Calvinist Flyswatter

Ascol on "harmony"

TOM ASCOL ON THE
BURLESON "BALLOON"

Tom Ascol, head of the Flounders (aka Founders Ministries) has been running an item for a few days on his blog, expressing himself about the evident "trial balloon" which was airborne a few weeks ago by Pastor Wade Burleson and has since popped.

Among other things, Ascol writes in a way that impresses me as being a rather "pious" mode in regard to the so-called "bridge-building" thing which was featured at a conference at Southeastern Baptist Seminary awhile back.

For example, Ascol says: >>We do not have to agree on every jot and tittle to live together harmoniously in the SBC family, but we do have to remember that loyalty to Christ trumps loyalty to any "cause" or party.<<

If that is really the state-of-mind with Ascol, then why doesn't Tom and his Flounders' cohorts simply shut down and call-off their zealous long-standing campaign which is bent on "reforming" Baptist churches with which the Flounders "do not agree on every jot and tittle" relating to the "doctrines of grace" (as defined by the Flounders)?

And why doesn't Ascol change his focus to getting the Gospel out to people in his own vineyard, rather than compassing Dan-to-Beersheba to promote the "reform" ideology of the Flounders? For the past few years, Ascol has written some items ostensibly about doing "church planting," but so far we have seen nothing of significance happening in this regard. Thousands of dollars have been plundered by Ascol and the Flounders to promote the Pedobaptist Reformed Hybrid version of "Calvinism" by means of DVDs and conferences, but we are not aware of much being spent in efforts to plant churches.

If there is any integrity to Ascol's pious remarks in his recent blog, then why doesn't he focus upon the work of evangelism and church planting in contrast to the announced "purpose" of the Flounders to propagandize and "reform" existing churches which are not of the same "faith and order" as the Flounders on Reformed theology?

Ascol seems to imply that the reader is to understand that the enemy of the desired "harmony" between the "Calvinists" and non-Calvinists in the SBC, for the most part, must be attributed to "some (namely, a coalition of the old guard Fundamentalists and avant-garde self-styled defenders of Baptist Identity) who do not want to see such a Gospel consensus unite Baptists who might not see everything eye-to-eye on the doctrines of grace."

Now that Ascol has identified the "enemy," it would perhaps be appropriate for Ascol to demonstrate his own dedication to harmony by calling off his "dogs" (such as Timmy Brister) who are forever barking at those who differ with them on the "jots and tittles" of Pedobaptist Reformed Hybrid Calvinism.

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posted by Bob L. Ross @ 6:07 PM