Johnny One Note Sings Again

U P D A T E:
I have corrected the typo; many thanks to all those who wrote in.

For those of you tempted to think that I’m some kind of Johnny One Note because I lay the sole responsibility for the damage wrought by the Federal Vision at the feet of Douglas Wilson, please notice this: Beelzeblog — the Great Protector — the high and lofty who knoweth all things and who cannot sin — was the first person to announce the news about the PCA Indictment of Louisiana Presbytery:

The indictment of Louisiana Presbytery by the Standing Judicial Commission has now been made public, although I don’t know where it is on the Net. As soon as I do, I will link to it.

The portion that was emailed to me . . . (“Louisiana Indictment”)

Of course, Doug Wilson has no formal denominational affiliation (if words have meaning a federation is no more a denomination than it is a presbytery) and he has absolutely no connection to the PCA apart from his promise to taunt, jeer, and harass them without mercy as their judicial process continues. Nevertheless, he scooped Reformed Musings by one full day when he blogged that the PCA cited and indicted LAP, which is interesting because Bob Mattes is actually a member in good standing in the PCA.

As you consider this fact, please notice the dougspeak he used when he identified how he received news of the Indictment: “The portion that was emailed to me. . .” Yeah, right, I believe that. Someone cut and pasted a “portion” of the Indictment into an email and sent it to Wilson rather than forwarding the entire text. This probably explains why he condensed and analyzed the charges with such certainty and it probably accounts for his accurate summary of the Amends:

The first is that the language seems to alternate back and forth between saying that there were grounds for indicting Steve Wilkins for being out of conformity with the Confession (which is of course appropriate for them to say and do), and assuming that he actually is out of conformity with the Confession (which has not yet been established anywhere). The former is saying that there was “probable cause,” enough indications of a problem to warrant a trial. But in their indictment of Louisiana, they are going well beyond this. They are saying that these indications were so marked that Louisiana, by not acting on them, were guilty themselves of a “fundamental neglect of the Biblical responsibilties [sic] of the eldership.”

The second point is really striking. The indictment gives Louisiana Presbytery two options for breaking this “impasse.” The first is for the Louisiana Presbytery to repent (and show its repentance by bringing Steve to trial, or referring the matter to another body to try). The second is to have the ecclesiastical connection between Louisiana Presbytery and the PCA dissolved, with the borders of neighboring presbyteries being adjusted to pick up any Louisiana churches that desire to remain in the PCA.

If Louisiana pleads not guilty, then their trial will be held at the beginning of March. If they are found to be in the clear, then that should settle it. If they are found to be guilty, then that would require a trial of Steve. But it also looks as though the SJC has given Louisiana the option of pleading guilty now, retaining jurisdiction over Steve, and scheduling a trial for him before Louisiana Presbytery. (Ibid, emphasis original)

As noted, Wilson has no interest in this matter at all; it’s none of his business and, to the extent that the peace and purity of the church are concerned, it’s in everyone’s best interest to keep him out of the loop. As a rule, you don’t feed rogue elephants — unless, that is, you want to encourage rampages, which raises the question, Who fed the rogue?

I think it’s safe to rule out Prosecutor Sam Duncan; I can’t think of any good reason why he would tip off the Fearless Leader about how “Biblical justice and due process are clearly not being honored.” And I think it’s safe to rule out Assistant Prosecutor Lane Keister as a possible suspect. The Great Protector already charged Lane to “recognize that what is right and what the PCA is positioned to get away with in this prosecution are two different things,” and I see no reason for Pastor Lane to notify Wilson that “the charade will simply be brazened out.” After all, it’s a charade.

So if no one from the prosecution emailed the Indictment to Beelzeblog, then who did? Well, I suppose that one of the prosecutors sent an electronic copy of the Indictment to the Stated Clerk of Louisiana Presbytery, who immediately forwarded it to the 10–13 presbyters in LAP who have run interference for Steve Wilkins from the beginning. And I suppose that Wilkins forwarded the email in toto (not a “portion”) to Prince Blog who immediately posted his brilliant analysis to the web.

Now, there’s no overt sin in forwarding this email. The PCA’s form of government is not like the Biblical Horizons Yahoo group. It doesn’t conduct secret meetings on public groups and then threaten frivolous suites to chill critics. And the PCA’s form of government is not like the CREC’s because, technically, the CREC has no form of government just has it has no demonstrable standards. But there is sin involved if Steve Wilkins forwarded the email to Wilson hoping he would do his Xs and Os imitation of John Madden to disrupt the PCA, because that would be a clear violation of the covenant he made when he vowed “to strive for the purity, peace, unity and edification of the Church.”

This raises the question, Why did Steve Wilkins send the email to Beelzeblog? He certainly didn’t send it for counsel; that would be like me seeking copyright counsel from Al Sharpton. Wilson already admitted he has “no special knowledge of things BCO,” which is a huge admission from the man who generally puts himself forward as THE authority on all things ecclesia. So what other reason would Steve Wilkins forward the Indictment to Prince Blog? And the answer to this question brings us back to Johnny One Note.

Wilkins forwarded the Indictment to Wilson because Wilson has helped coordinate their every move since this controversy erupted, and without him as their leader the whole Federal Vision movement would collapse. The PCA has effectively trapped LAP in a corner by holding these rebellious presbyters to their covenant vows and neither Wilkins nor LAP knows what to do. They are like sheep without a shepherd. So they turned to a man who no has ever ordained and who has never submitted to a legitimate ministerial examination, which includes the doug-and-pony show in front of his hand-picked CREC flunkies. They looked to the man who fantasizes that he is Martin Luther ushering in a new Reformation while he fights imaginary wolves (I wonder how many sheep he ate, mistaking them as wolves); they appealed to the self-proclaimed authority who declared — ex cathedra — “Steve Wilkins is today’s Machen.”

These facts are true and I present them as one more proof that Douglas Wilson is THE leader of the Federal Vision. And if you want to see the end of the Federal Vision, then you must stop (or at least marginalize) Wilson, because if you want to kill a snake you have to cut off its head.

Thank you.