“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Mark 12:31
I had an interesting exchange with Natalie Greenfield, who gave me permission to post this. She wrote,
“There are some really interesting tactics used by the Christ Church and Trinity Reformed Church leaders to try intimidating and dehumanizing me. I don’t know if they have interacted about it and are in agreement on how I am to be treated, but if I see any of them in public they act as though I literally do not exist. They even go so far as to look *almost* at me, but instead of looking directly at me they look just past my head — like they are looking through me in a deliberate effort to make me feel as though I do not matter to them and I do not exist. It’s really strange.”
This is shunning — the act of publically ostracizing someone who bears the image of God in order to make a point. Generally the point is religious, though seldom biblical. In this case Natalie describes how kirkers treat her in public but she’s unsure if it’s a coordinated effort or a natural response.
Just a guess, but I suspect it’s the social equivalent of a spontaneous combustion. Kirkers know Scripture requires them to “do good to all men” (Gal. 6:10), but they have also sat in the front row as Pastor Doug Wilson of Christ Church has clubbed Natalie with his baseball bat. Or as he says, “The apostle Paul teaches us to punch back twice as hard.” Of course, St. Paul never teaches this. Mr. Wilson asserted it ex cathedra and he acts accordingly.
But given these two contradictory doctrines — Scripture vs. the Teaching of Doug Wilson — I can see how a kirker’s head would overload under the pressure: “Should I act like Jesus or should I act like Doug?” Because a kirker knows that if he/she doesn’t act like Doug Wilson, then he/she may be on the receiving end of getting “punched back twice as hard” from their beloved pastor. And who wants to be treated the way Doug Wilson treats Natalie? (Not as though she has ever punched him.)
I advise kirkers to imitate the Son of God. Live by the Golden Rule. Treat your neighbors with kindness. Love them as you love yourself. And if you see Natalie around town, greet her with a holy kiss. Do unto her as you would have her do to you. Pray God’s goodness for her. Bless her.
Remember that you will receive in eternity what you give in time.
And so will your pastor.
Doug is such a tool.
Doug is indeed a tool, and he either needs to find a new barber or wash his hair more often. Or both.
I wonder if they picked up the pieces of the pots they broke or if they just left them there.
Good point. Debris from the shattered earthen vessels that he destroyed in this performance lie unnoticed on the ground for someone else to pick up. Just as in real life. Amazing to me that he actually blocked time to stage this video so he could demonstrate to everyone the point of his ministry.
Isn’t pottery a metaphor for God’s creation of human beings?
That “smash them” POV may have leaked out by accident.
Is it “spontaneous combustion”, or could it be something else? My father is a pastor, and last year became the victim of a “clergy killing”. People in our church, people we thought were our friends, listened to lies and gossip, helped spread the lies and gossip, betrayed us, abandoned us, etc. (As a side note, I understand now why some Christians, i.e., abuse victims, can’t bring themselves to go to church; I myself still attend local worship but I am never entering a Christian Reformed [CRCNA] church again].) Since then my dad and a friend of ours have occasionally bumped into a woman who was one of our closer “friends” and who joined in the coup; this woman, like the Christ/Trinity leaders, went out of her way to avoid looking at them. Moreover, my sister dropped by for a visit a couple months ago and went to that church just to see how people would treat her, and this same woman looked away deliberately “with a pained expression” (my sister’s words), while another woman, who was leading the opening song service, saw her and started stammering and misspeaking. Our theory? It’s guilt. They know that what happened (full story on veritaspraebita.wordpress.com, my sister’s blog) was wrong and that they’re complicit in something that was unjust, evil, and abusive.
That in mind, I think there’s another possibility for why Natalie’s being “shunned”. Perhaps it’s because they don’t know what to do, yes, but in the e-mail quoted she specified that these are church leaders she’s talking about. Could it be that they, being closer to the Doug, are therefore more aware of the cover-up and slander/defamation that’s involved here? And even though they don’t have the guts to do anything about it, or are beholden to him for whatever reason, or can’t bring themselves to consciously admit they were wrong (much less apologize to Natalie), they still /know/ it, and seeing her is jarring for that reason, making them want to avoid looking at her?
The fact that they look “almost” at her complicates things–for those who go that far guilt is a less likely explanation. I think she’s right to say they’re trying to make her feel like she doesn’t exist. Which is disgusting.
I’m curious, though it’s admittedly somewhat off topic: how many pots had to be thrown before ‘Babe Ruth’ Wilson managed to clip the top of one?
I’m guessing they wasted most of the day before he finally made contact. Also notice how his stomach heaves mid-swing. Bet he slipped a disk if he didn’t blow one.
Am I the only one reminded of Negan in the new season of Walking Dead?
This community certainly needs some truth-tellers who are not sipping the Kool-Aid, mixed with the finest Scotch perhaps? present and future daughters who might have endured Natalie-type levels of harassment, bulling and scandales might be spared by your diligent attention and insistence on fresh air and sunlight in the Kirk and the Church.
Thank you brother!