Church History's Recent Ironies

I was reading through Timothy Weber's LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF THE SECOND COMING, whenever I stumbled on a startling claim. Dr. Weber writes that the entire Premillennialism movement rests on the shoulders of John Darby, a historical statement made by many church historians. Darby, according to accounts, restored a movement that had almost vanished from the American church. Early in the U. S. a group of Millerites started making the same mistakes the New Testament church in Thessalonica made. The Millerites stopped planting crops, spent all their savings and prepared for the second coming of Christ into the world they expected to take place around 1830. When they were left without crops to harvest and little respect from their starving families in desperation, the movement proved a huge embarrassment for a teaching that claimed to know when the world would end.
Darby revived the movement after encountering Margaret Macdonald, a woman preacher who spoke in tongues and lived in Scotland. Darby might have gotten the idea from ecstatic utterances according to some sources.1 What we are finding here is the claim that the entire movement that today is known as Premillennialism is rooted in a charismatic woman preacher. I was speaking about this with Mainstream Baptist leader Bruce Prescott who said he has run across similar claims regarding the movement verified by historical accounts. What makes this interesting is the influence this movement has on the Southern Baptist Convention. Many historians claim one of the major issues that divided the Convention was the issue of eschatology. Some writers claim this was THE issue that unsettled the denomination and let to the conflict. Fundamentalists who took control of the convention were tied into Premillennialism. As a seminary student in the seventies I recall several students who had gotten into this arguing with professors who by and large did not adhere to this theory. The late Dr. William Hendricks lamented in a chapel service that students at the seminary had purchased more books by Hal Lindsey, the Premillennilists author than they had purchased Bibles!
The irony of the story is that this movement has been given credit for ousting the old leaders of the convention replacing them with Hal Lindsey followers. In Southern Baptist life today there are two wedge issues that trouble Fundamentalists. One is the fact that women are not supposed to preach. The other is that people who speak in tongues are mistaken. To consider the fact that Premillennialism is rooted in the basement of these two items would be a pill hard for the convention to swallow if they only knew. In other words, the Tim LaHaye followers and left behind crowd owe their beginnings to a founder they would not claim.
Weber also calls attention to the strange belief systems that are a part of the movement. One of them is anti Semitism. It was a source of embarrassment to some of the leaders of the movement. Many writers often held to strange theories about how the world would end and adhered to a book called the PROTOCOLS. The PROTOCOLS, an anti Semitic fabricated hate work, blames Jews for problems in the world. It was a source of apocalyptic enthusiasm to many leaders. Timothy Weber claims the movement has at its base the need for conspiracy theories. This fact leads the group to myths about Jews and their part in world problems. Weber quotes an early leader, "We learn from private sources, more than once, and worthy of respect, that the Jews in Germany are not being persecuted as a race, but that Communism organized by Russian Jews is being punished by Hitler."2 The myth of Jews being behind Communism was a leading public policy of the Third Reich.
Tim LaHaye's connections to groups like the John Birch Society helps to explain the infatuation with strange conspiracy theories about the end of times. Lindsey believed that Israel would sign a treaty with the Antichrist. This would lead to a world wide conflict in which there would be great bloodshed. Hal believed the Antichrist was alive during the seventies. Hal saw visions of spacecraft filled with demons. His dogma contributed to right wing frenzies during the era. Lindsey hinted the U. S. needed to use its nuclear might and was a government consultant on foreign policy. Hal blamed the Council on Foreign Relations as as source of secretive problems in America. The Council is the conspiracy theorist's jackpot much like the earlier PROTOCOLS.3
According to the Wittenburg Door website Lindsey has been married four times. That is equal to both Richard Roberts and Jon Hagee's total. The question as to whether or not Lindsey could predict how long his marriages would last in contrast to the world is subject to speculation. The parody on an old hymn has been used to scoff at Premillennialism's prophetic insights, it follows. "My hope is built on nothing less/Than Schofield's notes and Moody Press." Hagee's modern support of Israel's taking over of new land is a repeat of the movement's past.
One other irony is the modern Pentecostal movement that both Roberts and Hagee symbolize. Harvard's Harvey Cox studied the movement and documented the racial harmony found in mixed congregations around the nation. A fact noted by many racially mixed Pentecostal congregations in the land. Ground zero for the movement is found in Los Angeles at the Azusa Street Church led by black evangelist William Seymour who was the son of former slaves. The black preacher got his training from Charles Parham. Parham was a racist and Klan leader. He would not allow Seymour into this class room with whites to learn about speaking in tongues. Word was that William sat outside in the hallway and took notes on how to practice tongues. Reliable sources have it that Parham would have been disgusted that his movement would have led to the mixing of races in a church service.4
Parham started the movement with his influence on Seymour and holding a ten week revival in Houston, Texas. Charles also adhered to the racist British Israel movement. A little known teaching that believes Europe is made up of the lost tribes of Israel. Parham believed that Queen Victoria was a descendant of King David of the Bible. The followers believe that American whites are chosen people blessed by God since they descended from the seed of Abraham. Other ethnic groups are not so fortunate and cannot help their racial background. After all, God did not chose them.
Buried at the foot of the statue of Jesus of the Ozarks is Gerald L. K. Smith. Many readers will recall invitations to the moving spiritual experience a Christian might find at the Passion Play in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Smith started the play. Gerald was into white supremacy and ran for President under the platform of "we got to do something about the Jews". Smith was invited to preach a series of revival meetings at J. Frank Norris' First Baptist Church in Fort Worth. Norris never invited Smith back after he learned that Smith did not believe Jesus was a Jew.6 Jews, according to British Israel, were mixed races who just thought they were descendants of Abraham. But unlike white Anglo Saxons, they did not have the bloodline. The irony of women preachers, Pentecostals, Premillennialists and beliefs about Jews is an interesting forgotten part of the history of the American church.

Endnotes
1. Timothy Weber, LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF THE SECOND COMING, Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, Ill. 1983, pg. 22.
2. Ibid. pgs. 189, 198.
3. Ibid. pgs. 217-221.
4. www.nytimes.com 2004/04/23
5. www.truthinhistory.org 12/1/076.
6. Barry Hankins, GOD'S RASCAL, Univ. Of Kentucky Press, Lexington, Kentucky, 1996, pg. 134,

The Killing of Gays as a Biblical Mandate

"Faith for All of Life" is the official publication of Chalcedon, the education agency for the Reconstruction movement. The latest issue (Nov. /Dec. 2007 pg. 2) carries an article from Mark Rushdoony, the son of the famous founder. Founder R. J. Rushdoony was highlighted in the issue reminding readers the movement must not move away from the doctrines of its originator. Quoting Mark on his father we read;
"I remember once when he commented on the horror with which his observation on INSTITUTES OF BIBLICAL LAW I that homosexuality was a moral abomination before God deserving of a death sentence was received. His critics always referred to this as what 'Rushdoony advocates' or what 'Rushdoony believes.' His comment was 'I was writing about what the Bible said. What did they expect me to write?'
Anyone who doubts the movement advocates killing abortion providers or gays hasn't been paying attention.

Third Party and Other Options

Christan Ethics Today carried a recent cartoon about a pastor who decided to run for public office. He solicits help from a consultant who pays a visit to the minister with results. The consultant tells the preacher he finds the campaign probable, but there are some negatives. The potential candidate then asks, "What negatives?" To which the expert explains the positions on school finance, global warming and judicial appointments are some real negatives in the campaign. The pastors blows a sigh of relief and replies, "I thought when you said negatives that meant pictures!"
Finding an acceptable candidate for the Religious Right brings with it many options. For one, the shocking revelation that Bob Jones University has endorsed Romney for President was interesting. The school made famous over race issues like teaching the curse of Ham theory (blacks were cursed by God to be servants to whites), having a close historic relationship to the Klan, and giving an honorary doctors degree to Lester Maddoux (the Georgia politician who autographed ax handles he used to drive blacks away from the front of his restaurant), are just a few. How the school leaders decided to embrace a Mormon when one recent school president claimed Jerry Falwell was the most dangerous man in America is surprising.
What about Ron Paul, the Texas Congressman as an option? Ron might fit the bill of much of the crowd even though his excess baggage of extremist views might not settle well. Ron's office aid was Gary North, the rabid Reconstructionist married to R. J. Rushdoony's daughter. Rushdoony was founder of the Dominion movement which is about the church taking over the state and imposing Old Testament law on society. North has openly stated that the killing abortion providers and homosexuals is a scriptural mandate. Paul is against vouchers, which is appealing to many of us. However, Ron doesn't like vouchers because he does even want public education! He doesn't like public anything voting against just about any government program. Ron has openly embraced the John Birch Society.
Meanwhile my old classmate in seminary, Southern Baptist president Frank Page, is running potential GOP hopefuls before him to pass his litmus tests. Frank, who was a shy roommate to a close friend, is not shy about parading his opinions about candidates to the press. In what ethics leader Robert Parham called a violation of pastoral confidences, Frank spoke publicly of personal visits with candidates and evaluated their spiritual conditions. PHD Frank must have missed the class on pastoral counseling not to mention church history. At one time Dr. Page was pastor to William Estep who wrote the definitive book on Baptists and separation of church and state. Frank has deserted his former member's expertise to listen to the likes of Richard Land. Now Page is allowing candidates to come by and attempt to kiss his golden ring of approval. Serving as leader of the largest protestant denomination in the nation carries with it some cautions. One of them is not using the office like his Vice President Wiley Drake did.
Among the options is the prospect of a third party. One might view this is an idle threat, but perhaps the option will appeal to many. This third party choice might be a party all ready in position that meets and exceeds the profile. The U. S. Tax Payers or Constitutional Party is the option some might consider. This is an interesting group immersed in Reconstruction theology and leadership.
The Presidential candidate proposed by the Constitutional Party was Howard Phillips. I just received his son's catalog for Christian leaders which might serve as a splendid example of how the nation would function under Phillip's leadership. As the saying goes, the apple does not fall far from the tree. The catalog, named A Vision for Victory, has children dressed in various military uniforms from history holding sabers and guns on the cover. Several books and toys for children are military-type options. The web site can be found at www.visionforum.com
Catalog listings of Christian America offerings abound, a common theme in the movement. Recently the Southern Baptist Convention had a bulletin cover for church services with a painting of George Washington kneeling in prayer. Younger Phillips has written a book calling Washington America's Joshua. Phillips compares General Washington's leading America into battle to Joshua leading Israel. pg. 13 Several pages follow listing books abounding with the same view that the founders of the nation intended it be an official Christian state. On page 45, the book about Pilgrims facing Indians is revealing. The subtitle states, "Racial Genocide or Biblical Dominion in Colonial New England?" Thus eradicating Indians was divinely inspired as a Christan mandate. On the same page another book helps to correct bad history about the Christians and Deists in the government. Phillips has been busy writing and has come up with a book named, MANLINESS. Philllips is concerned about feminism and mothers who leave the home for jobs and thus has come up with a true vision of real men. (Southwestern Seminary sound familiar here.) An old photo of soldiers is on the cover. Phillips has worked with a woman to come up with a work on women. The book encourages women to be fruitful and multiply. pg. 31 Its the Dominion idea that Christian women need to reproduce themselves as often as they can.
To top off the catalog offering one can turn to page 11 to find a Home School Kit. This kit will allow the learner to come to grips with true American history. The historical revisionist, according the the ad on the page, have tried to strip the nation of its Christian origins. Thus the grave myths taught about separation of church and state can be corrected if only one buys this $45 set of DVDs.
How seriously anyone is taking this segment of the GOP will be a subject of speculation. It is doubtful that few journalist have an inkling of the type of society that this portion of the Religious Right has for the nation.

Don Wilkey Jr.
Oct. 22, 2007

The Unification of Church Worship and State

The following article appeared both in the Waco Tribune and the Oklahoma Observer.

Old Testament King Saul imposed himself upon the office of the priesthood in violation of his calling to be a secular king. His attempt to blend the offices and override distinctly different administrations brought about the judgment of God. Many modern believers have failed to heed the lesson Saul learned the hard way.
In days gone by, the late W. A. Criswell, pastor of First Baptist Dallas used to go outside on the church steps to call a press conference announcing whom he was backing for President. He once mailed out a newsletter to members with a picture of former President Bush on the cover. It was reported Criswell would never endorse from behind the pulpit. Times are changing and what once was taboo is now becoming standard procedure. One Ohio church held a banquet in honor of a politician who seldom attended any church.
The merger of church and secular politics is so common now that one church in Austin took up an offering for candidates much to the shock of its treasurer.
Our church received an endorsement of a local candidate for Congress on the letterhead of a Baptist church signed by the pastor. The pastor then went further in bringing the candidate down in front of his congregation and laid hands on him in a type of ordination service for his candidacy.
We Baptists have a tradition called the alter call. Usually at the end of the service, it is the time when saints are given a chance to repent or unbelievers are coaxed to come join the faith. Rick Scarborough, a Texas Religious Right leader, leads church worship services offering an invitation to register in a political party during the alter call. Scarborough admonishes pastors to stand behind pulpits and proclaim whom they are voting for. (Legal experts claim this is not allowed.) This is a radical departure from Baptist protocol, but it is becoming more common. The Baptist church in North Carolina that kicked out church Democrats is a case in point. The pastor used the pulpit to denounce anyone who did not vote Republican. Democrats were told to repent and then those who refused to see the error of their ways were asked to get out.
Fundamentalist Baptists in Texas have jumped onto the political bandwagon. The Texas Restoration Project is a case in point. It is an attempt to enlist churches in the political process, (i.e. the GOP). The Baptist Fundamentalist leader is a player in this Restoration movement. Known as Southern Baptists of Texas, the group's magazine endorses candidates in a backhanded way. It advocates a bill before Congress to allow churches to directly participate in partisan politics. Not only would the bill before the House allow pastors to endorse candidates in church, it would also allow church budgets to be used in political campaigns! The Restoration Project encouraged churches to register Republican voters during the service and take up the forms before the congregation was adjourned.
When Southern Baptist leader Richard Land drove his Vote Values Bus around the nation it was an under-the-table way to accomplish similar results. Land is now trying to be a key kingmaker in the drive to select a GOP presidential contender. This is another radical departure from Baptist dogma.
From Rick Warren on the west coast to Ronnie Floyd in Arkansas to the late James Kennedy in Florida, pastors have gone on the media airways in the name of the gospel and advised listeners who to vote for. There is a blending of the sacred hour with secular politics like never before.

update on ORU

I am just getting started here, be patient. I would encourage you to go to www.ethicsdaily.com for my latest on ORU and David Barton. Left out of the article is the story about Barton's visit to Lufkin, Texas which was followed by an apology letter sent out to every church in the area by the city. Barton's black history presentation showed a cartoon of a black man with large lips flanked by two men with guns pointed to his head. The men yielding the guns were Democrats telling him who to vote for. Barton also told the audience that Blacks should be Republicans because Democrats opposed Civil Rights and voted against anti-lynching laws. If you click in my name, Don Wilkey on Google you will find other articles regarding the Religious Right.