Thursday, September 13, 2007

Anonymity, Cowardice, Sin, and the SBC

I thank God for Tom Ascol.

Yesterday Boyd Luter--a pastor, author, adjunct professor at Liberty Seminary, and (in a stroke of irony) proprietor of a blog entitled Agree to Disagree Agreeably: Playing Nice While Blogging about Frustrating Issues--posted an anonymous letter from an SBC professor to the board of trustees containing a scurrilous attack on Paige Patterson and Al Mohler. Offering an anonymous public accusation of this nature is clearly unbiblical and a profound act of cowardice.

Ascol writes, in part:
After reading and rereading your letter what has become sadly obvious to me is that it demonstrates little understanding of biblical integrity and boldness. The accusations that you make under the cover of anonymity lack courage, plain and simple. You admit your reason, as if doing so justifies your action and alleviates your cowardly action. . . .

Your admission is an indictment of your failure of nerve. You have decided that maintaining a paycheck is more valuable than directly engaging the issues that cause you concern. So, rather than honor Jesus Christ in handling your concerns the way the Bible says to handle them, you sit in the shadows, under the cover of darkness and work like a sniper. Galatians 6:1, Matthew 18:15-18, and Paul's example in Galatians 2:11-21 all rebuke your way of handling your concerns.
Read the whole thing.