Federal Vision Discipline With a Hint of Postmodern Simony

I have plugged the local listserv a couple of times now, and it occurred to me that someone might read this post and arrive at the wrong conclusion. The post was written by Dr. John Brown, who used to be a member of Christ Church, Moscow, and who used to practice medicine at this clinic.

However, things have changed and it’s safe to say that Dr. Brown has had two epiphanies since then. First, he converted to Roman Catholicism and, second, he now holds an entirely different impression of his former pastor than he had in October 2003.

The first epiphany: Dr. Brown has told me and many others that Douglas Wilson’s Federal Vision theology led him to Rome. This is not a rumor, it is a well-known fact in Moscow. To be fair, though, anyone who knows Brown knows that he always had a soft spot for Rome in his heart, so leaving the Kirk wasn’t a huge leap. What most people don’t know, however, is the reason why the Kirk elders did not discipline Brown when he left Christ Church for Roman Catholicism. They didn’t discipline him because his two partners were both members of Christ Church and one of them was an elder who begged Wilson not to excommunicate Brown because it would hurt the business. Wilson, who is always negotiable, conceded because he understood that Brown was the most popular doctor in the office and that if they put the big X on his forehead it might damage public relations. So Wilson sent the Browns a nasty gram by mail and told them to their faces, “You are the dupes of Satan.” (And this fact is interesting in light of Wilson’s comments on this thread.)

The second epiphany: John Brown has told me and many others that his opinion of Wilson has changed significantly since his monkey-boy days. I will not write too much on this point, but he uses the adjective “evil” quite freely, and for good reason. Indeed, it’s safe to say that he penned the words “I think I am in a good position to judge the charitable nature of Christ Church and its leadership” a tad bit prematurely. Wilson knows too well how to exact retribution against those who spurn his authority, for as his sister-in-law says, “No one thinks Doug is capable of doing it, until he does it to them. And then it’s too late.”

Finally, John Brown no longer practices medicine with the two kirkers. In fact, the three men dissolved their partnership at no small cost to two of them. But if we learn anything from Dr. John Brown, we learn that when Wilson calls you a “dupe of Satan,” you better make cocksure you don’t get duped by Wilson.