Kirk Cameron Triggers the Apologetics Industrial Complex

You might have heard by now that a popular minister by the name of Kirk Cameron has abandoned the doctrine of Eternal Conscious Torment in favor of the Annihilationist view of the Final Judgement.  In doing so, he inadvertently triggered what the YouTuber Idol Killer calls the "Apologetics Industrial Complex" somewhere in this playlist responding to Mike Winger on Penal Substitutionary Atonement.  Anyways, here's the full video that has caused such an uproar among apologists.  I encourage you to test all things (as Paul commanded in 1 Thessalonians 5:21), from what Kirk and his guest says in this video, to your own beliefs, to the responses that Kirk has gotten from those who disagree with him.  Test them all against Scripture.

Now, if you read my blog, you will know exactly what my views are concerning the Final Judgement.  However, the purpose of this post is to point out the kind of response you should expect to get from self-proclaimed "Christians" if you don't hold to every doctrine that the Church (not Scripture) says you are to uphold.  And, to drive home the point, here's a relatively short list of every doctrine that will get this type of response whether its biblical or not:

• The Trinity
• The Deity of Jesus
• Penal Substitutionary Atonement
• Salvation by Faith Alone
• Scripture Alone
• Biblical Inerrancy/Infallibility
• Christ Alone
• Clothing-Based Modesty (Body-Concealment)
• New Covenant Abolishing Torah (or parts of Torah)
• Eternal Conscious Torment
• Very Broad Definition of Lust
• Sunday Sabbath
• Christmas, Halloween, Easter, etc., not Pagan
• Total Depravity
• Humans Born in Sin
• Monogamy Only

Some of the doctrines listed above are true while others are only partially true or outright false.  But you will get the same type of response regardless if you dare to deny even one of them.  With rare exception, denial of any of these teachings will result in the Apologetics Industrial Complex questioning whether you are actually a Christian, accusing you of compromising or changing the gospel, being "weak in faith", being led by the flesh, invoking the "slippery slope" (among other fear-mongering tactics), or likening you to a cult such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, among other things.

What happens when they quote the Bible to prove what you say is wrong?  Well, they will not listen to any of the passages you quoted in support of your views.  Rather, they will quote passages and simply assert that they "clearly prove you wrong".  They won't even know or care if you already quoted the exact same passage in defense of your view.  To them, the only thing that matters is asserting their own interpretations of Scripture as if the interpretations they assert are what Scripture actually says.  It's not about truth to them, it's about control!

Let's talk a bit about the "slippery slope" that they love invoking so much.  They will assert that if you reject one thing, it'll lead to you rejecting Jesus himself.  This is the pretext that the Apologetics Industrial Complex uses to justify kicking and screaming for every inch of ground regardless of how relevant that ground actually is to the gospel.  It's a fear-mongering tactic used to control the masses, and to pressure the one who has abandoned one of their teachings back into line.  But a little bit of critical thinking goes a long way to defeating these fear-mongering tactics.

First:  There are instances where some have abandoned one or more of the above doctrines who also would later reject their faith.  And the Apologetics Industrial Complex will use these examples to say "the slippery slope is real", but will not examine the details as to why that thing happened.  Again, because this isn't about the truth, but about control.  So why would someone who rejects one of the above doctrines go on to reject the faith altogether?  One reason is that the Apologetics Industrial Complex drove them to it through one of their tactics mentioned above (such as likening that person to a cult).  It's really quite simple:  The person in question wanted a reasoned argument for returning to the one item he rejected, but instead got vitriol, and errantly concluded that there is no rational defense for any of the teachings that he holds to.

A second reason why someone might abandon the faith after abandoning one or more of the above doctrines is due to deception.  The adversary is opportunistic, and someone who lacks discernment will very easily be led astray after learning that one of the things they believed was a lie.  This is especially true if they learn that several things that they were taught were actually lies.  And the more a person who lacks discernment learns about his beliefs being lies, the more likely that person is to be deceived into thinking that the faith itself is a lie.  Of course, the Apologetics Industrial Complex has no interest in teaching discernment.  In fact, they seem to be interested in shutting it down.  And yes, I am accusing mainstream apologetics ministries of deliberately creating the conditions necessary for someone to be easily deceived into abandoning the faith.  Basically, if you are unwilling to be their puppet, especially if you've been towing the line like a champion, then they want you to lose your salvation.

By the way, if you are ever reading Scripture and something doesn't seem to be lining up, you should by no means suppress that feeling.  Rather, you should investigate the matter carefully with Scripture.  For such a feeling is usually an indication that what you were taught is actually contrary to what you are reading in Scripture.  You should also pray for discernment and wisdom so that you will not be led astray in your search for the truth.  Do not assume that what you've been taught is a lie, and do not assume that what you've been taught is the truth.  But test it against Scripture, ask for answers to the questions that you have (testing those against Scripture too), and decide for yourself what you believe rather than relying on others to tell you what to believe.

Kirk Cameron should certainly stick by his convictions and not allow himself to be pressured into recanting.  For his convictions are the result of investigating the Scriptures for himself.  If he does recant, let it be because of what he has found in Scripture rather than pressure from the Apologetics Industrial Complex.  And if he doubles down, let it be because of what he has found in Scripture rather than just for the sake of going against the crowd.  For one should stick to their beliefs because of Scripture, and one should change their minds because of Scripture.  And let the same rule apply to all who seek the truth.

By the way, here's the same list of doctrines that were listed at the beginning of the article, with doctrines that I reject being crossed out, and what I actually believe in square brackets if applicable.

• The Trinity
• The Deity of Jesus
• Penal Substitutionary Atonement [Debt Forgiven, Not Paid]
• Salvation by Faith Alone [Faith Apart From Works]
• Scripture Alone [STRICTLY]
• Biblical Inerrancy/Infallibility
• Christ Alone
• Clothing-Based Modesty (Body-Concealment) [Character-Based Modesty (Clothing Irrelevant)]
• New Covenant Abolishing Torah (or parts of Torah) [New Covenant is Torah Written on Our Hearts]
• Eternal Conscious Torment [Annihilationism]
• Very Broad Definition of Lust [Lust is Coveting and is Addressed by the Tenth Commandment]
• Sunday Sabbath [Saturday (The True Seventh-Day) Sabbath]
• Christmas, Halloween, Easter, etc., not Pagan
• Total Depravity
• Humans Born in Sin
• Monogamy Only