On Him place Thy reliance
If thou wouldst be secure;
His work thou must consider
If thine is to endure.

--- Paul Gerhardt

And the fratricide continues.

The I-70 Roach Paradise closed its doors briefly so local crime scene investigators could set out some numbered cards, collect blood samples and take photos. Management took this opportunity to rearrange the carpet stains and swap out the dingy orange curtains for dreary blue ones.

But now the pandemonium has resumed with fair vigor.

Elsewhere Lou Martuneac unveils the richness of the English language with his innovative use of bold, italicized, red and underlined Statements of Special Alarm. He shows the reading public no consideration at all with his posting of a quartet of fundamentalist eyesores. He also issues "a call for the removal from the platform" of one of the proponents of a fundamentalism worth saving for, I suppose, conduct unbecoming a proponent of a fundamentalism worth saving.

And this is the best fundamentalism to date?! Maybe this is a step up from calling someone a monster in human flesh as Dr. Bob, Jr., ("a widely respected man from our own IFB heritage") might have done.

I don't know what authority Lou has to call for this removal, it's not specifically addressed anywhere in the Big Book of Fundamentalist Protocols—but then neither was Bauder's general call for speaking up against Dan Sweatt's misbehavior. So I guess we have achieved some sort of equilibrium. We are slouching briskly toward June 16-18, and I get a sense of Lou's annoyance not from his cogent arguments but from his bold, italicized, red and underlined Statements of Special Alarm.

Very persuasive, yes?

I reproduce here a black-and-white transcription of Matuneac's complaint:

With an opportunity before him (Bauder) to promote unity, healing and reconciliation in the IFB community Dr. Bauder chose to pursue a different tact [sic]. Instead he further polarized factions, alienated many and fueled further division among men in and around the FBFI. I can't imagine a more unnecessary, unwise and ill-timed moment as this juncture in the chain of events for Bauder to publish sharp criticism of widely respected men from our own IFB heritage.

I have found fitting moments to suggest that there is no such thing as a fundamentalism worth saving. I can believe in unicorns, ladies fine and wingéd swine, fauns, gorgons and three-headed dogs, but I draw the line at a fundamentalism worth saving. I could offer a complete list of reasons with footnotes, but I just gave you two very compelling links by way of preamble.

So this is what we find under one end of the religious rainbow: a good old-fashioned test of loyalties. It looks like a meeting of the politburo.

Under the other end we find this Brian D. McLaren guy coming up with a theological reverie we might expect from someone who buys lotus plants in bulk.

I am going to suggest, again, that we have put our trust in horses. We could do without fundamentalists and we could certainly lose the drooling McLaren, but even if we were to subtract these unreasonable men, what would remain?

Now more than ever is the time to fix our attention on what is good and true and beautiful, raise children who can appreciate the difference between the ministry and complete foolishness, and reflect on Mr. Gerhardt's idea.