Methods - Naming Names, Mockery and Tone

So probably won't do quite as many videos this week as I did last week last week was a special occasion reparations week. It's a lot of fun. If you haven't watched those videos, please go go ahead and I'll try to put them all in one place so you can watch them all at once but But I wanted to just chat today a little bit about not not about social justice proper But but a little bit about sort of the strategy and the methodology that that I use To to talk about this issue and to address this issue because you know I was talking to a brother this weekend and it's very clear that obviously my style and my methodology is not for everybody.

But I think sometimes people have the impression that I haven't thought this through and maybe that you know what I'm doing is is wrong or Mean-spirited or something like that and and you know, that's just not the case at all I I have very seriously thought through my approach.

And you know, he's most of the time when when my emotions get the better of me in a video I don't post that video just to be on the safe side. But but you you know, you'll if you watch my videos, you'll know that sometimes I do get Emotionally charged I get angry I get sad, you know, sometimes my voice will crack, you know things like that and you know When that happens, it's it's a I don't want to say it's planned necessarily.

But it's carefully thought out whether or not I should post the video after after it happens but I will say that sort of my my tone to sort of strike a little bit of humor a little bit of mockery and some you know, hopefully righteous anger is Calculated that's something that I've thought through very much and you know, here's a couple things.

Naming Names and Holding People Accountable

So so so I'm in a Situation right now and it's you know, I'm not gonna give too much detail about it you probably know a little bit about it if you follow me, but One of the one of the charges that people make against not just me But but just content like mine is that these videos are takedown videos they're attack videos and they're they're personally attacking people and you know, why not just focus on the ideas and not the person and You know, I want to respond to that and I want to talk a little bit about that.

But but first of all, I don't accept that that the videos that I make our attack videos because I'm not I'm not you know. With very few exceptions. I've not impugned anybody's character. I haven't said what motivates them to do these things.

I've attacked I have attacked the ideas and so I am focused on the ideas, but the reality is and Cross politic did a really good episode about this. It's very difficult If not impossible if not futile to try to separate the ideas from the people pushing the ideas.

People have to be part of this equation and if you look into the scriptures, this is this is very very clear I mean this idea that you shan't you you shall not name names. You shall not personally bring people in on you know.

Too, you know, you might not you shall not personally hold them accountable for for the ideas and the division that they're spreading. It's just there's nothing in scripture. You can't point to a scripture that would that would say something like that.

In fact You see the opposite in scripture. This is a passage where my church is going through this right now. I I we co-elder a co-pastor a church with another guy and he's preaching through 2nd Timothy.

And I want you to read this the Word of God is so awesome because even these like kind of throwaway lines. They have meaning and they're important that they're there. Like let me let me just read this to you.

It says avoid a reverent babble for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus who have swerved from the truth saying that the resurrection has already happened.

Now, let me stop there. When you read this and I'll tell you this when I first read this, you know, I wonder to myself. Why does why does God think we need to know that Hymenaeus and Philetus were were the ones doing this right?

Because I don't know Hymenaeus or Philetus hardly anybody does I mean, I mean this the Bible has been printed so many times and such a very small percentage of people actually knew. If you who Hymenaeus and Philetus were probably you could probably count on one hand.

How many people have read the scripture and knew who these two guys were? You know to me so why is it that he puts that in there and I don't you know, I look I don't pretend to know the mind of God but I'm glad that he did because Paul had no problem talking about ideas and Calling out the specific people who were putting these ideas ideas forward.

And so if you talk to someone who says it's inappropriate to name names when somebody's teaching dangerous doctrines and dangerous situations. You know that they haven't really thought that through. It's it's not inappropriate Paul Paul the Apostle does it.

God's Word does it? This is not the only place that he does this by the way. Naming names is necessary for a shepherd of the flock. Because if you're just talking about ideas and you're not naming names.

It keeps everything in the theoretical and you're really not protecting the sheep. You're theoretically protecting the sheep. You know, there's these there's theoretical wolves and sheep's clothing out there.

But if you can't if you don't have the ability or the willingness to point them out when they arrive. Are you really protecting the sheep? I mean what you're what you're really doing is saying to the sheep, you know I just want you to know there's gonna be some wolves out there and they're in sheep's clothing.

So good luck. I mean, that's that's that's not how we do this. And so naming names and doing specific refutations of specific people's ideas is Not inappropriate. I don't see how you could point me to the scripture and show me that it is.

Mockery as a Biblical Rhetorical Tool

So that's the first thing. The second thing is This idea of mockery being completely inappropriate in every situation, you know I think that there's there's a couple videos that come to mind where I'm clearly intentionally strategically Mocking the ideas and the words of others, you know I think I think back to some of the videos where I pretend to be woke.

I think back to the videos where you know, I. There's one. There's one where I did the Ghostbusters thing. There's one where I had the the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that was teaching me how to talk woke, you know.

Stuff like that. Those are those are mocking videos. Yeah, I was mocking the ideas, right? And so, you know this idea that you know mockery is inappropriate. I again I don't think you could read the Bible in in a in a very clear way and come away with the idea that mockery is always Always wrong now if you're always mocking people and things like that and that's all you do.

Well, yeah, I mean that's it could be a problem, right? But here's the thing, you know, all of all people who say that some of my videos are too mocking. Are you sharing Babylon B articles? Because if you are I wonder how consistent you are with this thing and I'm not saying because the Babylon B does it that it's Okay.

What I am saying though is that you need to have a consistent answer for that. Is it about the specific ideas that are being mocked to specific people or is it the idea of mockery itself? That's that's driving your opposition to it.

Look at Paul here. This is Paul again. This is one of the funniest passages in The Bible. I I've read this so many times and it just it strikes me how funny this is. I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness do bear with me.

I feel a divine jealousy for you since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. So this is he's talking about serious doctrine here Paul. He's talking about serious doctrine.

You know, this is a serious issue, but he's employing mockery to get across a serious point. I've done this many times. It means the BD two-step video. I was mocking the BD because his ideas are dangerous.

Disgusting evil and all of that. It's a serious issue. And if you go back to the reparations week, most of my content is serious, but I do mock him as well and it's it's a serious point, but I thought a little humor might might might go a long way and I Apparently Paul thinks that too here.

He talks about the super apostles and he's he's and I love the part where he says I'm talking as a madman. Let me see if I can find that. Here we go. Whatever anyone else dares to boast of I'm speaking as a fool.

I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I'm a better one. I'm talking like a madman with great far greater labors far more imprisonments countless beatings often your death.

Do you see what he's doing here? This is like this is the level of I know you are but what am I? You know what? I mean? And this is Paul mocking people. To make a serious point. And so so again, if you're telling me that mockery is always a problem.

You have to explain how Paul is able to do it how Jesus mocks people. You're gonna have to explain how how it's wrong. You're gonna have to explain how Elijah and when he mocks people and things like that how it's how it's evil the Bible presents it as evil.

It's just not the case at all. It's just not the case at all. So again, you might not like it. It might not be your taste, but let's not pretend like it's a sin automatically now I'm not saying it's never a sit not a sin or never a sin rather.

Tone, Confrontation, and Consistent Standards

But again, we got to have a consistent standard here, right? Finally I want to talk about tone because this is something that always people talk about. It's just it's not about what you're saying. What you're saying is good.

It's about the tone that you take and You know, this is the one that's most perplexing to me because because the reality is that different tones are appropriate for different situations. You know if my if my kid was doing something to me and I started just mocking him mercilessly.

Obviously, I'd have a serious problem. You know what? I mean? I'd have a serious problem if If an old lady started, you know talking about social justice and I started mocking her, you know, just mercilessly.

Obviously, we'd have a problem or berating her or being angry with her, right? Obviously, I'd be there'd be some issues there, right? But different situations call for different things. You know what?

I mean no one in my church is trying to divide up the church on the basis of skin color. And so you won't see me getting very angry at my church. It just doesn't happen. You know what I mean if Somebody I can guarantee you if someone was trying to divide up the church based on skin color That would be met with heart with harshness.

There's no question about it and some men need to be, you know, proverbially hit in the mouth. It's like when you when you when you face a bully, you know, sometimes all you need to do is, you know. Take a strong posture, you know, you know raise your voice a little bit and the bully will back down and so, you know I Reserve, you know, my my harshest rhetoric and my strongest tone for those who need it most.

I mean a guy like dr. Eric Mason strikes me as a man a real man a Man who is not going to respond to it, you know, dr. Eric Mason. I'm Sure, that's saying angloid is quite God's best for you. I don't think dr Eric Mason's gonna respect that and I don't think he's gonna respond to it.

But he might respond to me calling him what he is in his heart a racist. He might respond to someone who's willing to have a little more bluster. I'm not saying he definitely will but this idea of confrontation being Inappropriate or harsh rhetoric rhetoric being inappropriate again.

You need to explain Paul. You need to explain Jesus and how his rhetoric didn't have situations where it was harsher more Confrontational than other times. I mean this again. This is this is something that I need a consistent standard here.

It can't just be because it makes you feel icky. Here's Paul again. When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stand stood condemned. This idea of opposing him to his face, this is not a soft idea.

This is not like him. I I don't think that Paul was saying to Peter, you know, Peter I See what you're doing by only eating with the Jews and it's just not God's best. It's not flourishing. That's not how this is presented.

Paul called Peter out. Peter was an apostle. You know, I mean Peter was an apostle of Jesus Christ and Paul called him out and I'm sure it wasn't like a very Peter. I'm sure it wasn't like that. I'm sure it was pretty harsh.

And so, you know if you can call out an apostle in this way and oppose him publicly to his face for all to see. How dare you think that that somehow these guys like Chandler and Russell Moore and and These are anointed you can't you can't say anything about them publicly.

Are you serious? So I've thought these things through and and again when I when I talk about this stuff. Sometimes I feel like kind of embarrassed like I'm like I'm saying that I'm perfect and I've done this perfectly.

I'm not saying that have I made mistakes if I have I crossed the line at some point. It's possible that I've done that that that's true but this is an intentional line that I'm walking an intentional line that I'm strategically choosing to walk and I've thought it through.

And so if you're gonna if you're gonna say to someone like me or me particular. It doesn't matter if it's me or somebody else. That they're sinning by doing an attack video or something like that. You need to have a consistent standard because I'm pretty sure it's really not about the attack video.

Because I'm positive you've shared videos attacking the theology of other people, you know, you might say well, yeah. Yeah, but those are our Christian brothers. I don't consider them Christians. Yeah, but you understand that you're not the standard there people sometimes people like like Yeah, I'm not even gonna get into it.

But the point is we need a consistent standard. Don't add to the scripture. Don't add burdens on other people because that's what the Pharisees did. You know, I mean, that's what the Pharisees did. I'm not held to your standard of nicety.

I'm not held to your standard of what's appropriate. What's not. I'm held to God's standard. And so if you're gonna come to me and tell me that I'm sinning you need to objectively be able to do that. You need to be objectively be able to do that or keep your mouth shut.

Anyway, I hope this was helpful. God bless.