Posted on 07/04/2023 6:49:41 PM PDT by Morgana
Early Sunday evening, controversial pastor (see endnotes) and noted plagiarizer Mark Driscoll took to Twitter to complain that his new book “New Days, Old Demons: Ancient Paganism Masquerading as Progressive Christianity” got him suspended from Amazon. He claimed the online retail giant was trying to “silence the word of God and faithful Bible teachers” and urged followers to purchase it from his website instead.
While it’s true that his book wasn’t available on Amazon at the time of his tweet, it’s also true that it wasn’t available anywhere. Not at Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, Thriftbooks, or Powells.
Driscoll’s missive makes it seem like he was singled out from Amazon specifically. However, given that no one else carried the self-published book, described as a “prophetic message for pathetic times,” this reeks of shameless self-promotion.
Yet on Monday, hours after his claims, his book was on Amazon, alive and well, free to be shared and purchased from the masses.
Despite the book being available on Amazon, Driscoll still keeps on repeating claims to the contrary. In an Instagram post early this morning, he insists it’s “the book that big tech doesn’t want you to purchase,” despite being on sale for $17.98 and eligible for free shipping through Amazon Prime.
Ultimately, claiming that he was suspended from Amazon because of this book reads like a quick and dirty way to raise controversy and project scarcity, which wouldn’t be the first time Driscoll has manipulated book sales to make a buck.
Bonus content
Back in the day, Driscoll favored an edgy, aggressive style marked by prurient sermons laced with cuss words and punk-style worship- he once called women’ penis homes’ and commanded women with unsaved husbands to give their husbands oral sex to convert them. All the edgy aggressiveness boiled over in 2014 when the empire suddenly imploded due to Driscoll’s emotional and spiritual abuse of the flock, plagiarism, and accusations of financial misconduct. Rather than undergo church discipline, he claimed he audibly heard from God that he needed to leave, and he bolted. Later, nearly 40 former Mars Hill elders issued a public statement describing him as ‘unfit’ and ‘unrepentant.’
Not many years later, with the help of his crony James MacDonald, Mark Driscoll wrapped up his own discipline and re-established himself behind a pulpit in Phoenix, Arizona. Here, he set himself up as Pope of his own church, removing any of the limiting factors that previously constrained him, chiefly the presence of elders. Despite having hundreds and hundreds of people attending each week, there are no elders at The Trinity Church, which has resulted in his bullying ways continuing. Think of him as a wayward child who locked his parents in their room and now has the run of the house, terrorizing the dogs and torturing the cats.
Slowly, he rebuilt his empire, even as his theology got squishier. He mocked reformed theology and described Calvinism as “garbage.” He publicly apologized for criticizing Joel Osteen. He started selling copies of his sermon notes online and pushed seeker-sensitive services like “Swimsuit Sunday.” He even defended the Roman Catholic Church, saying they “believe in the essentials.”
Despite resigning in disgrace and possessing a penchant for theological violence, people flocked to him at his new home, and his church has grown immensely in the last few years, slowly edging towards megachurch status.
I have a no eyed deer.
Sounds like yet another crazy cult. Sorry for the parents of the kids that have to watch them get caught up in this sort of thing. Hope inheritances have strings attached to keep it out of the hands of charlatans.
Big Tech shadow bans, so not everybody will see a book you wrote in order to minimize your sales.
. He believes Jesus is the savior and is the singular path to heaven
He believes in the family and that what is missing in so many families are Christian men, who are positive role models for the children.
He is opposed to homosexuality and Transsexuality. He believes people in both groups are to be helped, not condemned, but should turn to Jesus for help to find themselves.
Swimsuit Sundays? —- yes, water slides in the backyard for kids. It is AZ and 108 degrees. The kids love it. Both of our grandsons go and have an hour of Bible study before 30 minutes of play.
He has openly spoke of the folks at his previous church in WA and made it clear that a small, but powerful element disagreed him and he left. His comments against them have always been vague.
If he spoke on some of the issues I see in this hit piece, I would not attend his church.
He is definitely conservative but does not specifically address politics from the pulpit. Instead he uses wry humor to get his conservative points across. He also has made it clear that he is Pro 2nd A. He supports (read as helps to finance) Christian groups assisting parolees back into the world.
He supports small Christian churches in Mexico with both financial support and equipment donations (specifically a sound system and amplifiers). I have no dog in this hunt, other than being an attendee of his church. He impresses me as man of strong faith who believes the Church and Christians are being attacked by people with ulterior motives.
This hit piece strikes me a simple attack on a man with strong conservative Christian values.
he definitely does not fit into a blue community.
lol havent seen that in a long time
I'm afraid not. His history and messy exit from Mars Hill are indeed very bad. I'm surprised he was allowed to pastor at another church after that and he should refrain from being in the pastorate.
Like you, I searched the article for Driscoll’s doctrinal errors but found I need to try to dig them up, if any, for myself.
Sounds more like Calvin’s ox has been gored. Might be more to it than that; but that’s my takeaway.
Have you ever listened to one of his sermons?
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