When Isolation Backfired

[Vince Massi]

During the 1970?s BJU faced people who liked Billy Graham, the Southern Baptist Convention, Jerry Falwell, and/or BJU. Angry over Graham's lack of separation, BJU misapplied a verse commanding Christians to separate from pagan temples and applied it to Graham--we were commanded to be separated from him.  What the other three groups might not have realized was that they  also become slightly isolated--but there were still the other two groups.

Eventually, BJU commanded its followers to separate from the Southern Baptist Convention. But Graham and the SBC got along fine and were no more isolated than BJU. Throw in the fact that the Falwell group tried to get along with Graham and the SBC,  as well as with BJU, and you can see that isolation wasn't working.

Eventually, BJU commanded separation from Falwell. Now Falwell, Graham, and the SBC were getting along fine, and guess who was isolated?

Then Peter Ruckman (a BJU graduate, by the way) hit the jackpot after the Dave Hyles scandal broke, and he commanded his followers to separate from BJU. Ruckman also commanded his disciples to separate from Graham, the SBC, and Falwell, but they didn't care--Falwell's college grew into a gigantic university (far bigger than BJU ever was), Graham's ministry continues under his son, and the SBC had a fundamentalist revival; meanwhile Ruckman's followers replaced the Catholics with the most sexually-corrupt clergy in the US.

Moral of the story? "Above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves." Not "isolation," not "separation"--"fervent charity."

 

[IFB X-Files]

Then Peter Ruckman (a BJU graduate, by the way) hit the jackpot after the Dave Hyles scandal broke, and he commanded his followers to separate from BJU. Ruckman also commanded his disciples to separate from Graham, the SBC, and Falwell, but they didn't care--Falwell's college grew into a gigantic university (far bigger than BJU ever was), Graham's ministry continues under his son, and the SBC had a fundamentalist revival; meanwhile Ruckman's followers replaced the Catholics with the most sexually-corrupt clergy in the US.

Please provide proof for this "claim".

 

[prophet]

Then Peter Ruckman (a BJU graduate, by the way) hit the jackpot after the Dave Hyles scandal broke, and he commanded his followers to separate from BJU. Ruckman also commanded his disciples to separate from Graham, the SBC, and Falwell, but they didn't care--Falwell's college grew into a gigantic university (far bigger than BJU ever was), Graham's ministry continues under his son, and the SBC had a fundamentalist revival; meanwhile Ruckman's followers replaced the Catholics with the most sexually-corrupt clergy in the US.

Please provide proof for this "claim".

Last year he said this about HAC....so don't hold your breath.
Seems him n ol' Jimbo have a lot in common...
Could explain his obsession.

Earnestly Contend

 

[IFB X-Files]

Then Peter Ruckman (a BJU graduate, by the way) hit the jackpot after the Dave Hyles scandal broke, and he commanded his followers to separate from BJU. Ruckman also commanded his disciples to separate from Graham, the SBC, and Falwell, but they didn't care--Falwell's college grew into a gigantic university (far bigger than BJU ever was), Graham's ministry continues under his son, and the SBC had a fundamentalist revival; meanwhile Ruckman's followers replaced the Catholics with the most sexually-corrupt clergy in the US.

Please provide proof for this "claim".

Last year he said this about HAC....so don't hold your breath.
Seems him n ol' Jimbo have a lot in common...
Could explain his obsession.

Earnestly Contend

Yes.  This man is a continuous LIAR.

 

[Vince Massi]

"Please provide proof for this "claim"."

Sorry about the delay, X-Files, but we had some extra (and successful) work at church come up.

You didn't say which claim you wanted proved, so I'll do the moral of the story.

1 Peter 4:8 commands us:  And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." Not fervent separation--fervent love. Not fervent soul-winning--fervent love.

In John 13:35 Jesus stated: "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
Not which translation we use, not which denomination we belong to--love for one another shows that we are his disciples.

1 John 1:7 tells us:  "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another..."
Notice that walking in the light produces fellowship--not separation; not isolation.

Psalm 119:74 tells us: "Those who fear You will be glad when they see me, Because I have hoped in Your word." People who fear the  Lord are glad when they see fellow Christians--they don't regard fellow saints as enemies.

The moral of the story? Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves. Not separation; not trying to isolate Christians.

 

[4everfsu]

I was at BJU 1971 to 1972. BJU hated Billy Graham, I would hear it repeated in chapel. Ok maybe hate is a word I should not use but they did not think highly of Billy.

Then BJU believed in 2nd degree separation. First degree was you could not run around with unsaved folks. Second degree was if any christians ran around with that unsaved person, you could not have fellowship with those christians. I lasted one year at BJU then transferred to LBC. It was like going for darkness to light.