Rejoinder to Jeff Belknap's Response to Brother Warnock
by Tim Haile
Brother Belknap responded to my observations about Weldon Warnock's acceptance to debate in a response entitled, “A Response To Brother Warnock's Partial Acceptance To My Debate Offer.” I have posted his response to my website at http://www.biblebanner.com/articles/mdr/jb2ww1.htm.
Brother Belknap was thankful that Weldon agreed to the propositions, but he rejected Weldon's proposed place for the debate. Weldon proposed Beckley, West Virginia. Jeff Belknap said, “I will not debate him in or around the congregation where I now preach in Beckley, WV.” Please read brother Belknap's reasons for not debating brother Warnock “in or around” Beckley, WV:
“The church in Beckley is the same congregation where Weldon was the previous preacher for ten years, and he still maintains a close relationship with some of our members. Hence, it would be inexpedient to the unity of the Lord’s church in Beckley to hold the debate here, due to the personalities involved and their relationships with the local membership.
“Moreover, the men of the congregation have also strongly urged me on several occasions not to debate Weldon in or near Beckley due to their same concerns regarding the unity of the congregation here.”
Brother
Belknap expresses concern for the unity of the Lord's church in
Beckley. Question: Why is the unity of the Lord's church in Beckley
any more important than the unity of the Lord's church in other
places that are not “in, around or near” Beckley? Is it
right to divide the Lord's church as long as it is anywhere other
than in Beckley, WV?
Brother Belknap later expressed an
interest in debating brother Warnock in Scottsville, KY, brother
Warnock's hometown. Isn't brother Belknap concerned for the “unity”
of the Lord's church at Scottsville? Is unity less “good”
and less “pleasant” for the brethren in Scottsville than
it is for the brethren in Beckley?
Brother
Belknap said that the men of the congregation strongly urged him to
not debate brother Warnock “in or near” Beckley.
Question: How far must one travel from Beckley in order for him to
not be “near” Beckley? 100 miles? 200 miles? 300 miles?
Brother Belknap, would you define an acceptable distance as being
the distance far enough away from Beckley that would discourage and
disallow brethren from Beckley from traveling there?
If no
debate can be held in Beckley between you and Weldon Warnock due to
the potential for division among the brethren, does this mean that
if the debate is held not in, around or near Beckley, some effort
will be made to prevent the brethren in Beckley from seeing the
debate on video, hearing the audio or reading the transcript? If
not, what would prevent the audio, video or transcript of the debate
from dividing the Lord's church in Beckley?
I was
told that churches in, around and near Beckley had no trouble over
the putting-away issue before you moved there and started
making it an issue. Isn't it true that because of your efforts
division is already “in,” “around” and
“near” Beckley, WV?
You say
that it would be “inexpedient” to have a debate in
Beckley between you and Weldon, because of the relationships each of
you sustain with various members of the church. Wouldn't the fact
that the two of you are both respected at Beckley be a good thing?
Wouldn't this make Beckley a prime location? I fail to understand
your reasoning on this point.
I
understand that there are several churches in the Beckley area that
agree with brother Warnock's teaching concerning the marital rights
of the innocent spouse of a fornicator-mate, and that at least one
church will endorse him in debate. Jeff, is there a church in, near
or around Beckley that will endorse you? You have made it quite
clear that the church where you now preach does not endorse you. Is
there at least one church in your area that will publicly endorse
you?
Jeff, to
be quite frank about this, some have indicated to me that you are
simply afraid of the consequences if people in your area have an
opportunity to hear what your opponents have to say on this issue.
Brother
Belknap said, “Beckley is certainly not a location that is
'central to both participants'.” I beg to differ! Jeff, you
are judged out of your on mouth. You observed that brother Warnock
preached at Beckley for 10 years. How long have you been there? Are
you sure that you men are not fairly even with regard to personal
influence? For all practical purposes, Beckley appears to be a very
central location for a debate between you and brother
Warnock.
You
indicated that you would debate Weldon in Scottsville, KY. If
Beckley is not central to both participants, even with both of you
having preached there for about the same amount of time, how on
earth can Scottsville be “a central location to both
participants?” You are being inconsistent.
On the same basis of your argument that you could debate Weldon in Scottsville, KY (because of no personal relations), I could debate you in Beckley. Would the brethren at Beckley be willing to house a debate between you and me? If so, consider it done. I'm sure we can work out propositions that are agreeable to each of us.
Brotherly,
Tim Haile