Shame on Voddie Baucham

https://www.theblaze.com/shows/the-glenn-beck-program/blm-is-a-marxist-movement-that-uses-black-people-? 

I first encountered Baucham about fifteen years ago. He was unique because it's unusual find conservative Black voices within Calvinist circles – in this case Calvinistic Baptist. He came onto the radar (as it were) alongside the New Calvinist movement but clearly he was not one of them. Like Paul Washer he seemed to partner with and associate with some Theonomic types which always gave me occasion to pause, but generally speaking I would have said he was a pretty solid guy, a good teacher who for most part stood for Biblical thought and ethics.

All that said, I was never particularly captivated by him or his associates and thus only listened to his material on occasion or in passing. As many will know I am not a Baptist and as such my interest in the Reformed Baptist movement is limited at best.

He certainly received some attention regarding his burden for Africa and his decision to relocate there. Again, I didn't follow any of this too closely at the time and don't know the details. I wondered if he wouldn't be disappointed or find himself overwhelmed by the cultural and political complexities as indeed many Black Americans have when they have attempted to reconnect or relocate to Africa. But that's for him to say. I only share what passed through my mind. I know enough about Africa to know that very few Americans understand it – few are even aware of its basic history, geography, culture, or politics.

I recently saw that he was experiencing health problems and was struck that as something of a minor celebrity he was able to raise a substantial amount of money in a short time to help pay his medical bills.

But I was very disappointed to see that he appeared on the Glenn Beck programme and was providing fuel to that demagogue's false narratives. At this point, I have not only lost any respect I might have had for him but I would certainly entertain the notion that he has fallen into heresy.

Beck's connection to Evangelicalism and even the Reformed wing of the movement has been a shame and disgrace as many continue to pander to this Bircherite Mormon arch-heretic who has more in common with PT Barnum and the Christ-hating Ayn Rand than he does with anything smacking of New Testament Christianity. A dangerous Mammonist-Usurer and mythologizer, Beck became a super-celebrity during the Tea Party wave. While his ignorance is literally staggering at times, he tickles the ears of his audience. He became a multi-millionaire by tapping into Anti-Obama rage and while his public profile has fallen post-FOX, he still has a cult following and exercises considerable influence. 

While initially opposed to Trump, Beck switched gears and became a MAGA zealot. Surprised that his followers liked Trump and were turning away from him, he changed his tune. Apparently Beck was not intelligent enough to understand this his cult's embrace of Trump only made sense as he, along with Sarah Palin, and others must be credited with paving the way for the rise of Donald Trump and creating the climate that led to his embrace.

His organisation has played a fairly important role in providing a platform and proving ground for the divers movements brought together by Trumpism. Even some of those associated with the Right-wing militia movements (such as the Proud Boys) have connections to Beck and because his organisation is also a platform for Right-wing Evangelicals his Blaze along with various Mercer-funded organisations and others is part of the matrix that is bringing Christians and Neo-Fascists together.

Many are upset and confused by the Christian iconography associated with Right-wing protests and the storming of state capitols and certainly the January 6 incident. Beck has played a key role in creating the platform that brings together the tattooed gun-toting militia-fascist types and Right-wing Evangelicals. A servant of Satan masquerading as an angel of light, he has pulled the proverbial wool over many Evangelical and Fundamentalist eyes, confusing many as to what a Christian even is.

In other respects the embrace of Glenn Beck the Mormon, is but a further outworking of Francis Schaeffer's deeply flawed concept of Co-Belligerence. Americanism and Mammonism are Beck's true religion and I remember being disheartened as I saw Reformed people appear on his show and even Evangelicals I knew personally taking off to Washington to attend one of his rallies. Those that have embraced him worship the same God of Mammon and American power and as such they have abandoned Christ and His Kingdom.

Beck is not only a facilitator of the growing nexus of Right-wing violence, his organisation is a platform for it and Christians should have nothing to do with him. But instead we find he's favourite among them and an appearance on his show to plug a book is likely to turn one into an overnight millionaire.

And into all this marches Voddie Baucham who given his place in the Reformed world should be extra-conscious of this. He's not a buffoon like David Barton or Phil Robertson. Nor is he a Theonomist like John Whitehead or a sell-out like Peter Lillback. And he's certainly not one of the pseudo-Christian tarts (often posing with guns) that inhabit those circles who pretend to extol social conservatism even while they promote Right-wing thought in lipstick feminist packaging. What is Baucham doing there? I expect more from him.

If anything instead of falling into Right-wing over-hyped narratives, disinformation campaigns, disingenuous scare tactics, and politically motivated mendacity, I would think he would be warning his community of the dangers of Beck, how he does not represent genuine conservatism in either the cultural, political, or theological sense. Also, as one who has a burden for the Black community what kind of message does his appearance on the show send? Beck, a friend to the Proud Boys and other Right-wing racists is (despite all his lies and attempts to co-opt and reframe the narratives of American history and even the Civil Rights Movement) no friend to the Black community.

I'm sorry but Baucham has lost all my respect. He has sold out. Was it for fame and fortune? Whether Beck paid him or not, I have no idea but he certainly got the 'bump' he was looking for. I hope it was worth it.

Baucham is now rightly reckoned as a ridiculous figure and no one worthy of serious attention. Everything he has stood for, everything he proclaimed to be has been rendered void. He's a sell-out, a compromiser, a deceived deceiver and swindler who has (intentionally or not) played his hand.