Behind the HyperPatriarchs...(new links, AGAIN)
It has come to my attention that people have been coming to my blog looking for this posting from January 2007, and have been unable to find it in the archives; and I have been told that not all of the links are working, due to the reorganization of the Patriarch's Path website. So, here it is again, new and improved, with working links....
Lately, there has been a lot of talk around homeschooling/religious circles about Doug Phillips, founder of VisionForum, and pastor of the Boerne Christian Assembly, a hyper-patriarchal non-denomiational group where women are relegated to virtual slavery in their own homes, denied higher education, and are not permitted to participate in prayer in the church services, make prayer requests in church, or even receive communion unless it is served to them by their husband or another male member of the congregation.
Phillips stands accused of the abusive treatment of several members of his congregation:
http://ministrywatchman.com/?p=50
http://jensgems.wordpress.com/2006/12/10/the-search-for-the-perfect-church/
Other charges last year led to the defrocking of Phillip's longtime associate, R.C. Sproul Jr.:
http://ministrywatchman.com/?p=35
A website, The Patriarch's Path, formerly owned by James Mcdonald, used to expound at length on Patriarchal views, among them the idea that only landowners should vote.
On my original article, "Behind the HyperPatriarchs", I linked extensively to The Patriarch's Path site, but those links were broken when Rev. McDonald disabled the site last March. I susequently linked to the webachived versions of the PP articles, but those links were disabled only one day after I published them, presumably by the folks at Patriarch's Path.
Apparently they didn't appreciate the publicity, but here are the same articles, as found on other sites:
http://www.covenanthome.com/document_detail.asp?document_id=51
http://www.natreformassn.org/statesman/03/stndisob.html
(scroll to the bottom of the page for the text)
http://www.bibletopics.com/BIBLESTUDY/92b.htm
http://www.preterism-eschatology.com/Daughters%20and%20Marriage.htm
http://www.vision-harvest.com/articles/CollegeAtHome.php
http://www.proveallthings.org/articles/hidden_costs_of_doing_business_outside.htm
This one, NOT from PP, is also an eye-opener:
http://www.biblicalexaminer.org/w199709.htm
But did you ever wonder what is BEHIND the extreme patriarchy movement?
It's not limited to the evangelical Protestant churches. Consider this: traditionally, Calvinists andCatholics don’t see eye to eye (to say the least!!!), but there has been an almost identical movement growing within the Roman Catholic Church since about 1980. These schismatic Catholics do not get along with the Catholic powers-that-be at all — they claim that the Pope is an impostor and that THEY are the only true Catholics left:
http://sspx.agenda.tripod.com/id52.html
http://www.mgr.org/TraditionIsNotFascism.html
http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:Nq9ijiHmTKoJ:tcrnews2.com/name.html+%22Left,+Marian+Horvat,+Atila+Sinke+Guimaraes%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
Now for the interesting thing: ideologically, Phillips’ Protestant patriarchalists and their Catholic counterparts are coming to have more in common with each other than they do with either traditional Protestantism or orthodox Catholicism. To begin with, both Protestant and the Catholic patriarchalists tend to be Dominionists/Reconstructionists (note that not all Dominionists are hyperpatriarchal, though most do espouse patriarchal ideology to a greater or lesser degree), and Dominionists tend to be quite involved with politics and finance. Some of the biggest names in this movement are also big names in finance and politics: think Pat Robertson, Greg Ahmenson, Marion T. Horvat, Anne Coulter, Christopher Ferrara, Roberto Fiore, Jerry Falwell, Paul Weyrich, Greg Bahnsen, Gary North, Gary DeMar, Kenneth Gentry, JimBob Duggar, David Chilton, Howard Phillips, D. James Kennedy, Marvin Olasky, etc.
In addition to their conservative stance on politics, a very significant number of these folks share rather similar ideas about the role of women, homeschooling, the Quiverfull movement, etc; AND, similar movements have also arisen within Judaism and within the Latter Day Saints.
It is this very fact -- that the same movement has also apparently infiltrated Catholicism, Mormonism, and Judaism -- which leads me to think that something other than religion is at work here, something not particularly concerned religious belief or practice at all — I say this not to cast aspersions upon the beliefs of non-Evangelicals, but the simple fact that Catholicism is very different from Calvinism shows us that whatever is driving this movement is not so much concerned with religious doctrine as it is with working to achieve its agenda through religious channels.The thing is organised like a corporation, or a hydra, and appears to be umbrella group which is trying to absorb MANY denominations, and bring them round to a certain common way of thinking, under the auspices of evangelism -- Phillips, et al are merely the corporate heads of the Protestant division. It’s almost like radical patriarchy is a religious theme in itself, and the Christian, Jewish and even the Moslem versions of it are mere variations on that theme; and, the Unification Church (Moonies) is dancing to this exact same tune, though to be fair, one must admit that the Unification Church has been hyper-patriarchal from the beginning.
Check this out:
http://www.divineprinciple.com/1_10_comm/10com_web_all.pdf
Another thing that ALL of these “patriarchs” share is their claim to be restoring their respective religions to a purer form that was practiced in the past — with the Evangelicals it’s the 1800’s, with the Catholics it’s pre-Vatican II, etc; but in the past that they claim to be attempting to re-create, their respective denominations NEVER taught the kinds of things that these fellows are preaching now!
Of course, we should remember that at least some, if not most, cult leaders are not deliberately evil men: many sincerely believe they are doing the work of God. Usually they started out by trying their very best to serve God, but got sidetracked somewhere, often by their own egos and by a faulty understanding of Scriptures. We should pray for false teachers, love them, forgive them if they have hurt us or our loved ones, and help them to see the error of their ways and return to God.But until they do repent, we have a grave responsibility to warn our brothers and sisters away from them.
Lately, there has been a lot of talk around homeschooling/religious circles about Doug Phillips, founder of VisionForum, and pastor of the Boerne Christian Assembly, a hyper-patriarchal non-denomiational group where women are relegated to virtual slavery in their own homes, denied higher education, and are not permitted to participate in prayer in the church services, make prayer requests in church, or even receive communion unless it is served to them by their husband or another male member of the congregation.
Phillips stands accused of the abusive treatment of several members of his congregation:
http://ministrywatchman.com/?p=50
http://jensgems.wordpress.com/2006/12/10/the-search-for-the-perfect-church/
Other charges last year led to the defrocking of Phillip's longtime associate, R.C. Sproul Jr.:
http://ministrywatchman.com/?p=35
A website, The Patriarch's Path, formerly owned by James Mcdonald, used to expound at length on Patriarchal views, among them the idea that only landowners should vote.
On my original article, "Behind the HyperPatriarchs", I linked extensively to The Patriarch's Path site, but those links were broken when Rev. McDonald disabled the site last March. I susequently linked to the webachived versions of the PP articles, but those links were disabled only one day after I published them, presumably by the folks at Patriarch's Path.
Apparently they didn't appreciate the publicity, but here are the same articles, as found on other sites:
http://www.covenanthome.com/document_detail.asp?document_id=51
http://www.natreformassn.org/statesman/03/stndisob.html
(scroll to the bottom of the page for the text)
http://www.bibletopics.com/BIBLESTUDY/92b.htm
http://www.preterism-eschatology.com/Daughters%20and%20Marriage.htm
http://www.vision-harvest.com/articles/CollegeAtHome.php
http://www.proveallthings.org/articles/hidden_costs_of_doing_business_outside.htm
This one, NOT from PP, is also an eye-opener:
http://www.biblicalexaminer.org/w199709.htm
But did you ever wonder what is BEHIND the extreme patriarchy movement?
It's not limited to the evangelical Protestant churches. Consider this: traditionally, Calvinists andCatholics don’t see eye to eye (to say the least!!!), but there has been an almost identical movement growing within the Roman Catholic Church since about 1980. These schismatic Catholics do not get along with the Catholic powers-that-be at all — they claim that the Pope is an impostor and that THEY are the only true Catholics left:
http://sspx.agenda.tripod.com/id52.html
http://www.mgr.org/TraditionIsNotFascism.html
http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache:Nq9ijiHmTKoJ:tcrnews2.com/name.html+%22Left,+Marian+Horvat,+Atila+Sinke+Guimaraes%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
Now for the interesting thing: ideologically, Phillips’ Protestant patriarchalists and their Catholic counterparts are coming to have more in common with each other than they do with either traditional Protestantism or orthodox Catholicism. To begin with, both Protestant and the Catholic patriarchalists tend to be Dominionists/Reconstructionists (note that not all Dominionists are hyperpatriarchal, though most do espouse patriarchal ideology to a greater or lesser degree), and Dominionists tend to be quite involved with politics and finance. Some of the biggest names in this movement are also big names in finance and politics: think Pat Robertson, Greg Ahmenson, Marion T. Horvat, Anne Coulter, Christopher Ferrara, Roberto Fiore, Jerry Falwell, Paul Weyrich, Greg Bahnsen, Gary North, Gary DeMar, Kenneth Gentry, JimBob Duggar, David Chilton, Howard Phillips, D. James Kennedy, Marvin Olasky, etc.
In addition to their conservative stance on politics, a very significant number of these folks share rather similar ideas about the role of women, homeschooling, the Quiverfull movement, etc; AND, similar movements have also arisen within Judaism and within the Latter Day Saints.
It is this very fact -- that the same movement has also apparently infiltrated Catholicism, Mormonism, and Judaism -- which leads me to think that something other than religion is at work here, something not particularly concerned religious belief or practice at all — I say this not to cast aspersions upon the beliefs of non-Evangelicals, but the simple fact that Catholicism is very different from Calvinism shows us that whatever is driving this movement is not so much concerned with religious doctrine as it is with working to achieve its agenda through religious channels.The thing is organised like a corporation, or a hydra, and appears to be umbrella group which is trying to absorb MANY denominations, and bring them round to a certain common way of thinking, under the auspices of evangelism -- Phillips, et al are merely the corporate heads of the Protestant division. It’s almost like radical patriarchy is a religious theme in itself, and the Christian, Jewish and even the Moslem versions of it are mere variations on that theme; and, the Unification Church (Moonies) is dancing to this exact same tune, though to be fair, one must admit that the Unification Church has been hyper-patriarchal from the beginning.
Check this out:
http://www.divineprinciple.com/1_10_comm/10com_web_all.pdf
Another thing that ALL of these “patriarchs” share is their claim to be restoring their respective religions to a purer form that was practiced in the past — with the Evangelicals it’s the 1800’s, with the Catholics it’s pre-Vatican II, etc; but in the past that they claim to be attempting to re-create, their respective denominations NEVER taught the kinds of things that these fellows are preaching now!
Of course, we should remember that at least some, if not most, cult leaders are not deliberately evil men: many sincerely believe they are doing the work of God. Usually they started out by trying their very best to serve God, but got sidetracked somewhere, often by their own egos and by a faulty understanding of Scriptures. We should pray for false teachers, love them, forgive them if they have hurt us or our loved ones, and help them to see the error of their ways and return to God.But until they do repent, we have a grave responsibility to warn our brothers and sisters away from them.
posted by CJ | 9:56 AM
4 Comments:
Cynthia,
This was a quote from the article at the preterist site on fathers and daughters:
"During the time the daughter is alone with a prospective mate, she is at some increased danger. Initially, neither father nor daughter may know the man well. In 2 Samuel 13 David sends Tamar, his daughter, to visit her half brother Amnon who rapes her. David was insensitive in sending her and absolutely derelict in his response to her rape. He thus set in motion a series of events culminating in a civil war. Jacob was careless with his daughter Dinah and she also was raped (Gen. 34). Interestingly, in both these cases the father was less concerned about his daughter than the political consequences of the conflict, and it fell to the girl's brothers to respond. As my daughter spends time with a potential mate, the circumstances need to be appropriate and safe. "
Huh? Where does he get that about David, especially? David asked Tamar to make her brother some dinner because he was ill. They all lived in the same house. That was her brother. Not some strange man that her father didn't know nor was he a prospective mate. He was her brother for Pete's sake. I hope he NEVER allows his daughter alone in the same room with her own brother. You just NEVER know!
Also, in the article, he refers to the authority transfer of father to husband over a woman as a "burden".
Cynthia, I have retired from homeschooling ,youngest is now 28.Just happened upon your site while doing a little research on certain catholic/politicians.I noticed you linked to an article which I and a dear friend wrote concerning fascism and traditionalism.We had no other outlet save that site and wanted the message out.The site is owned by a gentleman who claims to be Elijah.A divorced jeweler from Texas who had a pilgrimage business to Medjugorje and lives in Spain and or Portugal now.Nevertheless, you are sooo right about the political connections and the Dominionists.Sadly, the catholic homeschooling movement has been awash by these so called experts I would like to refer you to an excellent piece written by R Engle on her site which pertains to her book,"The Rite of Sodomy".On the lower right hand side you will find links to an article about a Fr Sirico who heads up the Acton Think Tank. A recent guest on the EWTN show, his credentials as a religious authority date back to a time when he was so active in the gay agenda that he performed gay marriages...Now his think tank advises on economic policy for the US and the Vatican. Pretty scary since he sends his people to train at the Blackwater mercinary camps.Take a look.Then do some research on Blackwater.Good question you pose as to what does any of this have to do with religion.
http://www.riteofsodomy.com/vnbarr/Sirico.htm
This is very interesting!
Don't you think, though, that within the evangelical protestant community, the HyperPatriarchs are more set on the late 1500's to the mid 1600's? The "Puritan Era" seems to be more to their liking.
Weeeell - it looks like this type of politics is creating a whole lot of strange bedfellows - people who long for strong, unyielding, centralized power. (Perhaps the world is being prepared for the rise of the antichrist.) While I've noticed that those in the Patriarch Movement elevate the position of the father/husband - it is only elevated to the extent that it doesn't collide with the Elders' authority (or Elder, in the case of Doug Phillips and BCA).
Not only does Phillips stand accused of being abusive of members of his "church", but Scott Brown of NCFIC has been found guilty of "abuse of authority" by his church, Trinity Baptist. Scott and fellow elder Jason Dohm simply ignored it, left and started their own church which meets at Scott's house.
Post a Comment
<< Home