MIA
A couple weeks ago a brother mentioned to that one reason Steve Schlissel has been missing in action since the Auburn Avenue colloquium is that his son-in-law followed the Federal Vision to its inevitable conclusion — Roman Catholicism. Consequently, the Rabbi who calls God a liar sort of disappeared, with the bad PR and all. If you follow the links, here is the proof: Dave Hodges.
Thank you.
11 comments:
Hello again Mark, and thanks for linking to the website.
I would like to make a few brief remarks about this, if I may. First of all, Steve Schlissel left the heat of the FV controversy long before I converted to the Roman Catholic Church. He was sick and tired of incompetent internet theologians who fancied themselves the Holy Magisterium of the Westminster Confession of Faith. So he departed from the scene. He had better things to do.
Secondly, I would like to give your readers a link to an article that I wrote about the Federal Vision as I do not think that the Catholic faith is the necessary end of the teachings of the FV. I have huge disagreements with the FV advocates (obviously) and believe that they have their own set of inconsistencies. I am highly critical of Protestantism in any form, not merely your brand or the FV brand or whatever is the popular sect of the week.
The inconsistencies of the FV are not the same that I believe you to have, so when I criticised you in a previous comment, it should not be read to say that I agree with the teachings of Doug Wilson. Any interactions you have read between him and me will show rather quickly that I agree with them on very little.
But I do think that the FV advocates understand certain things better than their opponents. That shouldn't be taken as an endorsement in any sense - just my perspective as a Catholic. I think your position is more indicative of a better understanding of the Scriptures than a Jehovah's Witness, but that shouldn't be taken to mean very much either.
Dave, you wrote this in this post (a post where you mention your marriage to Steve Schlissel's daughter, a wonderful woman I am going to guess!):
>I had brought a set of questions with me and started going down the list, and before I got too far into them, he started returning questions at me. They were questions I couldn't answer. Questions about the Church, the Sacraments, ecclesiology, and the Holy Scriptures. At some point during the conversation he said, "You are Protestant. What does that name imply? You are protesting something, right?" I said I didn't know. He replied, "You are protesting the Pope." But I didn't protest the Pope. I didn't think he was the head of the Church, but I had no issue with him - not personally anyway. So I countered that I didn't at all protest the Pope, to which he asked why I called myself Protestant. I didn't know.
Protestant as a noun means one who confesses, or gives witness to, the Word of God. It's a common mistake (and one commonly pushed by Roman Catholics and liberal Christians, for their own reasons) to see the word 'protest' in the word Protestant and think it means one who is protesting something.
Dave,
The photo on your blog may be worth a thousand words, but I think I can summarize them in ten: Steve Martin has a great line in the movie LA Story where he says to a contemptuous woman — “I don’t know if you know how unattractive hate is.”
I hope someday you learn.
Anonymous said: "Protestant as a noun means one who confesses, or gives witness to, the Word of God."
I actually heard this recently from a Protestant friend of mine, but he didn't provide as much detail as to its origins. Thanks for this correction.
Mark T: "I hope someday you learn."
You hope some day I learn what? That I should put pictures of myself on the Internet only if they're happy-smiley pictures? Okay, here you go.
I'm glad I learnt this important lesson.
I don't hate you or anybody else, and that silly picture shouldn't be taken in any meaningful theological sense. Nobody smiled in pictures prior to 1915. That doesn't mean that everybody was hateful all the time.
Dave, I think Mark T. was making a commentary on your words you've typed and posted to his blog.
We Calvinists can be guilty of the same hatred (a strong word, I'll speak for myself). I often have to remember that though what the Roman Catholic church is and has been is the kingdom of death itself I still can't deny that I have instinctual feelings of love (love for the brethren) when I witness a person connecting to the faith in the typically innocent and obviously real way you sometimes see with RCs, like people who grew up Roman Catholic but were never a part of it and then later in life embrace God and faith and so on (the way RCs do, admittedly, which is usually devoid of biblical and doctrinal understanding, but, hey, we have to start somewhere, right?). I remember when I couldn't read an actual Bible but could only bring myself to read a 'literary anthology' of the Bible. Like, ok, that was ok, but a real actual Bible? No way.
We're all regenerated by the grace of God, when we are, by the Word and the Spirit, in God's time (which I believe contains more possibilities than our limited perception of time allows us to see, but God is sovereign and in control and takes care of His creation nevertheless, i.e. our limitations notwithstanding).
You don't want to play with the devil and his domain, though. It's like playing with fire.
ps- Mark T. and others who are anti-FV are so because the FVists pretend to be something they are not, making them more insidious than the average Christian with bad doctrine. When you are able to know the truth you are also given a strong desire to defend it and protect it so others can make contact with it. It's very chaotic (in a hellish sort of way) when you have people going around calling themselves Calvinists who are teaching Romanist doctrines. This is like having criminals going around wearing police uniforms. It's a level of anarchy that requires a special kind of confrontation. Counterfeiting money gets you the same attention.
Anon,
You’re a good writer with a smooth touch. Your comments are always welcome on my fully documented anonymous attack blog.
Thank you.
A Different Anonymous (aka Monkey Boy),
I will be glad to post your comment when you use your real name and when you comply with the Ninth Commandment.
Thank you.
OK, I guess I'll bite: Mark T, what is your real name?
Todd Van Campen
Lexington, Ky.
Todd,
I’m not sure what you’re biting, so I encourage you to double check. But if you are “A Different Anonymous,” the please tell us all — especially your Fearless Leader — why you are ashamed of your name. After that, please explain to us where you learned to practice law.
Thank you.
A Different Anonymous (aka monkey boy):
Let’s take this one at a time.
1. The reason you are a monkey boy is because the comment you wrote that I did not publish contained stupid counsel based upon a falsehood that was advanced by the FVists to discredit this blog. If you want to practice law, or even give legal advice, then I strongly suggest you pass the bar. Regardless, I never accused you of posting under multiple names, but given your obvious critical-thinking deficiencies I can see how you arrived at that conclusion.
2. You broke the Ninth Commandment by making assertions about the law that are not true. Presumably you acted on the counsel of FVists, but that does not remove your violation. Again, if you want to practice law, then pass the bar. But first you have to learn how to read.
3. I will post your comment when you remove the false witness from it.
4. Finally, I have made it clear in a number of posts why I have concealed my identity. But the Fearless Leader says that anyone who uses anonymity is ashamed of their name. I’m sure it makes sense to him and I’m surprised that it doesn’t make sense to you. Either way, until you obey Beelzeblog, I hereby dub you “A Different Monkey Boy.” Please be sure to use this name the next time you log in.
Thank you.
A Different Monkey Boy:
I just received your comment. Please look up the fair use clause, cut and paste it into a new comment, and be sure to use your new name.
Thank you.
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