Spanky Sproul 3: Rationality Is NOT in the Mix

[Howl]

5 hours ago, Banyan said:

Why on earth would the hosts of such an event risk creating a scandal on top of all the controversy by inviting a disgraced felony DUI convicted Ashley Madison adulterer to speak at their event?

He's anti abortion.  That trumps EVERYTHING. 

[nickelodeon]

6 hours ago, Banyan said:

And how does Sproul merit the title: "Pastor"? Didn't they get the memo? He was defrocked!

It has a better ring to it than “guy who got fired from baseball blogging after one week.”

[hoipolloi]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

He's anti abortion.  That trumps EVERYTHING. 

Yep. As I said previously, almost none of this disgusting information involving Spanky -- the failed "ministry" in VA, financial improprieties in relation to the "ministry,"  Ashley Madison, abuse of family members --   was a secret to anyone in this crowd who has had anything to do with this religious sub-cult over the last 10-15 years.

These fucking assholes have ALL known about him for years but kept giving him a pass because abortion. 

 

 

 

[MamaJunebug]

59 minutes ago, nickelodeon said:

It has a better ring to it than “guy who got fired from baseball blogging after one week.”

Was it an entire week?

 

[Banyan]

1 hour ago, MamaJunebug said:

Was it an entire week? 

 

"Sproul Jr.’s tenure as site manager lasted two days."
SB Nation Hired A Disgraced Pastor To Lead A Team Site And, Hoo Boy, Readers Have Questions

[Banyan]

Growing Up (With) R.C.: Truths I Learned About Grace, Redemption, and the Holiness of God

on Amazon for pre-order.

Ready and waiting for some reviews, say for example some mention that even his own children are urging people not to buy it. Or perhaps some discussion about the forward being written by the unrepentant serial adulterer Tullian Tchividjian.

[older than allosaurs]

I've been jonesing for my Sproul fix after Darby and her friend Kate and RC-Lisa all went private or dialed back on their Facebook commentaries since the Don't Buy Dad's Book kerfuffle started. Valerie Jacobson has come to my rescue. I'm also happy to say that not only the estimable Katie Botkin but also Audri Botkin (married to Botkin brother Ben)  have weighed in. The RC v. Valerie Twitter back-and-forth is epic.

https://www.facebook.com/mrsvaleriejacobsen/timeline?lst=1218385441%3A1319666953%3A1554065348

https://twitter.com/rcsprouljr/status/1111371079145136128?fbclid=IwAR0aOQJMU37HWnpE31iNlrTg5Xo8tpZsLsN3L9o-4OUwyVBFNHvWAUJHeZk

On a less frivolous note, those poor kids still at home. It's got to be an unpleasant place to be these days.

[hoipolloi]

Katie Botkin for the win!

[refugee]

3 hours ago, older than allosaurs said:

I've been jonesing for my Sproul fix after Darby and her friend Kate and RC-Lisa all went private or dialed back on their Facebook commentaries since the Don't Buy Dad's Book kerfuffle started. Valerie Jacobson has come to my rescue. I'm also happy to say that not only the estimable Katie Botkin but also Audri Botkin (married to Botkin brother Ben)  have weighed in. The RC v. Valerie Twitter back-and-forth is epic.

https://www.facebook.com/mrsvaleriejacobsen/timeline?lst=1218385441%3A1319666953%3A1554065348

https://twitter.com/rcsprouljr/status/1111371079145136128?fbclid=IwAR0aOQJMU37HWnpE31iNlrTg5Xo8tpZsLsN3L9o-4OUwyVBFNHvWAUJHeZk

On a less frivolous note, those poor kids still at home. It's got to be an unpleasant place to be these days.

The Facebook link “doesn’t exist” now. What did it say?

[older than allosaurs]

2 hours ago, refugee said:

The Facebook link “doesn’t exist” now. What did it say?

Huh. It still works for me. There are a few different conversations--about RC's new book, about him telling Valerie on Twitter that she's "disqualified" from asking him for any clarification on what he's up to, about his position vis a vis antinomianism, about Lisa's now hidden blog post about being queen of the house and how she's persecuted by all those sinful children.

[Banyan]

8 hours ago, older than allosaurs said:

There are a few different conversations--about RC's new book, about him telling Valerie on Twitter that she's "disqualified" from asking him for any clarification on what he's up to, about his position vis a vis antinomianism, about Lisa's now hidden blog post about being queen of the house and how she's persecuted by all those sinful children.

Adding to that, Valerie points out that Sproul reacts not in the least to her calling him out for his many lies in his Ashley Madison confession. But he reacts in the extreme when she has the audacity to ask him about his foray into Pentecostalism.

Quote

Valerie Jacobsen NOTE: I also said of him, in the very same piece--
"Ashley Madison and then lying, lying, and lying again, never telling the truth about it."
But that is not where he decided to charge me with "prejudicial falsehood".
It is also not the part that is upsetting his faithful followers.
I have Anabaptist and Pentecostal friends I *treasure*, actually, so you do the math on this one.

RC Jr is willing to acknowledge that he's a member of a Mennonite Anabaptist church, Pine Hills Church in Fort Wayne, which is an incredible admission. That's got to be a tough one to swallow for what few remaining Reformed fans he's got left because Anabaptist doctrines repudiate the Calvinist doctrines of the Reformed faith. There may be only one other belief system that's even more extremely opposite of the Reformed faith and that's Pentecostalism. So it's for good reason Sproul is agitated  over people asking him about why he attended Life Bridge Church, a Foursquare church in Fort Wayne. His embarrassment over being outed is understandable. What isn't understandable is how he came to attend a Pentecostal denomination church founded by a woman preacher, Aimee Semple McPherson. You know, those tongue-speaking, prophesying, faith-healing, raising the dead (they even talk about doing that on Life Bridge's web site), holy rollers? RC Jr's own father would have (and probably did) called "Sister Aimee" a heretic.

 

The Foursquare church and everything it teaches is the exact opposite extreme of the Reformed Presbyterian faith RC Jr was raised in, ordained in, the teachings his father raised him up in, and the Calvinist teachings and traditions that he himself has said are "the purest expression of the gospel of Jesus Christ." Like his father RC Jr claimed to be a Cessationist. Pentecostals are the exact opposite of that.

 

How did it happen? How could it happen? Was RC Sproul Jr stoned out of his mind on a combination of booze and his wife's opioids for the 4 months he was attending Life Bridge Church? Was he blacked out for those 4 months like he was blacked out the evening of his DUI arrest? Was it temporary insanity? There has to be a credible explanation. If RC Sproul Jr was capable of attending a holy roller church for 4 months then what's next? It seems unlikely RC Jr would renounce the Christian faith altogether, but I could see him becoming an Anabaptist. 

 

Oh, wait! It looks like that's already happened!

 

[MamaJunebug]

As far as Spanky casting around for a new church to join / “lead” / corrupt, words from “Evita” come to mind:

There is no one, no one at all,

never has been and never will be a lover,

male or female,

who hasn’t an eye on 

- in fact they rely on -

tricks they can try on their partner!

 

Theyre  hoping their lover will help them

or keep them

support them

promote them.

Don’t blame them.  You’re the same

[stylites]

8 hours ago, Banyan said:

Adding to that, Valerie points out that Sproul reacts not in the least to her calling him out for his many lies in his Ashley Madison confession. But he reacts in the extreme when she has the audacity to ask him about his foray into Pentecostalism.

 

RC Jr is willing to acknowledge that he's a member of a Mennonite Anabaptist church, Pine Hills Church in Fort Wayne, which is an incredible admission.

 

He claims in that thread to be in sub ission to his session, IME it’s very rare that a session will recommend attendance at a outside denominational church. 

[lilith]

11 minutes ago, stylites said:

He claims in that thread to be in sub ission to his session, IME it’s very rare that a session will recommend attendance at a outside denominational church. 

Could he be redefining “session” to mean “leadership of his new church”?

[Banyan]

55 minutes ago, lilith said:

Could he be redefining “session” to mean “leadership of his new church”?

Exactly. He's using Presbyterian language as a cover to make it sound like he's still Presbyterian and under some actual structured accountability. Pretty much the same game he played when he fled the RCPGA, where there actually was accountability (they disciplined and defrocked him) for the CREC where there was none. He talked a good line about "sessions" and "presbyteries" but in Doug Wilson's fast and loose parallel universe of "presbyterianism" it was all a sham.

After Sproul bailed on the CREC he got himself ordained as an "Evangelist" in the Covenant Presbyterian Church founded by his buddy James McDonald. They didn't approve of his intentions to marry the 3-times divorced Lisa so he demitted his ordination there, avoiding any possible risk of church discipline for marrying what they viewed as an adulteress (apparently Lisa didn't divorce any of her husbands for "biblical reasons'). The CPC was the last time he was under the authority of any actual session.

Then came his brief 4 month foray into Pentecostalalism at the Foursquare Life Bridge Church. After that he joined Pine Hills Church.

Pine Hills is part of the Federation of Evangelical Churches. The FEC is congregational in governance, pretty much the opposite of Presbyterian. They don't have "sessions" and that's not a term they'd ever use. Sproul is trying to make it out like he's under some kind of accountability when in reality in congregational churches there typically is little to none. The FEC Manual of Faith, Practice, & Organization would make good reading for Sproul and help him get his facts straight so he can stop lying.

Edited April 2, 2019 by Banyan

[Howl]

Just dropped by the RC-Lisa Sproul Jr fb page.  Lots of  "This content isn't available right now" but there's a photo montage of Sunday's Pine Hills Church service, featuring hip white preacher men (there must be a recommended look including big smile and jacket brand) and a rock band with congregational swaying and hand waving.  Here 

Spoiler

 

and here

Spoiler

 

FB page WORK section:  RC SPROUL JR MINISTRIES

October 14, 2016 to present · Fort Wayne, Indiana

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by Howl

[MamaJunebug]

They paid for those dental veneers and they’re gonna show each and every one of them!

Doesn't surprise me in the least that Spankisa prefer hip, happenin’ entertainment and motivation over contemplative hymns and a sermon that meditatively  talks about - oh, I dunno - sin and repentance and forgiveness. 

And I’m not criticizing anybody here or elsewhere who prefers the contemporary worship model. I’m just saying it doesn’t surprise me that those two do. 

And I’m not saying that a hip happenin’ sermon can’t explore sin and repentance and forgiveness. Of course it can! I’m just saying for Spankisa, I rather imagine the stage and spots and smooth transitions to vibrant songs are needed to get through the stuff in their heads. 

And I’m not saying that everybody who resonates with the stage and spots and smooth transitions to vibrant songs have too much stuff in their heads. 

Gads, posting about Spankisa is getting exhausting. I’m back to lurk & emoji mode. ?

[Howl]

2 hours ago, MamaJunebug said:

They paid for those dental veneers and they’re gonna show each and every one of them!

Speaking of literal and figurative dental veneers, I caught about 2.25 minutes of Victoria Osteen on Good Morning America today, and was compelled to mute.  And then did a quick google, and brought up this law suit from 10 years ago, about an incident on the tarmac of a flight from Houston to.....wait for it.....Aspen.  The travails of the very rich.  Truly, you can't make this shit up. 

Anyway, Victoria requesting that someone clean a stain from the armrest of her 1st class seat escalated to her pushing a flight attendant against a bathroom door and elbowing her in the boob while trying to storm the cockpit.  This delayed the flight for 2.5 hours in Houston; the Osteens, apparently, voluntarily deplaned before the flight left Houston.

 The Federal Aviation Administration fined Victoria Osteen $3,000 for interfering with a crew member," which leads me to believe things got pretty damned physical and the Feds took it seriously.  

The flight attendant  sued Victoria Osteen for assault over the incident, because..."According to court documents, Brown claims that she suffers from anxiety and hemorrhoids [?!] because of the incident and said her faith was affected. She is also suing Osteen for medical expenses for counseling." 

Jury seated in lawsuit against Joel Osteen's wife

The stewardess ultimately lost the lawsuit, but here's an interesting tidbit from the UK's The Telegraph: Pastor Joel Osteen's wife in court over air stewardess assault

Quote

The row was about a small spill on her seat which she wanted cleared up immediately, Ms Johnson testified. She also suggested race could have played a role in the incident because Mrs Osteen, 47, made remarks to the effect she would rather deal with a white stewardess. Ms Johnson is white while Ms Brown is black.

Rusty Hardin, Mrs Osteen's lawyer, denied this, pointing to the racial diversity of the Lakewood congregation, which is one third black and one third Hispanic.

Right, got it.  This could never have happened because African American and Hispanic people go to their church.  Rusty Hardin is the founder of  a high profile, extremely successful and (presumably) very expensive Houston law firm.  How high profile? He defended the Arthur Anderson  accounting firm in the Enron case and won. 

Presumably, the Osteens have ascended into private jet territory, so are no long having to breath the fetid air exhaled by regular 1st-class passengers and other attendant problems that come with commercial air travel. 

Anyway, I'm out of the mega-church rabbit hole so back to your regular programming for Spanx and The Lisa Ministries. 

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by Howl

[older than allosaurs]

2 hours ago, MamaJunebug said:

They paid for those dental veneers and they’re gonna show each and every one of them!

 

I’ve been thinking the RC Jr is not well positioned for a side trip into the hip and happenin’ or any other photogenic role.

He’s not all trim and sparkly, which seems to be required to play the “If you’re a wretch, be a cute one” game. Unlike Doug Wilson, he doesn’t have a flock of publicly adoring children and grandchildren to flaunt, and even if he did it’s no longer ok for him to balance a nice glass of single malt on his magisterial belly and beam around at them. Now that he’s remarried, he can no longer play the tragic widower/single dad card, and the career as a blended family expert is not getting off to a good start.

You know those sites where you can pay someone to write your assigned college papers? Maybe he could start one for Christian schools.

[MamaJunebug]

4 minutes ago, older than allosaurs said:

You know those sites where you can pay someone to write your assigned college papers? Maybe he could start one for Christian schools.

Inherently problematic: most instructors would recognize the florid writing style at once. Or if not, they’d grade the student down on charges of overwritten obfuscation. 

Back to lurk!

[older than allosaurs]

1 minute ago, MamaJunebug said:

Inherently problematic: most instructors would recognize the florid writing style at once. Or if not, they’d grade the student down on charges of overwritten obfuscation. 

Back to lurk!

But maybe that's where they teach that writing style?

[refugee]

So how does their newly adopted church feel about alcohol?

[Emilycharlotte]

21 minutes ago, older than allosaurs said:

But maybe that's where they teach that writing style?

I can’t speak for all Christian colleges but the one I attended definitely did not! ?

Edited April 3, 2019 by Emilycharlotte
Edit

[refugee]

10 minutes ago, Emilycharlotte said:

I can’t speak for all Christian colleges but the one I attended definitely did not! ?

Maybe the writing style has to do with all the 18th- and 19th-century books he and his ilk used to tout for “wholesome reading.”

[MamaJunebug]

1 hour ago, older than allosaurs said:

But maybe that's where they teach that writing style?

Oh dear Rufus, please, no!

Family members attended Lutheran affiliated higher ed and remain excellent, clear writers.

Can only hope other denominations are similar. 

#shudder

#lurk