see snowflakes.* Young adults are often brusque and even brutal with one another, as they were when I was in college. The advantage is clarity: there’s no confusion about who stands where. The disadvantage is that people on the receiving end do feel hurt. Their appropriate sensitivity toward one another will develop when they get jobs and find romantic partners.
*I know precisely zero students from pridefully unaccredited fundagelical “colleges.”
Assuming this is your reply (despite a format issue)… the “God should destroy you but he overlooks your disgusting nature” theology has been around for a long, long time.
I’m not a fan of Willow Creek.
I do believe in a merciful and loving God.
Below is an email,in quotes,from Cedarville that arrived in my inbox about an hour ago, regarding Anthony Moore. (This is just one more thing that has caused me to reconsider and stop financially supporting my alma mater. I had given them thousands in the past because I am grateful to them for the training I had received which led to my successful 38 year teaching career. Since Thomas White took over, Cedarville has become a bizarre place, one I no longer recognize. I don’t even want to come to Homecoming and see my life long Cedarville friends. Among others…my major concerns/complaints are…
1.Keeping Michael Loftis (ABWE mess) on the Board of Trustees far beyond when he should have been removed. I sent emails to Mr. White about that and I got a useless call from the Board President at the time. 2. Paige Patterson on the Board way too long. 3. Removal of female Bible professors and the exodus of many others. 4. Continuing to have a deceitful professor on staff [saw it with my own eyes, in two situations] who caused painful havoc in the life of a friend, which many believe led to the early death of the friend. 5. New building designs look exactly like Southern Baptist Seminary buildings. Yuck. 6. Speakers like Mohler. 7. Guns on campus!!! Certain staff can carry. 8. Shock at what has been reported about Loren Reno and Randy Patten.)
I have three student friends there. I wish they would transfer!!
“Dear Cedarville Family,
Over the past few days, we have communicated difficult news related to Dr. Anthony Moore and Cedarville University. It is now important that I share additional information about our path forward, and I want you to hear my heart on this matter as well.
I’m sorry that I brought Dr. Moore to Cedarville University. I did not have all the information at the beginning. Once we had that information, we took the action needed.
Even though no incidents were reported by students, I am recommending to the Board of Trustees that we hire an outside, independent agency to confirm that nothing inappropriate occurred on our campus, with that report to go directly back to the Board of Trustees.
Cedarville University will strengthen our resolve to continue to be a safe place for our students and future students.
Please take a moment to view this video recorded earlier today in the Jeremiah Chapel.
Link to video, Dr. White
This morning, we reminded our students, faculty, and staff of the resources and support available to them under our Title IX policy. All complaints, related to Dr. Moore or otherwise, will be investigated by the University and in cooperation with law enforcement. Violations may be reported to the University’s Title IX Office and/or law enforcement directly. Contact information for these resources is available online. Should any students not feel safe disclosing through University channels, we encourage them to go to their local law enforcement jurisdiction to seek guidance.
In Christ,
Thomas White
President
Cedarville University | 251 N. Main St., Cedarville, OH 45314 | cedarville.edu | 800-233-2784”
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This about sums up the New Cals takeovers everywhere.
As a Christian college graduate, I totally get it. I mean, I went to Liberty. It hasn’t been taken over by New Calvinists (my seminary was!), but it’s now just a profit factory for one man who never really cared about the education of the students from the beginning. I knew that way back when Falwell senior began talking about leaving the university to Junior. Junior is a jerk who only cares about himself and I could see that the first time I met him.
Nepotism is also usually a terrible idea from the get-go. I have family members who tried this with a small company and it’s been a disaster. Certainly will be with something large and involving so many other people and so much money.
ishy,
When you applied to Liberty, were you concerned about Falwell Sr.? He founded a segregation academy, then founded Liberty, and then co-founded the Moral Majority. Earlier, Falwell Sr. hosted George Wallace on his TV show. Did Liberty have more academic freedom and rigor when you were there? I’m thinking it must have, although you have mentioned mistreatment by male students.
I’m bettin’ that Raymond Reddington could fix Junior’s little red wagon in about two shakes of a lamb’s tail.
Friend,
To be clear, I’m interested in your thinking at the time (how Liberty presented itself to applicants), and your experience versus expectations. 🙂
I actually didn’t know anything about it. I didn’t grow up in that culture. Liberty reached out to me (via my father) and offered me a full scholarship to transfer. I had heard of LU, but that’s about it. My dad is not a Christian and it was free money for college, so he pushed me to go there. I have no idea how I got recommended to them.
I knew a lot of students in the culture though whose parents made them go there, including a close family friend, and were less than thrilled with the school.
This was largely dependent on professor and sometimes the situation. For example, my theology teacher was New Calvinist before it was trendy, and he lines right up with the big names now in theology and attitude.
My missions professor was great in most classes, but then pushed the women to take a “missions” class by his wife which ended up being “your only purpose as a woman is to cook, clean, raise kids, and be your husband’s servant”. There were 12 women in my major year and 2 men. Most women in missions major didn’t have a lot of hope in getting married, unlike other majors. Men wanted to be famous megachurch pastors, not poor missionaries.
Senior himself was very encouraging to me over becoming a missionary. He said to me that he wished it was the largest major on campus (one of the smallest, unsurprisingly). But I didn’t see that modeled in convocation or in how women were spoken about at major events.
My Romans class was seriously the hardest class I’ve ever taken. We pretty much had to have Romans memorized by the end of the semester. The aforementioned theology professor read straight from the (Grudem) book or had us listen to the audiobook. He never taught in his own words. His tests were multiple choice with wording taken straight from the book, true to New Calvinist form of direct quoting.
ishy,
Very interesting, thanks. I have a connection to one current student who does not feel welcome there. Went for the academic program, discovered the habit of marginalizing those who don’t fit in 1000%. I’m not sure that student can afford to transfer elsewhere.
ishy,
That’s a funny way to design a test…
You were being indoctrinated. The New Calvinists rely on distorted teachings from Paul’s epistles (particularly Romans & Ephesians) to defend their movement. YRR “pastors” keep hammering selected passages into their congregations over and over (as if they are still trying to believe what they’ve been taught is truth). I have advised young reformers in my area “If you read Paul first, you might read Jesus wrong. But if you read the Gospels first, the writings of Paul come into perspective.” These poor fellows were so indoctrinated that they were using the wrong filter to interpret Scripture.
Not just indoctrinated, but FORCIBLY indoctrinated.
Formally called “Thought Reform” and commonly called “Brainwashing”.
“It is not enough for you to obey Big Brother, 6079 Smith W. You Must LOVE Big Brother.”
— Comrade O’Brian, Inner Party, Airstrip One, Oceania, Nineteen Eighty-Four
This made me cry. I’m a CU alum. And I was sexually molested by a cousin when I was a small child. This would have ripped me apart had I been sitting in that room. I probably would’ve found something to say that would’ve gotten me expelled at that point. How can someone (in the highest position of organizational authority no less) so utterly and tragically miss the point of how sinful abuse affects others and fail to see the world’s need for a loving response? So much shame is involved in sexual abuse. And this is just another heaping scoop of shame piled on top of people who need healing. God forgive us all.
I posted this the other day on “Thou are the Man”. Seemed fitting to share a part of my story here:
In July 2017, I was terminated from Cedarville because of an inappropriate relationship with a woman who was not my wife. I was wrong, I was guilty, and I was immediately terminated when I willingly told the leadership what was going on. There was no offer of restoration or working with me through a difficult time. I told them what was going on at 1pm, and by 4pm I was driving away from campus without a job. After seeing this current scandal at CU, I can only think the reason Anthony Moore was treated differently than me is that he was friends with the right people at CU. Dr. Moore committed a crime but was given this posh job opportunity at the exact same time I was being ushered out the door for non criminal actively (not trying to diminish what I did). I don’t fault CU for releasing me from my job, but I do fault them for blatant hypocrisy in how they treated me verse a friend they wanted to protect.
I’m sure that was his intention, but he was so bad at it that I don’t think he had much of an effect…
Yep. It was pretty clear from Dr. White’s explanations after Moore’s firing that he considered Moore a personal friend.
sheaby,
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I hope you have found some ‘loving response’ along your journey.
Wow. I’m so glad i read this and wish i had known the rest of the story years ago. I was a student when complaints were being made about this book assignment. Someone I knew who had the assignment told me about the book and explained how uncomfortable it made them to read it. I asked them if they had ever known or met or had known0of someone who had endured any kind of abuse, or had ever been assigned to read A Child Called It in school. The answer was no. In this person’s home, and home-school, they only were taught such things existed but were never really taugh about the paths of life of people who had such “problems.” I wasn’t shocked. But I was shocked to know that this person had first sent the book to their parent(s) to read before they did to ensure it was wholesome enough for their 19ish year old eyes to gaze upon. Though the student did read the book to complete the assignement, the parents wrote a letter to Dr. White expressing their utmost disapporval. I honestly believed that the unknown (to me) professor would “win” in this situation since this was IMO, a standard type of published work from which to discuss both literary themes and social issues in a class setting. After all, I had been assigned far more “graphic” material in my high school sociology courses. But I guess I forgot that public school education is evil…or something like that.
I am saddened today to learn that the outcome I exprected did *not in fact pan-out, but rather contributed to the growing pile of “unpleasant” dust under the gold and navy blue rug.
I am so sorry for your abuse and am glad you weren’t in the room. I have a feeling there were others who had been abused and stayed silent.
Todd and I were discussing this last night. I would like to quote this comment in a post Im writing.
CUnomore,
How are you doing now?
Thank you for your comment. Stupid parents, stupid student and stupid administration. As I said at the beginning, I was forced to confront abuse issues right after I graduated from college as a home health nurse. I was a deer caught in the headlights.
I wonder where that student is now. probably hiding out from society and keeping the new turned off.
I have something to say about this. Ibn fact, this sort of thing was taught at CU. I just heard from a former professor and I think his statements are worth a post.
dee,
You have my permission to use my post
dee,
I am doing very well, thank you for asking.
readingalong,
Thank you. Yes, I have. (Dee, thank you for your kind words too.)
As someone in the comments correctly pointed out is often the case for sex abuse survivors, I began to process it while away from home and while at CU. In fact, there was a group for sexual abuse survivors run by a woman (who’s husband was prominent in the Dayton community). She was also a CU grad, if I remember correctly, and an abuse survivor. I was part of that group.
To go down a rabbit trail, one of the students in our group had been abused by her father, a pastor. And she shared her story: when she informed her family, they stood in solidarity AGAINST HER and told her that if she went to the police, they would deny it all. That was one of the saddest stories I’ve ever heard, but speaks to the secret sickness within the confines of the church. I can’t even imagine that kind of pain. At least my parents heard me and grieved over what had happened and the tell tale signs they had missed.
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