11/22/10 - 2nd Day. Morning. I'm sorry to take up your time or space with this post, but I needed to have it as a "link" because I have to talk about it all the time, and it will be simpler for me to be able to just send a link to this post. Besides, who knows, it might help you with your understanding of both the wiles of the devil and the evasions of the mind and flesh.The purpose of this post is to explain to people what goes on when certain objections arise to many of the things I am teaching which run contrary to the stuff pushed by the modernist mainstream "church" (Agrarianism, Obedience, Sabbath, Headcoverings, Beards, No Pagan Holidays, etc.). Now, it is necessary because this is a general post, that it contain generalities. One of the great tools of the devil is for someone to look for exceptions and try to make them the rule; or, if they can exempt themselves from one small portion of what I am saying, they try to exempt themselves from all the applicable parts as well. Try to keep from falling for these logical fallacies. Though I am speaking generally, the general rules apply in most cases.
Ok, so generally I will be contacted by some party who either wants to frame an objection from their own mind (not usual), or, they are having a problem with someone else who used to be "on board" with the general train of thought, philosophy, doctrinal teachings, etc. So, I'll offer here a few template comments I will often receive:
1. "Michael, my friend Chet, who was really gung-ho about your teachings, the Agrarian philosophy, the true Biblical doctrines, etc., is now pulling back. He cannot refute any particular thing you are teaching, but now he says he has reservations about YOU. He has read Internet rumors (heard you drink alcohol, smoke cigars, etc., etc., etc.) and now he is having second thoughts. We are no longer like-minded. What should I say to him?"
2. "Michael, we had a good start on a local fellowship here of like-minded believers, but several of the men are now going back to "church", and they seem to be following their wives back into the world. What do you think of this?"
3. "Michael. My wife and family have been studying your teachings for some time, and my wife seemed to be on board, but now she has numerous objections and she brings them up every time I ask her to study with me. I tell her that the teachings stand on their own, and she shouldn't let an objection (true or not) about you keep her from seeking the truth. But she will not focus on anything but her objections about you. What should I do?"
So, in general, the objections will always follow some similar pattern. Someone, usually a male, has gotten on to the truth, has come quite a bit down the road, but then suddenly they "about face" and head back to the world. Generally, but not always, this "about face" is accompanied with some gossip or attack on Michael Bunker the man - but never some true or provable objection to what I am teaching. Remember, there can be some differences or changes. Sometime this is a group (or couple) of women friends. Some get on to the truth, and others object, but go along for awhile. It can also be a group or couple of men, where one of the men, effeminate and worldly, plays the role of the woman.
So what is the deal? Here we go...
Almost 100% of the time, the turn-around is the result of the wife. As you know, if you have read much of my teachings, we are very aware of how the devil uses the woman (mostly but not always - so put down your generalization grenades) to subvert the male who desires to come out from the world. The natural pride and vanity in the woman is almost always the primary motivator to this type of situation. Here is how it works...
(If someone could diagram this, it would be great, and I would include it in this post)
We start with the couple. In general, they are usually professing "christians" already, and they, at some time in the past, attended a mainstream "church" or denomination. The male becomes dissatisfied and starts looking around for truth. He stumbles on my materials, likes what he hears (reads) and slowly begins to expose some of the information to his wife. Now, generally, at this point he is operating out of fear. He probably knows she will not like it AT ALL, and in most cases he wants to give it to her in very small doses. This is because he is a coward. Anyway, the line breaks off in two directions here. One direction is: The wife is generally submissive (or pretends to be) and she will go along with him for awhile. The other direction is: She hates it, hates me, and hates that her husband will not just conform to make her life easier and more carnally secure.
Along the line of the more submissive acting woman: She will come along with him for awhile. Now, if she really, really, really hates the teachings and me, she will do this in order to be able to constantly have a say in the game. She will whisper light objections in his ear. She will play the devil's advocate, only for real: "Hath God truly said?...." Her hope is that this is just another fad. Just another phase her husband is going through. She will wait him out. At this point, this couple may be actually starting to do some of the things in line with authentic, traditional Christian distinctives. She may even wear a headcover, but not usually all the time. She may give up Christmas, or do any number of things contrary to modern apostate Christianity. However, she is not really on board with her husband, she is just waiting for something to happen so that she can push her husband in the opposite direction. We have a phrase for this behavior. It is called "Manipulation by Submission". If things start to get serious, like "maybe this isn't just a phase" serious, she will begin the back-talk, whispering, and gossip. This can include anything and everything, including the kitchen sink. She will search the Internet looking for gossip on Michael Bunker, etc. in order to raise doubts in her husband's mind, etc. At some point, the husband, who we have pointed out is a coward and is actually REALLY in submission to his wife's manipulations, begins to back away. He rarely will give voice to his real situation. Usually, he will mention some vague doubts, or refer to some Internet rumors (also concocted by worldly women) as he heads out the door. In some cases, his conscience will not allow him to do this without grave discomfort, and he may, instead, full-on attack me (or our group, or our philosophy) sometimes in a very violent way, in order to cement his position with his wife, and to salve his conscience about what he is really doing. If he can create a defensive posture, this works out better. If he can concoct a scenario where he feels attacked by me, or can manipulate things so it looks like he is coming to the defense of his wife (or women in general) all the better.
Now, on the other line. Say the woman is hostile from the very beginning. This can take several sub-paths. In one sub-path, he makes peace with his wife (again, he is a coward). He says, "Listen, this is what I believe, but I'm a gentleman and I'm not going to force it on you or the kids. I'll just live a double life, and hope the wife comes along later". Sometimes he'll couch this in terms of God's Sovereignty and on his willingness to wait for his wife to "get it". This is a lie and is unbiblical, but that is what he will tell himself and others in order to shut up his conscience. From here, the woman will react based on whether she believes he means it. If she suspects that he is trying to push the stuff on her but is being patient for a later time, she may go to war with his beliefs (and me) immediately. If she thinks he truly is going to let her stay worldly and in the world, she may leave him alone with his strange beliefs. Often times she will subtly threaten him with loss of her and/or the children if he takes it any further. Sometimes this takes the form of her twisting it by implying that, since she will not follow him out, his leaving will be him abandoning her and the children. Everyone should go read Pilgrim's Progress now for the right way to think of this. If he falls for this, it is because he is likely a worldling and is destined for destruction along with the City of Destruction.
The world really is a cult, and the enforcers of the world cult are generally (not always, but usually) women. Leaving the world cult is not easy. Being a real man is not easy. Most modern men are really women, so it makes it all doubly hard. Like I read on a man's post today: "If your dad doesn't have a beard, you have two mums".
I know that everyone is different, your results may vary, and every single human (master rationalizer) can come up with objections to what I have written. But these facts are so generally true, and come up so often, that I thought I'd create a post with my usual response so that I wouldn't have to type it out twice a week.
We are never shocked by what transpires in our battle against the world and worldliness. All of this is in the scripture, and we are not ignorant of the wiles of the devil.
Ok, discuss - and let the "Michael Bunker Hates Women" attacks begin.
Your servant in Christ Jesus,
Michael Bunker
