Wednesday 16 April 2014

Mike Vinson's Family Values


Vinson's IWWB website recently began a teaching series on marriage, and as a result of this has veered off onto the topic of child-rearing, as part of that series.

As I've covered before, the teaching on marriage has opened the door into the puzzling labyrinth of doctrines that lay beneath Mike's more upfront outward claims. As an example, I have caught Mike out lambasting homosexuals and same-sex unions, and also stating that to fall in love is in reality, "falling in lust" and is therefore to be avoided at all costs for the true disciple.

As expected, the teaching series includes admonitions on such fundamentalist ideals as spanking your child, and references to the "rod of correction," but also, Mike has now come out and stated that a family should be run as a dictatorship, among a world of other head-scratching one-liners.

Even though I knew deep down that Vinson was a dictator par excellence, I am still none-the-less shocked and genuinely surprised when Mike decides to mouth these things openly and, seemingly, without shame or hesitation.

Firstly, let's take a listen to Mike where he explicitly states that a family is not to be a democracy, but rather, needs to be run as a dictatorship:



Here is a transcription of Mike Vinson's words:
"We do not negotiate with our children. Family life is not a democracy. Family life is a dictatorship. Christ should be that dictator, but fathers don't make deals with their children. They don't vote on things. Father's lead. They tell their children what they're going to do, command their children to do it, and they do it…"
As a father of 2 children, I take exception to Vinson's outlandish assertion. I can tell you now, that if I decided to run my family as a dictator, I can be sure that in no time at all, my 2 children would resent me and my wife would in no time, leave me, as she should. 

A relationship to me is a partnership with give and take. Is it a democracy? Hell yes. 
Do I make bargains with my kids? I sure do. It's give and take. It's all about learning to love each other, and get along other DESPITE our differences at times. My kids know that mom and I are the boss, but as they get older, we allow them to take part in the decision making process. We talk things out rationally and sometimes, we won't agree.

Vinson's authoritarian and hierarchical dictatorship style of family has no-doubt resulted in the fruit that he is bearing today, being estranged from several of his family members because he insists on being right about biblical matters and will accept no compromises. It's Mike's way, or the highway.

More to the point, Vinson's dictatorship ideals are precisely what I, and many others have observed within IWWB. Vinson sees himself as the "father" of the fellowship, and in-fact, some time ago, I caught out the doting IWWB elders referring to Mike using this specific honorific. 

Here is a video from my YouTube channel where Vinson is held up as a "father."



Mitch Kuhn states, at the opening:
"You know how to treat a father, you respect them. They've raised you, he's older than you, he is wiser than you. So if your dad is wrong about something, and you know it, you don't go up there and say "hey dad you're an idiot, you need to quit doing that." No, you go there, and you're respectful… So I'm just trying to pain a picture of the spirit we're supposed to have around who these elders are… Just think about the physical relationships, and that will help paint the picture of how we're supposed to handle these elders..."
Later on, Vinson chimes in and states:
"…it's just as natural as a father teaching his children. Every father, if he's really a father, loves to see his children grow in the grace and knowledge of our lord and saviour Jesus Christ. That's what an elder is wanting to accomplish. That's his goal…"
Laughably, later on in the video, at the end, Mitch Kuhn refers to himself, and the other elders as "incredibly humble." 

So when I refer to Mike Vinson as "father Mike," it's because of statements such as these.

And now, we have Vinson stating emphatically that a family is to be run as a dictatorship.
Small wonder then that Mike behaves in the manner in which he does, seeing that these beliefs are foremost in his mind when it comes to "family" and relationships. How very sad!

I also caught Mike out stating that his children have (in type and shadow) smited him, just as Jesus was beaten by the Roman guards, before his crucifixion.

Again, here is dictator Vinson attempting to shoehorn his life into the pages of the bible:



Vinson's rhetoric here is very typical of the victim-mentality and the persecution complex he wears like a badge of honour. As I have covered many times before, Vinson honestly believes he is hated of all men, and relishes in brow-beating his disciples with this supposed fact. He also uses this phrase ("hated of all men") as an escape clause to get himself off the hook whenever he is taken to task on a matter.

None-the-less, to somehow try and argue that his own children have "smote" him, just as Jesus was, is truly tragic in my books, and only highlights Mike Vinson's emotional immaturity, and his spiritual delusion. 

Lastly, Vinson shows how little of the bible he really knows when he addresses the issue of temper tantrums. Again, here is father Mike speaking to the "little children" of IWWB:



Vinson fails epically when he states: "the scriptures aren't advocating that we kill our children…"

In truth, the scriptures DO state that rebellious children should be killed. Vinson has backed himself into a corner by attempting to lift his family values from the pages of the bible. In Deuteronomy chapter 21, verse 18, we read the following:
If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
Vinson, if he were a purveyor of "truth" would make this known to his acolytes but it seems, he cannot bring himself to even address this, let alone openly air it to those on his study. Instead, he lies to both himself and his listeners by stating that "the scriptures aren't advocating that we kill our children."

Earlier in Deuteronomy (chapter 13), there are instructions for stoning one's entire family, and in Exodus 21, there are instructions for selling off your daughter as a sex-slave. Exodus 21 also states that to beat your own slaves is fine, so long as you don't go so far as to actually kill them! Human slavery is one of the most depraved things I can think of, and yet, the bible not only advocates the practice, but gives instructions as to how far one can go with respect to exacting physical punishment on your human property!

Incredibly, Vinson will say that all of these Old Testament depravities only happened to illustrate key spiritual points, that of course, may now be made known via the grace of IWWB. The deceptive and depraved mindset one must take on to mouth such nonsense defies logic. But then again, this is IWWB we are talking about.

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