Hindson, Edward

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Liberty UniversityDigitalCommons@LibertyUniversityFaculty Publications and Presentations School of Religion1983Guilt by Association, or Burned by the SecondDegreeEdward HindsonLiberty University, ehindson@liberty.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/sor_fac_pubsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Religion at DigitalCommons@Liberty University. It has been accepted forinclusion in Faculty Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Liberty University. For more information,please contact scholarlycommunication@liberty.edu.Recommended CitationHindson, Edward, "Guilt by Association, or Burned by the Second Degree" (1983). Faculty Publications and Presentations. Paper 136.http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/sor_fac_pubs/136by Ed Dobson and Ed Hindson G Guilt by Association, ~ or Burned by the Second De ee~: M any Fundamentalists, attempting to maintain separation from Liberalism, have degenerated in-to condemning each other because of what they view as wrong associations. This has led to the concept of guilt by association. What Should I Do? 1. Should I cancel my subscription to the Sword of the Lord because the magazine does not stand for storehouse tithing? DYES D NO 2. Should I send students to Bob Jones University when they openly invite unsaved artists to entertain ("cultural-ly") their student body? ,D YES D NO 3. Should I invite Jerry Falwell to speak in my church when his political organization, Moral Majority, includes Catholics, Mormons, and Jews? D YES D NO 4. Should I attend a Shepherding Conference at John MacArthur's church when he is not an advocate of Bap-tist polity? DYES D NO 5. Should I use "Evangelism Explosion" in my church when it was developed by a Presbyterian? D YES D NO 6. Should I invite Ian Paisley to speak in my church when he is a Five-Point Calvinist and practices infant baptism? DYES DNO 7. Should I encourage my people to attend Bill Gothard Seminars when no attempt is made to control Charismatic expressions in the audience? D YES D NO 8. Should I speak at a Southern Baptist Church that may designate its giving to the Cooperative Program? DYES DNO 9. Should I invite a musician who has appeared on a Charis-matic television program to minister in my church? DYES DNO 10. Should I show James Dobson's family films in my church when he is a Nazarene? D YES D NO Each of these questions brings differing responses. The issues concern basic personal preferences and are not charac-teristics of apostasy. An apostate is someone who denies the person of Christ and the gospel of salvation and from whom we are commanded to separate (2 John 9-11). On the doc-trinal absolutes of the faith (the "fundamentals") there can be no compromise. However, the 10 items listed above are mat-ters of personal preference, not cardinal truths that divide the saved from the lost. While one pastor may prefer a certain 10 in ev style of music (such as gospel quartets vs. Peterson cantatas), 0 others should not judge him a "weak-kneed, liberal com. promiser" because of his musical preference. The same can be sci said for the speakers he invites, the singers he uses, the films po he shows, or the books he reads! teI Secondary Separation-Isolation Cycle The issue of separation from unbelfef (2 Cor. 6:14-18) always been essential to the Fundamentalist movement. It ~ the basis of the Fundamentalist withdrawal from mainline denominations and ecumenical or cooperative evangelism, However, in their quest for what they considered some Fundamentalists began to call for separation Evangelicals who were viewed as being too tolerant Liberals and even from other Fundamentalists who wert viewed as being too tolerant of some Evangelicals. That led . others separating from Fundamentalists who were perceived as tolerant of other Fundamentalists who were too tolerant some Evangelicals. This led to the separation-isolation In many cases the issue of secondary separation led to excessive intolerance of any deviation from one's list of.singers, speakers, schools, missionaries, and In essence a Protestant Inquisition was formed tel h new defection from true Fundamentalism. Those who fllC were quickly labeled neo, pseudo, liberal, and !~~l all :;~~o~P~:~~~:~e~:e~ea~~:~;~~;e~'s :::t::s }~u~d ..•. ~~ being judged acceptable or non-acceptable by the ·~I they attended, the music they used in their church, • ~ I the magazines th~y ~ead, and the meetings they attended. ~ I Guilt by Association ation, )e ee rson cantatas), 1, liberal com. he same can be uses, the films )r. 6: 14-18) has novement. It is from mainline ve evangelism. idered biblical, :paration from )0 tolerant of lists who were also That led to were perceived too tolerant of isolation cycle: j Among extremist Fundamentalists an attitude of "guilt by I association" prevails. If a pastor has ever been seen in the Icornpany of one who is considered suspect, he is automati-. cally judged as being guilty of the beliefs, practices, and preferences of the other. By this reasoning process, to speak in a particular Southern Baptist Church makes one guilty of everything associated with the entire Southern Baptist Convention. Yet these same extremists will deny that speaking at a iChool which advocates segregation makes one guilty of sup-porting racism. To them, for a Baptist to speak at an in-terdenominational school does not mean he is advocating in-terdenominationalism. Further, they never would say that ipeaking at a Free Will Baptist Church makes one guilty of denying eternal security. In other words, the same rule of "guilt by association" does not always apply. Parable of Pastor Average Consider the case of Pastor Average. After weeks of per-struggle, he finally decides to attend a Bill Gothard Pastors' Seminar with a fellow Fundamentalist pastor who of-fers to drive. That morning he stops at the church to check his mail. and discovers a copy of the Sword of the Lord with an article against storehouse tithing. He leaves it on the desk when his secretary tells him that his ride has arrived. When he goes out into the parking lot, he is shocked to discover that the other Fundamentalist pastor, without warning, has brought a local Southern Baptist pastor as well. What should Pastor Average do? 1. Insist that he drive himself. 2. Ask the Southern Baptist to get out and drive himself. 3. Ride with them and ignore the Southern Baptist. 4. Ride with them, but be careful what they talk about. He greets them and reluctantly gets into the car. As they talking he discovers that the Southern Baptist is really about the article in the Sword of the Lord and the other a.grees with him. However, when the conversation heated, the driver inserts a Bill Gaither tape in his player in order to change the subject. The Southern Baptist remarks how much he loves Bill Gaither's music. Pastor Average does not like it at all. What should he do? 1. Sit there and endure the music. 2. Talk louder than the music . 3. Condemn Bill Gaither. 4. Ask the driver to turn off the tape . They finally arrive at the auditorium, register, receive their materials, and select their seats. When they are seated, a Lutheran pastor (with a collar) sits in the vacant chair next to Pastor Average, who tries to ignore him. Before the seminar begins the Lutheran tells Pastor Average how excited he is about the "Evangelism Explosion" program he has initiated in his church and how they have had 42 people saved in just six weeks. He then asks Pastor Average how many he has had saved in the last six weeks. What should he do? 1. Tell a lie! 2. Change the subject. 3. Ask: What is "Evangelism Explosion"? 4. Condemn "Evangelism Explosion." After the morning session, the three Baptist car-mates go to a local restaurant for lunch. Relieved to be rid of the Lutheran, Pastor Average and companions sit at a large table. Just as they are about to ask the blessing two Charismatics and a Nazarene ask to sit at the same table with them. During the blessing, he notices that one of the Charismatics has his hands raised. Just as they finish praying, Pastor Average looks up, only to see the alumni director of his alma mater standing across the room, arms folded, staring right at him. What should he do? 1. Go to the alumni director and explain the situation. 2. Ignore the alumni director. 3. Take his meal to another table. 4. Quickly exit to the restroom and stay there! As they are driving home after the afternoon session, the Southern Baptist invites Pastor Average to preach in his church sometime. What should he do? 1. Accept. 2. Refuse. 3. Ask how much the Southern Baptist pastor's church gives to the Cooperative Program. 4. Wish he had never gone to the Bill Gothard Seminar. Under intense pressure, beleaguered and confused by the complex chain of events he has experienced that day, Pastor Average walks slowly into the family room hoping for some peace and quiet. As he reaches the doorway, he is shocked to continued on page 57 tends to ~nt at Van-:icizing "that heresy-that y of Christ is 1 relentlessly at the Wce course. But vangelicals is :ant and rele-lie R. Keylack tish Columbia March and Fundamen. ~ articles on mcil" for a :.ling of Third on of Material Pastor. Ie sermon for 19. 8, P.O. 1, TN -----, 'Ill rANG ST. ~A 89108 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ____ -J Fundamentalism Today continued fram page 11 discover his wife actually watching the "PTL Club"! Conclusion Admittedly, the examples referenced in this article are somewhat simplistic-if not ridiculous. But that is the point. Carried to extremes, secondary separa-tion can be ridiculous. Unfortunately, these situations are more often fact than fiction. We all draw lines-we just do not draw them at the same places. Whether we admit it or not, some cir-cumstances require decisions based on personal preferences, which vary among genuine Christians, and no one is entirely consistent in his decision making. These preferences are not to be confused with valid issues, such as associating or cooperating with apostates in religious efforts. But beyond the matter of personal preference is the problem of assump-tion. Because many people assume the worst when they see or hear about cer-tain associations of other Christians, we tend to be very careful-if not paranoid-about our associations. Christians should assume the best and give one another the benefit of the doubt. Instead, we are in a cycle of action-reaction-action, where we assume that others will assume the worst, and we act accordingly. Isn't this an indication of our spiritual immatu-rity? An oft-quoted verse is 2 Corin-thians 3:17, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." What does this verse mean? We surely do not allow fellow Fundamentalists much liberty, and therefore impose bondage on ourselves as well as others. Maybe that means we do not have a genuine spirit. If we do not allow liberty in our life in Christ, we surely are not going to allow others to exercise their liberty in areas of preference. Are we caught in the unhealthy position of judging others by our stan-dards? We must be sure our actions and attitudes are based on biblical teachings and proper interpretations of those teachings. If we cannot, in all honesty, back our judgmental mind-set with Scripture, we had best default to Scrip-ture. 0 The Literacy Pres s D.F. 280 Pine St. Madison, GA 37748 (404) 342-4962 For 5 Years - A Better Method of Teaching Reading NAME BRAND PRODUCTS AT WHOLESALE PRICES MISSION SERVICE SUPPLY III Video Equipment • Projectors and Audio Visual • Tape Duplicators • Recorders • Lighting • Sound Equipment III Telephones • Microphones III Champion Juicers • Water Distillers III And many other items liThe helps ministry" HELPING YOU REACH THE WORLD FOR CHRIST Our catalogue mailing costs is $.54 Cash or stamps are appreciated Panasonic WV-3990 SPECIAL Panasonic NV-8500 Editor Panasonic NV8420 Portable Video Have 5 WV-777's at $5195.00 WHOLESALE TO CHRISTIAN WORKERS Jay D. Cole, President Route 4, Box 384 • Fayetteville, AR 72701 • (501) 521-1758 'illST JOuRNAL OCTOBER 1983 57 

Guilt by Association, or Burned by the Second Degree

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