A Sincere Apology to Eric Metaxas

Eric,

I just wanted to begin with a sincere apology. As I understand it, you were gravely upset at an article published at Pulpit & Pen about a tweet sent out by your good friend, Sallie Lloyd-Jones (no relation to Martin Lloyd-Jones).

One article, by Cody Libolt and published at P&P, cited the words of Gabriel Hughes, a twitter personality who often opines on evangelical news. As you can see below, Pastor Hughes provided a screenshot of that with which he took exception.

As the *facts* would demonstrate, “Inclusion and representation in story books is so important.” The photo above demonstrates two gay ‘dads’ with a small child.

And all God’s people said…gross.

About Lloyd-Jones’ story book Bible, Libolt writes:

If you’ve read the so-called The Jesus Storybook Bible, written by Sally Lloyd-Jones (no relation to David Martin Lloyd-Jones), you will know it’s not a Bible.

The eisegetical method was obvious all along — to anyone who didn’t take #BigEva to be a credible authority.

The book is a piece of propaganda — a case-study in how to reimagine Bible stories as if they could be made to support social justice tropes not actually present in the source.

To paraphrase The Dude, “So, that’s just like, your opinion, man.

I think most seriously minded Christian intellectuals would recognize the Lloyd-Jones’ storybook ‘bible’ is not only not a Bible in any literal sense, but it’s trifling garbage.

But, that’s how opinons work and everybody is free to share them.

Libolt went on – in great detail – to lay out in specificity what’s wrong with Lloyd-Jones’ books on Biblical grounds, also in this article and this article.

Libolt’s arguments were replete with Biblical references, comparing both Lloyd-Jones work and back again with the Bible. You know, basic Berean type stuff. His work was thoughtful, researched, and detailed.

Now, compare this to the angry, emotive, Scripture-less rage-tweet from Eric Metaxas.

I need to offer a few corrections to Metaxas regarding his polemical argument against polemics and his hateful critique against what he (wrongly) perceived to be a hateful critique by Libolt.

Firstly, as cathartic as it may be to accuse someone of being “Pharisaical,” to do so indiscriminately indicates a profound ignorance of why Pharisees were the villains in the New Testament narrative. The Pharisees were Pharisees not because they cared too much about doctrine, but too little. Jesus rebuked them for being ignorant of the Scripture (John 3:10). What made the Pharisees villains isn’t that they didn’t care about theology, but because they were wrong theologically.

For example, when somebody doesn’t care about bad theology in children’s books but are willing to *freak out* because of criticism about bad theology, that’s actually a textbook Pharisee mistake. In other words, Metaxas’ long, angry, horrid response to Mr. Libolt is far more Pharisaical than anything Libolt had ever mentioned.

Secondly, while accusing Pulpit & Pen of doing the devil’s work, I would like to humbly ask who is doing the devil’s work. Is it those tweeting out adorations toward the LGBTQXYZLMNOP community or is it those politely disagreeing with it? Is the devil, Satan, Beelzebub, the great Serpent really critiquing the sodomite propaganda in children’s books? I’m pretty sure promoting sodomite propaganda in children’s books is the devil’s work.

Thirdly, and this is my presumption, granted, but I do not believe for a New York second that Lloyd-Jones has “assistants” who are tweeting for her. That’s asinine and unbelievable. I have a communications’ manager who tweets for me, and I hired him because I know our views on important subjects are indistinguishable. But my operation is significantly bigger than Lloyd-Jones. No, I do not believe that someone as unnotable and insignificant as Lloyd-Jones has assistants tweeting stuff under her name. Sorry. I just don’t believe it.

But furthermore, who is the person who tweeted pro-gay propaganda under her name? Are they fired yet? Why has Lloyd-Jones surrounded herself with pro-sodomites and why did she (supposedly) give them keys to her twitter to tweet in the First Person as though it were Lloyd-Jones herself?

There are two types of people who believe an “assistant” tweeted the pro-LGBT tweet for her. There those who were born at night and then fell off the turnip truck, and there’s the rest of us who don’t believe it.

Eric, I also apologize that somehow in that brain of yours, you think that a “Lifetime of sharing Jesus” somehow inoculates one from criticism when there are gross departures from the “faith.” Surely an intellectual person would realize that a lifetime of doing or saying good things somehow undoes the bad things that are done.

It’s just below common logic and wisdom to make such a juvenile argument as did Metaxes. A profoundly dumb or wrong move doesn’t change, undo, or sweep away heresy. Metaxas’ argument is at best sub-intellectual. At the worst, it’s abysmally stupid.

Furthermore, Eric, what should we be “ashamed of,” as you suggest? Should we be ashamed of screenshooting and directly quoting Lloyd-Jones’ own words (or at least the words tweeted under her name from her twitter account)? Should she not be held accountable for what is said on her own social media pages? Assuming you are right, and a children’s story-book author has a heretofore previously unmentioned (and I think totally fabricated) “assistant” who Lloyd-Jones supposedly hired to speak for her even though she has a contrary worldview and messed up theology, it would seem to me that Lloyd-Jones is not due an apology. Rather, an apology from Lloyd-Jones is over-due.

She should apologize for hiring this mythical assistant to ghost-write her tweets, and for not doing a good job in hiring someone who’s not a full-blown heretic.

We are journalists. We report the news, the facts, the stories. According to Twitter, Lloyd-Jones said it. According to you, her ‘assistant’ said it. Either way, she owes the entire world an apology, not the journalists who reported the facts.

Finally – Eric – if your tweet is emblematic of your theology – I have no idea how you’ve developed any notoriety in evangelicalism. The statement that “good theology is an idol” is beyond absurd. It’s good theology that keeps us from idolatry. Idolatry is worshipping a false image of God. Good theology helps us represent God accurately, thus mitigating any fear of idolatry.

Eric, I apologize so many have surrounded you as though you have important or astute theological things to say. If your tweet is any indication of your grasp of theology or commitment to good doctrine, you clearly do not.