Tried With Fire

I just finished Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church by Megan Phelps-Roper, granddaughter of Fred Phelps. This isn't solely a book review. I will give a synopsis with some quotes for reflection because it should be a caution to us all.   After being steeped in the culture of Westboro Baptist (WBC) her entire life, Phelps-Roper took on the task of being the Twitter arm for WBC. But exposure to those who disagreed with her began to chip away at all she had been taught. Some of her opponents tried to befriend her and discuss the issues at hand, not just trade insults The more she realized their humanity, the harder it became for her to toe the family line. She became more aware of the inconsistencies with the Scripture they professed to uphold, self-justifications, and mistreatment within the church and of those outside. Her whole sense of reality was shaken because Westboro's mission was her life . This internal conflict reached a point where...

I applaud Dr. David Murray for tackling the subject of spiritual abuse in reformed circles . If we hold to a robust view of sin and holiness, it mocks our Lord and the truths we hold dear when leaders within the loosely reformed camp are characterized by pride, control, and bullying of anyone who disagrees with them. These things ought not to be. After reading Dr. Murray's post , this excerpt from Dr. Diane Langberg's latest book may shed some light on why we have this problem. I affirm the doctrines of grace and believe them to be biblically true, but rather than humbling me, I can become proud in my "rightness" and spiritual superiority. We joke about cage-stage Calvinism, and thankfully, it usually wears off in time. Or it may not, and that is a grave danger. As the verse says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Prov. 16:18 (KJV) A second possible scenario can be found when a group is not depressed and hungry but r...

If you are truly convinced that there is some solution to all human problems, that one can conceive an ideal society which men can reach if only they do what is necessary to attain it, then you and your followers must believe that no price can be too high to pay in order to open the gates of such a paradise. Only the stupid and malevolent will resist once certain simple truths are put to them. Those who resist must be persuaded; if they cannot be persuaded, laws must be passed to restrain them; if that does not work, then coercion, if need be violence, will inevitably have to be used—if necessary, terror, slaughter. Lenin believed this after reading Das Kapital, and consistently taught that if a just, peaceful, happy, free, virtuous society could be created by the means he advocated, then the end justified any methods that needed to be used, literally any... So we must weigh and measure, bargain, compromise, and prevent the crushing of one form of life by its rivals. I know only t...

In small group, we've been reading through Ordinary by Michael Horton. It's been a thought-provoking book that has led to some good discussion. We're also reading it after a sermon series on the ordinary means of grace - preaching of the Word, the sacraments, prayer, and fasting. You know, the things Christ Himself has instituted for the growth and health of the church that she often overlooks for what is a bit flashier and more touchy-feely. Tonight we will be discussing chapter 6, Practicing what we preach: No more super-apostles , which covers the issue of idolizing our leaders. I am trying to gather my thoughts about the chapter and the problem of the Christian celebrity culture for fear that I will embark on a lengthy rant in small group. If there is an edge to my writing "voice", you've read it right. On the one hand, I could chose to ignore my social media feed and avoid reports about the latest scandals. If this is your stance, I fully respect your ...