Liars are experts in chopping logic and missing the truth slightly — “Did God say not to eat from any tree?” In order to pin a liar down, words must be defined in the most careful manner available. In this context, the only man who needs to be more precise than a liar is the man who would catch the liar. Douglas Wilson1
Earlier today the spirit of accusation possessed Douglas Wilson of Christ Church, Moscow, when he replied to yesterday’s front-page Daily News story. He wrote:
When people are not encouraged in this way, they are vulnerable to every form of slander and all manner of lies. A handful of you might still get our local newspaper, and if you do, you may have noticed yet another front page attack on our church and church community on Friday.
There are two things we are required to do with things like this. The first is to rejoice. Jesus commanded to rejoice when men speak all manner of evil about you (Matt. 5:11–12). I think the accusation of supporting child abuse qualifies, and so the command also applies. Rejoice.
The second thing is taken from this text. Not everyone in the church is up to the challenge of rejoicing when lied about in such egregious ways. These are the people we must remember to encourage and strengthen. . . (Grim Punishment Indeed)
Accordingly, Mr. Wilson accuses the “local newspaper” of a “front page attack.” He enlarged upon this by stating the paper spoke “all manner of evil about [the Kirk].” He claimed the paper accused the Kirk of “supporting child abuse.” And he asserted that the paper had “lied about [the Kirk] in such egregious ways.” Mr. Wilson leveled these four accusations against the Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Natalie Greenfield, without evidence, and Mr. Wilson predicates his four charges on this line: “the accusation of supporting child abuse.” However, a careful reading of the Daily News shows that no one made this accusation. Doug Wilson missed the truth slightly.
The News reported, “Greenfield said Christ Church sent clear messages they supported him, not her,” which is true. Consider, for example, that Doug Wilson notified the court that he had the right to blame-shift responsibility for Jamin Wight’s crimes onto Natalie’s parents, which he did to support the man who violated Natalie. Mr. Wilson could have supported the state’s prosecution of Jamin Wight for the actual crimes he committed, but he did not. Rather, he informed the court that he intended to “labor to see that justice really is done to Jamin (at the same time excluding injustice through severe penalties).” So by his own admission, Mr. Wilson labored to support Jamin Wight and in the same letter to the court Mr. Wilson neglects to note his support for Natalie.2 And since that time he has consistently maintained that “Jamin’s crime was that of engaging in sexual behavior with an underage girl,” which is another thing Mr. Wilson does to support the convicted felon because Idaho has no such crime as “engaging in sexual behavior with an underage girl.” Indeed, Doug Wilson will not use the words “sexual abuse” to describe this crime — and he does this to support Jamin Wight, not Natalie.
Consider this Kirk email as another example of the Kirk’s support for Jamin Wight. It suggests that they viewed Mr. Wight more like a martyr than a child molester — as though the state incarcerated him at the North Idaho Correctional Institution for something other than sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl. Jamin Wight sent this note to a body of people whom he knew supported him, and it appears to me that he saw himself as a missionary and that his recipients saw him that way as well. And by the time of this email, the Kirk supported Jamin Wight so much that they had promoted him to full missionary status.
I believe the evidence supports Natalie’s comment to the Daily News that “Christ Church sent clear messages they supported him, not her.” And I believe that Doug Wilson’s baseless accusations of “every form of slander and all manner of lies” against Natalie Greenfield and the Daily News establish the truthfulness of Natalie’s account: To this day neither Doug Wilson nor the Kirk support her. Instead, they bully & intimidate her with the hope that she’ll change the historical facts to conform with Mr. Wilson’s falsehoods.
And as for Mr. Wilson’s claim about “the accusation of supporting child abuse,” I offer this slight amendment: Christ Church does not support child abuse. It commits child abuse. Just ask Katie Sitler and her newborn son.
1 Douglas Wilson & Doug Jones, Angels in the Architecture: A Protestant Vision for Middle Earth (Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 1998), 193.
2 Yes, he mentions concern for Natalie’s protection but only after he accused her of committing “sexual behavior” with Jamin Wight, which indicates how much he really wanted to protect her.
Seriously, I’d like to hit Doug Wilson in the nutsack with a baseball bat.
To any kirker who may take offense at Dash’s comment, please note that Doug Wilson performed in a video where he smashed pots with a baseball bat, ostensibly playing the role of an agent of retribution. So Dash is communicating in Doug Wilson’s language and he’s applying Doug Wilson’s violent imagery to Doug Wilson. Therefore, if you don’t approve of Dash’s language, perhaps you should consider transferring to a church where the pastor does not act like a thug.
This.^^ If Doug Wilson gets to speak like a violent thug with impunity, then so do I.
Also, I’d like to point out then when Doug Wilson says “Rejoice,” what he’s basically doing is pulling the equivalent of a schoolyard bully who, upon finally getting his ass kicked at the hands of a victim who has had enough, yells “HA HA DIDN’T HURT” while sporting two well-deserved black eyes and a bloody nose.
Trust me Doug, you have nothing to rejoice about.
And when Doug says “Not everyone in the church is up to the challenge of rejoicing when lied about in such egregious ways. These are the people we must remember to encourage and strengthen,” why do I get the feeling that by “encourage and strengthen” he means “intimidate and coerce”?
So, how does Doug’s hypocritical claim of rejoicing when being “victimized” fit in with the imprecatory prayers he and the Toadies launch at all who expose his (and their) true nature. I don’t think he can have it both ways.
Rose Huskey
In “Pastor” Wilson’s world, any criticism leveled at him is “slander and lies”. And the rules he lays down about “chopping logic and missing the truth slightly”, bad things that liars do, don’t apply to him. He can do that, because he’s “special”. God told him so. Twit.