James A. ThM
Is Karen Swallow Prior demon possessed?
There’s no other (or better) explanation for why Karen Swallow Prior (“KSP”), professor at Liberty University, and Research Fellow of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics Committee (“ERLC”), consistently endorses LGBTism and Roman Catholicism then that she is demon possessed. Prior recently published a statement on the LGBT website, Level Ground, excusing her sin explaining why she supports Level Ground’s “brave vision” (bravery is an oft used “buzz word” of the LGBT community for “coming out” or as applied to “Caitlyn” Jenner, attempting to convert oneself into a different gender).
TONE
Before I discuss her excuse, I’m going to defer to the Pulpit & Pen website for a comprehensive list of documentation against KSP that stems from support of socialist animal rights activism, feminism, and a constant endorsement of other LGBT causes and Catholicism. And we need to say a word about “tone”.
Much of what JD Hall and contributors at Pulpit & Pen have written on this matter are largely ignored because of his “tone”. Sometimes those with discernment and good common sense try to warn others about a problem, and the caveats get brushed off. Sometimes satire and sarcasm are used to make a point (See Elisha’s treatment of the men at Mt. Carmel in 1 Kings chapter 18-19, Paul confronting Peter to the face in Galatians 2:11-13, and naming names of his detractors, 1 Tim 1:18-19, 2 Tim 2:17 ).
It’s unfortunate that JD Hall, nor many of the rest of us who see the problems with KSP, don’t have the kind of grace that our critics have. I apologize for not being as pious as my self-righteous fans, most of whom consist of anonymous accounts that harass me all day long from literally hundreds of accounts, all to complain about tone and tactics. I have great theological differences with JD Hall, and writers at P&P, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that he has discovered some malware in the SBC infrastructure, and folks are using “tone” to avoid addressing the issues merely because they dislike him personally. I have seen some of the most ridiculous defenses of KSP and SBC leaders over issues Hall and others have raised. When studying trial strategies in law school, we learned about the “Twinkie Defense” which sought to exonerate a defendant’s actions based on the sugar buzz obtained from a Twinkie. Essentially, the Twinkie made him do it. Defenders of KSP, Russ Moore, Rick Warren, Ed Stetzer, Thom Rainer, Ronnie Floyd, et al, are offering Twinkie Defenses to clear and obvious cases of theological brutality and compromise. I have seen some of the most relativistic rationalizing from professing Christians that I’ve ever witnessed, and it’s pathetic that people care more about their idols in SBC leadership and their blog reputations than standing for Biblical truth.
Let’s just be honest and frank, it wouldn’t make a difference what “tone” is used when confronting (or trying to) leaders in the SBC. This evangelical intelligentsia is not to be questioned. Any challenge to their royal and imperial elitism risks having the Southern Baptist KGB snuff out the trouble making proletariat with an endless barrage of funeral mourners crying about tone. After all, these “good, godly men” couldn’t possibly have any motive ($$$$) to deceive anyone despite the fact they are millions of dollars in unexplained debt, and maintain a book selling business that profits off of heresy.
So JD Hall is a jerk. OK, we get it. It’s been emphasized thousands of times. He’s a jerk, I’m a jerk, everyone that opposes the SBC is a jerk. Duly Noted. Our tone is rotten, and we should work on it. Check. Thanks for praying for our “bad attitudes” and pointing out our flaws every minute of the day for the sole purpose of enabling your idols to continue chipping away at churches in preparation for the greatest ecumenical siege to date (Daniel 9-11, Revelation 13-18). We’re not as loving as we could be, not as soft-spoken as Mrs Cleaver, and perhaps sometimes have the tact of an elephant, but that doesn’t excuse these people from leaving it in the middle of the room. But we all know that “tone” is a buzz word for “you have a critical spirit for disagreeing with anything my hero says or does”. Yes, sometimes we get in bad moods, maybe even more often than not, but some of us genuinely care about all of you and see the dangers ahead. If a homeless drunk is yelling that a shark is in the water, I’m not going to just laugh at him because he’s inebriated. I’d at least want to make sure I’m not about to get my foot eaten off. The SBC has some sharks in their midst, and if you get your eaten alive because you were more concerned about the watchmen’s appearance and form than WHAT HE SAYS, it’s your own fault.
KSP’S LOUSY EXCUSE FOR ENDORSING LEVEL GROUND
From the very outset of the article, after affirming that “we all have divisions”, Karen offers the following bullets as justification for her support of Level Ground,
This is why I share Level Ground’s passionate commitment to its extraordinarily brave vision to:
- Help communities foster relationships between people of differing positions (within and outside the church walls)
- Elevate the public discourse in the midst of disagreement
- Encourage reconciliation instead of division
- Embody Christian discipleship as we encounter a diversity of beliefs
Elevate Public Discourse?
This is the “death by dialogue” discussed by Kevin DeYoung in his book on homosexuality [Unfortunately, Kevin has been silent about KSP even though many attempted to get a response from him when The Gospel Coalition began publishing articles by KSP]. Gay advocates seek to neutralize theological rhetoric against the abomination of homosexual practice by harmonizing our languages in a univocal voice of dialogue over “issues” (always a relative term) turning it into equivocal banter. If we can just somehow “talk” we’ll all get along without the “unnecessary” division. It’s a stall tactic of the LGBT community to put Bible believers asleep while LGBTs chip away at our laws, morals, and foundational beliefs.
Reconciliation?
The only reconciliation to be had is the LGBT’s repentance before the cross of Christ. What KSP is doing to promoting a social reconciliation that allows a person to be comfortable in their sin while living among other Christians without division, and perhaps through your generosity in not describing their lifestyle as sin that needs to be repented of they’ll eventually come to your way of thinking and convert after the ten thousandth “conversation”. Division is precisely what Scripture intended: “I came not to bring peace, but a sword” Matthew 10:34; “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” Romans 16:17: see also 2 Cor 6:14-17, 1 Cor 5:11.
Embody Christian Discipleship?
Again, embody Christian discipleship? On what planet did KSP get this notion that a person living in unrepentant kingdom excluding sin (1 Cor 6:9-11) can possibly “embody Christian discipleship”? Karen Prior has to give Level Ground an apriori grant that they are even Christian in order to make this bold and heretical statement.
Remember when we were kids and mom and dad or the teacher questioned us about something bad, we could “truthfully” tell them what they wanted to hear to keep us out of trouble and it wasn’t a lie as long as we kept our fingers crossed behind our backs! That is precisely what Karen Swallow Prior is doing. She is telling those watching that she opposes homosexuality, while her fingers are crossed behind her back endorsing not only homosexual activist groups, but speaking engagements at Jesuit colleges endorsing Catholic ideas (KSP is an admitted Jesuit teacher). More people have come out of the closet affirming their gayness, then I have seen turn from their sin (one of her students wrote an article about his coming out in the Atlanta after a long “conversation” with Karen Prior). Karen is setting the tone for the homosexual community to use her as the face of the church’s views on LGBTism, which helps the LGBT community avoid having these conversations with apologists who force them to confront the contradictions between their lifestyle and the Bible.
When KSP attends these events, she is not addressing homosexuality as an abomination (or even sinful), she is not discussing Genesis 2, Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Judges 19, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Cor 6:9-11, 1 Cor 5:9-11, 1 Cor 7, 1 Tim 1:10-11. Not at all. Her premise for discourse of sexuality is Pope John Paul’s “theology of the body”. With trembling hands and quivering voice, she whispers that it’s not perhaps the healthiest choice and says “my church views it as prohibited” (which is not the same as making an argument as to why you believe that). But as we’ve seen with the capitulating of Pope Francis on a plethora of issues, any theological positions from the Roman Catholic Church can change with the next Pope (as “infallible” as he is!), and we’ll give it a few more years (maybe even shorter) before KSP follows in the footsteps of David Gushee and Julie Rodgers, those who once professed to believe in Biblical marriage and slowly began compromising (like KSP is doing now) until eventually coming all the way out of the closet. We believe this is by design. Call it conspiracy theory if you must, but there’s just far too many “coincidences” of professors entering conservative Christian colleges, gaining the trust of Bible believing Christians, and then capitulating for such a pattern as this to not be considered someone’s deliberate and calculated conniving (and its interesting that KSP is at Liberty University, once a staunch defender of morality with its “Moral Majority”. Anymore, you rarely hear it’s legal arm, American Center for Law and Justice, discussing the LGBT agenda. We even reached out to Jay Alan Sekulow for comment on this and received no reply).
And let’s face it, if Level Ground was really interested in encouraging meaningful and truthful “dialogue” about homosexuality, they would have invited the “go-to” men like Dr. Robert Gagnon , Dr. Michael Brown, Dr. James White, and a host of many other popular authors with a recognizable polemic against homosexual practice.
The kind of compromise we see from KSP, and those like Russ Moore who enable her, is exactly what leads to doctrinal degradation which ultimately has a destructive effect on our entire culture. The LGBT community does not set the standard for civility, discourse, dialogue, or theology. In the face of clear and convincing evidence that KSP and her loyal sycophants are making Catholicism and LGBTism more palatable to conservative Christians, it’s painfully obvious that they are either grossly incompetent at best, or demon possessed at worst.
My son, heretofore you have been taught to act the dissembler: among Roman Catholics to be a Roman Catholic, and to be a spy even among your own brethren; to believe no man, to trust no man. Among the Reformers, to be a Reformer; among the Huguenots, to be a Huguenot; among the Calvinists, to be a Calvinist; among other Protestants, generally to be a Protestant; and obtaining their confidence, to seek even to preach from their pulpits, and to denounce with all the vehemence in your nature our Holy Religion and the Pope;” Part of The Jesuit Oath.
Do Right Christians 