The Anti-Prets Attempt to Bamboozle Criswell College

As readers may know and I am careful to constantly preface such articles, I have documented where the so-called "Anti-Preterists", lead by Kenneth Talbot of Whitefield Theological Seminary are actually engaged not in fighting "hyperpreterism" but instead in redefining the playing field and replacing Full Preterism with their own version.  That is, their own form of Full Preterism without calling it that.

Talbot has been documented as saying as much when he said his personalized form he calls "Realized Preterism" is "akin" to what Full Preterist David Chilton was teaching (5 second audio: http://thekingdomcome.com/sites/default/files/realizedpreterism_is_hyperpreterism.mp3).  Further, Talbot's star pupil, Sam Frost who pretends he left the Full Preterist movement in 2010 has sent emails to Full Preterists telling them he hasn't left everything, yet he is vague about what he retains.  And to add to that, Frost recently told a group of Full Preterists on the CARM message board that he PERSONALLY is "working on" a more consistent form of preterism.  So, in short; these so-called "anti-prets" aren't actually trying to fight "hyperpreterism"; they are trying to usurp it with their own brand and in so doing labeling anyone that does not follow along as the real "hyperpreterists".

That being said, Joel McDurmon; another pupil of Talbot's who gave a dismal performance at debating Full Preterist Don Preston in the summer of 2012; McDurmon even admitting he did virtually no preparation for the debate, McDurmon is now badgering Criswell College for not allowing the "Talbotites" to define preterism.

McDurmon relates in an article that he contacted Criswell College to express his concern that they invited Full Preterist Don Preston to a conference on eschatology and for Preston to represent the preterist view.



McDurmon says:

"...people need to know that preterism is indeed the way to go, but no full, hyper preterism. They need to know there’s a difference between the two views: that one is vital and necessary, and the other is doctrinally dangerous. Confusing the two is dangerous. For a scholarly organization to foist them upon unsuspecting people and students would be irresponsible and reprehensible." (source: http://americanvision.org/6464/is-criswell-college-poisoning-the-well-of-preterism/)

Oh what irony!!!!  For years Talbot allowed Frost to help develop student materials for Whitefield Seminary, while Frost was a full blown "hyperpreterist" teacher.  What about all the Whitefield students that had that "foisted" upon them by Talbot?  Talbot never once in the 15 years Frost was running around advocating "hyperpreterism" said a peep against Frost publicly.  When I addressed this in 2008-2009, Talbot and his sycophant supporters turned on me. (source: http://www.preteristblog.com/?p=1307) and since then have done all they can to keep me from pointing out their hypocrisy. One of the Talbotites even has called my secular job trying to get me fired and calling my home and scaring my family.

McDurmon and his Talbotite buddies are just angry with Criswell College because it didn't allow them to define preterism.  This has been the mission of Talbot and Frost for many years -- to be the ones who get to define what's what.  After all, Talbot actually created his own denomination rather than join and existing one.  After all Frost is STILL going around telling people he is a "pastor" though he was only ever a self-appointed leader of a "hyperpreterist" congregation --- I mean, if Frost thinks Full Preterists are illegitimate, wouldn't that also make his "pastorate" illegitimate? He can't have it both ways; unless he is okay with being a huge hypocrite.

In his letter to Criswell, McDurmon says:

"If you include [Preston], you may also consider including Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventist perspectives in your event."

Really? yet American Vision, where McDurmon is employed and all the rest of the Talbot front groups have been presenting Frost as having been a Christian "pastor".  Read the bio they have for Frost: http://americanvision.org/6142/reign-of-christ-ministries-interviews-joel-mcdurmon-about-preterism-debate-with-don-preston/

"Samuel is ordained, and has functioned as Teaching Pastor at Christ Covenant Church in St. Petersburg, Florida (2002-2005)."  

This is LIE, one that McDurmon and American Vision and the rest of the Talbotites are "foisting" upon unsuspecting people... something McDurmon claims  "would be irresponsible and reprehensible" but here McDurmon is, doing the VERY THING he chastises.  Hypocrites!

But McDurmon does go on to chastise Criswell:

"This view [Preston's] represents a tiny minority of the larger world which uses the term “preterist” but in a much more limited and nuanced way."

Really?  Just do a Google search and I can tell you that the majority of the sites that come up will be espousing Full Preterism.  The "tiny minority" is actually the Talbotites.  However, what does size have to do with it? This coming from McDurmon, a supposed "Reformed" guy.  Protestantism was at one time only a "tiny minority" view.  After all, Gary DeMar, McDurmon's own employer said to a group of Full Preterists:

"... I'm willing to listen to what others say on an issue, especially on eschatology since it's been a garbled mess for centuries. It's conceivable that so-called eschatological heretics are seeing something I'm not seeing. They're willing to take the risk. Many are not."  -- http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=170023863048382&id=100000416021880

If eschatology has really been such a "garbled mess" as DeMar claims, why shouldn't people be "willing to listen" to the Full Preterists???  This is the reason I believe the Talbotites aren't really fighting against "hyperpreterism", they just want to be the ones who get to define it -- renaming it something more "orthodox" in the process -- such as Talbot's "Realized Preterism".  If there was a classical, historical, orthodox preterism that has been the majority view, why would Talbot need to introduce a new view???

McDurmon complains in his letter that Criswell by listening to Preston is...

"...giving a general evangelical platform to a fringe, extreme, quasi-cult, and thus giving it the appearance of acceptability and plausibility."

Really? That hasn't been a concern while DeMar was doing that very thing for YEARS.  DeMar would actually speak at Full Preterist conferences and never once acting like he was there to chastise "heretics".  DeMar would join all sorts of Full Preterists websites and yuck it up with them against dispensationalists; again never taking the Full Preterists to task.  And we've already seen what DeMar said about listening to Full Preterists.  Why isn't McDurmon getting with the program?  Again, the Talbotites are merely upset that they don't get to define preterism at the Criswell conference.

CONCLUSION

McDurmon and his fellow Talbotites are FRAUDS attempting to bully people into allowing them to dictate definitions. They bully the evangelical and the Full Preterist alike.  The Talbotites may actually be worse than any "hyperpreterism" they point to, because the Talbotites are engaged in documented fraud -- the worst we could say about Full Preterism is that it could be a delusion -- but even DeMar thinks people should be willing to listen.