Month: June 2016

Eric Metaxas: We Need Virtue in Our Leaders and We Must Vote for Donald Trump

Thanks to Kathryn Jean Lopez at National Review for asking Eric Metaxas how he reconciles his call for public virtue with his support for Donald Trump. It still doesn’t make sense to me but at least the contradiction is exposed and obvious.
I addressed Metaxas’ alarmism in a post earlier today. In today’s NR post, Lopez asked Metaxas if leaders need to display virtue. Metaxas said “generally, yes.” Then Lopez brings the money to the table:

KJL: Does that automatically suggest one cannot vote for one Donald J. Trump?
METAXAS: Not only can we vote for Trump, we must vote for Trump, because with all of his foibles, peccadilloes, and metaphorical warts, he is nonetheless the last best hope of keeping America from sliding into oblivion, the tank, the abyss, the dustbin of history, if you will. If you want to know how bad things are in America, and how far we have gone, read the previous sentence aloud over and over.

Donald Trump is our “last best hope?!” He will keep us from the abyss? These sentences don’t tell me how bad things are in America but they do indicate the seriousness of Metaxas’ apocalyptic fever.
If the answer to America’s problems is in his new book, where in his book does he recommend anti-virtue? He argues against himself. He says we are at the abyss and to fix this, we must recapture faith which leads to virtue which leads to freedom. However, he then argues Republicans should acquiesce to Donald Trump’s nomination which brings us someone who:

  • praises Putin and thinks a friendly meeting with Kim Jong-un is a good idea
  • advocates torture for combatants and death to civilian families
  • declares a judge to be unfair because of his heritage
  • wants to deport 11 million people
  • limits the freedom of the press
  • singles out an entire religion for discrimination
  • rationalizes Trump University, other business misadventures too numerous to mention, and his obvious lack of preparation to be president

In the interview, Metaxas claims that Hillary is so bad that the nation will not survive her. To me, this shows a stunning lack of historical perspective. Hillary is not blameless by any means but there is no comparison which places Trump in the category of America’s last best hope.
If Trump is America’s last best hope, then Metaxas needs to withdraw his book because there is absolutely nothing in it we need. 
Instead, we need GOP delegates to have a Bonhoeffer moment at the convention. They are not bound to vote for the worst choice. I recently saw Thomas Jefferson quoted in a Weekly Standard article on this very point. In 1810, Jefferson answered a question posed by John Colvin about deviating from observance of the law:

A strict observance of the written law is doubtless one of the high duties of a good citizen, but it is not the highest. The laws of necessity, of self-preservation, of saving our country when in danger, are of higher obligation. To lose our country by a scrupulous adherence to the written law, would be to lose the law itself, with life, liberty, property and all those who are enjoying them with us; thus absurdly sacrificing the ends to the means.

Sure, it would be a long shot to contest the primary results, but it would not be impossible. In this case, doesn’t virtue demand it? Trump is not now the nominee. What would Bonhoeffer do? Give up? Give in?
 

Eric Metaxas: Things in America Are as Bad as During the Revolution and the Civil War

Promoting his new book, If You Can Keep It, Eric Metaxas told National Review’s Kathryn Jean Lopez that things are pretty bad right now.

America is in an existential crisis no less serious than the one we faced in the Civil War. Or the crisis before that, when our nation came into being in the Revolution. For the first time in a century and a half we are facing the imminent vanquishing of the republic, except there is no John Bull or Johnny Reb to fight against. We are being hollowed out silently from within by termites — and a hollow, brightly painted shell called “America” will soon exist where America once stood.

Can he really mean that?
There is strong disagreement among citizens about issues like abortion, gay marriage and gun control, but war has not broken out. Even with the harsh political season, we are hardly at the point of civil war.
I went to church last Sunday. I plan to go again this Sunday. No government thugs came anywhere close to my house of worship. I have exercised the same freedoms this week in my small town that I have all my life. All over the nation, lots of people exercised their freedom to do things I disapprove of but those actions did not stop me from doing what I believe to be right.
I don’t think things are as good as they could be. I think extremism on the left and right is a problem and the polarization of the society has increased. I believe the far left and far right should be held responsible for this. I could go on about this.
Currently, I worry that the GOP nominee Metaxas plans to vote for — Donald Trump — is eroding civility and virtue. I worry that his candidacy is a cancer on the GOP and political process. If anything, Metaxas is complaining about how bad things are but he supports a person who is helping to lead us there.
I think reminders to live virtuously are valuable. Human nature being what it is, I believe we need to be reminded of our values so his appeal to us to live virtuously is fine as far as it goes. However, Metaxas’ pitch is eroded by doomsday fear mongering, the historical errors in the book. and his advocacy for a presidential candidate that simply can’t be emulated in the manner he advocates in his book.
 

Sutton Turner Files Motion to Dismiss RICO Lawsuit Against Him and Mark Driscoll

Yesterday, Sutton Turner filed a motion to dismiss the RICO lawsuit naming Mark Driscoll and him as defendants. He said he was never served and asked the court to dismiss the suit.

I. RELIEF REQUESTED
Defendant John Sutton Turner requests an order dismissing all of Plaintiffs’ claims against him for failure to effectuate service of process on him within the 90-day period prescribed under FRCP 4(m).  Plaintiffs filed their complaint on February 29, 2016, and to date, have failed to serve Mr. Turner, nor have they made any diligent efforts to do so.  Their claims against Mr. Turner should be dismissed.

Today, Turner published a blog post explaining his side of the matter. He concludes by saying:

There has been significant media coverage on this lawsuit, causing irreparable harm to my reputation and business career. I am only sharing this in order to get my side of the story out there, and hope that it is helpful for anyone still seeking answers about Mars Hill Church and the false accusation levied against me.

I have reached out to the attorney for the Jacobsens and Kildeas and hope to have a comment to add shortly.

Eric Metaxas and Ann Coulter Agree: Donald Trump Must Be Elected

Ann Coulter dropped by the Eric Metaxas Show to rant about third world immigrants and promote Donald Trump. By and large, Metaxas agreed with her.

You can listen to the entire broadcast at Soundcloud and on Coulter’s You Tube account. The segment with Coulter begins at 10:44.  Rather than provide a transcript, I will just describe the segment. If Eric Metaxas endorsing both Ann Coulter and Donald Trump is something that is of interest to you, then you will want to hear it for yourself.

While bordering on being incoherent, I think Coulter tried to sell an analogy from Nazis to Muslims in her opening statements. She noted that we did allow Germans to come into the country in WWII but we got technology out of the deal. She wondered what we are getting out of current Muslim immigration. Metaxas seemed a little befuddled and asked Coulter to clarify her statements. She then said that the Orlando shooter Omar Mateen was not an American (even though he was born in New York) because his parents came from Afghanistan.

She then blamed the presence of non-European immigrants on Teddy Kennedy. Specifically, she referred to immigration reform supported by Kennedy (The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965). Previously, immigration from Africa, Asia, and eastern Europe was restricted in favor of immigration from western Europe. This law changed the quotas to allow the entrance of immigrants who Coulter disparagingly referred to as “hoards of the third world.”

According to Coulter, the Democrats had political reasons for wanting to change the immigration laws:

The Democrats looked around the country, they realized they couldn’t get Americans to vote for them, so they decided to bring in hoards of the third world, and the third world, as you beautifully described in your opening, have very different ideas than those of us who came from the Magna Carta, the glorious revolution, the Declaration of Independence. That’s our culture. They have a different culture that has a different view of human life but it helps the Democrats at the ballot box.

She said the bill cut off immigration from western Europe, the people who “traditionally populated this country.” She denied the proposition that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants but told Metaxas that we have been overrun with “cheap labor” from the third world who hate the country.

Who Favored the 1965 Immigration Reform?
In fact, a higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats in Congress voted for the 1965 immigration bill. Most of the opposition to the bill came from southern Democrats who did not want to upset the ethnic profile of the nation. Coulter has to revise history to provide fuel for her ranting. Later in the broadcast, she again blamed Teddy Kennedy for a bill that more Republicans than Democrats in 1965 supported. There was a time when the GOP was the party of Lincoln.

Metaxas then took the conversation in the direction of support for Trump. Coulter claimed that Trump is the only hope to address the immigration problem. Metaxas agreed. He said the flaws in Trump are outweighed by the fact that he may get to name conservative judges. Metaxas said we might go off a cliff and die if someone besides Trump is elected.

Then, after complaining about California, they talk about the wisdom of having bar patrons carry guns to prevent mass shootings. From there, the conversation covered the usual pros and cons (mostly cons) of gun control. On one hand, Coulter minimized the harm guns might do but then said one gun in a bar might have saved the day.

The segment closed with Metaxas and Coulter lamenting how badly Trump is being treated in the press. What a shame that a free press reports the facts about Mr. Trump. Coulter and Metaxas have special criticism for Mitt Romney since Romney has led the #nevertrump charge. They seem to agree that Romney has some psychological problem (e.g., pathological envy?) which sets him against Trump. I think Romney is shocked that so many people who should know better are supporting Trump.

Metaxas and the Bonhoeffer Card
During part of the first ten minutes, Metaxas gave tribute to Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This is ironic to me in that he then pivoted to his guest Ann Coulter and their mutual support for Donald Trump. For me, following Bonhoeffer’s example means rejecting a Trump nomination. The GOP delegates would emulate Bonhoeffer if they worked to nominate another candidate to run against Clinton. When it comes to Metaxas, I agree with this fellow:

Robert Morris Says The King's University is Fully Accredited

On June 4, Robert Morris told his congregation that The King’s University is “fully accredited.” Watch:

The entire message is here. Start at 2:22 to get the segment above.
(Transcript)

A few weeks ago, we recognized graduates, and I wanted to say something then but I just forgot, but about three weeks ago we had the Kings University graduation commencement, and if you, woo, there’s a student.
And so if you don’t know, the King’s University was began, begun in 1996, by Dr. Jack Hayford, who’s one of our Apostolic Elders. And about seven or eight years ago, I became the Chairman of the Board of that university. And then, about four years ago, three to four, about three years ago, we transitioned the main campus from California to here.
In essence, we as Gateway Church now, are taking the mantle, or the stewardship, of that university from Dr. Hayford to continue it. We have over 700 students, and just few and it’s all the way from Associate, Bachelors, Masters, all the way to Doctorate level, but just three weeks ago at our commencement we graduated 105 students from the university.  So, I’m grateful.
It’s a fully accredited university. If you’ve got someone, a child that just graduated from high school, and you want to keep ’em around for a year before they go somewhere else, then, I’d like for you to just consider the King’s University, and get that foundation, a Biblical teaching, and then they could go on to some other university if they’re going to pursue another degree. So, anyway I wanted to mention it to ya.

TKU is not regionally accredited and doesn’t claim to be on the school website. Regional accreditation is the standard required for the easy transfer of credits between other regionally accredited schools (e.g., publicly funded universities, private liberal arts colleges). Even then, it is ultimately up to the school whether or not all credits transfer. When Morris advises parents that the school is “fully accredited” and “the first year” can be completed at TKU, he is overselling the school. Although other non-accredited schools might take TKU’s credits, I doubt very many regionally accredited schools would do it. At the least, prospective students and parents should find out what other schools accept TKU credits.
If pressed, I suspect Morris would refer to the articulation agreements promoted by TKU and accreditation by two organizations which specialize in Bible colleges. The articulation agreements are with other small Bible colleges. The accreditation bodies also focus on Bible and ministry training schools:

The King’s University is accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) (15935 Forest Road, Forest, Virginia, 24551, 804.525.9539) at the Category IV level (through the first professional doctorate level) and by the Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) (5850 T.G. Lee Boulevard, Orlando, Florida 32822, 407.207.0808). Both the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools and the Association of Biblical Higher Education are members of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

TRACS and ABHE are both listed as national accrediting associations on the Department of Education’s website and as such provide some benefit to prospective students moving around in the world of ministry and Bible training. However, being accredited by a regional group would allow those credits to transfer to other regionally accredited schools.
TKU’s relationship with TRACS has been in flux. Last year, TKU voted to terminate the relationship with TRACS but then backed away and maintained their membership. Without offering any judgment about the quality of education available at TKU, I can still offer a advisory to parents and students considering the school. If one is considering a transfer to a regionally accredited school after TKU, I suggest consulting the destination school first to find out if the TKU credits will transfer.