Stand Down: Roderick Leaves Preterist News

I want to thank Brian Simmons for allowing me to contribute to this blog over the last year.  This blog stood firm against hyperpreterism, even to the point of being one of the few “anti-pret” blogs that reported on events within the movement (while other blogs were busy talking about “panty raids” and dying pets of all things).

But as the Hyperpreterist movement continues its fracturing, there is less and less need for an eye on daily events.  Indeed, hyperpreterism’s supposed strong point of unabashed disconnect with “traditional Christianity” is also its weakest point, in that it manifests itself as radical individualism with each new hyperpret bringing his or her private interpretation to the table.  This destroys the heresy from within.

With the various factions; Sam Frost vs the Covenant Creationists, PretCosmos vs Sam Frost and with the decline of even pretended Bible-based “preterism” toward more speculation, there is less of a need to expose hyperpreterism as it exposes itself.

With more and more people announcing their departure from the movement, even if some of those like Sam Frost and Jerry Bowers are simply “departing” so they can re-create their own personalized form of hyperpreterism, there is less of a need to combat hyperpreterism.

With more and more people simply associating Preterism and Hyperpreterism as almost indistinguishable, it will be up to the so-called Preterists, like Gary DeMar and Kenneth Gentry to be more vocal that hyperpreterism is in fact a heresy.  Otherwise, DeMar and even Gentry will have history paint them as gateways and enablers to heresy.

Look, I know I’ve been considered the thorn in the side of the movement (Sam Frost says: “probably one of the most abhored persons in the history of [Hyper]Preterism, Roderick Edwards”. AND “Roderick has been the most vicious critic of full preterism to date.”), but I’ve always tried to be honest with my assessment, giving source links when possible (much of the hyperpret material vanishes from the Internet when it becomes an embarrassment to them).

WHAT NOW?

Is hyperpreterism going away?  I doubt it since there will always be people who hate historic Christianity and are eager to fashion for themselves a new religion, though still wanting to be considered Christians.  However, Hyperpreterism has so drastically degraded that some of its previous most staunch advocates are abandoning it and kicking it on the way out…even if they are merely abandoning it to develop a personal form of it.  This will leave the movement without its implied leaders.  At one time, Tim King (son of Max King) was considered the de facto leader of the movement but once the King’s separated from “Preterism” this left a void wherein Virgil Vaduva attempted to position himself as the leader (even attempting to trademark the term “preterism” — see link).  But as Vaduva degraded into Emergent/postmodern relativism and liberalism, the movement went into a tailspin.  Although you might think a heavy weight like Don Preston would have stepped up, it is apparent that since Don Preston couldn’t even grow his own congregation (see here), he didn’t have what it would take to be the new leader.

Long-time narcissist, Sam Frost had pined for that role even during the Vaduva days but his blantant arrogance often turned off his fellow hyperpreterists. And now with Frost moving closer in the direction of his mentor and supposedly “orthodox” Christian, Kenneth Talbot’s planned new personalized form of preterism called “Realized Preterism”, many of Frost’s former friends are abandoning his apparent capitulation.

I would have thought the Covenant Creationists, such as Tim Martin or Jeff Vaughn might have taken the lead, but neither appear to be charismatic enough whereas Ward Fenley is charismatic yet he is also as egotistical as Frost and has sidelined himself with his “no more need for forgiveness” teaching.

This appears to leave just one person as the potential de facto leader of the crumbling movement; Dave Green of PreteristCosmos.  Green has been consistent and even forthright against men like Vaduva and Frost.  He and his associates put together the hyperpreterist response to Keith Matthison’s “When Shall These Things Be?” when hyperpreterists like Ed Stevens couldn’t get the job done.

Although I’d rather see Green leave the movement altogether, I told him before he wrote his book, “House Divided”, that once someone invests that much into something, there is usually no turning back.  I doubt Green, (like Frost and Vaduva) could ever actually leave the movement.  They can create new variations of it to make themselves think they have left for something better, but in essence they would still be hyperpreterists.  While Green is a very approachable and likable fellow, his conservative nature doesn’t foster the required boisterousness usually required for leadership.

There is talk that Mike Loomis of Preterist Radio could have been the leader, but his constant flip-flop on key issues becomes apparent, even to his fellow hyperpreterists.  Loomis may actually have a more solid position, but being a host of a podcast, he thinks he must accommodate his guest by appearing to agree with them, even when one guest contradicts another.

So, with the movement in disarray the need for a site like Preterist News becomes unnecessary, at least as a very active blog.  Brian Simmons had announced he was standing down and would be willing to hand the blog over to me (see here), however it has been my pattern to follow the biblical mandate of “coming along side” others and helping them with what they are already doing.  I did this with Dee Dee Warren’s blog until it became apparent it was more about her than combating the movement.  With Brian leaving his work against hyperpreterism and moving on to other things, there is no longer the need to come along side.

As the reader may know, I already maintain my own “anti-preterist” blog (see here), so if I feel the need to post something on the movement, I can post there.  I expect it won’t be that active since as we see, hyperpreterism is in its death throes.

Again, I thank Brian for the opportunity to write along with him and I especially thank the readers who have so dearly read this blog.

For Christ and His Church, unified and continual as intended by the sovereign God,

standing down,

Roderick Edwards