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Tarheel Baptist

Tarheel Baptist

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This is a post from our friend Tom Brennan. I could repost the same post and substitute Southern Baptist everywhere he uses Fundamental or Independent. Can someone here say what those various ‘doctrines mean?

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Tarheel Baptist said:
This is a post from our friend Tom Brennan. I could repost the same post and substitute Southern Baptist everywhere he uses Fundamental or I dependent. Can someone here say what those mean?

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i lost all respect for tom brennan when - after i had been writing about my own problems with schizophrenia on the forum for years - he wrote that book - then used a split face photo variation of a fantasy cartoon caricature i made and had been using as an avatar for years - as his front cover picture... .... .. he said he had nothing to do with it and no control over it .. ..and that it was just a coincidence - all of it being the work and the decision of his publisher.... ....jeri massi wrote a book with the same title... all either of them did was prove they know nothing about schizophrenia....

brennan also named me once in a thread where we were supposed to post one thought about another forum member - and he posted that i was unchurched..... apparently he didn;t know anything about me either.... . so it doesn;t surprise me to see him once again attempting to wax eloquent on something he is ignorant of.....
 
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Ransom said:
He'd have to articulate what those doctrines are. Otherwise, this is a meaningless statement.
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Dress standards, CCM, KJVO. I’d say that pretty much sums it up.
 
aleshanee said:
i lost all respect for tom brennan when - after i had been writing about my own problems with schizophrenia on the forum for years - he wrote that book - then used a split face photo variation of a fantasy cartoon caricature i made and had been using as an avatar for years - as his front cover picture... .... .. he said he had nothing to do with it and no control over it .. ..and that it was just a coincidence - all of it being the work and the decision of his publisher.... ....jeri massi wrote a book with the same title... all either of them did was prove they know nothing about schizophrenia....

brennan also named me once in a thread where we were supposed to post one thought about another forum member - and he posted that i was unchurched..... apparently he didn;t know anything about me either.... . so it doesn;t surprise me to see him once again attempting to wax eloquent on something he is ignorant of.....
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He used something YOU created on his front cover and says he had no control over it?!! I don't know the man, but I've been looking into publishing. It sounds like the man is lying. On top of that, he doesn't know the definition of schizophrenia.
 
Jo said:
He used something YOU created on his front cover and says he had no control over it?!! I don't know the man, but I've been looking into publishing. It sounds like the man is lying. On top of that, he doesn't know the definition of schizophrenia.
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his was a photograph of man with left and right sides of his face taken at different times and with different expressions.... mine was a cartoon caricature of 2 sides of the same face.. (my face)... with drastically different appearances...(good and bad sides)... ..he says my avatar did not give him the idea for his book cover and that his publisher came up with that idea on his own...... ....i don;t know if he was telling the truth about that or not but it still upset me..... he had seen me and interacted with me on the forum for several years already by that time .... ....on top of that a lot of people had commented on my avatar picture saying they didn;t like it... and that i should only use the good side of it.... i don;t remember if he was one who commented on it like that or not.... ....but eventually i stopped using it because i didn;t want people to think i wasn;t working hard to overcome and control real schizophrenia.... .which i was... and still am to this day.... ...
 
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I would say the things that make us baptists as expressed by the writings of John Rice, a prolific writter in the 20th century are as follows.

Baptists are generally united in the following:
  • The Bible is the ultimate authority in all matters of faith and practice
  • Believers should be baptized
  • Churches are made up of believers only
  • Full-body immersion baptism
  • Baptism of professed believers only
  • Local churches are autonomous
  • All believers are priests
  • Soul competency
  • Sola fide (salvation by just faith alone)
  • Sola scriptura (the Bible alone, as the rule of faith and practice)
  • One God in 3 persons
  • The virgin birth
  • The impeccability of God
  • Vicarious atoning death
  • Burial and bodily resurrection of Christ
  • Divine grace
  • The Kingdom of God
  • Lordship of Jesus Christ
  • 2 churches ordinaces, Baptist and Lords Supper.
  • The Fall of man
  • Sanctification and preservation of the saints
  • Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
  • Biblical account of creation
  • Premillennial rapture of the saints
  • The Freeness of Salvation to all men
 
The Baptist distinctives as defined by the chapters in the1689 Confession of Faith.

  1. Of the Holy Scriptures
  2. Of God and the Holy Trinity
  3. Of God's Decree
  4. Of Creation
  5. Of Divine Providence
  6. Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof
  7. Of God's Covenant
  8. Of Christ the Mediator
  9. Of Free Will
  10. Of Effectual Calling
  11. Of Justification
  12. Of Adoption
  13. Of Sanctification
  14. Of Saving Faith
  15. Of Repentance Unto Life and Salvation
  16. Of Good Works
  17. Of the Perseverance of the Saints
  18. Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation
  19. Of the Law of God
  20. Of the Gospel and the Extent of Grace
  21. Of Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience
  22. Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day
  23. Of Lawful Oaths and Vows
  24. Of the Civil Magistrate
  25. Of Marriage
  26. Of the Church
  27. Of the Communion of Saints
  28. Of Baptism and the Lord's Supper
  29. Of Baptism
  30. Of the Lord's Supper
  31. Of the State of Man After Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead
  32. Of the Last Judgment
 
Many confuse methods, practice and standards with Baptist Bible doctrine.

I respect others right to choose their church methods and practices and define their standards as they see fit based on their interpretion of the Bible. This is the beauty of being independent or semi independent as groups like the southern Baptist are. It allows us to interpret and define what we believe God would have us to do as individual churches. We should not look at churches that differ with our own n these areas like we do churches and religions who preach a false gospel or false plan of salvation. The Bible says of those preaching a false doctrine: 2 John 10-11 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

On issues such as the Trinity, Justification through faith and salvation, baptistism, marriage, ect the Bible is clear.
 
aleshanee said:
his was a photograph of man with left and right sides of his face taken at different times and with different expressions.... mine was a cartoon caricature of 2 sides of the same face.. (my face)... with drastically different appearances...(good and bad sides)... ..he says my avatar did not give him the idea for his book cover and that his publisher came up with that idea on his own...... ....i don;t know if he was telling the truth about that or not but it still upset me..... he had seen me and interacted with me on the forum for several years already by that time .... ....on top of that a lot of people had commented on my avatar picture saying they didn;t like it... and that i should only use the good side of it.... i don;t remember if he was one who commented on it like that or not.... ....but eventually i stopped using it because i didn;t want people to think i wasn;t working hard to overcome and control real schizophrenia.... .which i was... and still am to this day.... ...

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I'm sorry, Aleshanee. Do you ever read Ann Voksamp's books or blogs? I love the way she writes about the world we live in, the misunderstandings, anxiety, mental illness and God's grace in the midst of all of it. I listen to her voice on Audible as she reads about it all. I find it very comforting. I hope you will, as well.
 
I like to tell people that I am more "Independent," more "Fundamental," and more "Baptist" than ever but the way I define IFB is far different than the way they define IFB in Hammond, IN and other so-called "IFB Meccas."

I would also assert that many so-called "Independent Fundamental Baptists" are none of the above but I digress.

Context is therefore key in order for me to make a fair and accurate assessment of Tom Brennan's statement. A friend of mine has read "Schizophrenic Christianity" and was raving about it. His background is similar to mine and I think we are fairly close to being on the same page.
 
Ransom said:
He'd have to articulate what those doctrines are. Otherwise, this is a meaningless statement.
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Baptist Renegade said:
I like to tell people that I am more "Independent," more "Fundamental," and more "Baptist" than ever but the way I define IFB is far different than the way they define IFB in Hammond, IN and other so-called "IFB Meccas."

I would also assert that many so-called "Independent Fundamental Baptists" are none of the above but I digress.

Context is therefore key in order for me to make a fair and accurate assessment of Tom Brennan's statement. A friend of mine has read "Schizophrenic Christianity" and was raving about it. His background is similar to mine and I think we are fairly close to being on the same page.
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I’m sure as far as Tom is concerned there is some context to it but he posted the meme as a stand alone post. I saw it on my newsfeed
 
Jo said:
I'm sorry, Aleshanee. Do you ever read Ann Voksamp's books or blogs? I love the way she writes about the world we live in, the misunderstandings, anxiety, mental illness and God's grace in the midst of all of it. I listen to her voice on Audible as she reads about it all. I find it very comforting. I hope you will, as well.
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i never heard of her until now... .. i looked up her website and information... ..but i can;t listen to podcasts and even have difficulty with most talking type videos.... . i didn;t read enough to see what her personal experience with mental illness is but i can tell from her lifestyle and testimony of what personal experiences/achievments that i did read - to know that her experiences and her world is very different than mine....

i;m glad you told me about her and i appreciate the consideration.... but beyond gender and both of us being saved by grace through faith in Christ there is very little we have in common... .even the ministries we work in are vastly different and reach out to completely different groups of people - people from completely different cultures.... ..... ... but thank you anyway.... ..and God bless you.... :)
 
A lot of people think it's like Jekyll/Hyde. I know from my brother it's not. He is aware of himself when he's had an episode and remembers what happened.
 
a lot of people think all types and levels of schizophrenia are the same..... and they are not... or that all cases of it had the same or similar causes..... and they did not....... . even more people seem to believe they can judge all schizophrenics by the one schizophrenic they know.... but they can;t......

...i can usually rmember things that happened even in some really bad episodes - but those memories are like remembering dreams or nightmares from the night before... and in some cases from many nights back... murky... cloudy.... .. it sometimes takes a long time for the memory to come back and it doesn;t come back clearly or complete compared to what others remember about it.... .... ..but i have also gone through periods of time that i could not rmember anything of what happened during some of the worst and most severe episodes.. .....those are often the times that required confinement and hospitalization in the mental health ward....

one of the big problems with this illness today is that too many things are being pushed under the schizophrenia banner... things not even related to each other but which casual observers think look the same...... ..... they do the same thing with autism.... always going for the one size fits all approach with regards to treatment of all mental health - brain development and spectral disorders.... ..some doctors and teachers like to do that because it makes their jobs easier.... ...i have no idea why writers like tom brennan do it... .except that maybe they think it;s cool to misuse an ominous and disabling mental illness as a catchy book title.... it;s disgusting... .. and like i said before i lost all respect for him and jeri massi both when they did that......
 
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I haven't read Tom's book so I cannot speak intelligently regarding the context of schizophrenia and the IFB mindset. I think we understand terms like two-faced, duplicitous, or even bi-polar would more accurately (and less offensively) describe what some have experienced in this crowd and to be honest, you will find this wherever you go. It is simply the product of our totally depraved human nature. Ultimately, we want to see the image of Christ being formed in those who are called "Christian" but all too often, such is not the case. I believe the case can also be made that the greatest enemy of the Church is not the world but false converts who handle the word of God deceitfully (some would even say "Duh!").

I would be careful of resorting to such though. We all have off days and allow our sinful nature to get the best of us but if it is a pattern of abuse, gaslighting, or whatever, such behavior needs to be called out and properly dealt with and those who refuse correction can and should rightfully be regarded as a false convert in accordance with Mt 18.

One of the huge problems with certain IFB types is that the pastor often feels as if he is under the gun and is expected to be right no matter what. If they could simply get over this and learn to say the three words "I don't know" when they truly don't know, and acknowledge that they are fellow brothers and needful of the benefits of fellowship and membership as do we all, this would solve a myriad of issues!
 
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