- Joined
- Jun 15, 2013
- Messages
- 1,829
- Reaction score
- 40
- Points
- 48
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."
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."