Spanky Sproul 3: Rationality Is NOT in the Mix

[Banyan]

4 hours ago, 241 said:

What I have personally heard is many are scared of both of them and that Lisa goes along with whatever RC does.

Funny, that description reminds me so much of another couple that gets a lot of attention around here, Doug and Beall Phillips. For all Beall's bowing and scraping to Doug things didn't work out so well for her in the end. I can't see it working out for Lisa either, and for the same reasons. Both men claim to love their wives, sacrifice for their wives, etc. but the big impediment is that as narcissists they're really only capable of loving themselves.

It's also noteworthy to mention that Doug Phillips and RC Sproul Jr co-authored The Biblical Tenets Of Patriarchy.

[LydiaAnn]

On 2/14/2019 at 7:18 PM, 241 said:

@Banyan Wow.  I am in the loop regularly in a different way. What I have personally heard is many are scared of both of them and that Lisa goes along with whatever RC does.  But it should be that way in marriage. I think the biggest problem among all members is their love of control. If they can’t rule the roost they fly coop. Not sure what they are afraid of, but for whole family to be at war blaming everyone and their brother it must be big. The walls have ears here, and all listen. Hope to find out. 

 

Wait..."many are scared of both of them"....WHO are the "them"? You (Lisa) and RC?

Girl, puleeeeeeese.  ?

 

 

[Banyan]

10 hours ago, LydiaAnn said:

Wait..."many are scared of both of them"....WHO are the "them"? You (Lisa) and RC?

Girl, puleeeeeeese.  ?

@241 please explain what you mean when you say "many are scared of both of them." I think I get what you mean but most here won't without an explanation.

@LydiaAnn I don't share your suspicions that 241 is Lisa. Not that suspicions aren't warranted. I've said quite negative things about Lisa and yet 241 has more than once agreed with me. So unless Lisa has multiple personality disorder 241 isn't Lisa.

[Howl]

On 2/14/2019 at 6:18 PM, 241 said:

Lisa goes along with whatever RC does.  But it should be that way in marriage. I think the biggest problem among all members is their love of control.

I love the smell of cognitive dissonance in the morning. 

[241]

6 hours ago, Banyan said:

@241 please explain what you mean when you say "many are scared of both of them." I think I get what you mean but most here won't without an explanation.

@LydiaAnn I don't share your suspicions that 241 is Lisa. Not that suspicions aren't warranted. I've said quite negative things about Lisa and yet 241 has more than once agreed with me. So unless Lisa has multiple personality disorder 241 isn't Lisa.

First off, I was given warning for calling out suspects on this thread. So, @LydiaAnn how do you bypass those warnings? 

Given conversations being spoken in my presence with Darby, her SILs and MIL,  it’s easy to identify by personality profiling.  The liberty others take seems common place regardless of the warnings. @Banyan In light of my comments above they need no defense. But I will add RC and Lisa seemed posed as a threat if what is being said on this thread holds merit in regards to his religious views changing, or if he chose his marriage over his kids. I would see that as feared damage to the sacred family cow.

Mark Twain says it best: “Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason.”

[laPapessaGiovanna]

1 hour ago, 241 said:

First off, I was given warning for calling out suspects on this thread. So, @LydiaAnn how do you bypass those warnings? 

Er... following the rules maybe?

[241]

10 hours ago, Banyan said:

Wait..."many are scared of both of them"....WHO are the "them"? You (Lisa) and RC?

Girl, puleeeeeeese.  ?

Which rule might that be? The one where you are trying to accuse me of being multiple people? I think you broke the rules? Next...

[DomWackTroll]

7 hours ago, 241 said:

Given conversations being spoken in my presence with Darby, her SILs and MIL,  it’s easy to identify by personality profiling.  The liberty others take seems common place regardless of the warnings. @Banyan In light of my comments above they need no defense. But I will add RC and Lisa seemed posed as a threat if what is being said on this thread holds merit in regards to his religious views changing, or if he chose his marriage over his kids. I would see that as feared damage to the sacred family cow.

Mark Twain says it best: “Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason.”

Okay, I won't accuse you of being Lisa, but can I accuse you of being Doug Wilson? Because I swear to God, I don't know what ANY of this is supposed to mean. 

[MamaJunebug]

1 hour ago, DomWackTroll said:

Okay, I won't accuse you of being Lisa, but can I accuse you of being Doug Wilson? Because I swear to God, I don't know what ANY of this is supposed to mean. 

Nor do I !!!!

Thank you, dearest @DomWackTroll! 

You’ve given me a MUCH needed laugh in general and also specifically about the  word salad from twoferwun!!!!! 

Edited February 17, 2019 by MamaJunebug

[CyborgKin]

On 2/5/2019 at 6:37 PM, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

...or episodes of Friends...

That's possibly the inspiration for some of the fanfiction.

[241]

We see through a glass dimly as it mirrors the dim.

[Leftitinmysnood]

On 2/5/2019 at 2:59 PM, Lisafer said:

He'd have had to get a marriage license at the courthouse at some point before the ceremony, I would think? It sounds like a convenient excuse to end an unwanted engagement! 

I checked the story with my dad. Yes, he'd had an argument with his fiancee, which is why he took off with his friends for Vegas. But, you can walk up to the Clark County Courthouse in downtown and get a same day marriage license for about $80 and a valid ID, and the marriage license bureau is open 8am - midnight, 7 days a week. Yes, their rules forbid issuing a license if your name doesnt match your ID, which is why he thought he had grounds for an annulment.

[Banyan]

23 hours ago, 241 said:

We see through a glass dimly as it mirrors the dim.

Erm... Maybe you should look at yourself in the mirror before you start preaching at others? Dang, I really hate it when self-righteous people use the bible as a weapon without even thinking about how it applies to themselves first. On top of it all you just twisted up that bible verse into something it doesn't say at all. Twisted... as in the way your mind seems to function. Too much of what you've posted is a jumbled up twisted mess. It's hard to comprehend what you're saying. Or maybe that's deliberate. Some form of cryto-speak that you think only the Sproul kids will understand? But I've tried to decipher your cryptic statements nevertheless. Really I have. In fact I just went back over your posts trying to make sense of it. Here's an example:

Quote

Posted January 14 (edited)

Among the families of our congregation R.C. has been a topic of gossip, slander for quite sometime. From the highest of ranks to the lowest. It would only be in fair judgement to speak the truth here- on a snark platform with kin of the Sproul family who respond foolishly- and who see it as a challenge to shoot down whatever is said against their thrust of destruction. The trajectory here is “let’s redirect these revelations of what these kids are really up to/ and their kin to someone else.” Deceivers do these things. Anyone coming to fj can filter- sift through the propaganda to destroy a father and a mother. It’s disgusting. Darby, you just continue to expose yourself. You make Christianity look foolish. Through social media, through snark groups, through church family. Sproul’s are gaining a bad name because of your unbridled tongue. Same with your family involved in spreading rumors to seek to discredit your own father/family member.  It’s a loose topic in full disclosure among our members. Yet many are leaving and have left in disagreement because of the control and support of wrong. What is known of the Sproul’s: The “kids” use weed. The “kids” drink like fish. The “kids” are an abomination to our denomination. The “kids” were not abused, all elders know the details of their toxic behaviors and flavored sarcasm.  Just like the dealings of their fathers choices, they do not want the “kids” to be exposed, just let their dad be the “fall guy” for the family, 

I have watched and heard this for many years now. It’s time someone steps up and lays  the “kids” behaviors before an audience where the “kids” are seeking to blind the eyes of others while doing evil. 

You've made many allegations, including these I've just quoted. Maybe they're true. Certainly it's reasonable for you to say that Darby has an "undeniable hatred of her new step-mother."  Any sane person is likely to share the same sentiment. So no proof, explanation, or clarification required there. But Darby"s "unbridled tongue"? That should be an easy one to prove if, as you allege, she's been posting "gossip and slanderous tales" "Through social media, through snark groups." I'll be the first to admit I don't make an effort keeping on top of all of Darby's alleged skullduggery. Maybe as you imply she really does live two lives, the public nice Christian Darby that sells dresses, and the secret evil Darby who posts hateful slander against her dad and his wife anonymously. I've seen the former, none of the latter. Where's your evidence of the latter? Will you provide us links or, as you've consistently done before, just ignore our requests for evidence?

We've asked you questions about many of your other allegations, or at least the ones that aren't so self-evident. I for one have repeatedly asked you for evidence as well as clarification, but you've rarely ever responded directly at all. Instead you just move on to launch into more allegations that you won't back up or even clarify. Any responses you give are often convoluted and cryptic. Your M.O. is strikingly Doug Wilson-esqe leading me to believe you've been heavily influenced by him. Though you decry "gossip and slanderous tales" you seem oblivious to the fact that, from all appearances, you're guilty of promoting "gossip and slanderous tales" against the Sproul kids. You're exercising a double standard. Somehow it's a "horrific sin" (as you've termed it) to speak ill of RC Jr and Lisa but it's fine to speak ill of the Sproul kids. You're also comfortable calling them out by name (Darby, Chris,Campbell, Hannah, JT, Dee, EC), accusing them of posting comments here, with no evidence at all (with the possible exception of Darby who is known to have posted here months ago) that any of them have FJ accounts or even read FJ. But apparently none of that is slander in your book. Again, a very odd double standard. 

And as for alleged "slander" it's only slander if it's untrue. You've been asked repeatedly by me and others to provide evidence that even one single allegation is false. Rather than being forthcoming you're entirely evasive, and you evade quite smugly.

As for "The 'kids' drink like fish" I won't believe you without some evidence; but for the moment let's just assume for the sake of argument that's true. Alcohol abuse is known to quite often run in families. It's often passed down from a parent to the children. RC Jr's case is one of the most deplorable I'm aware of -- a drunkard who gave an entirely new meaning to "drinking in moderation" and did so for alleged religious reasons. Disgusting! I hope for their sake if any of the Sproul children do have alcohol abuse problems they, unlike their drunkard father, seek professional help. With all the horrific things they were raised with they deserve your compassion, 241, not your condemnation. 

And as for "The 'kids' use weed", oh my! I'm really clutching my pearls now! Given what the abuses of Darby's father, not to mention what he permitted to take place under his own roof visa vi Steven Sitler, is it not reasonable to assume Darby and perhaps others of the Sproul children suffers from PTSD? Given all the studies that show the effectiveness of cannabis in treating PTSD I for one wouldn't fault them for using it, if they indeed are (some evidence on your part is still needed, otherwise it's just slander). Certainly it's much safer than Spanky's drug of choice -- alcohol, maybe even therapeutic. Not that I'm specifically recommending it here. I'm just not so eager to judge the Sproul kids as you are. Yes, as you point out, as adults, they're still responsible for their actions, regardless of the horrific ways in which their father raised them. I just find it very odd how eager you are to condemn them while giving Spanky and Lisa a pass.

In any event, you've been evasive and cryptic far too long. Time to back up your allegations.

[LydiaAnn]

10 hours ago, Banyan said:

 “Somehow You're also comfortable calling them out by name (Darby, Chris,Campbell, Hannah, JT, Dee, EC), accusing them of posting comments..”

 

I still stand by my suspicion that 241 is Lisa. The cherry on top was the post in which she called out all the kids by name...including their spouses. 

241 “claims” she’s a church member at Darby’s church, so it would be reasonable to assume 241 would know Darby’s husband’s name, Chris. I would also claim it reasonable to assume this “church member” might also know Darby’s sibling’s names. What I find suspicious is that this “church member” also know the SPOUSE’S names...of the married Sproul kids. How many people can honestly say, that they know the names of their friend’s brother or sister’s spouses?? 

Also,  241 mentioned the Sproul kids names in a manner that seemed too “familiar” for a “church member friend” to do. Dee for Delaney. JT for Josh. EC for Erin. Those seem to me to be the sort of names that their family or friends would call them...not a “church member friend” of their sister. 

The fact that I think 241 is, in fact, Lisa...makes her comments on here that much sad and tragic. What grown woman thinks it’s acceptable to bad mouth her step-children and accuse them of the things 241 has? It’s pathetic at the very least.

I would not be the least surprised if 241/Lisa opts not to “defend” her allegations and try to explain her cryptic, erratic, nonsensical posts. I don’t think she’s intellectually capable of doing so in a way that 1) would make sense and 2) make sense and NOT give herself away as being Lisa.

 

 

[Banyan]

@LydiaAnn I've found myself quite confused by 241 and tried sincerely and rationally dialoguing with her to sort it out. It seems my efforts have been in vain. You've brought a lot of clarity to the table for me by making such logical and compelling arguments. I thank you for that. So in my mind now it seems the only way 241's discordant appearance here actually does make any sense is if 241 is Lisa. However 241 could disabuse us of those suspicions if she began to now honestly and forthrightly dialogue with us. LydiaAnn if you're right then I'm predicting:

A): 241 will just continue posting more of the same crazy.
B): 241 will cease posting here altogether.
C): 241 will cease posting as 241 but will soon make an appearance under a newly created username, picking up where Schmoopy and 241 left off.

But then I've been wrong plenty of times in my life, and I'd be more than happy to see 241 prove our suspicions wrong.

[Alcyone]

Interesting development. In her most recent tweet, Darby has refuted the claims of the person who asserts insider information concerning her drinking and smoking habits. Darby says she doesn't know who the person is, but that it is laughable that they accuse her of drinking and smoking weed, when actually, due to her background, she almost completely avoids these substances. 

[Banyan]

1 hour ago, Alcyone said:

Interesting development. In her most recent tweet, Darby has refuted the claims of the person who asserts insider information concerning her drinking and smoking habits. Darby says she doesn't know who the person is, but that it is laughable that they accuse her of drinking and smoking weed, when actually, due to her background, she almost completely avoids these substances. 

Thanks for that @Alcyone. I'll have to say I find myself becoming more and more impressed by Darby. She's taking the high road on this. I'm sure she has suspicions about who this "someone out there on the internet" is but she's careful to say "I can’t prove who they actually are." She could publicly call out Lisa for this but is prudent enough to not do so. Classy move, Darby (I trust you're following this). The very diplomatic tone of your Tweets runs completely counter to 241's narrative that you're a slanderous gossip.

So @241 Darby has officially refuted your allegations that she and her siblings "drink like fish" and "smoke weed." Clearly one of you is a liar, and if you are lying then that also makes you a slanderer. So who's lying here 241?

[mirele]

Dee Parsons of The Wartburg Watch tweeted this out...Spanky made it to Deadspin! He was hired to manage SB Nations' Pittsburgh Pirates team site. His first day was Wednesday. His last day...Friday.

https://deadspin.com/sb-nation-hired-a-disgraced-pastor-to-lead-a-team-site-1832800373

Quote

SB Nation Hired A Disgraced Pastor To Lead A Team Site And, Hoo Boy, Readers Have Questions [Update]

This week, SB Nation hired Christian Twitter personality R.C. Sproul Jr. to take over its Pittsburgh Pirates team site, Bucs Dugout. Sproul Jr. was brought in to fix a problem left over from the site’s previous leadership, but as was revealed in the comment section of his first post, he came with his own baggage, and there sure was a lot of it.

*snip* [from a commenter]

After reading a bit about your background elsewhere, including a conviction for drunk driving, getting caught up in the Ashley Madison scandal, being “defrocked” in your ministry, allegations of the misuse of tax numbers, some way out talk about wife spanking etc., I’d like to suggest that you give BD a detailed explanation of the above and anything else you think we should know about you.

[BD is Bucs Dugout, the fan hangout on SB Nation]

*snip* (and back to the story)

Still, Sproul Jr. introduced himself as someone who would deliver on the promise of making the site more wholesome and at worst “PG-13.” But many readers were concerned with how Sproul Jr. would enforce the SB Nation community guidelines—specifically, would they be able to post pictures of scantily clad women holding the Jolly Roger, or an inside-joke version of this which is a scantily clad woman holding a Jolly Rancher? When a reader asked about posting these memes, Sproul Jr. sounded like a stern monarch rather than someone overseeing a website staffed by lowly paid writers:

Oh, and then people went digging into Spanky's Twitter and found out he held extreme right-wing opinions not at all in line with the average American, average sports fan or average Pittsburgh Pirates fan (see the article)

And then, two days later, Spanky was gone.

Quote

Update (Friday, Feb. 22 at 2:22 p.m. ET): R.C. Sproul Jr. has been fired.

In a statement to Deadspin, SB Nation team brands director John Ness confirmed that R.C. Sproul Jr. “is no longer contracted with Vox Media or SB Nation.” Ness did not answer followup questions about whether a background check was conducted, why SB Nation decided to terminate him when it did, or who hired Sproul Jr. in the first place.

I'm still trying to figure out how Spanky managed to get hired here and what did him in. Was it Ashley Madison? The drunk driving arrest? Who knows?

[Palimpsest]

1 hour ago, mirele said:

I'm still trying to figure out how Spanky managed to get hired here and what did him in. Was it Ashley Madison? The drunk driving arrest? Who knows?

That article is funny reading.  So Spanky can't even hold down some badly paid mod position for more than 2 days without his past actions catching up with him.

No idea how he got hired in the first place, but possibly Vox was willing to overlook his past career as a homophobic anti-choice Fundie preacher, the defrocking, Ashley Madison, and the drunk driving incident ... 

But Spanky may simply have been fired for being the arrogant asshole he is, and for getting overly dictatorial so early on the job.  From that article:

Quote

When a reader asked about posting these memes, Sproul Jr. sounded like a stern monarch rather than someone overseeing a website staffed by lowly paid writers:

Two things- 1. We’ll have neither one and 2. We’ll have no arguments about it that involve me. I think it’s a silly hill for anyone to die on. Keeping things PG-13 is not meant to be a scientific term, but a general one. And we’re going to, if we must err, err on the side of the PG rather than the 13. Hope that is sufficiently clear. If you all must continue to argue the issue, feel free, But I won’t participate. Let’s talk about baseball.

Well, FU, Precious!

[MamaJunebug]

Well, well, well.

Precious is finding out that there is no more room under the rug for his transgressions to be swept.

Where he used to have his folks and their minions to smooth things out, now there are just Pittsburgh fans and an internet company who have less than zero interest in excusing him or developing convenient amnesia. 

Fairly uproarious that his convoluted, flowery prose didn’t impress plain-talking people whose interests are decidedly earthly  

Kind of a sad commentary that it’s taken a non-religious entity to do swiftly what the religious people had to dither about in prior years. 

Get a real job, Craig, though what would be, I have no idea. Oh, same advice to Lisa. It seems to be working for most of your grown children.

[hoipolloi]

6 hours ago, mirele said:

I'm still trying to figure out how Spanky managed to get hired here and what did him in. Was it Ashley Madison? The drunk driving arrest? Who knows?

Various of his online postings are not BADLY written, if you don't see or ignore their loathsome content.

I could see him being hired on baseball knowledge/fandom + OK writing style. Obviously, SB Nation didn't do such a great job of vetting their new hire! 

[ViolaSebastian]

Quote

When a reader asked about posting these memes, Sproul Jr. sounded like a stern monarch rather than someone overseeing a website staffed by lowly paid writers:

Two things- 1. We’ll have neither one and 2. We’ll have no arguments about it that involve me. I think it’s a silly hill for anyone to die on. Keeping things PG-13 is not meant to be a scientific term, but a general one. And we’re going to, if we must err, err on the side of the PG rather than the 13. Hope that is sufficiently clear. If you all must continue to argue the issue, feel free, But I won’t participate. Let’s talk about baseball.

Good grief, the tone of this is just astounding to me. Managing to be tyrannical, belittling, petty, arrogant, pedantic, childish, condescending, draconian, and dismissive in nine short sentences is quite the accomplishment. He makes it extraordinarily clear what he thinks of himself and other people in that exchange. My God, what a colossal jackass. And over a baseball forum, of all things.

He and Lisa deserve each other. I hope they stew in the mutual hell they've created for themselves and so richly deserve. 

[Banyan]

15 hours ago, MamaJunebug said:

Get a real job, Craig, though what would be, I have no idea.

I propose in the spirit of good will we all pitch in and help poor Spanky out by offering up career suggestions.

Writing, in any capacity is off the table. No Christian publication will hire him, and if he can't manage to keep a secular writing/moderating job for more than two days then it seems those doors are closed off too. Maybe he could ghost write for others though. There have been some pretty successful Christian ghost writers. I can't name any off the top of my head right now because, well, they're ghosts, which is the whole point -- no one is supposed to remember their names. Oh, wait. That would never work for Spanky. He's way too much the attention whore. He'd insist his name be on it somewhere. Never mind.

There's telemarketing. Pretty much anyone can get into that. Lots of convicted felons in telemarketing. No background checks, which is a huge advantage for anyone like Spanky with a lot of skeletons in their closet. They even hire crazy people. I had a friend many years ago whose dad sold light bulbs on the phone. He should have been in prison for the stuff he'd done, but the court declared him criminally insane so he only did a few years in a state mental institution. My friend often got together but I only visited her once at her home because she lived with her parents and her dad was scary-nuts. But could he ever sell light bulbs, and in that kind of job it didn't matter about his criminal past or even that he was insane. So telemarketing could be an excellent option for Spanky.

Spanky knows an awful lot about booze. Probably even more than he knows about bible things. The alcohol industry is huge. Like as in many billions of dollars huge. Probably lots of jobs there he could do, like maybe a sales rep for a whiskey distillery. I know, I know. It may not be a great idea having an alcoholic driving around the company van chock full of cases of whiskey, pouring samples for prospective clients. But the company could minimize that risk by installing a breathalizer ignition interlock on the van.

Spanky was apparently the designated Highlands Study Center bartender for open bars at his pastors camps. So as an experienced bartender there's lots of bartending opportunities out there for him. I realize it may not be a great idea though putting an alcoholic behind the bar, but it's been done. I know a recovering alcoholic who's been sober for over twenty years and she's a  bartender. So it's possible. 

I know my suggestions are probably not very good ones. Hopefully others here can pitch in and help out RC Jr.

[Palimpsest]

@Banyan, bartending is out.  Not only is there a risk that the Spankster will drink all the stock, but bartenders are supposed to be good listeners.  Spanky would talk so much about himself that all the customers will run straight out of the bar.

You may be on to something with telemarketing and sales, however.  A truly surprising number of disgraced preachers become used car salesmen.  Apparently there is a huge overlap in the skill sets needed to sell Jebus and in flogging beaten up "vintage" vehicles to the unwary consumer.

[MamaJunebug]

Him not alcoholic but I’ve been related to and befriended enough that I will opine: Spanks needs to work from home. 

Car selling is physically and mentally draining and can be - not “is”! Can Be - where a person goes when all else hasn’t worked out.  All too easy to have a flask in a desk drawer, or to go along to a bar after hours to unwind. 

Nope — much better to be home with Lisa monitoring, supporting, etc.  If it’s still available, listen to his interview post-DWI. He says all the right things about concepts like sobriety and powerlessness, and about the people he encountered who have alcohol problems. He never admits to being like them: to being powerless, to having a problem, to needing a continuing program to attain and maintain sobriety. 

It’s painfully apparent that he still denies that anything is wrong with him. It’s those other people who need help. 

It bears repeating: Spanky needs to work from home, doing whatever, with Lisa monitoring, supporting, etc.