Spanky Sproul 2: WTF is Happening, In More Ways than One

[ophelia]

She also often appeared to be really smug. She has some wit, but unfortunately uses it to damage other people's lives instead of helping and supporting them. In another environment she probably would have been an intelligent, highly educated woman with a job that gives her influence and the possibility to really impact other people's live. At least I always got that feeling from her. 

Another young talented woman that was deeply screwed by patriarchy. 

[CyborgKin]

In case anyone's not familiar with it, this happens to be how I first encountered Doug Wilson:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collision_(2009_film)

[AliceInFundyland]

@CyborgKin I was not familiar with it. I read Christopher Hitchens in Vanity Fair .... forever. I did not encounter the sensation of Doug until a few years ago on FJ. Hmm. My perception of both men has so much skew and bias. A buddy movie with the pair? Hm..

[DomWackTroll]

“Today is the anniversary of the birth of my precious wife. I had to wait far too long to meet her, woo her and marry her.”

Five years was “far too long” after the death of his wife, Denise? Really? Or… Is he including the years that Denise was alive?

“And she is, by far, the greatest earthly gift He has ever given me.”

"By far"? Good grief, man… Your children by Denise can see your social media. You may feel this way (not at all surprising, coming from you, tbh), but must you make it public? Have some decency, FFS. 

https://www.facebook.com/lisacsproul/posts/10214907139686611

[bea]

The whole Moscow, ID situation is just so WEIRD. Basically, Wilson and his acolytes took over an entire goddamned town and he runs it. And it’s a cult of personality - people are attracted to Wilson and his black and white view of the world. For all that they may call it Christianity, it’s actually Wilsonism.

He’s horrible. Just awful.

In case anyone's not familiar with it, this happens to be how I first encountered Doug Wilson:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collision_(2009_film)

I’d put it on my to-be-watched list, but I can’t stand either of them. I probably would prefer to punch Wilson, given a choice, though.
Can you imagine the hubris it takes to decide that you’re just going to go ahead and make sweeping statements about what’s “good for the world?” Ugh.

[stylites]

2 hours ago, bea said:

The whole Moscow, ID situation is just so WEIRD. Basically, Wilson and his acolytes took over an entire goddamned town and he runs it. And it’s a cult of personality - people are attracted to Wilson and his black and white view of the world. For all that they may call it Christianity, it’s actually Wilsonism.

He’s horrible. Just awful.

 

I’d put it on my to-be-watched list, but I can’t stand either of them. I probably would prefer to punch Wilson, given a choice, though.
Can you imagine the hubris it takes to decide that you’re just going to go ahead and make sweeping statements about what’s “good for the world?” Ugh.

 

My impression from speaking to folk in the area is that until the relatively recently most of them were unaware of him.  I don’t think he’s taken over the town to any extent - he’s just very noisy about everything. 

[hoipolloi]

4 hours ago, DomWackTroll said:

"By far"? Good grief, man… Your children by Denise can see your social media. You may feel this way (not at all surprising, coming from you, tbh), but must you make it public? Have some decency, FFS. 

ITA. Actually, that post is set to public -- EVERYONE can see it. It's almost as if Spanky wanted to remove all doubt that he is indeed a fucking asshole.

1 hour ago, stylites said:

My impression from speaking to folk in the area is that until the relatively recently most of them were unaware of him.  I don’t think he’s taken over the town to any extent - he’s just very noisy about everything. 

From the various LTEs & info from the local news outlets, it looks like the Wilson cult is pretty cavalier about things like building permits & zoning when it comes their development plans.

So when others in town show up at public meetings or write in to oppose the various projects scams Wilson has going, he sends in his winged monkeys to do battle on his behalf. This could look like there are lots of cultists even if they don't actually comprise a majority or sizable minority of citizens.

[LilMissMetaphor]

None of Darby's pictures (that I can see) have her dad in them, except for a group wedding pic from 4ish years ago.  Most of her pictures are of her and her grandfather or her and her mother.  A vague post from a few days ago about expectations, sins, and grieving people who didn't turn out how you expected them to, would seem to be Dad-related.  (She says it's definitely not husband-related).  And she hasn't liked or commented on RC's gushy new-wife post that I could see either.

[GenerationCedarchip]

On 11/5/2018 at 11:49 PM, DomWackTroll said:

What is it about this Reformed/Calvinist/Ex-VF crowd? Every time you think you know everything about one of their (many) scandals, it's like, there's a mini-scandal within the scandal, or some new twist you could have never predicted, or something that seemed long over is suddenly revived for some strange reason. It just never ends with these people. 

Well, for starters, it's nowhere near as centralized as ATI/Gothard. Since there are multiple nerve centers, so to speak, the scandals tend not to affect the wider reformed community directly in the same way as the ATI issues do.

[stylites]

16 hours ago, GenerationCedarchip said:

Well, for starters, it's nowhere near as centralized as ATI/Gothard. Since there are multiple nerve centers, so to speak, the scandals tend not to affect the wider reformed community directly in the same way as the ATI issues do.

I think some of the blame goes back to Kuyper and the 'every square inch' line of thought.  Once you've bought into this - and in the absence of epistemic humility - it's going to be obvious that every secular institution is going to be flawed at some level, which leads to the creation of everything from True and Reformed Christian Counselling (David Powlinson) to True and Reformed Christian Maths (Vern Poythress).

So when you run into problems with subject A, you invoke experts in True and Reformed Subject B to come in and consult for you.  Of course the answers will inevitably be that you failed to properly follow the True and Reformed way, and so on, and that the best solution for this is a greater application of True and Reformedness.

So the stage is set for natural cover-ups, a suspicion of non-True and Reformed experience, and keeping it within the circle, which neatly makes sure that any effluent spreads throughout every subsequent organisation that becomes involved.

Part of the issue with Wilson is that he believes that his theology makes him uniquely qualified to run a college, school, printing press, etc.

Of course you have to downplay the notion of divine inscrutability, but that's usually fairly easily done, and also explains Sproul Jrs move from Reformed to Charismatic - he's merely moved from one group who has a very clear idea of the will of God to another one.

 

[Howl]

What an awesome and clarifying post, @stylites, and especially so in light of your wonderful fj handle!  Looking forward to hearing more from you. 

Stylite Wiki:

Quote

A stylite (from Greek στυλίτης, stylitēs, "pillar dweller", derived from στῦλος, stylos, "pillar", Classical Syriac: ܐܣܛܘܢܐ‎ ʼasṯonáyé) or pillar-saint is a type of Christian ascetic who lives on pillars, preaching, fasting and praying. 

This is my favorite part of the Wiki: 

Quote

Roger Collins, in his Early Medieval Europe, tells us that in some cases two or more pillar saints of differing theological viewpoints could find themselves within calling distance of each other, and would argue with one another from their columns. 

 

[stylites]

3 hours ago, Howl said:

What an awesome and clarifying post, @stylites, and especially so in light of your wonderful fj handle!  Looking forward to hearing more from you. 

Stylite Wiki:

This is my favorite part of the Wiki: 

 

 

I can't claim to do much preaching or fasting, except in the absence.  As a one-man awkward squad, I'm quite happy to argue though.

[nickelodeon]

As a fan of Victorian literature I like ya url too, @stylites! "I will not cease to grasp the hope I hold/Of saintdom, and to clamour, mourn and sob/Battering the gates of heaven..."

[Soulhuntress]

15 hours ago, stylites said:

I think some of the blame goes back to Kuyper and the 'every square inch' line of thought.  Once you've bought into this - and in the absence of epistemic humility - it's going to be obvious that every secular institution is going to be flawed at some level, which leads to the creation of everything from True and Reformed Christian Counselling (David Powlinson) to True and Reformed Christian Maths (Vern Poythress).

So when you run into problems with subject A, you invoke experts in True and Reformed Subject B to come in and consult for you.  Of course the answers will inevitably be that you failed to properly follow the True and Reformed way, and so on, and that the best solution for this is a greater application of True and Reformedness.

And then there is a "holy huddle" wherein nobody  but the True and Reformed are allowed to dwell.  And missions work is but a term not a lifestyle.  And Predestination is an excuse to be lazy.

[stylites]

15 hours ago, Soulhuntress said:

And then there is a "holy huddle" wherein nobody  but the True and Reformed are allowed to dwell.  And missions work is but a term not a lifestyle.  And Predestination is an excuse to be lazy.

Yeah, and the same is true anywhere people think they have a superior handle on truth overall (be it fundamentalist Pentecostals, IFB, parts of the Catholic Church and so on).

I'm somewhat agnostic on the missions work as a lifestyle thing. Too often it can serve as another cudgel with which to beat folk. The reality is that most people seem to only ever help the conversion of one or two of their closest friends, and for the rest maybe just treating people well and trying not to be total s**** is the better way.

[Banyan]

Not sure how current the information is but it appears the RC-Lisa Sproul abode is in foreclosure and may be up for auction.

[dripcurl]

1 hour ago, Banyan said:

Not sure how current the information is but it appears the RC-Lisa Sproul abode is in foreclosure and may be up for auction.

Link?

[Coconut Flan]

You'll have to search yourself as I edited out the links from the post as you can see.  We don't publish the addresses ourselves.

[refugee]

2 hours ago, Banyan said:

Not sure how current the information is but it appears the RC-Lisa Sproul abode is in foreclosure and may be up for auction.

Doesn’t surprise me. Old habits die hard, and daddy isn’t around to provide re$cue anymore.

[CTRLZero]

I found the foreclosure notice, and won't post the info here, but found this in my initial Google attempts.  I thought this was an interesting article about living too high on the hog and having to declare bankruptcy and/or go through foreclosure.

RC Sproul Jr. article - Writing checks your faith can't cash - or - Not following his own advice

[Howl]

24 minutes ago, CTRLZero said:

I found the foreclosure notice, and won't post the info here, but found this in my initial Google attempts.  I thought this was an interesting article about living too high on the hog and having to declare bankruptcy and/or go through foreclosure.

RC Sproul Jr. article - Writing checks your faith can't cash - or - Not following his own advice

I didn't see a date on that article, but my sense is that it was written during or after the 2008 economic melt down. 

I assumed that the house was part of Lisa's most recent divorce settlement.  Oh, well. 

[DomWackTroll]

...apparently leaving Spanky without the time, energy, or money to "rescue" his daughter from the workplace! And now she's even "partying" with them-- in pants!

 

[Banyan]

5 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

You'll have to search yourself as I edited out the links from the post as you can see.  We don't publish the addresses ourselves.

Sorry if I violated any rules. Didn't think it was a problem since they don't care that their address is known. Check out RC-Lisa Sproul Facebook entry Nov 19 @ 3:33pm.

[Coconut Flan]

We have other people we discuss who spread their address around also.  That doesn't mean we change our rules case by case.  You didn't get a warning.  I simply removed the links.  All is good.

[Flyinthesoup]

8 minutes ago, Banyan said:

Sorry if I violated any rules. Didn't think it was a problem since they don't care that their address is known. Check out RC-Lisa Sproul Facebook entry Nov 19 @ 3:33pm.

I see a Nov. 18 and a Nov. 20, is the Nov. 19 now gone?