We know that as a community of God’s people, we have to help one another as we deal with temptation and sin. Our lives, generally speaking, are not hidden from one another, and the people who know you usually know you pretty well—just as you know them.
Scripture encourages us in this task of helping one another in this way. “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13). But we have to be careful with a word like exhort. Too many of us think of it the way Ambrose Bierce once defined it – “exhort, to put the conscience of another upon the spit, and roast it to a nut brown discomfort.”
To exhort someone in this sense is not to bring the law down upon their heads. Leadership does not consist of getting people to do things. Admonition does not consist of letting them have it for not having done them. The word exhort here could also be rendered as encourage. The original is parakaleo, the verb form of one of the Holy Spirit’s names—Comforter, Encourager. We must do this daily, it says, lest we be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
When people are not encouraged in this way, they are vulnerable to every form of slander and all manner of lies. A handful of you might still get our local newspaper, and if you do, you may have noticed yet another front page attack on our church and church community on Friday.
There are two things we are required to do with things like this. The first is to rejoice. Jesus commanded to rejoice when men speak all manner of evil about you (Matt. 5:11-12). I think the accusation of supporting child abuse qualifies, and so the command also applies. Rejoice.
The second thing is taken from this text. Not everyone in the church is up to the challenge of rejoicing when lied about in such egregious ways. These are the people we must remember to encourage and strengthen. If we do not, they become vulnerable to the deceitfulness of sin, and they wind up hard and bitter. Their punishment is what they turn into, and it is a grim punishment indeed.
Let me say something as one completely out of loop who could not possibly have any personal knowledge or investment in this post. Often we must make a choice about who we are going to exhort and encourage in any given situation. Get it wrong just once, and you completely blow people’s sense of safety and trust. God doesn’t just harden hearts as punishment, he mercifully hardens the hearts of some He loves too, especially those who have been betrayed. It can be quite something to stand there silent while everyone exhorts, praises, and encourages someone who has hurt you.… Read more »
Sometimes God hardens our hearts so we will no longer be vulnerable
I think you should say God hardens our skin. Hard hearts are hearts that do not respond to truth. A heart of stone is always a bad thing.
I plea using great caution there, because sometimes it is the soft hearts that cannot see the truth.
Having a heart of stone can be a good thing. It may well blind you to the truth, but sometimes being blinded to the truth is vital to God’s will. I imagine Jael’s heart was probably hardened when she drove a tent stake through Sisera’s head.
What I am saying is that this is a metaphor. We want to be responsive to God no matter what. This is termed having a kind, or soft, or malleable heart. No being overly sensitive, or ignoring insults can be important. I don’t think using the metaphor hard heart is helpful here. Especially when some people say that they are just protecting themselves yet they truly have a heart that is unresponsive or unforgiving. I know people who won’t go somewhere because of hurts and yet while they say that they are closing off there heart from more hurt, they… Read more »
“Especially when some people say that they are just protecting themselves yet they truly have a heart that is unresponsive or unforgiving.” You are quite right of course. However, there are also many people who have an unresponsive and unforgiving heart for good reason. They wind up “hard and bitter,” as Wilson says, based on real life experiences, often having to do with the church, when the church was clearly in the wrong. Than the church likes to turn around and pour more fuel on the fire and accuse them of now being “vulnerable to the deceitfulness of sin” and… Read more »
I agree that certain environments can push persons in a certain direction. It may certainly be understandable that a person is how he is.
Even so, I think bitterness as a defense is destructive.
In no way do I advocate perpetuating atrocities. Though I suspect that evil men can distort every good thing. We must be careful not to allow the distortion of a good to reject the good.
“We must be careful not to allow the distortion of a good to reject the good.”
That’s a very good point. Now we just need to go teach it to all those bitter men in the “7 reasons young men should marry thread.” :)
So many bitter men on that post. Very telling about some of today’s teachings. So sad.
Integrity is a virtue
I think the facts are pretty clear that this church does not take statutory rape of a minor seriously. That is not persecution, that is rightful disgust you are facing. You don’t get brownie points for suffering scorn you brought on yourselves. And furthermore any righthinking person would be appropriately appalled that you would let this rapist go into ministry. At the very least a minister of the Gospel should be blameless and be of good reputation, which this individual is NOT. Is it nothing to you that the Gospel is blasphemed because of your actions?
It would be more convincing if the news expressed the same kind of disgust for the same kinds of actions perpetrated by persons associated with any other group in town, but somehow it’s only newsworthy when it somehow involves ChristChurch.
The laser focus on the church gives some people ideas that maybe somebody has an axe to grind.
Connie, when we have statutory rape the idea is that the person is not legally capable of consenting. Of course one can consent in the sense of desiring, but the law is arguing that one is not really capable of such. So if two 15 year olds are sleeping together, do we arrest the girl and imprison her for 10 years when she turns 16 and has sex with her boyfriend who is a few months younger? Do you think the label “rapist” rightly applies to the girl in the above scenario? If a girl get pregnant under the age… Read more »
Bethyada, I don’t think that most of our stat rape laws work that way. There must generally be a greater age difference than a few months between the offender and the victim, with the harshest penalties reserved for anyone over 21 who has sex with an underaged person. Different states vary in their penalties, but a 23-year-old having sexual relations with a 13 or 14 year old girl could be looking at as much as 30 years or as little as 5. In California, where the age of consent is 18 and the stat rape laws are pretty strict, an… Read more »
Except Jill, what you have written is not what Connie said
He did only get one year in jail, however, which is what he would have got in California. The more serious punishment is registration as a sex offender, which–weirdly–was not for the sexual activity but for using a computer to set it up. I had trouble feeling any sympathy for him because of the three year age difference. What I found most appalling, however, was the culture of the school–but who in their senses believes in co-ed boarding schools?
I was startled that he intended to study theology.
Quite likely! I think that 18 year olds have to remember that, no matter how eager the younger person may be, it is illegal to have sex with him or her. However silly or sinful the younger person may be, the adult can’t take advantage of their protected status. Unfortunately, the real adults in this situation clearly did little to protect either of the young people for whom they were responsible. It is beyond me that anyone thinks you can throw healthy teenagers together without supervision and then be surprised at sexual misconduct.
Connie, your facts and timeline are messed up. Wight’s actions were hidden from the church elders and members. As soon as Wight’s actions came to light, he was immediately removed from the Greyfriars pastoral training and placed under church discipline. He was not ordained here or allowed into ministry. He was a student.
I do not know where you received information that he was allowed into the ministry but that is completely false.
“I think the facts are pretty clear . . .” And the problem is that they are not clear at ALL. And the reason they are not clear is because of false and misleading statements made by people who should know better. Natalie said in Friday’s newspaper article that Christ Church had fought “tooth and nail” to keep Jamin from being punished. This is simply false. The punishment that Jamin received was the result of negotiations between the Greenfield family and the state of Idaho. Christ Church was not involved in those negotiations or in the sentencing in any way.… Read more »
As for Gary Greenfield, who is likely to object to this account, I would like to point out that he is (literally, not just figuratively) a flat-earther. And the reason for bringing this up is NOT because flat-earthers deserve to have their daughters abused, but rather because flat-earthers ought not to be trusted when it comes to what constitutes reasonable evidence. Agreed. If someone’s a complete whack job in one area, you should certainly be extremely skeptical of them in other areas. Which is why I said the other day that Peter Leithart, who believes and publishes articles saying that… Read more »
No limitations on unbridled immigration whatsoever? That seems absurd. Where has Leithart written that? Who supports these flooding immigrants, our Welfare system?
No limitations on unbridled immigration whatsoever? That seems absurd. It’s beyond absurd. It’s madness. Leithhart is President of Theopolis Institute, which recently published an article about immigration. https://theopolisinstitute.com/immigration-and-the-church/ Here’s the money quote: Here, then, just to set the ball rolling, are three straightforward aspects of biblical teaching that we might helpfully bear in mind. First, we should clarify that there is not the slightest shred of biblical justification for any government to legislate against the free movement of law-abiding citizens from one country to another. There should be no laws against immigration. Naturally, it may always not be wise for… Read more »
Dismaying. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
FAAAK, does the Bible prohibit immigration? No. That’s the point. Now how about all the other things that the Bible said about immigrants (foreigners, strangers) — they are to obey Biblical laws such as the 10 Commandments. Of course, that is where the rub comes in because today’s America doesn’t follow the big 10. We sacrifice children to the god of abortion, we move boundary stones, punish the just and allow the wicked to continue, call good evil and evil good. Never mind about teaching immigrants to obey God’s laws and uphold them because we don’t. The problem isn’t just… Read more »
The problem isn’t just immigration numbers, it also includes why we don’t follow God’s laws and why we don’t teach immigrants to follow them also. Just think about a scenario where if you immigrated to the US you would have to rest on Sunday. You would have to speak English.
It’s God’s law that people have to speak English?
I was not aware of that.
FAAAK: Well, now you know. The point is that immigrants are supposed to take on the Biblical culture. That includes speaking the language.
Where does the Bible say the English language is part of “the biblical culture”?
I’d be very surprised if you can point to anything like that in the Bible, as none of it was even written in English.
For “classical Protestants” and such, making liberal use of the word “biblical” (which they use to describe anything and everything) is essential in order to make Sola Scriptura meaningful.
If you’re not throwing “biblical” around left and right, you might be forced to deal with the fact that your Bible’s books weren’t written in English, and that several books are in fact missing (at least with most translations).
FAAAK and JohnM, the point was that strangers were to join the Jewish culture and worship the one true God. In order to do that they had to speak the language of the land. In Amerika right now, it is anything goes, but in America, English was the language of business. FAAAK, my Bible is written in English and your shoes are too tight to see the humor in that comment. We don’t follow the 10 Commandments in Hebrew, Greek, English or any other language. How are we to welcome strangers, foreigners to America if we don’t even know God’s… Read more »
Wouldn’t that mean we all need to be versed in Hebrew and Greek?
Just to clarify further, did you around that time tell someone something like this?
‘Gary should not have already made up his mind on going to the police. The purpose of my initial meeting with him was to figure out what OUGHT to be done, not to be told what he was going to ALREADY do. Even though he is within his right to go to the law, it would have been better to handle this outside of court due to the parental negligence involved.’
No.
Thanks.
I guess some other silence must be deafening now?
Hopefully Doug will now address Joshua Gibbs’ comment of yesterday.
Which one? Old comments? Flat earth? Or AIDS?
That it’s unfair of Doug to stick Gary with off-handed comments he made 18 years ago and hasn’t come back to since.
“As for Gary Greenfield, who is likely to object to this account, I would like to point out that he is (literally, not just figuratively) a flat-earther.”
Let the shrieking intensify.
I hope I am not shrieking, but I do have a problem with this line of defense. The world is full of people who think anyone who can believe in a six day creation or the Resurrection is someone who is not to be trusted to deal with evidence. Nonetheless, no one is kicked off a jury for believing in astrology, pixies, or any particular religious faith. I believe that religious people should not welcome a line of argument that says anyone who believe in some things that are contrary to evidence is therefore unable to judge any other evidence… Read more »
You make a good point. The differences between the issue at hand, and the random “flat earth” thing that was brought up are vast enough that it’s hard to make them relate. I don’t really want to repeat “ad hominem” again because it will probably lead a certain poster to come running in here as if to a dog whistle…but that is what the remark felt like. Disparage someone who disagrees with you by making fun of them on a completely unrelated matter.
I think your own words are enough for my thoughts on this matter. If Jesus is using your local paper to get your attention, as He did with other ministries we would all know, if I were you I would pay attention. You have Godgiven gifts, you are in ministry and as such , stricter judgement.
It really is okay to admit when you messed up. In the long run you would get more respect.
Connie, are you the Connie in the link below?
https://thoroughlychristiandivorce.wordpress.com/about/
Nope, happily married for over three decades. I don’t have a blog, either.
Oh, I just remembered one I have maybe one or two posts on, but that was several years ago and I forgot about it. Not a blogger, prefer to read other’s writings usually.
Whew!
Doug, it would be unfair to stick anyone with off-handed comments they made 18 years ago and haven’t come back to since, especially someone such as yourself who reads so much… though given the flat-earth comment above, I have to ask: do you think there’s a global conspiracy involving AIDS?
Josh, I don’t think I ever thought there was a global conspiracy involving AIDS. I did think there was a lot of very confused thinking about AIDS, and I still think that. But even if I thought there was a full-blown conspiracy (which I don’t), that is a far cry from believing in a flat earth. After all, there *are* conspiracies, and there isn’t a flat earth.
Douglas, can I recommend The Origins of AIDS by Jacques Pepin. I think it gives a very good account of the origins in the 1920s, the spread through Africa in the following decades, the possible exacerbation by doctors there, the problems associated with prostitution in Africa, the arrival in Haiti and Haiti as a destination for the gay community in the 1970s. The blood trade, drug use, and other issues. It is a well written and fascinating book.
I can also recommend “The Coming Plague”, though it’s about new epidemic disease in general and only has one chapter on the early spread of AIDS. I mention because I read it way back in 1999 and it was published in 1995, even before Deusberg’s ridiculous book came out. It details how they had already been able to trace AIDS as having originated in Africa at some point before the 1960s, its early spread in Africa along some simple trader routes, the the subsequent spread to the Caribbean as you point out followed by spread into the American gay community.… Read more »
Well, never mind then! Shows how bad my memory is.
Here’s what Pastor Wilson did say, which he seems to want to obscure now: Inventing the AIDS Virus Dr. Peter Duesberg; Regnery Publishing, Inc. 1996 Reviewed by Douglas Wilson The AIDS enemy has landed in South Carolina and our medical establishment is fighting them off in the Yukon. But they are fighting the virus hard, bless `em. Cutting to the cliche, Duesberg’s thesis is that AIDS is not caused by the virus now called HIV, that the AIDS epidemic is the result of lifestyle patterns, particularly the use of recreational drugs, and that AZT, a chemotherapy widely used in AIDS… Read more »
I believe Doug was wrong about this. He should be judged according to thinking at the time he wrote this and not by today’s knowledge, but I suspect much was known in 1996.
A little google sleuthing shows that he appears to still hold by the same views today. This question was posed in a comment 2 years ago: “I wanted to know if you still endorse Peter Duesberg. Do you personally believe that HIV is not the precursor to AIDS. I want to represent your beliefs accurately. I have read your review of one of Duesberg’s works. Does that review still stand?” And this was Pastor Wilson’s response: “I haven’t studied that issue for many years, but I haven’t changed my mind on the basic issues. So yes, you can cite anything… Read more »
I came across Doug’s position on HIV in an appendix to one of his books (years ago), which I thought best not be there as the book is otherwise very helpful. I think the current evidence is very clear that Duesberg’s position (as per your review) is untenable. And it would be prudent for Doug to read much more widely before writing on these things if this is his current position (though Doug can be more nuanced than his opponents give him credit for). I don’t really mind people taking unpopular positions and minority positions, but I just don’t think… Read more »
And, on a rather unrelated but incredibly sad note, that book and the publicity the author received may have caused literally hundreds of thousands of people to die. “In 2000, Duesberg was the most prominent AIDS denialist to sit on a 44-member Presidential Advisory Panel on HIV and AIDS convened by then-President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.[37] The panel was scheduled to meet concurrently with the 2000 International AIDS Conference in Durban and to convey the impression that Mbeki’s doubts about HIV/AIDS science were valid and actively discussed in the scientific community.[13] The views of the denialists on the panel,… Read more »
Okay, that is the most absurd attack I have ever read here, and that is saying a lot.
If it’s okay, I will sail over on Noah’s ark with 2 million plus species, a talking snake, a couple of my random resurrected pals who were wandering around Jerusalem when the stone got rolled out and you can turn water into wine. We can all hoist a glass of magic vino and toast to the kettle black!
Disappointed to see that connie is still spreading her lies and misrepresentations about Christ Church. Wilson correctly refused to characterize Wight’s motivations as those of a pedophile, but Wilson has repeatedly said that Jamin Wight acted wickedly and criminally toward Natalie and deserved the legal punishments he received, at the very least. Connie seems to just ignore this fact in her quarrel against him. She suggests that Wight was able to continue with his plan to go into ministry, showing that connie has no grasp of the basic facts of the case. Blindly attacking Wilson and Christ Church is not… Read more »
“Matthew 5:10, Blessed are you who are persecuted for RIGHTEOUSNESS sake. The Living Bible says ‘. Blessed are you who are persecuted for doing right.”
There is no blessing for those who are persecuted for making stupid decisions. Forgiveness, yes, upon repentance.
Stupid decisions were made so stop with the whining.
Leslie, you are correct, in that stupid decisions do hurt. Natalie needs to understand that she made stupid decisions and has fallen away from the Lord. She walked away from the church rather than Christ Church walking away from her.
Natalie’s statements do not ring true for those of us who lived in Moscow during that time.
As a note, forgiveness is not dependent upon repentance.
We need to pray more for Natalie and her family. We need to spend more time praying for healing in this matter and I would ask those reading to assist in those prayers.
I wasn’t talking about Natalie
Yes Douglas, take a look at your emerging legacy and rejoice. Imagine how much rejoicing you would be doing if you to get through something that had truly victimized you? Say… sexual abuse or rape. You could be having mardi gras right now. Rejoice.
“Imagine how much rejoicing you would be doing if you to get through something that had truly victimized you”
He isn’t claiming victim status.
He is always claiming victim status.
Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors…
In this post Wilson is practicaly singing ‘Victory in Jesus.’
Isn’t he always crowing? Or alternately crying victim? Victory (in jesus) indeed. The collateral damage is unfortunate though isn’t it? By all means, create principals from interpretation of bronze-age scripture that allows you to overlook sexual abuse and abusers at the expense of their victims. And when your spade gets called the same, cry victim yourself… or rejoice. Why not?
Or maybe, protect children from those who would rape and abuse them. Put the safety of children ahead of ideology and your own hubris. Imagine that.
RandMan, your unsupported comments really do not hit home. If you don’t like Wilson, just so “I don’t like Wilson.” Then we all get the point. Otherwise, your statements are way off base.
Happy Lord’s Day.
We have here Wilson’s colossal failure to protect children, babies (and and adult woman) in his extended church and school, his numerous deflective and disinformative blog posts blaming the victim while making jokes and using the scandal to shill books, the plethora of articles online- many from reputable christian sources with skin in the game criticizing his hubris and mean-spirited, bigoted version of christianity… A simple ‘I like or I don’t like Wilson’ seems rather silly doesn’t it? Thank you for the empty, self-congratulatory blessing btw. It reminded me that my favorite part of any sunday at this post-christian stage… Read more »
“We have here Wilson’s colossal failure to protect children, babies (and and adult woman) in his extended church and school”
Is Wilson the only one responsible for not protecting these women, children, and babies?
Wilson is a community leader, pastor and head of a school whose student who sexually abused an underage girl repeatedly. He blames the victim and the victims family. These students board (illegally) with church families. Wilson also counseled and married off a known pedophile to an impressionable young parishioner resulting in a baby who has been flagged as sexually stimulating to the father. Is he not responsible for protecting these children and families under his pastoral care. Or shall we just excuse his hubris and colossally bad judgment with an ‘oh well’ and ‘the lord works in mysterious ways’?
Again is Wilson the only community leader, pastor, school director?
Whatever Wilsons faults in all this, I don’t agree with crucifying him ten years after the fact just because he’s an easy target.
RandMan you are way off base. This was hashed out long ago and your continued lies show the extent that this event is being pushed by individuals outside the church without any concern for the church, the families or the individuals involved. Wight was responsible for the sexual abuse. Gary Greenfield set that disastrous situation up and fails to take credit for his poor parenting. When the abuse was brought to light, immediate action was taken by the church. Just stop on the illegal boarding house trash talk. That dog didn’t hunt years ago and won’t hunt now. The complaints… Read more »
Willful excuse making is exactly how child abuse is covered up and facilitated. Do yourself a favor and engage in some critical thinking and research not sanctioned by the CREC. The facts are clear. You might also start by listening to the actual victim in this debacle Natalie herself. Her blog details quite clearly what went down without Wilson’s slippery parsing. Shall I lead you by the nose to it? Or can you use google.
RandMan, have you been to the court house to review the actual documents? I have. Did you know Gary Greenfield during this issue? I did. Natalie’s blog and comments do not ring true because she changed her story. Wight and Gary Greenfield carry a huge burden for this abuse and now years after the fact, this attempt is made to discredit Wilson and Christ Church. Google is full of erroneous stories concerning this issue and it is full of various lies by those who hate God and Wilson. Natalie says she was abandoned by the church. No, she turned her… Read more »
I have no idea who you are and don’t care what you claim to have seen or not. I have read Natalie’s account of her life and experiences and find them credible, you should read them too. I have read Wilson’s account, witnessed his blog here during the past year and found him typically slippery, self-serving and disingenuous. He perversely enjoys this controversy as it allows him to push his self-educated ideas re child abuse. He failed Natalie and her family and protected and sided his own student (who has since proven himself to be an even bigger piece of… Read more »
RandMan, I do read Natalie’s blog. Her account isn’t true. Wilson didn’t fail Natalie. Natalie turned away from God and away from the church. Natalie is failing herself by attempting to shift blame — a common occurrence in abuse cases — and Wilson is the target. No one is apologizing for Sitler or Wight. You are way off base. RandMan, you say you don’t believe in God so why are you concerned about what happened? Those of us in the church are concerned because of Biblical principles and Biblical based values. Since you don’t believe in God and Biblical values,… Read more »
“Illegal boarding house”
For that matter, no one points out all of the fraternities and sororities that house a whole passel of unrelated people under the same roof.
I love this verse. Of all the one-anothers in the Bible, this is the only one we are told to do *daily*. Every athlete needs both coaches and cheerleaders — the corrective brand of encouragement and the supportive brand. It takes wisdom to know when to give which and in what measure. And I love this exhortation. As one who has struggled to rejoice under this attack, I have been grateful for those who have encouraged me. As someone who has found a safe, healthy, protective, loving community at Christ Church, I take it too personally when people try to… Read more »
Amen! I am encouraged to hear that. I truly love it when a church comes together and supports one another. Cheerful fortitude, that’s the spirit.