Different but the Same
Quotes of the day:
"Of all the plagues with which mankind is cursed, religious tyranny is the worst." Daniel Dafoe
“[Bob Jones III]…it was not the duty-bound combat veteran with the chest full of Distinguished Flying Crosses, Air Medals, and combat ribbons who was the ‘betrayer’. Rather, it was a group of BJU grads who were guided by their own self-interests and who reduced Biblical principles to carnal weaponry. Dr. Bob Sr. said, ‘A man’s character is not formed in the moment of crisis, it is revealed’…Your conduct reveals a character which belies BJU’s highminded prattle about standing for the ‘absolute authority of the Bible’ and ‘the old-time religion’…it is obvious that the Bible has little actual authority over the group. Once-upon-a time BJU’s teachers condemned situation ethics. Today, situation ethics are standard operating procedure for many in the BJU crowd…People are catching on to your see-no-evil, hear-no-evil antics. Acting blind, deaf, and dumb can be useful at times, especially at a BJU fundraiser [hosted by John Stevens and Northside Baptist].” 1997 letter to Bob Jones III
When I still lived at my parent's home, my father confronted me with an unflattering report from one of his contemporaries. (To the best of my recollection, it involved some fairly aggressive driving.) I protested and set out to mount a vigorous, self-serving defense! That is, until he told me that he had received an identical report from another friend. In fact, the second friend didn't know the first informant and cited a different incident!
With this independent, corroborating testimony, my vigorous defense evaporated. There was nothing else for me to do but to face facts and own up! I was wrong, I couldn't attack the credibility of my accusers, and I was forced to take responsibility for my actions.
It is hard to argue when faced with reports from unrelated people who have independently observed separate instances of behavior and who have come to similar conclusions based upon those observations.
When I graduated from BJU in 1980, I was confident that BJU and the Joneses represented a sort of "ground zero" in sincere Christianity. In 1991, while attending Northside Baptist in N. Charleston, SC, that all changed.
Bob III had given the go-ahead recommendation that made John Stevens its pastor. Mr. and Mrs. Bob Jones III were members at Northside (even though it was some 200 miles from Greenville).
Northside employed many BJU grads in the church and its schools. It fed BJU many students and was, and is, one of the hundreds of churches across the USA that are vital to BJU's survival.
Questions arose regarding some questionable financial dealings of Mr. Stevens, the preacher. When I asked to see the books of the church, one would have thought I had asked the preacher to undress in front of the congregation. I arranged to inspect the books on a Friday with BJU grad (now, a teacher at BJU) Barry Formanack, the church treasurer and a deacon. Barry Formanack confirmed the appointment in writing. We were excommunicated two days before that appointment was scheduled.
(I understand that former Northside treasurer and deacon, Barry Formanack now teaches accounting at BJU. Perhaps some of you will meet some of his students in the coming years.)
I kept Bob Jones III abreast of the situation at Northside. It quickly became evident that Northside's support for BJU was more important to Bob III than truth and financial accountability.
I learned a great deal about Bob Jones III during that time and how he approached issues and protected his and BJU's financial and fraternal interests. I am convinced that Bob Jones III has chosen to serve "mammon" rather than God.
I also learned a great deal about how the graduates of BJU acted when people tried to hold their fundamentalist leaders and institutions accountable. I was met with coercion, intimidation, treachery, deceit, and every kind of deviousness imaginable.
I sought to find the source of these things. I finally concluded that the BJU-crowd - starting with Bob Jones III, their preachers, their full-time employees, and their rank-and-file people - are devotees of pragmatic expediency driven by personal loyalty to the Joneses and institutional idolatry for BJU.
I concluded that it is perilous to trust anyone or any institution within the BJU/fundamentalist orbit.
People - especially those who wish to remain in the BJU/IFB orbit - seldom talk about their bad experiences with the Joneses/BJU. It just isn't safe to talk about such things. Just ask those who have talked. One could be blackballed, shunned, fired, or excommunicated!
Dr. Grant Lewis, Dr. Camille Lewis' husband, evidently is not afraid to speak the truth regarding his exit from the BJU orbit of fundamentalism and from Heritage Bible Church in Greenville, SC. He has written part of his story here.
Dr. Grant Lewis independently came to some of the same conclusions I did about how the BJU orbit operates. While Grant's exit from Heritage Bible was not as dramatic as my wife's and my excommunication from Northside Baptist, the BJU-controlled church we left, it is uncanny how many similarities to our story I found in Grant's.
It really doesn't matter what the circumstances are when a Fundamentalist's personal loyalty to the Joneses and institutional idolatry to BJU are challenged. Those who seek the favor, patronage, and support of the Joneses/BJU act in a fairly predictable way. I haven't trusted a BJU-trained preacher for years.
Leaving the BJU/fundamentalist orbit was a freeing experience for my wife and me. I will never again knowingly place myself or my family in a position, relationship, or belief system that is controlled or influenced by the practitioners of pragmatic expediency within the BJU orbit.
I learned a hard lesson at the hands of the BJU crowd. Evidently, that is what the Lord thought was the best way to get us out of the sect. I am certain that I made the right decision to get out of the BJU sect.
As was the case regarding reports of my aggressive driving, independent, corroborating observations are impossible to ignore. (Except for the Joneses and BJU, of course.) The Grant and Camille Lewises have made some independent, corroborating observations about the BJU sect that should not be ignored by Christian brethren.
May the Lord bless the Lewises and help many people through them and their story.
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