Steven Anderson & James White conversation

I am very aware of Steven Anderson…didn’t need to do any research on him. I had already seen a lot on him.

Call him a false teacher if you think that is what he is. Call him a distorter of God’s Word if you must. Call him a wolf in sheep’s clothing if you think that is valid. But “certifiable nut” is something different altogether.

A “certifiable nut” is an insane person. A crazy person. You described a false teacher, not a mentally ill person.

It is a personal insult, and that is how it was used and intended. That is what I objected to.

[Mark_Smith]

it is one thing to disagree with Anderson. You can do so very legitimately, as many of you have done. It is another thing to call a person a “certifiable nut”. That is what I was addressing.

Here: http://sharperiron.org/comment/71500#comment-71500

Meaning: “very strange person”

[Mark_Smith]

I am very aware of Steven Anderson…didn’t need to do any research on him. I had already seen a lot on him.

Call him a false teacher if you think that is what he is. Call him a distorter of God’s Word if you must. Call him a wolf in sheep’s clothing if you think that is valid. But “certifiable nut” is something different altogether.

A “certifiable nut” is an insane person. A crazy person. You described a false teacher, not a mentally ill person.

It is a personal insult, and that is how it was used and intended. That is what I objected to.

Much ado about nothing Mark. You need to find something a little more important to get worked up about. He is a nut, no offense intended to any other less nutty nuts.

I am actually somewhat with Mark Smith on the “nut” question. Not that Mr. Anderson does not qualify as such—he certainly does—but rather that it misses the bigger point. Mr. Anderson appears to be incapable of basic Biblical exegesis and is egregiously distorting the Gospel. As such, he is not “apt to teach” and is therefore not qualified for the pastorate.

Put gently, it’s all too often to destroy our own arguments with an ill-planned insult. Let’s concentrate on the big issues and leave them behind.