The Connection Between Shiny Happy People (SHP) and CBMW, Danvers, and the SBC

 I am so excited that my long time blogging friend is starting a new series on her blog.

She is like me, She used to blog like gangbusters back in the day. But more recently her posts have been few and far between.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was not triggered by SHP like a lot of my internet friends. I was never really influenced by Gothard or the IBLP. I was more involved with raising the alarm concerning Mark Driscoll, John Piper, Bruce Ware, Paige Patterson and the like who were pushing such horrible and misogynistic doctrine and causing such doctrine to become more mainstream.

And in those days, I was so glad that I had friends like Cindy Kunsman showing the links between Gothard/Quiverfull and CBMW, the Southern Baptists, and other things that were making me mad.

Anyway, SHP has affected Cindy deeply which she talks about here:

Concerning Shiny Happy People Two Weeks Later

She is now processing through the triggers, emotions and the deep personal cost she experienced for speaking out against Bruce Ware and Russel Moore. SHP has shown a bit of a spotlight on these terrible doctrines that are troubling the church and she, like so many of us, doesn't want the church to think it was just limited to Gothard and the IBLP

Following Bruce Ware's Primrose Path to Domestic Violence (Part 1: Ideas that fed those Shiny Happy People)

Cindy is good at what she does. Please go read what she had to say.

Shiny Happy People Aftercare Resources

 Yes, I watched it.

No, it was not triggering to me. I managed to avoid most of the crap that came from Gothard and the IBLP/ATI propaganda. I put them in the category of Doug Wilson, so far over the cuckoo's edge, I just couldn't get bogged down in their B.S.

Also, I never watched the Duggars on TV. Couldn't stand the idea of it. Plus, I was also more laser focused on Driscoll*, Piper, TGC, and others like that at the time who were also troubling the Church with their aberrant doctrine and teaching points.

But, I know that there are many, many people who have been or are going to be severely triggered by Amazon's number one tv show. So for them, I'll link a resource page:

Aftercare resources

*For those who come here for Driscoll stuff, I've been meaning to get to this. I even started a post about it but could never get back to finish it. So I'm going to just link these two things here. Do with them as you like.

Wenatchee the Hatchet has an interesting look at a recent Tweet from Driscoll comparing menopause to demonic possession. 

Which isn't strange since Driscoll links women pretty close to Satan. He has many examples like what Wenatchee lists in his post linked above.

Also, here is a quote from another source where Driscoll calls women who don't fit into his doctrine on womanhood Satan. It is under the subheading Family Division.

You could call these last two links off-topic, if you like. But I don't think so. It all stems from the same issue of celebrity preachers building up kingdoms for themselves and using God's name in vain to do so. These cult leaders are very controlling, ,manipulative, and often hate women.

Edited to add Recovering Grace's page on the topic of Shiny Happy People.

Seen "Shiny Happy People"?

Hopefully more people will find healing.

Biblical Womanhood

 This post is inspired by today's post at Bare Marriage.

They are sharing their Biblical Womanhood Merch and giving Bible references to where these stories are found. So many women don't know the stories of Bible Women because those Bible Women mess up the doctrine of Biblical Womanhood that Piper and like want to peddle.

Bare Marriage lists a bunch of important Bible Women like Pricilla, Deborah, Huldah and Esther and point out where their stories are. And I appreciate them doing so today. In addition, I think I might buy some of their Biblical Womanhood mugs to give to friends.

Anyway, another Biblical Woman or Biblical Womanhood Ideal that I like is the Proverbs woman. Teachings on this portion of scripture has been mishandled by men who fear her. Instead of recognizing that she was a business owner/landowner/farmer/entrepreneur/philanthropist etc. these male teachers reduce the chapter about her down to making sure she keeps her house clean and cares for her children. Or, they use the chapter to shame women for not measuring up to their definitions of a few particulars mentioned.

I once heard a preacher on the radio going through Proverbs 31 and every time he dealt with a verse concerning how strong, independent, and capable this woman was, he had to add something like, now don't forget, she was submitted to her husband like instructed in Ephesians 5.

After a few minutes of him making sure the women in his congregation knew how important submitting to their husbands' was per Eph. 5, I finally said out loud. "Now I'm confused. Are you preaching on Proverbs 31 or on Ephesians 5? Because it seems to me, that you are way more concerned about Eph. 5 than anything God has to say about women in the Proverbs."

Looking back on that day, I've come to the conclusion that the preacher was afraid of the powerful image of the Proverbs Woman. And out of fear that the women in his congregation might get all uppity, he had to beat them back down with Eph. 5.

So, as I consider going to the website to buy those Biblical Womanhood mugs for friends and family, I also think to myself, "Be Powerful like the Proverbs Woman."

Aristotle and Ephesians

 Wanting to be able to find this quickly for a deeper reading so am linking it here.

How Reading Aristotle Frees Us from John Piper and Albert Mohler's Complementarianism

Hope others find it and learn something from it.

Edited to add this link for good measure. It is where I found the previous link

Complementarianism and Abuse

Narcissism and Spiritual Bypassing

 One of my favorite Youtubers that discuss Narcissism is Dr. Ramani. I don't see every video she puts up, but I've shared several of them here and with friends struggling with narcistic abuse.

Well, Dr Ramani put out a video today entitled "Narcissists and Spiritual Bypassing". I have never heard this term, but apparently it was coined in the 70s by John Welwood.

Though she speaks of this in terms of the latest self-help and health crazes, I find it very applicable to many things in Christianity.

The biggest being, of course, the sweeping under the rug of women being abused in patriarchy and complementarian circles. People, both men and women, spiritually bypass the pain of women being abused, telling them that they should just pray harder or submit more, blaming the victim and holding the victim responsible for the toxic behavior of their abuser.

I like this term "Spiritual Bypassing" and I wish that I had the term back when I was trying to figure out and talk about New Calvinism and how it seemed similar to Vulcanism (yes, Spock, Star Trek Vulcanism). So watch out world, Mara Reid is going to be using this term liberally in the future when discussing those who are just too spiritual to give a crap for those suffering in the church.

CBMW Folks Have Lost Their Minds

It's official.
The aberrant doctrines fueling the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood have finally taken their toll on the thinkers in this movement. They have boarded the crazy train and are trying to outdo one another with testosterone tweets.
Julie Anne over at Spiritual Sounding Board is following this:

Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 2016 Live Conference #CBMW16 Live Tweets Complementarianism Cool-Aid.

I don't know what it is going to take to get these folks to face the reality of their own insanity.

Piper Pipes In

I have no idea what he has said since I have not heard this yet. I'm so busy with personal life that my blog seems to have become my 'Pinterest' today, pinning this little blip from Piper concerning whether or not he regrets partnering with Driscoll. I'm pinning it so I can find it later. Piper may redeem himself. Or not. I have know clue. I'll find out as I listen to it.

Do you regret partnering with Mark Driscoll - Piper

I'm not a huge Piper fan. But Driscoll... wow.

Reviewing Wilson's Views on Slavery

Tim's Blog - Just One Train Wreck After Another contains a review of Doug Wilson's infamous writings concerning the benefits of slavery in the U.S.

Here is a link to his article:
Doug Wilson Says Slavery Was Good For American Blacks

Remember, this is the Doug Wilson that Piper says is smart and that the people around him are dumb.
Not kidding.
John Piper on Doug Wilson

John Piper Connected to BJU

The Crazy making behavior of John Piper has concerned me for some time. I often wondered what was driving his war on the feminine in public worship. Now I know. He is connected to Bob Jones University. Even though he considers Bob Jones to be the "crazy uncle" (Dr. Camille Lewis's words) he's still connected and deeply influenced. And as yesterday's post points out, the influence on BJU goes back to the Deep South slavery, patriarchy, and misogyny.

Here is Camille's comment over at TWW:

Piper linked to BJU

The plot thickens.

Gem from a Year and a Half Ago

Dr. Camille Lewis is making a splash over at TWW. Her guest post lays out the long history of abuse present at Bob Jones University.

While looking over some things written on her blog, I came across this gem on the rape culture and evangelicalism. I wanted to share it with people who might have missed it.

"It's not me, it's her isn't it?"

She touches on Jared Wilson, Doug Wilson, John Piper, Mark Driscoll, to name a few.

Why the Need for a Boss?

On the heels of my "Who's the Boss?" post, TWW has a post concerning this question.
Comps are quite convinced that mutual submission is either wrong or impossible or rebellion or something. I seem to remember that there is a post on the the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood site entitled, "The Myth of Mutual Submission". Yep. they are pretty much against.

Wade Burleson did a guest post on TWW last night that addresses the thought of Mutual Submission in Marriage. It is not nearly as 'Mythical' as CBMW would like you to believe.

Here is a link to that post:

Complementarianism verses Mutual Submission in Marriage.

Who's the Boss?

This question is very important to a lot of people.

Someone has to be in charge. If someone is not in charge, chaos will ensue, or so goes the thinking.

And, in case anyone hasn't noticed, if someone has to be in charge, there is a large number of men who will do whatever they can to make sure that it isn't some woman bossing them around.

Here is a quote from John Piper:
" And so I distinguish between personal, direct exercises of authority that involve manhood and womanhood because it's personal.  She's right there.  She's woman on man, and and I'm being directly pressed on by this woman in an authoritative way.  Should she be doing that; should I be experiencing that, and my answer is no.  I think that's contrary to the way God made us…"


Source for this excerpt is from TWW's TCC's 2014 Women's National Women's Conference.

Note that Piper says, "should I be experiencing (a woman's authority), and my answer is no. I think that is contrary to the way God made us..."

Piper wants to make sure that he never has to experience a woman's authority and he calls on his opinion that God agrees with him. He feels that God thinks Piper should not have to experience a woman's authority.

Piper and the other men who dread the authority of women go to great lengths to make sure they never have to experience this horrible thing. But someone has to be in charge... So they go to great lengths to make sure that they, the men, get to be that One In Charge.

Here is Shirley's second installment of her Desiring to be God series:

Desiring to be God-Part 2
(check out Part 1 if you haven't yet)

and here is a blog post examining the error made concerning Genesis 3:16:
Genesis 3:16 is not a mandate for husbands...it is a warning for wives...

So, who's the boss?

If you are a Christian, then it should be Jesus, not some mortal man somewhere that fears women.

Edited to add this blog post from a friend who gets comments from time to time from people obsessed with who the boss is and how much they want men to be the boss over women.
Submission, Obedience, and Authority
(Oh, how people obsess over this. It's unhealthy for the spirit life.)

And from another friend:
Was Sarah Bessey Right? (which goes into Denny Burk's Desire to be god over his wife, not in those words.)

There seems to be a pattern going on here.

Piper's Poem Problems

Yes, I read it. No, I couldn't get past the first scene in the video, though I may try again some other time. I was turned off by the fact that Calvinism is for a lot of young white men, a few older white men and then pretty much nobody else, including all women who, though they receive a title and mention of high praise, they really are nothing to the Calvinist but a parable. I'm a person. Not a parable.

That aside, two others have written on this self-absorbed and self-obsessed poem that put a lot more thought into what is really wrong with it than what I could get into. Hey, I'm tired of being marginalized by John Piper and his ilk. Analyzing his dismissive tone towards me and all women is not what I would call a good use of my time. But I don't mind reading other musings on Piper's pathetic pontifications, a poem that is an assault on both poetry and any doctrine not whoring after Calvinism.

Update: The Self-obsessed Calvinist

And

John Piper's WAMM Calvinist (White American Middle-class Male)

Is 'Manhood' Under Attack?... Really?!

Nothing like beating a dead horse.

Except it's not really dead yet.

The Wartburg Watch had a post back in September entitled "Act Like Men-Are Driscoll/MacDonald Merchandising Manhood?"

That's a long time ago in blog years. So why is a certain fellow named 'Ryan' coming along and commenting on it yesterday,  on November 5th?

Why is he saying, "my sense is that manhood is under attack and virtually neutered from the modern mainline churches. Do you believe this is ok? God honoring?"

So Ryan feels attacked in his manhood, right?
And Ryan wants to know if I feel it's okay and God honoring for the mainline churches to attack his manhood.

Well, here it is. If manhood is truly being attacked, then, no, I don't feel it's okay or God honoring. The problem is, Ryan has offered no proof that this is going on. So I can't make a stand on this issue due to lack of proof.

Now, here is my question to Ryan.

Do you think it is right to, first of all, accuse everything you hate about certain worship services as being "effeminate" and then declaring that all these things are evil, thereby indirectly attacking the feminine and deciding that masculine rules while the feminine drools.

Well, this is what Doug Wilson does in his, "Your Worship Service Might Be Effeminate If..."

This is well responded to by Internet Monk in "Esau Christianity, Doug Wilson Needs a Bible Study." and Board's Head in "Mary vs Effeminacy"

Also, Wilson is quick to blame anyone that he's mad at as serving the b!tch goddess of (fill in the blank as pertaining to whatever he's ranting about). This misogynist behavior is observed by Wenatchee the Hatchet in his "Doug Wilson almost channel's Eric Cartman."

Now, granted, the Wartburg comment thread is talking about Driscoll and MacDonald so one may wonder what the heck Doug Wilson has to do with any of this. Well I'm going to provide a link to a video of John Piper praising Doug Wilson while Chandler and Driscoll fist bump behind him. In the video, John Piper states at the 58 second mark (while Driscoll agrees with laughter and fist bump):

"Doug Wilson is one of the most careful and bright, reform, post millennial, objectivist, theologians around... and he's got people around him that are dumb. (laughter... fist bump... more laughter)"

Link to youtube video John Piper on Doug Wilson

So this is what Piper has to say about Wilson. That Wilson is brilliant and everyone else is dumb. Yet, as WTH points out, Wilson almost channels Eric Cartman (South Park) in his hatred and attack on the feminine.

I have proved that the feminine is being attacked in Evangelical circles.

What does Ryan have to say about that?
Is there anyone attacking 'manhood' in mainline denominations as vicious as Wilson hates and attacks the feminine?
I doubt it.
But I'm willing to see any proof Ryan can provide.

Hero Mom

Move over Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Found this link on Thatmom. And I agree with her. This is my kind of mom.

Dorothy Baker, Punches and Runs Over Man Who Threatened Her and Her Kids.

And why do I bring this up?

Because I am soooooooooo tired of the John Pipers and Mark Driscolls and Tim Challieses*** of the world who hold up their ridiculous ideals of womanhood as soft and weak. I get tired of these men who think women can't defend themselves and must always be defended by a man.

Well, what do you do if there is no man to defend you, and in fact, the one man in the whole story is the one threatening you and your children.

I guess you are just supposed to put tilt your head back, put the back of your hand to your forehead and say, "Woe is me. God made me a soft, weak, defenseless female. Therefore I must submit to the all-powerful male in every situation. After all, this is what my clueless, misogynic, neo-Calvinist preacher has taught me. He has declared unto me that this is God's intention, will, role, and purpose for my life. To deviate from it would be to sin against the essence of manhood and womanhood and by so doing, rebel against the Gospel. Did I say, 'Woe is me'?"

(Forgive the snark. Please understand that it is better for me to do this than to cuss clueless preachers out on what is supposed to be a Christian blog. But believe me, they deserve to be cussed out or snarked out when they teach the crap they do and call it the Word of God.)

(Tim Challies is author of the infamous "Soft, Effeminate Christianity" post I wrote against some time back.)

Cold-Hearted Religion

I was going to call it cold-hearted Christianity. But true Christianity, the kind that Jesus preached, wasn't anything like this. Religions of all stripes, devoid of love, can look like this, including Christianity, Paganism, and Atheism.
But in his tweet (that fortunately was later removed) John Piper displayed just how heartless he can be.
Thanks to Julie Anne for seeing it and displaying it.

John Piper's most recent Twister Tweet

C. J. Mahaney Loves Being the Boss

He loves being in Charge and the perks of being at the top of his religious hierarchy food chain. He (allegedly) loves his paid for vacations in the Kiawah Islands (LINK!!!)*... Paid for by an abuser that Mahaney's authority protected so that the abuser could keep on abusing.

C. J. Mahaney Loves all the wonderful things that being the boss of hundreds of people brings to him.

C.J. Mahaney doesn't give a rip for the vulnerable little ones dangling at the bottom of his hierarchy food chain. He doesn't care that they were being consumed by ravenous wolves and trampled upon by mindless beasts, lusty bulls who gloried in their own strength and their own 'God-given', 'biblical',  'authority'.

C.J. and his hungry wolves and lusty wolves worship the idols of authority. They have sacrificed women and children on the altars of their gods. They have shorn and eaten the meat of the lambs they were supposed to feed and protect.

Sovereign Grace Ministries was built to worship the hierarchy structure that C. J. and his fellow wolves love to bow down to. May this SGM temple fall and may its captives be freed and its wounded healed by the One true God. The One that walked the Earth, Jesus Christ. The One that said:

Luke 22:²⁵ And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’²⁶ But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. ²⁷ For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.


John Piper... The Gospel Coalition... Al Mohler...  Mark Driscoll... do you see where your devotion to the hierarchy god leads? It leads to abuse and makes the churches that serve this god look no different from the world that had always worshiped this dog-eat-dog god.

BTW... the hierarchy god has a name. Baal means "lord, owner, possessor".
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Then for your own sakes flee the temple Baal. He has no part in the Kingdom of God where Jesus is the bedrock and the Chief Cornerstone.

(*the link above inspired this tirade. the sgm  debacle just keeps getting uglier and uglier as more is exposed to the light. where or where are the real men among the yrr who will rise up and stop this. all i see are fake men, claiming to be men, thumping their chest and pointing at their own authority with pride as they seek new ways and more 'biblical' 'proof' to unrighteously rule over God's Kingdom.)

Churches... Safe Places?

Well some may be.

But some Churches involved in Sovereign Grace Ministries are definitely not. In fact, they (allegedly) have become hell holes where children are not only not protected, they are molested. It appears that those in charge have turned their backs on children and on God Himself. They have taken God's house, a house of prayer, and turned it into a den of thieves and predators.

I thank God for the hands of feet of Jesus who are going into these dens of thieves and turning over the tables of the money changers and pedophile protectors.

For those interested who are not yet aware and would like to find out about those taking action against the criminals in SGM here are a couple places to get you started.

House of Horrors (at The Wartburg Watch)

and

Amended complaint against SGM (at Spiritual Sounding Board)

How can Piper and Mohler support Mahaney? At best they are ostriches with their heads in the sand, a very vulnerable position. What are they at the worst? I'll leave that for others to discuss.

Christian Vulcanism

It has come up again. This time over at Spiritual Sounding Board. This movement among men to deny the emotional side of the human race and to turn it into something rigid and overly structured. We've seen it among men who drive us bonkers like Driscoll and Piper.
Unfortunately it is also cropping up among fellows who, except for saying a few stupid things, they are rather decent and caring.

Evangelical Church is Weak and Womanly

Please, Phil Johnson. Please come up with other ways to address issues that you have with the church. There is no need to scapegoat women over it.

The Violent Take It By Force

It is hard to watch. It is hard to hear about. But it is not something that I can pretend is not happening.

Matthew 11:12  From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence [is forcibly entered], and violent men take it by force [seize it for themselves].

The Southern Baptist Convention is being taken over by men, by force. That once paragon of Christian grace and promoter of "the priesthood of the believer" is being taken over by power hungry men who seek to build their own kingdoms. Under shepherds are infiltrating the sheep pen to fleece the flock and lay heavy burdens upon them.

Here is the latest move by Al Mohler. He closed the independent music department so that he could move his own guys in.

Who Calls the Tune in the Southern Baptist Convention

Men, who claim authority unto themselves, who cover over the sins of pedophiles in order to save face and to keep hold of their ill gotten places of power in the Kingdom, these men seek to rule and reign on this earth in God's name. They are no different than the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Pharisees in the days of Jesus, and the Borgia Popes during the times of the worse corruption in the Catholic Church.

First they twist scripture to make it say what they want it to say to support their position:

Jeremiah 8:8 How can you say, 'we are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us'?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribe has made it into a lie.

Then they congratulate each other on being such great men of God and being so theologically brilliant and being so holy etc...:

John 5:44 How can you believe; when you receive glory [honor or fame] from one another and you do not seek the glory [honor or fame] from the one and only God.

Men see the church as an opportunity to advance themselves and build their own kingdoms. They take up residence as kings and lords of the manor claiming they speak for God when really they speak from the darkness of their own hearts.

I see this over and over again. I saw it in the abusive church I went to back in the 80s. I see it in Driscoll now. And now I see it taking over SBC. It is a time for mourning.

For those who were not following my blog back in 2009, here is a link to a post on a dream that I have about violent men who forcibly enter the Kingdom and seize it for themselves.

Do you believe in dreams, pt 3

Having that dream helped me to get some perspective on these false shepherds.