A.k.a. Pirate Christian
Chris Rosebrough is a fundamentalist pastor and host of the Pirate Christian Radio and the radio show podcast
Fighting For The Faith. Apparently he’s something of a notorious figure among certain
groups of fundies, though he hasn’t quite managed to make a big media impact
beyond the inner rings of the Taliban. Still, he deserves a quick mention: Rosebrough’s
anti-gay activities and positions are stock of the trade. More novel (well,
reactionary) is his opposition to ordaining women priests. After all, the
ministry is a boy’s club and has always been so (what about the famous female
apostle Junia, mentioned in Romans 16:7? Ah, according to Rosebrough she wasreally a man as well;
evidence? It sits better with his position). And as for science? “I see no
evidence in scripture that humanity evolved from apes via random chance and
‘survival of the fittest’,” says Rosebrough, which is strictly speaking true
but in the context suggests that he entertains a lot of other, radically
idiotic beliefs.
Mildly interestingly, Rosebrough has been in some disputes
with the notorious Rick Warren,
in particular over the fact that Warren, who calls himself Rupert Murdoch’s
pastor, has failed to call Murdoch out on the latter’s “owning, expanding and profiting from pornographic channels.” If that's your main moral concern with Murdoch, you should reconsider your priorities.
Diagnosis: Well, this is in no way an in-depth coverage;
Rosebrough remains to obscure to those outside of the fundie movement. That he
is a fanatic loon is not in doubt, however.
We shouldn't forget that he was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the downright unhinged pseudo-apologist Sye Ten Bruggencate.
ReplyDeletetoo bad we cant have Sye on the list as he is Canadian
DeletePretty sure he is not on board with Sye's Christian Reconstructionist theonomy junk.
DeleteI don't know about the theonomy part, but Rosebrough definitely was and is a proponent of Sye's bizarre Christian sophistry.
DeleteChris isnt reformed he is Lutheran
ReplyDeleteHe is indeed Lutheran (obnoxiously so), although one could argue that his theology is a bit more 19th-century-fundamentalist than Luther would've likely been cool with. Can you guys fix this?
DeleteOk; I've changed it. Dunno where I got the reformed idea.
DeleteSeth, have you ever actually READ Luther? And no, Lutherans don't go by everything Luther said, but... you are the one who made the assertion about Luther and what he'd be cool with.
DeleteYou're right. I didn't have the proper background knowledge to make that assertion. I apologize, and consider that part rescinded. I suppose what I was trying to convey is that Rosebrough seems to be a product of the late 19th-century-to-present-day strain of fundamentalism as outlined in, e.g., "American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism" by Matthew Avery Sutton. Despite his best efforts, his monologues occasionally betray a legalism and fanaticism that one typically finds in the fundie camp, along with the anti-modernism and Higher Criticism-phobia of the radical evangelicals. Cf. his pseudoscientific rejection of evolution and Biblical literalism, both of which are in fact very recent "theological" developments with their roots in late 19th-20th century fundamentalism.
DeleteThere are, of course, differences between him and certain fundamentalists; Rosebrough is a fideist, for instance, and I don't believe that that position would fly with most fundamentalists.
Just rediscovered Rosebrough's 2009 interview with Shirley Phelps-Roeper (here http://www.donotlink.com/o1A), which would convincingly demonstrate to any rational person listening to it that Rosebrough is a hateful, dangerous loon.
ReplyDeleteInstead of taking her to task for, you know, *everything,* he emphasizes their "common ground" (that America is doomed because abortion, teh gay, etc.). While he ends up saying that he "think[s] she's deceived," it's only because she has an insufficiently Lutheran theology.
Listening to this interview is like listening to a pastor of the Christian Identity movement reprimand a Grand Wizard—for his taste in clothing. It's surreal.
He is actually trying to give her enough rope to hang herself with. If you want tolerance, you have to be willing to give it even to the intolerant like Roper.
DeleteI see what you're saying, and I can especially see how it might seem that way upon first listen, but I disagree completely. Listen to it again (it took me a couple of times to get everything he was saying). He is clearly and unequivocally agreeing with her that God could **and should** punish the US for its descent into "sin," homosexual and otherwise, for instance.
DeleteAs far as I could tell, his only real disagreements with here were on 1) her methods (not effective enough in spreading the gospel), and 2) her emphasis on law over gospel. I get that Rosebrough is a(n aspiring) theologian and that the subject of theology is therefore his primary concern, but he was more than just *tolerant* of Phelps-Roper; he was not far from favorable towards her at times.
Out of curiosity, are you a Rosebrough fan? I'm not at all interested in lampooning you or acting like a 5-year-old in any other ways. I just think that, if you are a Rosebroughite, it might be fun to have an exchange. I'm a philosopher, not a theologian, and it is perhaps because of that that I see myriad **philosophical** problems in his approach that he seems utterly unaware of. These are mostly problems with consistency, but he also operates according to an outdated and uncharitable understanding of "postmodernism," by which I mean to say that he literally doesn't seem to know what the word means. And funny enough, he himself falls prey on NUMEROUS occasions to the relativism that he is constantly charging others with. I'd be happy to give you details if you'd like.
Ah! One more thing (i.e., hopefully sufficient evidence that I'm not a troll, but rather a philosophically-inclined student of theology): I have myself corresponded with Ingrid Schlueter in the past, and I found our exchange lively and enriching, though all-too-brief. I have nothing but respect and compassion for Ingrid ***as a person,*** (something I cannot say about her father) even though I disagree vehemently with what she has stood for, her past (and present?) intolerance, and the damage she has surely done to families, confused teens, and culture at large when she was a host on VCY America.
DeleteSo there you have it.
Okay, can we all just stop? Stop beating up on him, already.
ReplyDeleteIt's not as if he's committing some sort of heinous act, here.
Actually, quite the opposite.
He is doing his duty as a pastor, defending and preaching the Christian faith.
And the thing about him saying that women aren't allowed to be pastors?
It's actually true.
If you read Paul's writings on the matter(which are in the bible, need I remind you), he says that being a pastor is not the vocation of a woman.
And this teaching is not meant to beat up women, as people may think. It's just stating that they aren't allowed to preach in a church. There's nothing wrong or sexist about that. It's just that women have different vocations.
Like I said, he is doing his job and defending the Christian faith from attacks, both outside and from the inside, from false teachers such as Rob Bell, Joel Osteen, and so many others who "preach" things like the health-and-wealth-doctrine.
Hey guys, I believe that Holy Scripture is inspired, inerrant, and infallible, as well. I also hold that any interpretation of Junia being a female who holds the office of the Holy Ministry is incompatible with clear scripture. Can I be a loon, just like Pr. Rosebrough?
ReplyDelete