Cult Tactics

A brother named Nilo del Mundo left this comment on my blog that contains the chapters of "The Hardshell Baptist Cult" (see here):

"A friend posted your blog in FB and this is what a PB wrote about you. Elder Keith Ellis said

The man behind this effort to destroy old baptist is Stephen Garrett, son of Elder Eddie Garrett. (Presently pastoring PB church in Ohio.) Stephen was excluded from the old baptist church for abandoning his wife. He wanted the best of both worlds, but it was not to be."

SOUR GRAPES, and his arguments smell bad."

Now, this "elder" has told a falsehood.  I was never excluded for abandoning my wife.  Ironically, the fact is, my wife was excluded for her adultery against me.

I have had falsehoods told against me before by the Hardshells.  I have written about their cult "tactics" before.  (see here, and here, for example)  This is but another tactic of the cults.  Rather than engage their opposers in learned Christian discussion, they attack the character of the one exposing them.

It does show that our writing against the Hardshells are fairly well known among the Hardshells, at least the elders and those who use the Internet.  But, very few of them have ventured into a discussion of the claims by the Hardshells.  Isn't that interesting?

I notice how some have attempted to provoke brother Kevin into forsaking writing in this blog and associating with me.  How have they done it?  Have they sought to convince Kevin of his supposed errors?  Or, have they sought to make emotional appeals to him instead?

This brother says that my writings are "sour grapes."

This shows just how little of my writings this brother has really read. Anyone who has read any substantial amount of them knows that I write what I do out of conviction for the truth and in order to win some out of this cult. Why did the elder not simply come here and engage on the important issues? What this brother does is attempt to "poison the well" as a tactic to get his Hardshell brethren to disregard what we write here in this blog. He uses a "smokescreen" to cloud the real issues. Rather than deal with the message, he attacks the messenger. Does this brother not know that ad hominem arguments prove nothing?

Further, if this brother really wants to discuss my experiences with the Hardshells, and get the facts, why does he not come here and discuss them? He wants others to think that he is an expert on my time spent with the Hardshells. Or, does he not rather know that all he has to do is put forth such falsehoods and that will be enough to insulate his fellow cult members from our writings against the Hardshell heresies and falsehoods?

And, as far as my arguments against Hardshellsm smelling bad, then perhaps he needs his olfactory system checked.

But, notice how this brother gives an "answer" to us in the form of an emotional subjective argument. We are wrong because it smells wrong to Ellis!

Thus far this "elder" has made at least these three fallacious arguments.

argumentum ad hominem
argumentum ad ignorantiam
argumentum ad passiones

Now, I demand that Elder Ellis retract what he wrote and quit spreading falsehoods.

Further, about my "effort to destroy old Baptist" I can only say that this brother does not know what "old Baptist" is. We have shown that his cult is not old or primitive at all, but a new sect. He does not even agree with his Hardshell founding fathers or the old confessions. We are the old Baptists and he is a new schooler, a hybrid sect.