beyond ridiculous

I received a rather emotional nasty gram from a pastor because of this paragraph:

Now, please stop for a moment of morbid introspection to reflect upon Wilson’s conduct. A so-called minister of the gospel took time out of his busy pastoral schedule to inform the local media in northern Idaho that he thought the slaves had a pretty good deal and that history has maligned the reputations of their noble masters. And as you contemplate this historical fact, remind yourself that serial paedophile Steven Sitler was raping helpless children in the Kirk and he would continue to rape lambs of the flock for another year and a half. (“The ‘anonymous flyer’”)

This man says that “tying” these two circumstances together is “beyond ridiculous,” and I suppose that under ordinary circumstances he might have a point. But these are not ordinary circumstances and tying them together is absolutely appropriate. I assume that my critic has not read the post titled “Cursed” (which is my second most-read post) because it accounts for the bulk of my argument. So rather than repeat myself, let me take it from another angle.

Yesterday I failed to note that during the Southern Slavery scandal, Douglas Wilson was more concerned about holding his ground and fighting off “intoleristas” than caring for his flock. You may disagree but the evidence is simply overwhelming. During that five-month window he published two separate highly offensive quarter-page ads in all the local papers and ran them for a month to defend Southern Slavery As It Was; he organized a Kult boycott of the Daily News; he wrote letters to the UI demanding that they remove criticism of him from their website; he demanded apologies of certain faculty and administration at the UI; he threatened the UI with a defamation suit; he wrote the governor asking him to compel the UI to remove criticism of him from their website; he uploaded a website called hatesplotch.net to ridicule members of the community; he and his monkey boys wrote countless letters to the editor and op-eds in the local papers to defend him from public “attacks” (for him to use that word is hilarious); I’m sure there’s more, but this should suffice.

Furthermore, it was during this time that “Pastor” Wilson busied himself exacting revenge against Drs. Quinlan & Ramsey because they dared to critique Southern Slavery As It Was. Dr. Ramsey memorialized Wilson’s vengeance against him with the words, “I have suffered for it in more ways than most people can imagine.” And he is not alone. I know several people that Wilson harassed then (and now) because they criticized him in public.

Now, if you’re an officer in the church, please put yourself in Wilson’s shoes. What pastor has the time to fight these battles and retaliate against so many people without neglecting his flock? Look at this comment by Andy Webb, and he’s only blogsitting. He’s not managing a public-relation disaster created by a book (“historical trash” to use Cal Beisner’s words) that he never should have written. Or plagiarized. But that’s Wilson. He’d rather fight imaginary wolves than pastor real sheep, which brings us back to the poor lambs who suffered during this time.

Are these two events tied together? Is there a connection between the serial paedophile who preyed on Kirk lambs in 2003–2005 and the Southern Slavery scandal of October 2003–February 2004? Absolutely — they are connected historically and they are connected organically. No one can change the historical fact of these two overlapping events and no one can deny that these things took place in a body professing the name of Jesus, or as Wilson would say, “In the covenant community.” Furthermore, they are connected by one other common denominator: they took place right under Wilson’s nose. Those poor innocents who suffered at Steven Sitler’s hands suffered no less from Wilson’s pastoral neglect. Indeed, they suffered from his neglect for the same reason that the community suffered from his pastoral war. Look at the record.

So I stand by my assertion without apology. If certain ministers don’t like it, then I implore them to not make excuse for a man who has no excuse. Rather, take a moment to ask why Wilson refuses to consider the malignant impact of his so-called ministry on those in his care and those outside his care. The answer to that question explains everything.

Thank you.