“Jesus tells us that when we are struck on one cheek, we are to turn the other. The apostle Paul teaches us to punch back twice as hard.” Douglas Wilson

“Doug glared at him with ‘so much hate in his eyes.’” Natalie Rose Greenfield

“We recently ended up on a plane with him where he inexplicably tried to intimidate and stare down my son.” Corinne & Jay Hunter

“And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” Genesis 4:5

Three days ago Natalie Rose Greenfield tweeted this:

My hubby ran into Doug Wilson a few weeks ago at my mom’s coffeeshop. Said that Doug glared at him with “so much hate in his eyes.” #sad

— Natalie Greenfield (@NatalieGfield) February 15, 2016

The tweet caught my attention for a few reasons:

1. Pastor Douglas Wilson of Christ Church, Moscow, apparently reinforced the point that the message of Jezehellsbells is the gospel of Doug, but not “the gospel of God” (Rom. 1:1).
2. The spirit of retaliation that possessed Mr. Wilson to write Jezehellsbells still animates him.
3. Mr. Wilson’s witness to Wesley demonstrates that he does not obey the gospel, if he understands it.¹

But if you think about it, Mr. Wilson painted himself into a corner when he went nuclear with Jezehellsbells, and Wesley’s response shamed Mr. Wilson, at least to the extent that he feels shame. So Mr. Wilson didn’t have a lot of options when he ran into Wesley:

1. He could have apologized for his ungodly behavior, which would require a retraction and an apology on Mablog.
2. He could have pretended that he didn’t see Wesley, which would be dishonest but not as ugly as dagger eyes.
3. He could do what he did: Glare as though Wesley had wronged him.

To his credit, Mr. Wilson is consistent. When he believes someone has wronged him, he punches back twice as hard just as he believes St. Paul commands.

Natalie’s tweet caught my attention for another reason as well, because it reminded me of another account of Mr. Wilson’s unbecoming conduct. On November 26, 2003, as Mr. Wilson’s slavery controversy gathered momentum, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News published the following letter to the editor:

Wilson enjoys the attention
We have been watching with great interest the commotion swirling around Doug Wilson. Our son, then completely closeted, attended Logos School from seventh-grade until half-way through his junior year but had to leave because Wilson discovered (through my son’s “friends” at the time) that he was gay. We were told he could stay if he kept quiet and took classes from Wilson to “become” heterosexual. Obviously this was not an option.

We never would have gotten involved in this discussion — we have never actually spoken to Wilson — but we recently ended up on a plane with him where he inexplicably tried to intimidate and stare down my son. Why he would push us I don’t know, since my son was there several years and saw many things, but then we have never considered Wilson connected to the real world. His is a world of pre-destination, elitist Calvinism, and the belief that he is part of the “Godly Elect” while we, obviously, are not.

To us, Wilson is simply someone who doesn’t realize how most of the world sees him, as someone who enjoys getting attention, even if it’s negative. He is a minister who has not attended seminary, believing that mainstream ministers become “prideful” at seminary, with especially strong feelings reserved for the Catholic and, I am sure now, Episcopal Church.

There were good things about Logos School, particularly the excellent education, and also some unpleasant things. This school is a reflection of Wilson’s beliefs, and for this reason we have never patronized his businesses. We consider them his businesses since Christ Church members pay a substantial tithe, and we choose not to help the church buy up more of Moscow’s downtown. And if some of us choose this, it is our right.

Corinne and Jay Hunter
Moscow

The young man’s name is Samuel D. Hunter and despite his regrettable experience in Mr. Wilson’s universe, he has done very well. In 2014 the MacArthur Foundation awarded him a fellowship in their Fellows Program and in 2015 he delivered the commencement address at the University of Idaho. Good for him. Team Truth wishes him the best.

13+ years separate these two events and in between these dates I know others at whom Mr. Wilson directed his scowl. We have noted that his anthropology includes a large class of subhumans — those whom Mr. Wilson deems unworthy of respect. He calls them names on the worldwide web. He belittles them. And now we know that his countenance waxes very wroth when he sees these his enemies in public. This is a pattern of behavior.

¹ For readers who are new to the site, please take a moment to read Doug vs. Doug to see how far from the Scriptures he has fallen.