On Liars

CREC elder Sean Mahaffey, the author of this article, posted this comment on Green Baggins:

Kyle,

My point, which was clearly stated in the article, was that even if the traditional arguments against marijuana do not hold up then it’s use is still wicked. My position is that there is some conceivable level of use of marijuana that would not automatically be drunkenness or dissipation. This level of use is not the “high” that marijuana users are looking for. It is far lower. It could not be any greater effect than a cup of coffee, a beer, a cigar, or a benadryl. If such a mild use in not possible, then any use is sinful.

I don’t know of anyone who has used my article as justification for this sin. I do know several who were rebuked by it. If anyone has been tempted to sin by what I have written, or has used what I have written to try to excuse their sin then all I can do is ask forgiveness, but I have not heard of a single case of this happening.

If my article was foolish, unclear or unpersuasive then I apologize. But I know why I wrote the article. I wrote the article in an attempt to persuade Christians away from even flirting with the idea that marijuana use might be acceptable. I repeatedly told Mark T this and he repeatedly called me a liar.

Blessings,

Sean Mahaffey

Please note: Everything is true in this comment except for the impression that Mr. Mahaffey deliberately left with his closing line: “I repeatedly told Mark T this and he repeatedly called me a liar.” Yes, he repeatedly told me those things and, yes, I repeatedly called him a liar; but I did not call him a liar about this point. In fact, I gladly conceded his point, with a hard dose of reality, commenting:

Everyone who read the article understood your conclusion, the difference between you and normal people is that normal people are not so stupid as to believe that your conclusion removed your article’s substance, which is the argument you’re trying to make now.

I called him a liar because he continually shaded his facts in a false light and spoke in half truths, which always left false impressions. I noted his pattern of leaving false impressions, which he continually refused to recognize.

But Sean Mahaffey is a waste of time; the only reason he is relevant to any conversation is because he is a living example of how the Fearless Leader corrupts his disciples. If Wilson didn’t teach Mahaffey how to leave false impressions, he certainly confirmed their use as an acceptable form of communication. If Mahaffey never knew that deception is wrong, Wilson never taught him otherwise. And if Mahaffey doesn’t understand that advocating for two diametrically opposed positions in the same article so that he could claim one or the other at different times is the essence of duplicity, then the Fearless Leader’s rhetorical tactics have only served to make Mahaffey twice the son of hell.

Mahaffey is not the problem any more than marijuana is the problem. Wilson is the problem. Mahaffey’s deceit is a direct fruit of Wilson’s ministry, just as widespread alcohol and drug abuse in the CREC are a direct fruit of Wilson’s ministry. His love of deceit and his contempt for authority teach his disciples more than anything he writes or says. And as long as he has a platform to shape other minds, the problem will only spread. Wilson is the problem.

Thank you.