(aka "Why you should not write hasty posts that you haven't proof read, especially while you have a fever of 102 F and your sinuses feel like they are going to rupture out through your eyeballs!")
Thanks to an astute reader who contacted me via email, in an expression of my disgust for racism and kinism, I originally used the term "miscegenation" in this blog post as the opposite of what it really means. Miscegenation is "race mixing" which I think is a wonderful thing. In so doing in my febrile and hasty error, I originally stated that Vision Forum and those so named are "anti-miscegenation" when they, like me, are indeed pro-miscegenation. I believe I have appropriately corrected this error so that the post correctly reflects the positon of Vision Forum and uses the term accurately! My humble apologies for the confusion/misrepresentation, and I humbly ask forgiveness. (There is only one race in Christ! To Him be all the glory, and I am grateful to allow that glory shine through my obvious weakness here! Ah, well. It keeps me humble. And frankly, I'm disgusted that there is even a 50 cent word needed to describe interracial marriage.)
I don't have much time to spend here at the moment, but I am getting a great deal of email concerning some posts on Vision Forum's blog, asking if I know who Doug Phillips is talking about on the topic of miscegenation. I suppose because I am such a strong critic of Phillips and that I speak out against the following of Confederate Ideology as its own religion that I must be the person they are discussing? I have no idea what goes on in the heads of the patriocentrists, and unlike me, they do not name names. So who knows?
But because I have been answering so many emails, I would like to just be able to simply link to a blog post addressing this.
My problems with Doug Phillips' stance on Confederate Ideology have been well-documented on this blog, and I have specifically addressed my questions about how far Doug, Brad and Howard Phillips take their beliefs because they make no qualifying statements about where their their Confederate Ideology appreciation begins and where it ends specifically. (Note that I have never heard anything racist or remotely so from Howard Phillips who has welcomed Alan Keyes and told a small group of us at a CP meeting that he would offer the VP slot to Keyes if he had not been a new world order supporter. Howard also openly encourages women to get involved in the party and to run for office on the CP ticket.)
If you watch the video presentation of the Patriarchy Workshop, you will also hear me state that I do not believe that patriocentrist are all racists, but that it is confusing because they all seem to hail Dabney as a prophet but do not tell us how far his accurate prophecies extend. All any of these groups need to do is make a definitive and qualifying position statement about race and slavery to clear these matters up. They don't. They name call and declare their critics non-Christian instead. I have stated the same thing about position statements regarding folks like this Chad Degenhart character who is listed as a cofounder of the Kinist Institute that attends James McDonald's church in the Peoria, Illinois area as well as Carmon Friedrich who interacts with several kinists which people find highly confusing. All any group or individual needs to do and should do is make a definitive position statement, usually why people make such position statements. This pro-miscegenation statement (supporting interracial marriage) on the Vision Forum website is really a definitive first. Last week on the True Womanhood blog somewhere on this thread, I stated that I applaud this particular new qualifying statement and look forward to both Voddie Baucham and Doug Phillips making many, many more position statements. That is all I have ever asked for from these groups or questioned, because it is ambiguous and confusing to people.
I would also like to note that in December of 2007, I stated that I knew that Doug Phillips stood against the kinists and was in favor of miscegenation, based upon his actions.
From the post "Perception: A Major Problem for Patriarchy"
Along with many others, I find this all highly confusing, and discussion of these matters calls for caution. I noted that in the blog post, too! ;)
The modern patriarchy movement (that which has emerged from within Evangelical Christian circles from within the homeschooling movement) presents some confusing associations because these discrete groups relate to one another without consistency. For instance, Vision Forum publicly denounces specific Kinists, but both groups rely heavily on the writings of the Confederate Presbyterian RL Dabney. Patriarchalists like Doug Wilson embrace the concept of slavery (hopefully as a form of Christian philanthropy and as a solution to the Welfare State). The modern homeschooling movement was pioneered in many ways by Theonomists and Dominionists such as Rousas Rushdoony. The League of the South which supports Agrarianism, at its inception, avoided race-related positions, but later discussed and favored Kinism (though that documentation is no longer available and is now supported only by my personal claims based on my memory of the documentation online). The League of the South supported the Constitution Party candidate for the US Presidency in 2004, and the founder of the party is the father of the founder of Vision Forum who hails RL Dabney as a prophet. The Family Integrated Church (FIC) Movement draws from the ideology of Confederate Presbyterian writings like those of RL Dabney and BM Palmer, but individual FICs may or may not be kinist or pro-slavery (though many are). And on and on it goes.
I understand that Doug Phillips has taken heat from kinists because he very publicly gave money to RC Sproul, Jr. so that RC could finance an adoption of a new baby that just turned out to have black skin. The kinists that attended RC's church became very upset and retaliated against both RC and Phillips for this, and I understand this is why they were so interested in supporting and aiding Jennifer Epstien in putting together the "Jen's Gems" blog. (I did not realize that the Epstiens had anything to do with kinists until several months after participating on her blog, showing open support for her. I am highly inclined to believe this now, as I've been sent links from her children's blogs after the nomination of Obama. One had foul language and racial names, and the other child's blog had photos of the White House lawn with monkeys and KFC chicken all over the lawn. Sorry, I did not save the disgusting links.) I also understand that Vision Forum used and benefited from information that I helped reveal online pertaining to this kinist-Epstien connection, and they really should be more grateful for my contributions to the debate.
So actually, as I stated online a week or so ago, I've long known that Phillips is openly anti-kinist, but I know that he had preached to small groups that he is pro-slavery, viewing slavery as a benevolent institution that will cure our economic woes. What we do not know and something I bring up in my yet unanswered list of questions to Voddie Baucham is how Doug will figure out who gets to be a slave? Dabney did so based not only on culture but also on race and was quite racist. And since commenting on my own blog piece noted above, I have learned that in the late '60s and early '70s, RJ Rushdoony did make anti-miscegenation statements, so the kinists can and do rightfully claim him as one of their own. Even people who worked for Rushdoony in the '90s had no idea of this position, but Rushdoony, though not a legalist, did have his racial problems. He was a descendant of proud parents from Armenia, and he had issues with the Holocaust and with the mixing of races in marriage. He was also from a different age, the same age as my own grandfather, and the social rules were different and do not constitute ones that are appropriate for our day. But they were common beliefs for those in Rushdoony's age group. As someone who is not a black and white thinker, I can note this about Rushdoony also without repudiating the things that I did appreciate about him, though I think he was very wrong in his earlier writings concerning race.
Please refer to this post about my questions regarding the confusing Vision Forum connections to Confederate Ideology and the Constitution Party HERE with an index of all of the posts I have written on this topic HERE. I also address issues with Rushdoony in those posts.
So to reiterate, I do applaud Vision Forum's and Voddie Baucham's definitive statement on an issue I never raised specifically as an issue with Vision Forum (only where they draw the line with Dabney's statements on race and slavery). I also look forward to more clarifications from groups like the Constitution Party continues and whether Doug Phillips still supports the League of the South since they made pro-kinist statements as an organization. I've never even called the Constitution Party racist at any time, though they do tend to attract racists, likely much the way Doug Phillips' writings are applauded and in high demand with the Moonies because of the rigid and extreme patriarchy and evangelism through birthing larger numbers of covenant children. I don't think that makes Vision Forum pro-moonie, but it does point out that they have common interests. If it is a matter of concern, all they need to is point to their statement of faith, a definitive position statement that clarifies concerns. They can then deny and readily shoot down any false claims about what they believe and don't believe, hopefully living out their position statements as well.
If I am in any way a factor in recent polemic and ad hominem comments from Vision Forum or Doug Phillips specifically, it is more likely that they are inflamed about my publishing of documentation from a creditor of James McDonald and Homeschooling Today Magazine, confirming that James went 4 years without attempting to pay a $75,000 balance for printing costs. [I was required to retract the published statement, but if anyone is interested in the actual emails from the printer, I would be happy to forward them.] Per typical patriocentric form, they are using threats of legal action and apparently legal strong arming to squelch criticism. I was told on the phone that James approached the printer, asking to settle the debt for only pennies on the dollar, and the printer refused. I assume this the spin that the McDonalds claim was the company's refusal to take only a small payment against this debt as opposed to full payment, something I guess the McDonalds refer to as the printers supposed refusal to "accept James' payment plan."
The patriocentrists are merely "circling wagons" and "closing ranks" in the face of the facts, and I was forwarded an email last week where Bill Roach of CHEC say that they stand behind the McDonalds and see nothing that would preclude them from presenting at homeschooling conventions. I have also linked to the testimony of Richard Guenther that has reappeared online, not only corroborating that there was a debt owed to HST's printer but that the deeds of those affiliated with HSLDA (including Gregg Harris and Doug Phillips, too) are not so glowing.
They are also likely upset that I have posted documentation and links here that demonstrate that Geoff Botkin came from the Bible-based cult called "Great Commission Ministries" (one of their many incorporated names, the Shepherding-Discipleship brainchild of cult leader Jim McCotter). Botkin advocates a retreat/permanent relocation of faithful homeschoolers to New Zealand. At least it's prettier than Guyana! I also demonstrated, thanks to corroboration from Don Veinot, that Voddie Baucham narcissisticly misrepresented me on his blog in his campaign against Southern Baptists with whom he apparently has conflict. In response, Voddie Baucham did not show Christian behavior with me when this validation of the truth by Veinot was made known. When he thought I was wrong, he was apologetic, and when he realized he was wrong, he shut down all communication? I am glad that he corrected the problem in his November '08 blog post, but he did inaccurately attribute a statement to the MBTS president, using this as a swat at both MBTS and me. (Please see the above link for other links to Baucham's blog, etc.)
So I look forward to the next position clarification to appear on the Vision Forum website! Better the pressure to be forthright and clear come from Christians than from the world, I say. And I am always thrilled when people stand up against what I believe is outright racism. Vision Forum's presentation of the issue was quite good, actually. I could not have done better myself. I applaud it!
Given that I have never called these folks racist, nor have I praised Lincoln on this blog, and as a former attendant of some League of the South meetings myself, I wonder to whom Phillips refers in his bombastic comment about a "kook brigade"? ! ;)
